The Intel: A senior member of Russia’s parliament mocked and dismissed the CIA report on Russian hacking of the US election. Alexey Pushkov, a member of the defense and security committee of the Russian Parliament’s upper house, said via Twitter,  “This is one more giant fake.” Pushkov went on, “Mountain gave birth to a mouse: all accusations against Russia are based on ‘confidence’ and assumptions. US was sure about Hussein possessing WMD in the same way.”

The Russians seem to have a sympathetic friend in President-elect Donald Trump, who tweeted that, “Only reason the hacking of the poorly defended DNC is discussed is that the loss by the Dems was so big that they are totally embarrassed!” He’s focused on the results, not the effort of a foreign power to influence the election.

In three connected tweets, Trump said, “Having a good relationship with Russia is a good thing, not a bad thing. Only ‘stupid’ people, or fools, would think that it is bad! We….. have enough problems around the world without yet another one. When I am President, Russia will respect us far more than they do now and…. both countries will, perhaps, work together to solve some of the many great and pressing problems and issues of the WORLD!”

Inside Baseball: Former CIA chief James Woolsey, who served four administrations in different capacities, resigned from the Trump transition team this week because of tensions over Trump’s plans for reorganizing intelligence agencies. Reports say he was being cut out of conversations about intelligence.

Woolsey is considered to be one of the country’s leading intelligence experts.

There’s friction in Trump’s Pentagon appointment as well. Ret. Gen. James Mattis, who Trump admiringly calls “Mad Dog.” The Washington Post reports that Mattis is clashing with the transition team over the appointment of Pentagon underlings. Mattis wants his own people and the Trump team is trying to pack the house with their loyalists.

Back to the Future: In words the Trump administration may have to live with, aide Kellyanne Conway said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” “We don’t want anyone who currently has insurance to not have insurance.” Trump and the Republicans plan to repeal Obamacare, but they have no replacement.

Conway’s statement is  similar to President Obama’s “you can keep your doctor,” and that didn’t go well. His detractors have never forgiven him.

On the Grid: In the NFL, Seattle eliminated Detroit yesterday and Houston cut Oakland out of the running. Today, Miami meets Pittsburgh and Detroit plays Green Bay.

Bad Weather: A winter storm left snow and ice across the South yesterday. It’s snowy and icy in Alabama, Mississippi and Virginia. Temperatures in Mississippi and Alabama are in the teens this morning.

The Obit Page: Willie Evans, a great halfback for the University of Buffalo in 1958 who was barred from playing in a bowl game because he was black, has died at age 79. The University of Buffalo team (now SUNY Buffalo) had been invited to play in the Tangerine Bowl, but Evans and another black player were told they were not welcome.  The rest of the team was so outraged they refused to play the game.

Evans worked in insurance for a while before becoming a coach and physical education instructor for the Buffalo schools. “My teammates were the real heroes,” Evans once said.

>Nat Hentoff, the prolific columnist who wrote for the Village Voice for 50 years, and published dozens of books, has died at age 91. Hentoff wrote often about civil rights and liberties, but he also loved jazz and wrote frequently about it.

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