For the Record: With unverified Trump news, remember to look skeptically

So there's this ... thing ... out there.

A news thing. Sort of.

And as of publication time, it has about as much verifiability as PizzaGate. (But oddly enough, if you believe wholeheartedly in PizzaGate, you definitely don't believe a word of this thing. And vice versa.)

But we're not going to pretend it's not out there. We promise we'll get to the thing. But first, let's dig into actual news that everyone agrees actually happened in real life, then we'll pick out some of the highlights of the thing, including some solid reasons why this thing didn't make it to the forefront before Election Day.

Let's get started ...

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Homeland Security nominee: Wall not enough; we need to build a roof

Tuesday was the start of confirmation hearings for Donald Trump's cabinet appointees. First up: Attorney General nominee Jeff Sessions and Homeland Security nominee John Kelly

Sessions distanced himself both from his own past statements and a handful of Trump's campaign promises. He said allegations were false that he sympathized with the KKK, and said his views on racial equality were caricatured in a Senate hearing for a 1986 federal judgeship. He also said Muslims shouldn't be denied entry to the U.S. based on their religion, and that it would be financially impossible to remove all illegal immigrants from the U.S.

"We will prosecute those who repeatedly violate our borders,'' the nominee told the panel. Hear that, foreigners? You can violate our borders ONCE, and that's it. Jeff Sessions confirms it.

Meanwhile, Department of Homeland Security nominee John Kelly said much the same thing about deporting undocumented immigrants — it's too expensive. And he doesn't think the wall will do the trick either, citing the need for patrols, sensors and better relations with southern neighbors. He also said he didn't think children brought illegally by their parents would be a priority for deportation. "There's a big spectrum of people who need to be dealt with in terms of deportations ... I would guess that this category wouldn't be the highest priority for removal," he said.

Obama to America: Avenge me!

Eight years and three miles removed from his 2008 victory speech in Chicago, President Obama delivered what is likely his last major public address. But instead of the celebratory flair of the original speech, Obama defended his legacy after watching the nation go red in November. Obama touched on the economic recovery, renewed relations with Cuba, the death of Osama bin Laden and the Affordable Care Act.

"That's what we did," he said. "That's what you did. You were the change. Because of you, by almost every measure, America is a stronger, better place than it was when we started."

Obama lashed out against the us-vs.-them mentality as inconsistent with democracy:

"For blacks and other minorities, it means tying our own struggles for justice to the challenges that a lot of people in this country face — the refugee, the immigrant, the rural poor, the transgender American, and also the middle-aged white man who from the outside may seem like he’s got all the advantages, but who’s seen his world upended by economic, cultural, and technological change.

"For white Americans, it means acknowledging that the effects of slavery and Jim Crow didn’t suddenly vanish in the ‘60s; that when minority groups voice discontent, they’re not just engaging in reverse racism or practicing political correctness; that when they wage peaceful protest, they’re not demanding special treatment, but the equal treatment our Founders promised.

"For native-born Americans, it means reminding ourselves that the stereotypes about immigrants today were said, almost word for word, about the Irish, Italians, and Poles. America wasn’t weakened by the presence of these newcomers; they embraced this nation’s creed, and it was strengthened.

Obama even addressed the charges of "fake news" that both sides have leveled against the other:

"Increasingly, we become so secure in our bubbles that we accept only information, whether true or not, that fits our opinions, instead of basing our opinions on the evidence that’s out there," he said. The "selective sorting of the facts" was self-defeating, he said, "because as my mother used to tell me, reality has a way of catching up with you."

Oh, and speaking of "selective sorting of facts" ...

BuzzFeed's Believe It or Not!

If you're wondering why everyone at work today is suddenly interested in news about Trump and Russia, here's why: BuzzFeed published a 35-page secret dossier on Trump's ties to Russia, allegedly compiled by a former British intelligence official intended for use by opposing candidates last year. We say "allegedly" because the document has been making the rounds through Washington and various news outlets for months, and yet nothing in it has been independently verified. Former Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) hinted at the document in an October letter to FBI Director James Comey, and Mother Jones wrote about it in broad strokes in an October article.

To BuzzFeed's credit, their own report called the dossier "unverified" and has "clear errors" (among them, the frequent misspelling of a Putin-allied investment group and the description of an exclusive Moscow suburb. Why did they run with it, then? "(S)o that Americans can make up their own minds about allegations about the president-elect that have circulated at the highest levels of the U.S. government."

BuzzFeed Editor-in-Chief Ben Smith tweeted out a note he sent to his staff about why the site chose to publish the dossier, including several lines that read more like "reasons we shouldn't have published."

Out of 35 pages, not one aspect was confirmed ... but it was published anyway. And now WE'RE talking about it and spreading the details even further.

More from the USA TODAY Network

• Several Clinton allies say the BuzzFeed report explains a lot (USA TODAY)
• Trump picks vaccine skeptic RFK Jr. to lead vaccine study, completely snubbing fellow reality TV veteran Jenny McCarthy (USA TODAY OnPolitics)
• Trump scheduled to deliver press conference today at 11 a.m. (USA TODAY OnPolitics)
• Michigan Dems say they'd love to work with Trump to dismantle NAFTA (Detroit Free Press)

Clarification

Do you hate Obamacare, but love the Affordable Care Act? Funny story: As it turns out, they're just two different titles for the exact same ...

Hey, you know what, we don't want to spoil the surprise. See you at the free clinic next month, guy!