Crosstalk: December 19, 2016

This week's news round-up program took listeners around the world by focusing in on the following headlines:

--President Obama says the U.S. will take action against Russia over alleged cyber attacks on Democratic officials although no proof was offered.

--The Obama State Department spent $350,000 for campaign infrastructure that was used against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel's election.

--President-elect Donald Trump is challenging the administration over its public investigation into the hacks of the Democrats during the election. He's wondering why the administration began acting on alleged hacks only after Hillary Clinton lost.

--U.N Ambassador John Bolton said he doesn't trust President Obama's intelligence agencies to make a clear, objective conclusion that the Russians hacked the DNC.

--President Obama denounced the conspiracy theory that Russia successfully tampered with America's voting process but now he's going after it.

--The electoral college vote to take place on Monday.

--Facebook trying to deal with so-called 'fake news'.

--The nuclear agreement known as The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action Agreement, effective as of October 18th, 2015, clearly stipulates that Iran should not undertake any ballistic missile activity until 8 years after the adoption day. Not only is Iran avoiding honoring the stipulation, their ballistic missile operations have gone up significantly and there has been no criticism from the Obama administration.

--Trump chooses Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson for Secretary of State, Montana Representative Ryan Zinke for Interior Secretary, Ronna Romney McDaniel for RNC Chair and Former Texas Governor Rick Perry for Energy Secretary.

--Senate Democrats scramble to prevent two of their members from taking a post in the Trump administration.

--Bernie Sanders calls Hillary Clinton the most unpopular presidential candidate in history.

--Attorney and Advisor David Friedman to be nominated by Trump to the post of U.S. Ambassador to Israel. Friedman supports moving the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

--Iranian Supreme Ayatollah accuses the U.S. of creating crises to divert attention away from the issue of Palestine.

--Kazakhstan asks Israel to help them fight terror.

--Hillary Clinton asks federal court to dismiss a lawsuit against her in relation to Benghazi.

--Officials at FBI headquarters instructed its New York field office to continue its corruption investigation into the Clinton Foundation.

--Attorney General Loretta Lynch yesterday addressed the possibility of President Obama issuing a pardon for illegal immigrants brought to the U.S. as minors.

--Evanston, Illinois, has pledged itself to be home for illegal aliens who want to be shielded from federal immigration law.

--Ohio lawmakers have approved a bill that opens the way for licensed gun owners to carry concealed weapons on college campuses.

--Ohio State University students wish to add the name of Abdul Razak Ali Artan to a list of individuals of color who have been wrongly killed by law enforcement officials over the past two months.

--Senate Committee refers Planned Parenthood to FBI and Department of Justice for investigation and possible prosecution.

--Ohio Governor Kasich vetoes 'heartbeat bill'.

--Judge blocks rule in Texas that would stop sale of baby body parts by requiring that abortion clinics give aborted babies a proper burial or cremation.

--Americans United for Life issues a report examining the dangerous conditions in abortion clinics and calls for further investigations.

--A group of Missouri pro-lifers calls on the state to investigate and close a St. Louis Planned Parenthood after documents revealed frequent ambulance responses to the facility .

--The Ohio Senate passes HB470 that makes assisting suicide a felony.

--Britain gives the OK to create babies from the DNA of 3 people.

--More than 50,000 Americans died from drug overdoses last year, the largest amount ever.

--The entire police force has walked off the job in Bunker Hill, Indiana, citing the town council as the reason. The officers allege that the city will not spend the necessary funds to provide officers with body armor.

--Over 1,000 British Muslims block off a central square in London, calling for a caliphate while yelling 'Allahu Akbar!'

--A strategy that has surfaced in several states to require churches to accommodate transgender people by calling their buildings places of public accommodation has been reversed in Massachusetts after state officials were sued over the alleged constitutional violations.

--An employee of Target is arrested in Columbus, Ohio, after a 12 year old boy reported that the employee was taking video of unsuspecting customers in the store's restroom.

--National Geographic's January issue will deal with the gender revolution.

--The lawyer representing a Kentucky print shop owner that chose not to print gay pride festival T-shirts argued in a hearing this week that the government cannot force a person to create speech against their beliefs.

--A St. Cloud, Minnesota, couple is suing state officials seeking to make sure that they will not be pushed to promote same-sex marriage in their film making.

--A Boca Raton, Florida, community is in disbelief after a pentagram display reading, 'In Satan we trust', is placed in the middle of Sanborn Square.

--President Obama is forcing states to fund Planned Parenthood.

--George Stephanopoulos' 14 year-old daughter screamed out, 'no abortion!' after realizing Donald Trump was going to win the election.

--A United Arab Emirates company has manufactured an implanted microchip that allows a person to make payments with a swipe of the hand.