NATIONAL

“South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham is suspending his presidential run, he told supporters on a conference call Monday.” – Politico

“Las Vegas police say that a woman intentionally drove her car onto a crowded Strip sidewalk multiple times Sunday night, killing at least one person and injuring 37 others, six of them critically.” – Fox News

“On Thursday night, 15-year-0ld Zaevion Dobson was murdered in Knoxville, Tennessee. The murder was both senseless and banal as most shooting deaths are. Earlier in the evening another woman had been shot and wounded in an apparent gang-related attack. Her son and a friend drove to the neighborhood where they believed the attacker(s) lived and carried out some random shootings. Dobson was sitting on front porch of his home with a group of friends when the shooters rolled up; Dobson stood between the shooters and his friends when the shooters opened fire. He was killed but his friends were able to escape. Two men have been arrested, one of them, a convicted felon, has been charged with the murder.” – Red State

“President Obama is on a roll over the past few days. First, he told a group of columnists during a meeting at the White House that he was unaware of serious American concerns about the terrorism threat because he wasn’t watching enough cable television.” – Katie Pavlich/Townhall

“President Obama said in a radio interview airing on Monday that Donald J. Trump, a leading contender for the Republican presidential nomination, is exploiting the resentment and anxieties of working-class men to boost his campaign. Mr. Obama also argued that some of the scorn directed at him personally stems from the fact that he is the first African-American to hold the White House.” – New York Time

“Republican presidential candidate Sen. Marco Rubio (Fla.) on Sunday accused his rival, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, of flip-flopping on multiple issues ranging from immigration to trade to farm issues.” – The Hill

“With just over a month until the Iowa caucuses, the Republican nomination field is taking clearer form. Of the original 17 candidates, only 4 can be said to remain in top contention: Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, and Ben Carson.” – Weekly Standard

“Russian air raids killed dozens of people in northwestern Syria on Sunday, two days after the adoption of a U.N. Security Council resolution backing a peace process to end the country’s devastating civil war, activists and residents said.” – The Washington Post

“The Miss Puerto Rico organization responded to the beauty queen’s comments not long afterward.” – The Blaze

“On March 1, 2012, Andrew Breitbart passed away. He was a one of a kind, whirlwind of kinetic energy, whose benevolent madness did not always reveal his methods in an obvious fashion, but they were always present.” – Breitbart

LOUISIANA

“Family and friends gathered Thursday to comfort each other after the Wednesday night murders of a pregnant woman, her boyfriend and their unborn son.” – Fox8Live

“Although it might not have intended to do so, the Republican-controlled state Senate Finance Committee may have put Democrat Gov.-elect John Bel Edwards in a troublesome position on the issue of Medicaid expansion.” – The Baton Rouge Advocate

“Congressman John Fleming, M.D. released the following statement after voting against the $1.149 trillion fiscal year (FY) 2016 Omnibus Appropriations bill:” – Chad Rogers/The Dead Pelican

“A cannon salute and a military flyover will be part of the inaugural ceremony for Gov.-elect John Bel Edwards when he takes office in about three weeks.” – American Press

“John Kennedy hasn’t formally announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate seat David Vitter is vacating next year, but the state treasurer appears to be inching ever closer to making it official.” – Business Report

“During the campaign, all the major candidates for governor talked about how rolling back the autopilot portions of the state budget would be key to shoring up state government’s dysfunctional budget system. They said it would free up money to address a towering deficit, which has become an annual occurrence.” – The Baton Rouge Advocate

“A change.org petition is calling for Mayor Mitch Landrieu to resign as the mayor of New Orleans. The petition also asks for the historical statues and monuments to stay standing.” – WGNO.com

“It seems fine at the time. A glass of wine with friends at a holiday party. Then you stay for another glass of wine and some more conversation. Then the party gets really going and before you know it you’ve had too much to drink, even though you only had a few.” – KPEL965.com

“It’s an early Christmas present for ice cream lovers. Blue Bell Creameries ice cream is set to return to Louisiana grocery stores on Monday (Dec. 21) after an eight-month absence.” – NOLA.com

“For duck hunters in Louisiana’s Coastal Zone dying to scratch their itchy trigger fingers during the region’s second split, the state’s waterfowl study leader has a lot of good news and a little bad news.” – NOLA.com