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[h=4]The Short List: Holiday procrastinating, Trump's lies, stolen dinosaur skull[/h]Out of the loop today? We've got what you missed.
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Janae Melvin shops for gifts at Forever 21 in Kansas City, Kan.(Photo: Charlie Riedel, AP)
Santa has elves, and you have technology
You did it again. We don't know why. You don't know why. But it's three days before Christmas and there are zero presents under the tree. Don't panic (or lament how you don't have time to bake those Christmas cookies —<span style="color: Red;">*</span>come on, Santa needs to eat!). Turns out that in 2015 there are tech start-ups for holiday procrastinators. It doesn't mean Amazon isn't the leader of the pack (having a very merry time, we might add, with its competitor Jet.com's shipping delays), but there are a small flotilla of companies that stand at the ready to come to your aid. Think, curb service and drivers who'll pick up the items for you.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>The full list here.
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Curbside is an app that let's you shop on your phone from select stores, including Target and Best Buy. Employees will grab your purchases, and bring them out to your car when you arrive.
No presidential candidate lied more this year than Donald Trump
It's been a banner year for political whoppers — and for one teller of tall tales in particular:<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Donald Trump. In the 12 years of FactCheck.org's existence, it has never seen his match. He stands out not only for the sheer number of factually false claims, but also for his brazen refusals to admit error when proven wrong. This hasn't affected his status as a consistent front-runner for the GOP nomination. Case in point: It's Donald Trump, Ted Cruz and then everybody else in our GOP Power Rankings this week. And, of course, no #shortlist Trump item would be complete without his latest shocking remark, employing<span style="color: Red;">*</span>this odd vulgarity to slam Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
Donald Trump speaks to guests at a campaign rally on Dec. 21, 2015, in Grand Rapids, Mich.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>(Photo: Scott Olson, Getty Images)
Will Smith attended five autopsies to prep for his role in 'Concussion'
"You can never unsmell that smell (of)<span style="color: Red;">*</span>death," Will Smith tells USA TODAY's Bryan Alexander. "You’re two feet away. And these horror movie memories start kicking in. It’s like, if this dude sits up, I am out of here."<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Smith didn't<span style="color: Red;">*</span>bolt from his first<span style="color: Red;">*</span>autopsy,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>crucial to understanding<span style="color: Red;">*</span>his role as<span style="color: Red;">*</span>forensic neuropathologist Bennet Omalu in<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Concussion<span style="color: Red;">*</span>(in theaters Friday). Omalu's groundbreaking work studying the<span style="color: Red;">*</span>brains of deceased<span style="color: Red;">*</span>NFL stars led to game-altering changes<span style="color: Red;">*</span>to protect players from<span style="color: Red;">*</span>repeated head blows. Read the full, vivid interview with Will Smith here.
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Will Smith tells USA TODAY's Bryan Alexander about the mood on the set of his new movie 'Concussion.' Robert Hanashiro, USA TODAY
Owe back taxes? You probably want to pause that winter getaway
It might be wise to pay your overdue income taxes before packing for your next trip. A new enforcement provision passed by Congress and signed into law allows the government to revoke the passports of seriously delinquent tax scofflaws — people who owe more than $50,000 to Uncle Sam. Some details still need to be worked out, but the new passport rule indicates the government wants to get serious about collecting unpaid tax debts. Read more here.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>
The Department of the Treasury and the IRS can authorize the State Department to take away U.S. passports from individuals with seriously delinquent tax liabilities.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>(Photo: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
Nicolas Cage bought a stolen dinosaur skull, then returned it
This is not actually a movie plot, but it could be. (Also starring Leo DiCaprio!)<span style="color: Red;">*</span>In a story ripped straight from a<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Nicolas Cage<span style="color: Red;">*</span>film, we learned Tuesday that the Oscar-winning actor has agreed to turn over a stolen dinosaur skull that he bought for $276,000<span style="color: Red;">*</span>to the<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Mongolian government.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Cage had purchased<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the rare<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Tyrannosaurus bataar skull in 2007, apparently unaware it had entered the U.S.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>illegally.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>The U.S. attorney in Manhattan last week filed a lawsuit<span style="color: Red;">*</span>to take possession of the skull.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Who'd he outbid to get it in the first place? Why, Leonardo DiCaprio, of course. Those Hollywood-types and their collecting. We'll go back to our bobbleheads now.
The fossil of a Tyrannosaurus bataar dinosaur at the center of a lawsuit demanding its return to Mongolia.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>(Photo: AP)
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If you only read one thing tonight:<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Year in Review: 50 stories from 50 states
Extra bites:
"The Falcon has landed." Kudos to SpaceX, whose<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Falcon rocket booster<span style="color: Red;">*</span>delivered a spacecraft to orbit and returned to Earth intact, so that it could potentially fly again. You can watch the liftoff here. Swipe through more noteworthy images from the Day in Pictures.
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off over Cocoa Beach, Fla., at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Dec. 21, 2015. <span style="color: Red;">*</span>(Photo: Craig Rubadoux, Florida Today via AP)
Have you seen it?<span style="color: Red;">*</span>These Miss Universe contestants show us how beautiful they are<span style="color: Red;">*</span>— *without* makeup. (Meanwhile, the hubub over Steve Harvey's epic flub continues.)
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The women of Miss Universe showed us their bare faces in a series of selfies. It was part of the #ConfidentlyBeautiful campaign. Sloane Glass (@sloaneglass) has more. Buzz60
And this is why you should say<span style="color: Red;">*</span>'goodbye'<span style="color: Red;">*</span>to Hello Barbie.
Want the Short List newsletter in your inbox every night?<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Sign up here.
This is a compilation of stories from across USA TODAY.
Contributing: Hoai-Tran Bui, Bryan Alexander,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Elizabeth Weise, Hadley Malcolm, Paul Singer, USA TODAY;<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Russ Wiles, The Arizona Republic;<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Brooks Jackson, Eugene Kiely, Lori Robertson, Robert Farley and D’Angelo Gore, FactCheck.org
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