Senate health-care draft repeals Obamacare taxes, provides bigger subsidies for low-income Americans than House bill  —  Senate leaders on Wednesday were putting the final touches on legislation that would reshape a big piece of the U.S. health-care system by dramatically rolling back Medicaid …

Intel chiefs tell investigators Trump suggested they refute collusion with Russians  — Coats and Rogers said interactions with Trump about the Russia investigation were odd, uncomfortable  —  (CNN)Two of the nation's top intelligence officials told Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team …

Trump Turns an Iowa Rally Into a Venting Session  —  CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — President Trump said on Wednesday that he was crafting legislation to bar new immigrants from receiving welfare for at least five years.  He announced the proposal in a conquering-hero-returns speech in Iowa …

WATCH: Morning Joe panel slams ‘dear leader’ Trump with horrifying 2-minute mashup of his Iowa lies  —  DON'T MISS STORIES.  FOLLOW RAW STORY!  —  A “Morning Joe” panel examined President Donald Trump's lie-filled rally in Iowa, where his supporters cheered each falsehood and jeered when he attacked the media.

Kamala Harris Was Silenced.  Then She Silenced Us.  —  Last week, Senator Kamala Harris, a Democrat from California, made headlines when Republican senators interrupted her at a hearing of the Senate Intelligence Committee while she interrogated Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

Exploding cream dispenser kills French fitness blogger  —  A well-known lifestyle blogger in France has been killed by an exploding whipped cream dispenser.  —  Rebecca Burger's death was announced on Facebook in what her family called a “domestic accident”.

Irresistible  —  Georgia's Karen Handel pins another defeat on the anti-Trump left.

D.C. cops used ‘rape as punishment’ after Inauguration Day mass arrests, lawsuit says  —  Wide array of unconstitutional tactics alleged in suit over chilling round-up that hit peaceful protesters, journalists, and anarchists alike.  —  When black-clad marchers began smashing windows in Washington …

Canadian elite special forces sniper makes record-breaking kill shot in Iraq  —  OTTAWA BUREAU CHIEF — The Globe and Mail (includes correction)  —  A sniper with Canada's elite special forces in Iraq has shattered the world record for the longest confirmed kill shot in military history at a staggering distance of 3,540 metres.

2 Cosby holdouts prevented guilty verdict, juror says  —  In an exclusive interview with ABC News, a juror in the Bill Cosby sexual assault case said that after dozens of hours of grueling deliberations in a tiny room, 10 of the 12 jurors agreed he was guilty on two counts.

North Korea calls Donald Trump a ‘psychopath’ and accuses him of considering a preemptive strike to divert attention from his own ‘tough situation’ in the US  —  North Korea on Thursday called US President Donald Trump a ‘psychopath’ as tensions soar following the death of American student Otto Warmbier …

Hugh Hewitt to Host Show on MSNBC  —  MSNBC is expanding weekend news with live programming until 9 p.m. ET Saturday and Sunday nights, TVNewser has learned.  —  As part of the expansion, conservative radio talk show host and MSNBC contributor Hugh Hewitt is getting a half hour show, airing Saturdays at 8 a.m. ET.

FBI Fired Sebastian Gorka for Anti-Muslim Diatribes … The inflammatory pundit Sebastian Gorka worked for the FBI while he was a paid consultant to Donald Trump's 2016 campaign, lecturing bureau employees on counterterrorism issues.  —  Until the FBI terminated Gorka for his over-the-top Islamophobic rhetoric.

Trump appointee is a Saudi government lobbyist  —  Richard Hohlt earning six figures from kingdom bent on influencing Trump  —  President Donald Trump talks with Saudi King Salman as they pose for photos with leaders at the Arab Islamic American Summit, at the King Abdulaziz Conference Center …

Column: What to do with a broken Illinois: Dissolve the Land of Lincoln  —  Illinois is like Venezuela now, a fiscally broken state that has lost its will to live, although for the moment, we still have enough toilet paper.  —  But before we run out of the essentials, let's finally admit …

Ex-Homeland Security official says politics molded Russia response  —  Former President Obama's Homeland Security secretary on Wednesday defended his response to Russian interference in the 2016 election, arguing the last administration's careful characterization was intended to ensure …

Another leadership test for Pelosi, who's weathered many  —  Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is telling Democrats that next year could be the year they take back control of the House.  —  The response from some: It better be.  —  In the wake of a dispiriting loss for Democrats …