"A few months ago we suggested that President Obama might want to take action against Russia for waging cyberwarfare against the USA. Russia has been hacking into the American system for years, and Mr. Obama has done nothing about it. Now the situation has reached critical mass because Hillary Clinton lost the presidential election. WikiLeaks embarrassed the Clinton campaign by making public hacked emails that showed some members of the press secretly helping Mrs. Clinton and other embarrassing facts. Before that Democrats really didn't care much about Russian hacking, but now they do. The CIA and the FBI agree that Russia is involved with breaching U.S. cyber security. If Russian officials are hacking into American systems, that is cyberwarfare. Enter Donald Trump, who says he does not believe the Russians did anything to influence the vote. He says the Democrats are just trying to trot out another excuse for losing. Okay, he's entitled to his opinion, but it might be better if the president-elect avoids the issue all together. Mr. Trump has nothing to gain. This happened on President Obama's watch and he is responsible for holding the Russians responsible. On another serious note, President-elect Trump is engaged in a war of words with China. He says the 'one China' policy, whereby the USA recognizes the Beijing government as the sole authority where Taiwan is involved, might not be a good thing. Again, it might be better if Mr. Trump postpones this confrontation until he is in office and fully briefed on the consequences of a war of words with the Chinese. Finally, Donald Trump's appointments look fine to me. It's not like any of the cabinet members have tremendous power; they do what they are told and all the people appointed have skill and experience. Summing up, Russian hacking happened; President Obama should have dealt with it but he did not. On China, let's all take it easy. On Trump's appointments, they look good to Americans with no ideological axe."

The Factor welcomed Fox Business anchor Maria Bartiromo, who spoke about Donald Trump's likely pick for secretary of state, Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson. "I interviewed him a lot when I was at CNBC," she reported, "and I feel this is a very smart and savvy pick, I like the idea. The buck stops with Rex Tillerson at Exxon Mobil, who runs an incredible ship and who dealt with two major energy crises. One of the biggest deals of his career was with the Russians and the government-controlled oil company of Russia. His relationship with Putin could end up being a positive."

More Americans are becoming addicted to painkilling drugs, but is that in any way the fault of the administration's leniency toward marijuana use? The Factor posed that question to Charles Krauthammer. "As much as I would like to lay all the social ills in the country at the feet of Barack Obama," Dr. K said, "I don't think this is an act of commission on his part, it's more about omission. Obama simply reflects the general feeling that drugs are a personal choice and we should destigmatize it. The real issue is that in the 1980s First Lady Nancy Reagan had a campaign 'Just Say No.' She was laughed at, but it's very important to stigmatize certain things." The Factor was far more willing to blame the president, saying, "There has been an explosion of heroin use and that comes from the top, so it is his fault."

In Los Angeles, where Hillary Clinton trounced Donald Trump by 50 points, welfare payments are eating up a massive portion of the budget. The Factor spoke about the situation with Mary Anne Marsh and Katie Pavlich. "This brings up the point that the Electoral College is very important," Pavlich said, "so we don't have places like California and New York putting the consequences of their welfare states on the rest of the country. Democrats have an interest in keeping the welfare state going because those are the people who put them back in office." Marsh, not surprisingly, had a different point of view. "The answer is to make work pay again. In Los Angeles the minimum wage is $10.50 an hour, so you can work full time and make $22,000. But a single mom with two kids gets $35,000 being on welfare. You need to raise the minimum wage and increase manufacturing." The Factor concluded, "Most Americans want to work, but a significant number add up their entitlements and won't look for a job."

Garry McCarthy, the former Police Commissioner of Chicago, entered the No Spin Zone and analyzed his city's soaring murder rate. "We have a different ilk of gangs here in Chicago," he said, "and they are generational gangs that depend on where you grow up. People shoot each other because they are on 'other teams,' and I would say only 20% to 30% of our shootings can be tied to drugs. But pro-active policing has slowed down and stops of suspected criminals are down." The Factor concluded, "The governor should put the National Guard in some neighborhoods to impose some order on the streets, but the governor and Mayor Rahm Emanuel don't even go to these neighborhoods!"

The latest immigration horror story comes from Louisville, Kentucky, where illegal alien Miguel Angel Villasenor killed two women while driving his pickup truck. The suspect, who had been deported eight times to Mexico, fled the scene and is still at large. The Factor spoke about the case with Louisville reporter Chris Williams. "He may have been in this country illegally for nearly twenty years," Williams said, "and he was picked up for numerous DUIs before he was deported. Today we learned that one of the women he killed was a Cuban immigrant who came here to chase the American dream. Her son is broken-hearted because she was his only living relative in the United States."

Jesse Watters trekked north of the border to ask some Canadians about Donald Trump. Among their replies: "The majority of Canadians very much dislike Mr. Trump" ... "I'm actually terrified, but I have faith in the American system" ... "They made their bed and now America has to lie in it." For the most part, the Canadian folks also defended their Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for speaking highly of the late Cuban dictator Fidel Castro.

Ken Smith, Bermuda: "Bill, great segment about Carrier and George Will charging socialism. I agree with you that Trump's action is not socialism, but if I have a company that can cut labor costs by half overseas, I have an obligation to maximize profits."

Todd Keith, Prince Frederick, MD: "Bill, imposing tariffs is not socialism, but you are wrong - tariffs always hurt Americans."

Paul Greisen, Sacramento, CA: "Bill, worst Talking Points ever. What works is creating an environment that makes it attractive for companies to stay."

The Freedom Tower has risen where the World Trade Center towers once stood, and it is a magnificent building to visit when you are in New York City.