• Trump poised to set record for appeals court judges (Roll Call)

• Trump pulls two judicial picks after Grassley warns they would have been defeated (The Washington Times)

• Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton will appoint current Lieutenant Governor Tina Smith to fill Senator Al Franken’s seat (National Review)

• So maybe spending is the problem… Feds collect record taxes through November; still run $201.8B deficit (CNS News)

• Federal Reserve hikes interest rates, easing off stimulus efforts amid improving economy (The Washington Post)

• Disney to buy 21st Century Fox assets in a deal worth more than $52 billion (CNBC)

• Tavis Smiley’s show suspended by PBS after sexual misconduct accusations involving staffers emerge (Fox News)

• Second woman accuses Rep. Kihuen of sexual misconduct (The Hill)

• Kentucky State Rep. Dan Johnson dies of “probable suicide” after sexual molestation accusation (WDRB)

• Unfunded liabilities of state public pensions top $6 trillion in 2017 (The Washington Free Beacon)

• Belly laugh of the week: Vladimir Putin will run as an independent for fourth term as Russia’s president (Washington Examiner)

• Policy: GOP tax bills aim to derail the green-power gravy train (Manhattan Institute)

• Policy: Occupational licensing reduces interstate mobility (E21)

For more of today’s news, visit Patriot Headline Report.