Comey Is Said to Have Become Unsettled by Interactions With Trump  —  WASHINGTON — President Trump called the F.B.I. director, James B. Comey, weeks after he took office and asked him when federal authorities were going to put out word that Mr. Trump was not personally under investigation, according to two people briefed on the call.

House May Be Forced to Vote Again on GOP's Obamacare Repeal Bill  —  Two weeks after passage, measure still not sent to Senate  —  CBO report could force Ryan, other party leaders into redo  —  House Republicans barely managed to pass their Obamacare repeal bill earlier this month …

Pence is a loyal solider, but news cycle is wearing on him  —  What did Mike Pence know about Flynn?  —  Story highlights  —  Washington (CNN)After a fast and furious news cycle at the White House this week, the last few days may have worn on Vice President Mike Pence.

Tips for Leaders Meeting Trump: Keep It Short and Give Him a Win  —  WASHINGTON — As Saudi Arabia's leaders prepared to make a pitch to the White House for a visit by President Trump, a PowerPoint presentation was put together complete with slides describing Saudi demographics …

After Mueller, Trump Critics Worry: Maybe There's No Scandal  —  Eli Lake is right: The DOJ's appointment of widely-respected former prosecutor Robert Mueller to lead the special inquiry into the Trump campaign's potential collusion with Russia is a reprieve for a Trump Administration in crisis …

Roger Ailes had my back at Fox News  —  Roger experienced hatred, and it killed him.  —  CONNECT  —  To say that Roger Ailes led a full life is a massive understatement.  A force of nature with an agenda, RA, as fellow executives called him, was a man on a mission.

Senate Democrats reject Lieberman for FBI director  —  President Donald Trump may be dramatically miscalculating how much support Sen. Joe Lieberman would have among his former Democratic colleagues if nominated to become FBI director.  —  Some Senate Democrats hold a grudge against Lieberman …

Trump Team Planning Possible Retaliation for Classified Leak Allegations  —  White House officials concoct “ludicrous” revenge plan targeting former Obama administration.  —  President Donald Trump's inner circle is war-gaming how best to respond to the Washington Post's bombshell report …

F.B.I. Once Warned G.O.P. Congressman That Russian Spies Were Recruiting Him  —  WASHINGTON — The F.B.I. warned a Republican congressman in 2012 that Russian spies were trying to recruit him, officials said, an example of how aggressively Russian agents have tried to influence Washington politics.

Health insurers and state officials say Trump is undermining Obamacare, pushing up rates  —  President Trump meets in February with the heads of major health insurers.  Many industry officials and state regulators now believe they cannot rely on Trump to effectively manage the country's insurance markets.

Sweden Drops Investigation of Julian Assange, WikiLeaks Founder  —  STOCKHOLM — Prosecutors in Sweden said on Friday that they would drop their investigation into Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder who sought refuge in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London five years ago after the authorities …

State Department Summons Turkish Ambassador After Bloody Brawl in D.C.  —  Turkish Ambassador Serdar Kiliç was called in to the State Department to meet with U.S. Under Secretary of State Thomas Shannon hours after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's guards violently entered a crowd of protesters, U.S. officials said Thursday.

U.S. Warplanes in Syria Hit Pro-Government Militia Convoy  —  WASHINGTON — American warplanes in southern Syria attacked a convoy of pro-government forces on Thursday after they ignored warnings and violated a restricted zone around a base where American and British Special Forces …

European leaders fear Trump's political chaos is undermining U.S. power  —  BRUSSELS — Washington's closest allies in Europe are increasingly worried that rising political chaos in the United States is undermining the strength of the most powerful nation in the world.

First on CNN: House Russia investigators get access to Treasury data  —  (CNN)Investigators on the House intelligence committees have obtained access to valuable data from the Treasury Department, a development that will open their doors to investigate possible connections between President …

The Guardrails of American Democracy Can't Contain Trump  —  But that doesn't mean he should be removed via the 25th Amendment.  —  The pleasant surprise of the first 100 days is over.  The action was hectic, heated, often confused, but well within the bounds of normalcy.

'Stop making sh*t up.  " Guy Benson posts Comey footage, throws wrench into Trump memo conspiracy  —  From Comey's own mouth: … In his experience they have not been told to stop an FBI investigation for political reasons.  —  Guy Benson's tweetstorm about Comey, the footage and the need for further testimony is brilliant:

A Basquiat Sells for ‘Mind-Blowing’ $110.5 Million at Auction  —  Joining the rarefied $100 million-plus club in a salesroom punctuated by periodic gasps from the crowd, Jean-Michel Basquiat's powerful 1982 painting of a skull brought $110.5 million at Sotheby's, to become the sixth most expensive work ever sold at auction.