On Wednesday afternoon, near the start of one of the year's final news  droughts, former Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein announced a new campaign: to pay for recounts in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. The news went first to the journalist Greg Palast, then on Stein's Facebook page, then in an interview with the Russian propaganda channel RT.

Donald Trump has pledged to begin deporting millions of undocumented immigrants as soon as he takes office next year. For now, Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck has no plans to help him do it. “We’re going to maintain the same posture we always have,” Beck told KNX 1070 Monday. “We don’t make detentions or arrests based solely on status, whether that’s immigration status or any other status.”