IMMIGRATION // President-elect Donald Trump says he is “going to work something out” for illegal immigrants brought to the U.S. as children (commonly known as DREAMers). http://cvote.it/2gcWC0N
CATHOLIC // The Vatican’s Congregation for Clergy has reiterated that men with “deeply rooted homosexual tendencies” shouldn’t be admitted into Catholic seminaries and, therefore, shouldn’t become Catholic priests. http://cvote.it/2gcUINS
TRANSITION 2017 // Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad has accepted Donald Trump’s offer of ambassador to China. Branstad called Chinese President Xi Jinping a “longtime friend.” Xi was a member of a Chinese delegation that met with Branstad during first term as governor in 1985. They have met each other several times since then, both in Iowa and in China over the last 30 years. The appointment of Branstad may help to ease trade tensions between the two countries. http://cvote.it/2gbkLER
TRANSITION 2017 // Donald Trump picked Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt to run the EPA, putting one of the agency’s most hostile critics and a skeptic of climate change science at its helm. http://cvote.it/2h7a3Eb
TRANSITION 2017 // John Kelly, retired four-star Marine general whose son was killed in combat in Afghanistan, chosen to lead the Department of Homeland Security. http://cvote.it/2gbhAxa
AMERICA FIRST // For years he warned against trade deals and neo-con wars of choice. Now Patrick J. Buchanan feels vindicated by Donald Trump’s victory. Liberal Eleanor Clift argued with Buchanan for years on the McLaughlin Group, but she wrote a very even-handed article about Buchanan and his thoughts on Trump’s agenda. http://cvote.it/2gblUfV
PRO-LIFE // Getting to the heart of Ohio’s new pro-life bill, that would outlaw most abortions when a fetal heartbeat can be detected. http://cvote.it/2gcVHNO
INFRASTRUCTURE // American infrastructure in key areas — such as transportation, the Internet, and energy — is subpar, and that quality infrastructure is a key asset in economic competition in a globalized economy. http://cvote.it/2gcVKcy
ON THIS DAY // 1993 – President Bill Clinton signs NAFTA into law. http://cvote.it/1NGsO5V
SAINT // Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, Patroness of the United States of America – http:/cvote.it/DailySaint
DAILY READINGS // Today’s readings – http://cvote.it/Daily-Readings
HISTORY // The story of how America came to be the land of Mary Immaculate. http://cvote.it/2h8hXNp