Saturday's Headlines: Secret CIA assessment says Russia aimed to help Trump win

The Fix: CIA report leaves GOP leaders facing an impossible choice; Trump's generals see militant Islam, Iran as dire dangers; Trump: Blacks who didn't vote at all were 'almost as good' as those who backed him; Mainstream news outlets put out the call for pro-Trump columnists; Trump team wants to know which Energy Dept. staffers worked on climate pact; Staggering subscriber losses for ESPN raise questions about the entire TV ecosystem; Rio hoped for a post-Olympics boom. Instead, its crisis is getting worse.; Brazil's political problems are so intense that nobody knew who was running the Senate this week;   The morning's most important stories, selected by Post editors   Top Stories Secret CIA assessment says Russia aimed to help Trump win The CIA concluded that Russia intervened in the 2016 election to boost Donald Trump's chances, rather than just to undermine confidence in the system, said officials briefed on the matter. By Adam Entous, Ellen Nakashima and Greg Miller  •  Read more » The Fix: CIA report leaves GOP leaders facing an impossible choice Will Republicans join the probe -- in opposition to their president-elect's clearly stated position? By Aaron Blake  •  Read more »   Trump's generals see militant Islam, Iran as dire dangers While the retired generals on the president-elect's national security team could urge caution about the use of force, they're more likely to see malign intent or view the world as a clash of good and evil, according to former colleagues and experts. By Greg Jaffe and Greg Miller  •  Read more »   Trump: Blacks who didn't vote at all were 'almost as good' as those who backed him The president-elect's comments in Michigan came during the latest stop on his "thank you" tour. By John Wagner and Simon Schuster  •  Read more »   ADVERTISEMENT   Mainstream news outlets put out the call for pro-Trump columnists Editorial page editors face hard time finding writers to make the case for the president-elect. By Paul Farhi  •  Read more »   Trump team wants to know which Energy Dept. staffers worked on climate pact The transition team asked department officials to identify employees who worked on a climate pact, raising concerns that Trump might single out people who worked on certain policies under President Obama. By Steven Mufson and Juliet Eilperin  •  Read more »   Staggering subscriber losses for ESPN raise questions about the entire TV ecosystem Live sports often compels viewers to stick with cable, but as more consumers cut the cord, what is happening at ESPN could affect channels up and down the lineup. For Disney, one of the most powerful media companies, the problems at its sports network risk dampening its other successes. By Brian Fung  •  Read more »   Rio hoped for a post-Olympics boom. Instead, its crisis is getting worse. Three months after the Summer Olympics, Brazil's cultural hub should be riding high. Instead it is a financial, political, crime-ridden mess, with many citizens fearing that the city is doubling down on chaos and corruption. By Dom Phillips  •  Read more »   Brazil's political problems are so intense that nobody knew who was running the Senate this week A brawl between Brazil's activist judges and its lawmakers is intensifying. By Marina Lopes  •  Read more »   Opinions   Donald Trump is actually a fascist By Michael Kinsley  •  Read more »   A look inside the trial of Dylann Roof By Kathleen Parker  •  Read more »   Forget Big Brother. Fear Little Brother. This is who he is. By Maggie Orth  •  Read more »   The prize that Bob Dylan really deserves By George F. Will  •  Read more »   Medicaid has made a huge difference in my patients' lives. Here's how. By Abraham M. Nussbaum  •  Read more »   A man who rejects settled science on climate change should not lead the EPA By Editorial Board  •  Read more » ADVERTISEMENT   More News   Spending bill approved shortly before deadline, averting federal shutdown The Senate voted 63 to 36 to approve the measure less than an hour before the midnight deadline. Democrats had threatened a standoff over health-care benefits for retired miners and the use of U.S. steel in infrastructure projects. By Kelsey Snell  •  Read more » Pentagon adds to U.S. forces in Syria ahead of assault on militant capital The Pentagon will send another 200 Special Operations troops to Syria, a senior official said, substantially expanding the U.S. military footprint as part of an effort to topple the Islamic State in Raqqa. By Missy Ryan  •  Read more » Kane Brown could be the future of country music, but skeptics abound The multiracial singer who rose through social media has flouted Nashville's traditional rules. By Emily Yahr  •  Read more » Trump-era trade policy threatens to raise prices on store shelves A sweeping change could alter how retailers do business, which could affect the prices or merchandise selection available to consumers. By Sarah Halzack  •  Read more » The polar vortex is coming. Here’s what that means — and how cold it could get. It could be 20 to 35 degrees below average for this time of year in the Midwest, and daytime highs from D.C. to New York will struggle to climb out of the 20s. By Angela Fritz  •  Read more » Washington state sues agrochemical giant Monsanto over PCB pollution Washington has become the first U.S. state to sue the company over pervasive pollution from the toxic industrial chemicals that have accumulated in plants, fish and people around the globe for decades. By Gene Johnson | AP  •  Read more » Kids rip father for murder of their mother as judge imposes life sentence Braulio Castillo of Ashburn, Va., was convicted of suffocating his wife while four of their children slept nearby, then staging it as a suicide. By Tom Jackman  •  Read more » Solo-ish I earn more than the man I date. He cares. Wealth has become synonymous with strength and protection. By Shannon Lell  •  Read more » Home & Garden How to make a boxwood wreath This DIY project is easy, elegant and strangely addictive. By Adrian Higgins  •  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. 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