Tuesday's Headlines: Trump and Putin, in call, talk of ‘strong and enduring relationship’

Is Trump's new chief strategist a racist? Critics say so.; Resignation of SEC head clears way for Trump to cut regulations; Democrats begin soul-searching, jockeying after Clinton loss; W.Va. officials under fire after comments about Michelle Obama; Fact Checker: Trump's claim that 2 million criminal aliens are here 'illegally'; The ethics rules that apply — and don’t apply — to Trump’s children;   The morning's most important stories, selected by Post editors   Top Stories Trump and Putin, in call, talk of 'strong and enduring relationship' President-elect Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed combining efforts in the fight against terrorism and talked about "a settlement for the crisis in Syria," the Kremlin said in a statement. Trump's office said the pair spoke about shared threats and challenges, "strategic economic issues" and the countries' relations. By Jenna Johnson, Karen DeYoung and Elise Viebeck  •  Read more » Is Trump's new chief strategist a racist? Critics say so. Stephen Bannon describes himself as a leader of the alt-right. The ex-Breitbart News head has attracted legions of followers who describe themselves as white supremacists, but it's less clear whether his actions and words prove that he is one, too. By David Weigel  •  Read more »   Resignation of SEC head clears way for Trump to cut regulations The departure of Mary Jo White creates an opportunity for Donald Trump early in his term to reshape the way Wall Street is regulated. By Ylan Q. Mui and Renae Merle  •  Read more »   Democrats begin soul-searching, jockeying after Clinton loss President Obama called on Democrats to assess what went wrong during the election and re-tool at a grass-roots level, while presidential nominee Hillary Clinton urged lawmakers to fight for the party's values harder than ever. Meanwhile, several Democrats put their names forward to lead the party. By Abby Phillip and John Wagner  •  Read more »   ADVERTISEMENT   W.Va. officials under fire after comments about Michelle Obama "It will be so refreshing to have a classy, beautiful, dignified First Lady back in the White House," wrote the director of a local nonprofit. By Lindsey Bever  •  Read more »   Fact Checker: Trump's claim that 2 million criminal aliens are here 'illegally' He distorts the facts on the number of people who are convicted of crimes and in the country illegally. By Michelle Ye Hee Lee  •  Read more »   The ethics rules that apply — and don’t apply — to Trump’s children There's nothing to stop Trump from giving his children roles in the transition. The administration is a different story. By Elise Viebeck and Lisa Rein  •  Read more »   Opinions   Clinton was too civilized in defeat By Richard Cohen  •  Read more »   Why on earth is President Obama smiling? By Dana Milbank  •  Read more »   What does it mean to be progressive? By Editorial Board  •  Read more »   Where I wish President Trump failure By Eugene Robinson  •  Read more »   The triumphant GOP is mired in crisis after crisis By Michael Gerson  •  Read more »   A suggestion to Donald Trump: Listen to Ivanka By Catherine Rampell  •  Read more » ADVERTISEMENT   More News   Germany launches raids across 60 cities, bans radical group for Islamic State recruiting The Germans are grappling with a heightened threat of terror following a spate of attacks in Europe as well as elevated fears of homegrown radicalization. By Anthony Faiola  •  Read more » 'Era of Palestinian state is over': Right-wing Israeli leaders seize on Trump's win Top Israeli ministers voted unanimously in favor of a bill that would legalize Jewish settlements in the West Bank built on privately owned Palestinian land. By William Booth and Ruth Eglash  •  Read more » John Kerry went to see how Antarctica was changing. Then the entire world changed. The goal was to see firsthand the place that has climate scientists so worried about melting ice and rising sea levels, and then take that experience back to the international climate meetings. Then an election happened. By Chris Mooney  •  Read more » 'I thought, this is it': One man's escape from an Islamic State massacre He was among 90 former Iraqi police and army officers told by militants that they were being taken to see their families. Instead, they were slated for execution. By Loveday Morris  •  Read more » More state, city lawmakers say asking for salary history should be banned The practice of setting pay based on a worker's past salary is pervasive across the country. Women's rights advocates say it is a key contributor to the nation's yawning gender pay gap. Now lawmakers are trying to put a stop to it. By Michael Alison Chandler  •  Read more »         Share Today's Headlines:       Twitter      Facebook Trouble reading? Click here to view in your browser. You received this email because you are signed up for Headlines. For additional free newsletters or to manage your newsletters, click here. We respect your privacy. If you believe that this email has been sent to you in error or you no longer wish to receive email from The Washington Post, click here. Contact us for help. ©2016 The Washington Post, 1301 K St NW, Washington DC 20071