• Trump appoints Robert Kennedy Jr. to chair a commission looking into the integrity and safety of vaccines. [Link]

• A Michigan man is given a parking ticket for leaving his car unintended in his own driveway. The car owner went inside for a few minutes after starting his car and letting it warm up. [Link]

• The US is paying for tens of thousands ghost soldiers in the Afghan army. Ghost soldiers enlist but do not remain in the army so a higher ranking officer can collect their paycheck. This has practice has cost the US government $300 million. [Link]

• Chelsea Manning is reported to be on Obama’s short list of possible commutation. Obama has about a week left to commute the 35-year sentence of Manning. [Link]

• Since the start of 2017, 26 people have been killed in fighting in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The fighting began in 2016 after the president lost an election and is refusing to leave office. [Link]

• The Pentagon confirms that a November airstrike killed 33 civilians. Afghan troops called in the airstrike after receiving advice from US troops to do so. Afghan troops were fighting The Taliban at the time. [Link]

• ISIS is using small commercial drones to drop small bombs on Iraqi forces in Mosul. [Link]

• Saudi Arabia makes a second push to take a mountain base near the Red Sea from Houthis. The attack leaves 55 dead, mostly Houthis. [Link]

Listen to the Weekly Freedom File Podcast where I break down some of the biggest news stories in the past week with the podcast’s host. This week we discuss the DNI Russian “hacking” report, Yemen, and Trump’s plans for the Intelligence Community. LISTEN HERE