Tuesday's Headlines: Trump scrambles to avoid conflicts between public, business interests

Days before hearings, ethics reports for four Trump nominees not yet public; Senate delays confirmation hearing for Trump education pick DeVos ; Sessions failed to disclose oil interests as required, experts say; FBI payments to Best Buy technicians in child porn case raise privacy concerns; U.S. increases support for Turkish military for fight against the Islamic State in Syria;   The morning's most important stories, selected by Post editors   Top Stories Trump scrambles to avoid conflicts between public, business interests Despite expressing initial reluctance to separate from his business empire, Donald Trump has taken steps to unwind some potential tension points between the company and his responsibilities as president. But the approach is unlikely to eliminate every possible ethical pitfall. By Drew Harwell and Rosalind S. Helderman  •  Read more » Days before hearings, ethics reports for four Trump nominees not yet public The lag in the release of the reports underscores concerns from the Office of Government Ethics that it is being rushed to approve the documentation. By Michael Kranish and Abby Phillip  •  Read more »   Senate delays confirmation hearing for Trump education pick DeVos Democrats had raised concerns about DeVos's unfinished ethics review. By Emma Brown  •  Read more »   Sessions failed to disclose oil interests as required, experts say The confirmation hearing on his nomination to be attorney general starts Tuesday. By Tom Hamburger  •  Read more »   FBI payments to Best Buy technicians in child porn case raise privacy concerns Customers turn to the Geek Squad to retrieve lost data. But over the years, a handful of Best Buy workers have also flagged the FBI after seeing signs of child pornography on devices, earning payments from the law enforcement agency. The practice has sparked concerns about privacy and the government's use of informants. By Tom Jackman  •  Read more »   U.S. increases support for Turkish military for fight against the Islamic State in Syria The decision follows weeks of talks and Russian airstrikes backing Turkey's offensive. It also comes as the Obama administration is in the final stages of weighing direct weapons shipments to U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish forces moving toward ISIS's de facto capital of Raqqa. By Karen DeYoung and Missy Ryan  •  Read more »   ADVERTISEMENT   Opinions   The epic showdown between Mitch McConnell and Mitch McConnell By Dana Milbank  •  Read more »   What Trump is really saying in his tweets: I'm weak By Eugene Robinson  •  Read more »   The released report on Russian meddling isn't enough By David Ignatius  •  Read more »   How to remove Trump from office By Richard Cohen  •  Read more »   This is the inaugural speech that Trump should give By Michael Gerson  •  Read more »   The easy availability of firearms makes another tragedy possible By Editorial Board  •  Read more » ADVERTISEMENT   More News   Torrential storms bring snow, mudslides, 173-mph winds in Calif. As the result of a meteorological phenomenon known as the "Pineapple Express," hurricane-force winds in the mountaintops and inundating rainfall in the valleys caused havoc in the Sierra Nevada, flooding roadways and stranding drivers. By Mayumi Elegado, Angela Fritz and T. Rees Shapiro  •  Read more » Yahoo's name change — to Altaba — reflects just how far it has fallen When Verizon agreed to buy the company in July, it planned to purchase Yahoo's core Internet businesses. What's left of the embattled technology company would essentially be its ownership in a valuable Chinese Internet giant. By Elizabeth Dwoskin  •  Read more » Clemson unseats Alabama to claim its first college football championship since 1981 Two-time Heisman finalist Deshaun Watson threw the winning touchdown pass to Hunter Renfrow in the final seconds, giving the Tigers a 35-31 win. By Chuck Culpepper  •  Read more » GOP seek to ease concerns about Obamacare replacement While there is broad consensus in the party about doing away with the health-care law, there is far less agreement about what a substitute should look like — or even how quickly one needs to be in place. By Sean Sullivan and Kelsey Snell  •  Read more » Late-night hosts mock Donald Trump for saying that Meryl Streep is 'overrated' "Look, Mr. Trump," comedian Stephen Colbert said. "You can refuse to release your taxes . . . but calling Meryl Streep overrated? No! No! Too far!" By Emily Yahr  •  Read more » Petula Dvorak | Columnist Federal workers filled with fear as they face the Trump presidency They have survived decades of government reinvention and private-sector outsourcing. But this threat feels different. By Petula Dvorak  •  Read more » Candy and gum are no longer Mars's biggest business The company's $7.7 billion purchase of VCA, an animal hospital chain, makes pet care its biggest line of business, part of a push to capitalize on Americans' growing attachment to their animals. By Thomas Heath  •  Read more »         Share Today's Headlines:       Twitter      Facebook Trouble reading? Click here to view in your browser. 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