Evening Edition: Obama says he could have beaten Trump

Four Cabinet nominations that could blow up in Donald Trump’s face; Adviser's tweets add intrigue to Trump aide's sudden resignation; Muslims in a Bible Belt town hold their breath after Trump's election; For children left behind, could a home like this end the cycle?; Russia avoids suggesting terrorism caused plane crash that killed 92 en route to Syria; 'Faith' proved George Michael was a superstar. 'Patience' proved he was great.; They served an abusive regime. The U.N. made them peacekeepers anyway.; Afghanistan's vice president is known for brutality. But this time he may have gone too far.; Railroad officials unveil ambitious vision for Northeast Corridor; A mother's Craigslist plea brings her struggling family a Christmas reprieve; Is everything shaping up for a Cowboys-Patriots Super Bowl, the NFL’s TV-ratings dream?;   The day's most important stories   Obama says he could have beaten Trump In an interview with friend and former adviser David Axelrod, the president delivered an implicit criticism of Hillary Clinton's campaign, saying it had acted too cautiously thinking that a victory was all but certain. At the same time, Obama said she had been the victim of unfair attacks. By Michael Kranish  •  Read more » Four Cabinet nominations that could blow up in Donald Trump’s face History suggests it's very rare for senators from the president's party to block his Cabinet appointments, but it would only take a handful of GOP turncoats to torpedo some controversial nods. By Amber Phillips  •  Read more »   Adviser's tweets add intrigue to Trump aide's sudden resignation Jason Miller had been named just Thursday to the high-level post of overseeing the White House communications strategy. But he quit suddenly on Saturday, saying the job was too demanding. A tweet from the account of A.J. Delgado, an adviser to Trump's campaign, suggested something else may have been a factor. By Lenny Bernstein and Philip Rucker  •  Read more »   Muslims in a Bible Belt town hold their breath after Trump's election If ever there was a litmus test for how Muslim America fares under the presidency of Donald Trump — the most vocally anti-Muslim president-elect in recent memory — Murfreesboro, Tenn., would be the place to look. It was here that an effort to ban Islamic law began in 2010, where a local pastor warned of a civilizational war with Islam, and where anti-Muslim activists once converged to march against a planned mosque. By Abigail Hauslohner  •  Read more »   ADVERTISEMENT   For children left behind, could a home like this end the cycle? Gwen Wright endured a harrowing, rootless childhood and knew her son was likely to face a similar fate. Now she has landed in a place where foster kids-turned-moms live alongside seniors — grandparent-like figures — in an effort to break that cycle. By Jessica Contrera  •  Read more »   Russia avoids suggesting terrorism caused plane crash that killed 92 en route to Syria Officials said that investigators are focusing on bad fuel, a mechanical failure, pilot error or a foreign object that may have gotten into an engine. By Andrew Roth  •  Read more »   'Faith' proved George Michael was a superstar. 'Patience' proved he was great. APPRECIATION | The late British singer's recently released and final studio album explored the potential of pop itself. By Chris Richards  •  Read more »   They served an abusive regime. The U.N. made them peacekeepers anyway. As it scrambles to staff its peacekeeping missions, the United Nations is accepting soldiers from some militaries with records of abuse. But the world body has little ability to vet them. By Kevin Sieff  •  Read more »   ADVERTISEMENT   Afghanistan's vice president is known for brutality. But this time he may have gone too far. Abdurrashid Dostum has vowed to fight prosecution in a case in which he is alleged to have beaten and ordered the rape of a former provincial governor. By Pamela Constable  •  Read more »   Railroad officials unveil ambitious vision for Northeast Corridor The Federal Railroad Administration's plan would shorten the trip between Washington and New York to 2 hours and 10 minutes. Now it needs funding. By Lori Aratani  •  Read more »   A mother's Craigslist plea brings her struggling family a Christmas reprieve A PlayStation 4, a puppy and a check from rocker Eddie Vedder were among the hundreds of gifts from people who reached out after the family's story of financial strain went viral. By Michael S. Rosenwald and Theresa Vargas  •  Read more »   Is everything shaping up for a Cowboys-Patriots Super Bowl, the NFL’s TV-ratings dream? ANALYSIS | The league's postseason picture has come pretty sharply into focus as the number of serious challengers in each conference seems to be dwindling. By Mark Maske  •  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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