Obama to Huddle With Dems to Protect His Signature Healthcare Law and More You Missed in Politics Today

It’s difficult to stay up-to-date on what’s happening in this country and to break through the clutter, so we’re here to make it easier. Here’s what we at Countable are reading today:

1. "Obama to meet lawmakers in attempt to protect health law"

"President Barack Obama plans to meet Democratic lawmakers in Congress next week to discuss how to protect his signature healthcare law from Republican efforts to dismantle it, a White House official said on Friday."

"Obama, who is leaving office on Jan. 20, will attend a meeting with Democrats from the House of Representatives and the Senate on Wednesday, the official said."

Read more at Reuters.

2. "Putin vows not to stoop to Obama’s level after US kicks out Russian intel operatives"

"In a sharp departure from Russia's previous strategy of responding to U.S. sanctions in kind, President Vladimir Putin said Friday he would not kick out American diplomats -- one day after President Barack Obama moved to expel 35 Russian intelligence operatives."

"Putin said he was already looking ahead to the incoming Trump administration -- but he vowed that Moscow would stand firm. "Although we have the right to retaliate, we will not resort to irresponsible 'kitchen' diplomacy but will plan our further steps to restore Russian-U.S. relations based on the policies of the Trump administration," he said in a statement."

Read more at Fox News.

3. "Trump Praises Putin’s Decision Not to Retaliate Against U.S. for Sanctions"

"President Vladimir Putin on Friday said Russia would not retaliate against the United States after the Obama administration took actions to punish the former Cold War adversary for meddling in the 2016 U.S. elections. President-elect Donald Trump later applauded Putin’s decision."

"Trump later tweeted: “Great move on delay (by V. Putin) – I always knew he was very smart!"”

Read more at Morning Consult.

4. "Drudge accuses US government of cyberattack"

"Drudge Report head Matt Drudge on Thursday accused the U.S. government of launching an attack to interfere with his website."

""Is the US government attacking DRUDGE REPORT? Biggest DDoS since site's inception. VERY suspicious routing [and timing]," Drudge tweeted from his personal account late Thursday."

"About a half-hour later, he said the attack was coming from “thousands of sources."”

Read more at The Hill.

5. "Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker signs bill delaying marijuana shop openings"

"Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker signed a bill Friday aimed at delaying by up to six months the opening of marijuana shops in the state until mid-2018."

"An aide to the Republican governor said Baker shares the desire of state lawmakers to thoroughly prepare for the launch of a new industry distributing a controlled substance."

Read more at CBS News.

— Eric Revell

(Photo Credit: White House.jpg) / Creative Commons)