How Nancy Pelosi Won – Again (Bloomberg Opinion – Jonathan Bernstein) She’s good at the job and understood the political context. Her opponents, not so much.

Trump v. Pelosi Showdown Will Define 2019 and 2020 (Axios – Mike Allen) As a former senior Democratic adviser said: “Speaker Pelosi’s sole job in 2019 will be to serve Trump to the 2020 nominee on a platter … She won’t be bullied or outmaneuvered.”

Corruption Watch:
Trump Inauguration Spending Under Criminal Investigation by Federal Prosecutors (Wall Street Journal – subscription) Probe looking into whether committee misspent funds and top donors gave money in exchange for access to the administration

Trump Was Present for National Enquirer Hush-Money Plan, Source Says (Bloomberg)

Maria Butina Admits Conspiring as Kremlin Agent to Infiltrate the NRA (Bloomberg)

Hot on the Bloomberg:
The Long-Anticipated New York Area Housing Slump Has Officially Arrived (Bloomberg) Sales slump as new tax law, higher rates make buying more costly.

Markets: U.S. Stock Market Exodus Is Second-Biggest Ever – Bank of America Says (Bloomberg)

After Parkland, a New Surge in State Gun Control Laws (New York Times) This year, legislators rejected about 90 percent of state-level bills backed by the National Rifle Association, according to the Mike Bloomberg founded and funded Everytown for Gun Safety.

How Ireland Outmaneuvered Britain: Irish Diplomats Set the Terms of Brexit Talks Long Before the British Caught On (Bloomberg)

Bloomberg Insider: How ‘Paradigm for Parity’ Coalition Companies Are Prioritizing Hiring and Promoting Diverse Candidates (Medium) Bloomberg LP Chairman Peter Grauer says “Diversity and equality have been at the core of Bloomberg culture as long as we have been around” and our approach is creating a ” rising tide across our business.”

Arts section.

Top 10 Art Moments from 2018: From Banksy to Christo’s Mastaba on Serpentine Lake, These Events Made Art History (Evening Standard – UK)

Before it Melts: Visit Ice Watch at the Tate Modern and at Bloomberg London through this weekend.

Photos of the Week: 36 Hours in London

–Vanity Fair Editor Radhika Jones and Mike Bloomberg open the Bloomberg Vanity Fair Climate Exchange event at Bloomberg London.
–Minik Rosing, Geologist, Justine Simons, Deputy Mayor of London, Mike Bloomberg and artist Olafur Eliasson at the launch of Ice Watch London at Bloomberg’s European headquarters.
–Mike Bloomberg and Jemma Read exit the Tube at the Bank Station.
–Mayor of London Sadiq Khan joins Mike Bloomberg to open the new Tube station entrance at Bloomberg London.

–Mike Bloomberg, Lindsay Firestone, National Geographic’s Deborah Armstrong, Katherine Oliver and RadicalMedia’s Jon Kamen at the London premiere of ‘Paris to Pittsburgh’ at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.
–Mike Bloomberg opens the London premiere of ‘Paris to Pittsburgh’, the Bloomberg Philanthropies-produced climate documentary that’s airing on National Geographic globally and available for the next week on Nat Geo’s YouTube channel here.
–Mike Bloomberg speaks at the Bloomberg Vanity Fair Climate Exchange gala dinner on Tuesday at Bloomberg London.
–Stella McCartney takes a selfie with Mike Bloomberg at the opening gala dinner for the Bloomberg Vanity Fair Climate Exchange. (Credit: David Bennett for Vanity Fair)

See more photos at Mike Bloomberg’s Flickr stream here, including images from the Bloomberg Global Regulatory Forum.

For more images from Climate Exchange, visit Vanity Fair’s site here.

Best of late night.

On Donald Trump and his allies proclaiming through the 2016 campaign that he was the law and order candidate:

“That’s right folks. I am the law and order candidate. As in: I will break the law, in order to become president.”
— Trevor Noah

“Apple just announced that it will be building a brand-new, $1 billion campus in Austin, Tex. The project is part of Apple’s plan to create 20,000 new jobs. Now that’s great — maybe one of those 20,000 new employees can figure out how to make it so iTunes doesn’t ask me to update it every two hours.”
— James Corden

“It is the holiday season and I read that every day 750,000 people visit Rockefeller Center. Yep, they spent three seconds looking at the tree and then three hours trying to leave.”
— Jimmy Fallon

For more Best of Late Night from the New York Times, click here.