Hello and welcome to The Midge, the e-bulletin that takes a bite out of politics in Scotland and elsewhere. 

Today

  • GPs: target cash at poorest postcodes
  • Scots Tories to hold conference in Glasgow
  • Action demanded on cannabis-related hospital stays
  • Call to give schools full governance powers

06.00 BBC Today headlines 

Trump voices fresh scepticism about Russian interference in US election … May to visit Trump 'next month' … Retired senior British official says UK cannot buy access to single market … East is East actor Om Puri dies in India … Iceberg quarter of the size of Wales about to break off from ice shelf in Antarctica. 

07.00 BBC Good Morning Scotland

Trump ... May visit ... Consultation on school governance closes today ... Number admitted to hospital after taking cannabis highest for decade ... Iceberg ... Pro-stalking group says deer not as big a threat to native trees as claimed. 

Front pages

The Herald:

In The Herald, health correspondent Helen McArdle reports on where the Royal College of GPs in Scotland thinks the extra £500m for primary health care should go. 

The National splashes on a warning from Norway’s PM that the UK faces a “very hard Brexit” because it lacks negotiating expertise. 

The Mail highlights the case of a convicted sex offender who raped a girl after being freed on bail. 

The Herald: In the Evening Times, Stacey Mullen says an inquiry has begun after a suspected fuel discharge into the sewer system in Glasgow’s East End. 

The Times, Telegraph, and Guardian lead on the comment by Andrew Haldane, the Bank of England’s chief economist, that economic forecasters were having a Michael “No hurricane here” Fish moment as a report showed growth accelerating post-Brexit vote. 

The FT reveals a record $240 million was spent at Apple’s App Store on New Year’s Day. 

Camley’s cartoon

The Herald:

Camley places a trunk call on behalf of Mondula, the Blair Drummond Safari Park elephant in need of a companion. 

FFS: Five in five seconds

What’s the story?

President-elect Donald Trump will be briefed in New York today by US National Intelligence director General James Clapper on Russian interference in the US presidential election. 

A top secret event?

Hardly. The tussle between the intelligence services and Mr Trump has been very public. He has rubbished their claims that the hacking of the Democratic party, among other acts, could not have taken place without the okay of the Kremlin. Now they will present their classified evidence, following this with a report to the public next week outlining why they think Russia did it. 

How has Mr Trump prepared for the meeting?

By, what else, going on Twitter last night. 

Saying?

Has that gone down well?

Not with outgoing Vice-President Joe Biden. In an interview on PBS, he told Mr Trump to act his age. "Grow up Donald. grow up, time to be an adult, you're president. Time to do something. Show us what you have."

Afore Ye Go

“The strategy for Brexit … remains undefined in any but the vaguest terms, and seems increasingly chaotic. The growing suspicion is that the Sphinx-like prime minister is guarded about her plans chiefly because she is still struggling to draw them up.”

An editorial in The Economist today. Dubbing the PM "Theresa Maybe" and assessing her first six months in the job, the magazine compared her to Gordon Brown: “He, too, was thin-skinned. Like her, he moved into Downing Street without an election, in 2007. He also started with a fearsome reputation and big promises. And when it became clear he had little idea what to do with the job he had so coveted, he flopped.” 

Novelist Robert Harris reckons the criticism could stick.

The Herald:

How Parliament Works

The title of the most borrowed book in the Commons Library recently. Also popular was Ed Balls' memoir, Speaking Out, and among the most expensive books bought was Scottish Gods: Religion in Modern Scotland 1900-2012, by Steve Bruce. Commons Library stats, as reported by Politicshome.com

The Herald:

"This makes no difference to my job as an MEP.”

Former Ukip leader Nigel Farage after it was announced he is to host a new nightly radio show at LBC in London. A Lib Dem spokesman said: "Shouldn't he be turning up to his office in the European Parliament? If not, maybe he could donate his MEP salary to the NHS?” Global Radio/PA Wire

The Herald:

£2500

The estimated sale price of a bottle of 26-year-old Glendronach single malt whisky, signed by US president-elect Donald Trump, which will be auctioned at McTear's in Glasgow on January 13. The seller of the malt, bottled in 2012 to mark the opening of Trump International Golf Links in Aberdeenshire, is anonymous. McTear’s Auctioneers /PA Wire 

The Herald:

“Donald Trump tweeted at North Korea after they announced plans to test an intercontinental nuclear weapon ‘It won't happen’. I'd like to believe he's right, but ‘It won't happen’ is exactly what everyone said about Trump becoming president.”

The Late Late Show with James Corden. Mark Wallheiser/Getty Images

Thanks for reading; back Monday. Twitter: @alisonmrowat