"Today the Senate Armed Services Committee held hearings about Russia allegedly subverting the presidential election. Front and center was the Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, who said this: 'I don't think we've ever encountered a more aggressive or direct campaign to interfere in our election process.' Talking Points believes Mr. Clapper. However, there has been no definitive proof put forth that Russia and its leader Vladimir Putin did try to interfere with our vote. Mr. Clapper says he cannot expose his sources or explain how the USA got the information about the Russian hacking. So this becomes a very complicated matter because some Democrats are charging that the hack of Democratic stalwarts like John Podesta influenced votes. Republicans say the exposed emails simply pointed out political intrigue and press corruption. It is impossible to say if any votes were influenced by Podesta's rantings but it seems far-fetched to me. Despite the intel consensus, President-elect Trump is not accepting of the verdict against Putin. He will be briefed by intelligence leaders and maybe that will change. For you and me, Americans who sincerely want fair elections and justice, the hacking should be a serious matter. Again, Talking Points believes the Russians were involved with the intent to create as much chaos as possible for America. Nothing happens in Russia at that level unless Putin approves, but Putin is not holding a smoking gun because US intelligence has to protect its sources of information. Summing up, the Russians did it, Putin knew about it, and President-elect Trump has to decide if further action against Russia is necessary."

The Factor continued with cyber security expert Morgan Wright and Fox News analyst Lt. Col. Ralph Peters. "What's really important here," Peters declared, "is to not argue in a partisan manner. This was an attack upon the fundamental tool of our democracy, free elections, and the response has to be bipartisan. This was a dirt cheap way for Putin to wage war on our system." Wright urged the Trump administration to be far more vigilant. "We have politicized the intelligence process and one of the big things that came out of this hearing is that we are very bad on defense. Until we raise the price of an attack, we'll keep having these conversations because there is no deterrent right now. We should improve our aging IT infrastructure because our power grid and our utilities and our banking system are at risk."

Some Democrats are vowing to fight Donald Trump every step of the way, while others are willing to cooperate with the President-elect. The Factor welcomed professor Cornel West and Revolutionary Communist Party co-founder Carl Dix, both of whom are calling for unrelenting opposition to Trump. "I'm afraid of the danger and the damage that Donald Trump has already talked about," West warned. "We're talking about fascism, a strong man with a narcissistic personality who is tied to big business and big military. We want a moral and spiritual awakening." Dix ominously demanded that Americans take to the streets to protest. "People gave Hitler a chance and we saw what that meant for humanity. With Donald Trump we're talking about Muslim registry, a wall on the border with Mexico, and a disregard for dissent and civil liberties. We need to stop this before it gets started!" The Factor urged both men to be fair and give the new president a chance, but that seems highly unlikely.

Four black Chicago teens are charged with torturing a mentally challenged white man while they posted the brutal display live on Facebook. The Factor asked Shannon Bream to elaborate. "This started on New Year's Eve," she reported, "when the victim's parents took him to meet the main suspect. They spent a couple of days together but then it took a really bad turn when they decided to visit some friends on the West Side of Chicago. Things escalated and it wound up with this kid being tied up in a corner while they taunted him and beat him and cut him. A police officer eventually found the victim battered and beaten and walking around in shorts in the freezing cold. These kids are facing anywhere from 40 to 60 years behind bars if convicted." Eric Shawn turned to a story out of Kazakhstan, where a man was jailed for insulting Russian President Vladimir Putin. "This man went on Facebook and called Putin a fascist and a terrorist," Shawn said, "and in Kazakhstan it is against the law to 'incite social disorder or national hatred.' He was sentenced to three years in the slammer!"

Republicans in Congress have long dreamed of defunding Planned Parenthood, which receives about $750-million a year in federal money. The Factor asked radio talk show host Leslie Marshall whether the Trump administration will actually take away that money. "I'm not sure whether President-elect Trump will pursue this," she said, "because he has been on different sides of this issue. Many on the right feel that if you defund Planned Parenthood, the number of abortions will be reduced. But Planned Parenthood is not the only abortion provider." The Factor reminded Marshall that much of the opposition to Planned Parenthood is based on principle. "People who don't believe in abortion are forced to participate in the funding and private organizations can fund Planned Parenthood."

As the inauguration nears, many on the left are actually ramping up their opposition to Donald Trump. Bernie Goldberg elaborated on the condition known as Trump Derangement Syndrome. "This has people believing that Donald Trump is Hitler," he groused. "You have intellectuals writing that Donald Trump will jeopardize democracy and American civilization, while on campuses you have 'snowflakes' who held a cry-in at one university. To people with Trump Derangement Syndrome, Donald Trump is more frightening than cancer. We are talking about people with advanced degrees who really believe this stuff, Donald Trump drives them crazy."

Jesse Watters dropped in on a food court to pester some people who were minding their own business and munching on junk food. Here's what some of them had to say: "Anything that is bad for you tastes good" ... "I had General Tso's chicken and shrimp fried rice" ... "I need my fix sometimes" ... "We're all going to die anyway."

Paul Heckman, Chicago, IL: "Our murder problems are not the governor's fault. It's on the mayor and Democrats who run the city."

Vincent Joy, Boca Raton, FL: "The people running Chicago and San Francisco were elected. Hint to O'Reilly: folks get the government they deserve."

Steven Oetzell, Redondo Beach, CA: "Bill, your Talking Points regarding the murders in Chicago was accurate and thoughtful. Unfortunately, the people who run that city want to make it all about gun control."

This week The Factor invited Republican Senator Lindsey Graham on the show to talk about the Russian hacking. He is usually accessible, but this time totally ignored the invitation because he didn't want to face any questions about President-elect Trump. We should all get ready for some very unusual happenings in politics and the media.