Explosions and Smoke Reported at Arkema Inc. Crosby Plant  —  At approximately 2 a.m. CDT, we were notified by the Harris County Emergency Operations Center (EOC) of two explosions and black smoke coming from the Arkema Inc. plant in Crosby, Texas.  Local officials had previously established …

Fox News Poll: Voters' mood sours, 56 percent say Trump tearing country apart  —  Voter satisfaction with the direction of the nation is down by double digits, as a majority says President Donald Trump is tearing the country apart.  —  That's according to the latest Fox News Poll.

Russian lobbyist testifies to Mueller grand jury  —  Rinat Akhmetshin, the lobbyist and former Soviet army officer who met senior Trump campaign aides at a controversial meeting last year, has given evidence before a grand jury investigation, according to two people familiar with the matter.

The Latest: GOP eyeing $1B disaster funds cut to help wall  —  https://www.apnews.com/83e6782d48e04993 a741b834771c078b  —  Link copied!  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on President Donald Trump and Congress (all times local):  —  President Donald Trump is promising billions …

Mueller teams up with New York attorney general in Manafort probe  —  Special counsel Robert Mueller's team is working with New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman on its investigation into Paul Manafort and his financial transactions, according to several people familiar with the matter.

Federal Judge Blocks Texas' Ban on ‘Sanctuary Cities’  —  HOUSTON — A federal judge in San Antonio on Wednesday blocked Texas from enforcing its ban on so-called sanctuary cities, questioning the constitutionality of a law that has pitted Republican state leaders against several Democratic-leaning cities.

The Cheap Prosperity Gospel of Trump and Osteen  —  Before it began to rain in Houston last week, the spectacularly wealthy pastor Joel Osteen could have opened up his megachurch to serve as a logistics center.  He could have announced that evacuees were welcome to take shelter there when Hurricane Harvey landed.

'I'm a g*ddamn human being': Crying white supremacist Cantwell stuck in jail — and really hates his nickname  —  Christopher “Crying Nazi” Cantwell gave his first post-arrest interview to The Daily Beast's Hawes Spencer and said that his new nickname really upsets him.

Kushners' China Deal Flop Was Part of Much Bigger Hunt for Cash  —  Jared Kushner, Donald Trump's son-in-law and top adviser, wakes up each morning to a growing problem that will not go away.  His family's real estate business, Kushner Cos., owes hundreds of millions of dollars on a 41-story office building on Fifth Avenue.

Sen. Kamala Harris announces support for ‘Medicare-for-All’ bill  —  OAKLAND — U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris announced Wednesday that she intends to support a congressional effort to expand Medicare to all Americans.  —  “I intend to co-sponsor the Medicaid-for-All bill,” California's junior …

The Sordid Double Life of Washington's Most Powerful Ambassador  —  T  —  he women were brought into the Abu Dhabi apartment in abayas.  —  “Pick who you want,” the men were told, and she would be theirs until noon the next day.  —  Roman Paschal recalled about seven women to choose from.

Trump Lawyer ‘Vehemently’ Denies Russian Collusion  —  WASHINGTON — President Trump's longtime lawyer, Michael D. Cohen, has given Congress a point-by-point rebuttal of a dossier alleging that he has deep ties to Russian officials — an effort to clear his name as the Justice Department …

Officer to woman during traffic stop: ‘We only kill black people, right?’  —  COBB COUNTY, Ga. - Exclusive dash-cam video obtained by Channel 2 Action News caught an officer's interaction with a woman who said she was afraid to move her hands during a traffic stop.

Push to simplify taxes is on but don't touch some deductions  —  President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans have pledged to overhaul the nation's complex tax code.  To slash taxes, they say they'll curb a web of expensive deductions and credits to allow more revenue to flow to the government.

How Trump's Texas disaster relief visit turned into an impromptu rally  —  CORPUS CHRISTI, Tex. — The call from a friend rang in on Mark Crider's line at around 10:00 a.m. Tuesday: President Trump was going to be in Corpus Christi at the firehouse across the way.

Trump faces CEO, staff pressure on immigration plan  —  President Trump could trigger a furious response from corporations and some members of his own staff if he green-lights a plan under consideration at the White House to end DACA, the Obama-era policy that suspends deportation of some undocumented workers who arrived as children.

OPINION |  Antifa is not a political movement; it's a delusional, violent outburst  —  The progressive left and their media comrades have been trying hard in recent weeks to construct a sympathetic narrative for “antifa.”  —  This is no easy task.  These self-proclaimed “anti-fascists” …

2020 begins with the book tours  —  will release a new book this fall that could also serve as a test for whether the country is interested in seeing him run for president.  —  Longtime advisers to Biden see his memoir, “Promise Me, Dad: A Year of Hope, Hardship and Purpose” …

Paul Manafort's Overseas Political Work Had a Notable Patron: a Russian Oligarch  —  Efforts by the former Trump campaign chairman to advance interests in Ukraine, Georgia and Montenegro were often connected to Oleg Deripaska  —  Paul Manafort at the 2016 Republican National Convention …