Robert Reich: Dark cloud of illegitimacy hangs over Donald Trump's pending presidency and other top stories.

• Robert Reich: Dark cloud of illegitimacy hangs over Donald Trump's pending presidency

  

  A dark cloud of illegitimacy hangs over the pending presidency of Donald Trump. Consider:1. The CIA has concluded that Russia intervened in the election in order to help Trump become president. The secret CIA assessment found that Russian operatives covertly interfered in the election campaign in an attempt to ensure the Republican candidate’s victory.2. Trump has close business ties to Russian oligarchs, friends of Putin, who have financed his projects and, presumably, also lent billions of do..

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• ISIS Claims Responsibility for Egypt Church Bombing and Warns of More to Come

  

  Photo The coffins of victims from Sunday’s bombing of St. Mark’s Coptic Orthodox Cathedral after funeral services in Cairo on Monday. Credit Khaled Desouki/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images CAIRO — Egypt faced the prospect of a surge in sectarian bloodshed on Tuesday after the Islamic State claimed responsibility for the bombing of a Coptic cathedral in Cairo that killed 25 people on Sunday. The group warned of more attacks to come.As Christians gathered in churches t..

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• Aleppo battle: Rebel evacuation delayed

  

  Image copyright AFP Image caption Buses have been brought in but reports say none have left yet The planned evacuation of rebel fighters and civilians from devastated eastern Aleppo has been delayed. Government buses have been brought in but none have left yet, reports say. The Syrian government is said to be demanding the simultaneous evacuation of its own injured fighters and civilians from nearby towns that are encircled by opposition forces. A cea..

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• Australia|No Change in US Commitment to Asia-Pacific Under Trump, Admiral Says

  

  Photo The head of the United States Pacific Command, Adm. Harry B. Harris Jr., on a visit to the Philippines in November. America has “enduring” interests in the Asia-Pacific region, he said Wednesday in Australia. Credit Ted Aljibe/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images SYDNEY, Australia — The commander of United States military operations in the Asia-Pacific region said on Wednesday that America’s commitment to the region would continue after Donald J. Trump became presi..

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• Under Rex Tillerson, Exxon Mobil Forged Its Own Path Abroad

  

  As America’s biggest oil company, with operations on six continents and a stock market value of more than $390 billion, Exxon Mobil is in some ways a state within a state. While Mr. Tillerson has never officially been a diplomat, he has arguably left an American footprint on more countries than any nominee before him — with an agenda overseas that does not always mesh with that of the United States government. Under Mr. Tillerson, Exxon Mobil has struck lucrative deals with repressive governmen..

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• US Blocks Arms Sale to Saudi Arabia Amid Concerns Over Yemen War

  

  Photo A mural depicting airstrikes in Sanaa, Yemen, in October. The White House press secretary said the administration had “long expressed some very significant concerns about the high rate of civilian casualties” in the Yemeni conflict. Credit Tyler Hicks/The New York Times WASHINGTON — The Obama administration has deepened its rift with its Gulf allies over the ongoing conflict in Yemen, blocking a transfer of precision munitions to Saudi Arabia because of concerns a..

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• Call for 'unilateral' Brexit guarantee for EU citizens

  

  Image copyright PA Image caption The fate of EU nationals in the UK is wrapped up with wider questions over free movement The UK has a "moral" duty to guarantee the status of EU nationals living in the country ahead of negotiations over its exit, a group of peers has said.A Lords EU committee has called for an immediate "unilateral undertaking" that EU nationals can continue to live, work and study in the UK after Brexit.It said failure to do this wou..

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• Inside Controversial President of the Philippines' Bloody Drug War

  

  Transcript for Inside Controversial President of the Philippines' Bloody Drug War You think America's war on drugs has been controversial, wait until you see what we found in the Philippines. That country's president has launched an unabashed ultra-violent anti-drug campaign and his followers love him for it. ABC's Bob woodruff takes us to the front lines. Reporter: A dark and open secret. I will not hesitate to use the military and the police to go after the drug lords. Reporter: Lurking beh..

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• Report says ISIS is manufacturing arms on industrial scale

  

  IRBIL, Iraq –  The Islamic State group was manufacturing weapons in and around Mosul on an industrial scale with products largely purchased in bulk from Turkey, according to a report published by an arms research group Wednesday. The findings show that IS maintained a "robust and reliable" supply chain between Turkey and Iraq that allowed the fighters to produce tens of thousands of weapons, the London-based Conflict Armaments Research said. The group's researchers studied IS weapons found at ..

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