Evening Edition: House GOP backs off plan to gut ethics watchdog after backlash from Trump, voters

Paul Ryan is easily reelected House speaker; Trump targets GM in attack on automakers while Ford cancels plans for Mexico plant ; More than 1,100 law school professors oppose Sessions's nomination as attorney general; Megyn Kelly leaving Fox News for NBC; A North Korean nuclear threat, a Trump Twitter 'warning' and a propaganda gift for China ; Syrian cease-fire crumbles as government forces advance around Damascus; Militant who denounced Islamic State faces murder, war crimes charges in Germany; In Spain's North Africa enclave, authorities find migrant stashed in a suitcase; New York plan would offer debt-free college to families earning less than $125,000; Critics call German police security operation blatant 'racial profiling' ; Pope Francis gets a new neighbor: Ronald McDonald; With no good way to deal with trolls, you might as well tattle to their moms; Dinosaurs took months to hatch out of their eggs and that may have helped doom them; Five Post staffers resolve to try five diets in the new year. Which will work?;   The day's most important stories   House GOP backs off plan to gut ethics watchdog after backlash from Trump, voters Republicans moved to withdraw changes made a day earlier to official rules that would rein in the Office of Congressional Ethics following a tweet from President-elect Donald Trump that slammed lawmakers for voting behind closed doors to curtail the powers of an independent ethics office. By Sean Sullivan and Mike DeBonis  •  Read more » Paul Ryan is easily reelected House speaker The near-unanimous vote stands as a strong show of GOP unity as the party embarks on an ambitious legislative agenda that, for the first time in eight years, has a real chance to be signed into law. By Mike DeBonis  •  Read more »   Trump targets GM in attack on automakers while Ford cancels plans for Mexico plant The president-elect reiterated his threat to impose punitive tariffs on imports, singling out General Motors for assembling some of its Chevrolet Cruze models in Mexico and selling them in the United States. By Ylan Q. Mui and Steven Overly  •  Read more »   More than 1,100 law school professors oppose Sessions's nomination as attorney general "We are convinced that Jeff Sessions will not fairly enforce our nation's laws and promote justice and equality," states the letter signed by professors from 170 law schools. By Sari Horwitz  •  Read more »   ADVERTISEMENT   Megyn Kelly leaving Fox News for NBC The departure of the star personality whose profile soared after a feud with Donald Trump creates even greater uncertainty at Fox, which has been rocked in the wake of multiple sexual harassment allegations against former chairman Roger Ailes. By Paul Farhi  •  Read more »   A North Korean nuclear threat, a Trump Twitter 'warning' and a propaganda gift for China Kim Jong Un kicked things off in the new year by saying his country was close to test-launching an intercontinental ballistic missile, which, if successful, could ultimately put a nuclear warhead within range of the United States. Donald Trump, who had once suggested inviting Kim over for a hamburger to persuade him to give up his nuclear weapons program, took to his usual medium to respond. By Simon Denyer  •  Read more »   Syrian cease-fire crumbles as government forces advance around Damascus Rebels threatened to suspend participation in further talks as Syrian forces attempt to consolidate control over the capital's suburbs. By Louisa Loveluck and Heba Habib  •  Read more »   Militant who denounced Islamic State faces murder, war crimes charges in Germany Harry Sarfo had denied involvement in violence, but video showed him taking part in a mass execution in Syria in 2015. By Greg Miller and Souad Mekhennet  •  Read more »   In Spain's North Africa enclave, authorities find migrant stashed in a suitcase The incident was only one in a dramatic day at the European Union's main land border with Africa, as at least 800 failed to storm a 30-foot-high wall around the speck of Spanish territory in Morocco. By Max Bearak  •  Read more »   ADVERTISEMENT   New York plan would offer debt-free college to families earning less than $125,000 If the state legislature approves Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's plan, it would be the largest state to offer free public higher education to low- and middle-class residents. By Danielle Douglas-Gabriel  •  Read more »   Critics call German police security operation blatant 'racial profiling' But others cheered the aggressive deployment over the holiday as a preventive measure after the deadly truck attack at a Berlin Christmas market and widespread sexual assaults at last year's New Year's Eve celebration in Cologne. By Anthony Faiola and Rick Noack  •  Read more »   Pope Francis gets a new neighbor: Ronald McDonald Not everyone is happy that the Golden Arches have gone up around the corner from St. Peter's Square. One cardinal called the Vatican's leasing of space to the fast food chain "a perverse decision." By Abha Bhattarai  •  Read more »   With no good way to deal with trolls, you might as well tattle to their moms Amanda Kleinman received insults and violent threats on social media for weeks. After various efforts to stop the online abuse failed, she decided to write to the mother of one of her attackers. By Jessica Contrera  •  Read more »   Dinosaurs took months to hatch out of their eggs and that may have helped doom them The teeth of their embryos revealed long incubation times that would make a species more vulnerable to extinction should an asteroid strike Earth, researchers said. By Sarah Kaplan  •  Read more »   Five Post staffers resolve to try five diets in the new year. Which will work? From counting points to a Buddha-like way of eating, registered dietitian Ellie Krieger assessed each diet and offered some tips to help them find success in the quest to eat better. By Ellie Krieger  •  Read more »           Share Evening Edition:       Twitter      Facebook Trouble reading? Click here to view in your browser. You received this email because you signed up for Headlines. For additional free newsletters or to manage your newsletters, click here. We respect your privacy. 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