Five women accuse journalist and ‘Game Change’ co-author Mark Halperin of sexual harassment  —  Veteran journalist Mark Halperin sexually harassed women while he was in a powerful position at ABC News, according to five women who shared their previously undisclosed accounts with CNN and others …

Announcement: RT and Sputnik Advertising  —  Twitter has made the policy decision to off-board advertising from all accounts owned by Russia Today (RT) and Sputnik, effective immediately.  This decision was based on the retrospective work we've been doing around the 2016 U.S. election …

House Passes Budget Blueprint, Clearing Path for Tax Overhaul  —  WASHINGTON — The House on Thursday sounded the starting gun on legislative efforts to cut taxes by as much as $1.5 trillion over the coming decade, narrowly clearing a budget blueprint that will allow a tax bill to pass Congress without any Democratic votes.

Ben Sasse On Alabama Senate Race: “It Feels Like This Party That I'm A Part Of Has Gone Post-Constitutional”  —  An interesting bit from Jonah Goldberg's podcast, The Remnant.  Goldberg puts Sasse on the spot by asking whether he'll be following the lead of his libertarian-ish colleagues in the Senate …

Like a lot of men, I've had a sinking feeling when I see how many friends have posted using the #MeToo tag.  I've also read suggestions on how men can play a role, and sadly I've had several ex-partners who were victims.  One is well-known, but hasn't shared her story (so neither will I).

Trump will declare a public health emergency to combat the opioid crisis.  Here's what that will do.  —  It's a limited move, but it will help jump-start some action in the opioid crisis.  —  More than two months after he suggested he would, President Donald Trump on Thursday will start …

Why Harvey Weinstein is disgraced but Donald Trump is president  —  The allegations against Weinstein and Trump are strikingly similar.  Why have the outcomes been so different?  —  The story, by now, reads as familiar.  Summer Zervos got her big break appearing on a network television show.

The Republicans Have Developed a Theory of Alt-Collusion to Defend Trump From Mueller  —  Having apparently decided that defending the Trump campaign against charges of collusion with Russian cyberattacks is an impossible task, the Republican Party has decided to go on offense.

Second Woman: George H.W. Bush Groped Me  —  Earlier this week, actress Heather Lind said in a now-deleted Instagram post that former president George H.W. Bush had sexually assaulted her.  “He touched me from behind from his wheelchair with his wife Barbara Bush by his side,” she wrote.

10-Year-Old Immigrant Is Detained After Agents Stop Her on Way to Surgery  —  A 10-year-old girl with cerebral palsy has been detained by federal immigration authorities in Texas after she passed through a Border Patrol checkpoint on her way to a hospital to undergo emergency gall bladder surgery.

Threats are preventing Frederica Wilson from voting in Washington  —  WASHINGTON  —  Congressional Democrats celebrated Rep. Frederica Wilson on Wednesday by wearing stickers adorned with a red cowboy hat and posing for a group picture on the steps of the Capitol.  —  But one notable person was missing: Wilson herself.

Bill O'Reilly dropped by another talent agency  —  Fox gave O'Reilly contract after $32 million settlement  —  Bill O'Reilly will be dropped by William Morris Endeavor, the talent agency that handles his book deals.  —  In a statement provided to CNN, a spokesman for WME said that the agency will …

Scott Brown: more complaints surface over behaviour of US ambassador to New Zealand  —  Ambassador said to have been ‘culturally insensitive’ at party in Samoa and is alleged by one woman to have stared at her breasts … It was a balmy 32 degrees when the US ambassador to New Zealand …

Who Knew Trump Would Be a Weak President?  —  He campaigned with a lot of swagger.  But his first nine months in office have been defined by indecision, vacillation, and a reluctance to call shots.  —  At his rallies, presidential candidate Donald Trump excited his most avid supporters through displays …

The Recruitables: Why Trump's Team Was Easy Prey for Putin  —  By now, it should be clear to anyone following the news that Russian intelligence made a formidable effort to approach the Trump campaign and assess the potential to manipulate its members.  As a former officer of the CIA's Directorate …

Trump: I ‘really started this whole fake news thing’  —  President Trump said he has successfully convinced the American people that the media is “fake news.”  —  Trump said during an interview with Fox Business Network's Lou Dobbs that he takes credit for branding the media as “fake” …

Sessions threatened to quit over Chinese dissident  —  Attorney General Jeff Sessions went to the mat recently against pro-China officials within the Trump administration to prevent the forcible return of a dissident businessman to China.  —  According to a person familiar with the issue …

Another Florida poll shows potential 2018 Senate race deadlocked  —  Yet another Florida poll shows a tied 2018 U.S. Senate race between Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson and Republican Gov. Rick Scott.  —  Scott has not announced his candidacy.  But pollsters are treating him as the de facto GOP nominee …

Pitched as Calming Force, John Kelly Instead Mirrors Boss's Priorities  —  WASHINGTON — Last summer, the Trump administration debated lowering the annual cap on refugees admitted to the United States.  Should it stay at 110,000, be cut to 50,000 or fall somewhere in between?  John F. Kelly offered his opinion.

Reddit Is Removing Nazi And Alt-Right Groups As Part Of A New Policy And Some Users Are Confused  —  Reddit is purging Nazi, white supremacist, and other hate-based groups from its site as part of a new policy change announced Wednesday that targets and bans certain violent material.

Ryan: FBI to give Congress dossier-related documents  —  The FBI has agreed to deliver documents related to the Steele dossier to House GOP investigators, Speaker Paul Ryan said Thursday.  —  The House Select Committee on Intelligence for months has been seeking information …

Hey, I Can Play This Game Too, Guys  —  I have a confession to make.  I'm black.  —  I'm a black guy with black parents and black relatives and even some black friends.  I also work at Morgan State, a historically black university.  And since we're keeping it 100, I'm the political editor at The Root …

Trump associate Cohen sold four NY buildings for cash to mysterious buyers  —  WASHINGTON  —  Donald Trump's long time business lawyer Michael Cohen may be best known for his aggressive campaign television defenses of the real estate mogul, his role in an abortive effort to build a Trump Tower …