White House Envisions Tillerson Ouster From State Dept., to Be Replaced by Pompeo, Within Weeks  —  WASHINGTON — The White House has developed a plan to force out Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson, whose relationship with President Trump has been strained, and replace him with Mike Pompeo …

Army veteran says Franken groped her during USO tour in 2003  —  STORY HIGHLIGHTS  —  (CNN)An Army veteran says Sen. Al Franken groped her in December 2003, telling CNN that while she was deployed in Kuwait, the Minnesota Democrat cupped her breast during a photo op.

Kate Steinle's accused killer found not guilty of murder  —  Jurors have found Jose Ines Garcia Zarate not guilty of killing Kate Steinle on Pier 14 in San Francisco in July 2015 in the trial that sparked a national debate over illegal immigration.  —  Jurors reached the decision Thursday …

Trump Pressed Top Republicans to End Senate Russia Inquiry  —  WASHINGTON — President Trump over the summer repeatedly urged senior Senate Republicans, including the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, to end the panel's investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 election …

Conservative Megadonor Robert Mercer Funded Project Veritas  —  The Mercers, secretive billionaires who are among President Trump's most powerful donors, also helped to fund Project Veritas, the controversial activist organization, tax filings obtained by BuzzFeed News show.

Graphic, Disturbing Details of Matt Lauer's Alleged Sexual Misconduct  —  A bombshell Variety report alleges Lauer gave one female colleague a sex toy, and more.  —  Shocking new allegations have emerged about the sexual misconduct scandal that is quickly enveloping Matt Lauer.

Republicans rewriting tax bill hours before expected vote  —  Senate Republicans have dropped a plan to create a so-called trigger for tax hikes meant to satisfy deficit hawks, leaving the GOP scrambling to change its plan and win over enough votes to pass their massive tax code overhaul.

Trump tells confidants that a government shutdown might be good for him … President Trump has told others that a government shutdown could be good for him politically and is focusing on his hard-line immigration stance as a way to win back supporters unhappy with his outreach to Democrats this fall …

Congress secretly paid near $100,000 to settle harassment claims against disgraced congressman  —  The Congressional Office of Compliance secretly paid close to $100,000 in taxpayer funds to settle sexual harassment claims from at least two young male staffers who worked for disgraced former …

Donald Trump's ‘working visit’ to UK dropped as tensions with Theresa May grow over president's far-Right retweets  —  US diplomats have dropped plans for Donald Trump to conduct a visit to Britain in January amid a war of words between the two countries' leaders.

Exclusive — Roy Moore Campaign to Jimmy Kimmel: If You Want to ‘Mock Our Christian Values,’ ‘Come Down Here’ to Alabama to ‘Do It Man to Man’  —  THEODORE, Alabama — The U.S. Senate campaign of Judge Roy Moore is firing back at Jimmy Kimmel and his paid trickster Rich Barbieri—also known as …

Writer Jenny Lumet: Russell Simmons Sexually Violated Me (Guest Column)  —  The screenwriter of ‘Rachel Getting Married’ and ‘The Mummy’ (and the daughter of filmmaker Sidney Lumet) details a terrifying encounter with the legendary music producer, who says he is stepping down from his businesses in the wake of the new claims.

The Trump Administration Is Mulling A Pitch For A Private “Rendition” And Spy Network  —  A private company has proposed that the US government pay it millions to undertake intelligence and covert operations.  —  Reporting From Washington, DC  —  WASHINGTON — The White House and CIA …

Rep. Joe Barton: I will not seek re-election  —  WASHINGTON — Rep. Joe Barton, whose private life came under national scrutiny after sexual images he shared in an extramarital relationship were made public, won't seek re-election.  —  The Ennis Republican announced his retirement in an interview …

The Winner of the 1st Annual Fake News Trophy Is ...  Voters agree with President Trump that so-called “fake news” is a serious problem in America today.  If a Fake News Trophy were to be awarded this year, the winners should be Fox News or CNN depending on which political party you're in.

Four men allege sexual misconduct by Senate president's husband  —  He was a policy advocate who made his living trying to persuade legislators on Beacon Hill to help nonprofit groups.  He was exhausted after a working dinner with a group of senators and their spouses on that fall night in 2015.

Colin Kaepernick Is Recipient of 2017 Sports Illustrated Muhammad Ali Legacy Award  —  Created with Sketch.  — Steadfast in his fight for social justice and committed to his beliefs no matter the cost, Colin Kaepernick is the recipient of the 2017 Sports Illustrated Muhammad Ali Legacy Award

Nine Women Accuse Israel Horovitz, Playwright and Mentor, of Sexual Misconduct  —  In 1986, Maddie Corman was a 16-year-old actress performing Off Broadway as her mother lay dying in a hospital bed, hours after having a stroke.  Backstage, Ms. Corman was consoled by Israel Horovitz, the show's 47-year-old playwright and her mentor.

I'm Not Ready for the Redemption of Men  —  Recently, I was sitting on my couch between two influential, Emmy-winning writers, one a man and one a woman.  We were talking about consequences.  The comedian Louis C.K.'s entire life seemed to have been canceled overnight.

The Self-Destruction of American Democracy  —  President Trump has single-handedly done more to undermine the basic tenets of American democracy than any foreign agent or foreign propaganda campaign could.  —  “Trump is a political weapon of mass self-destruction for American democracy …

The White House expects Trump to get even more outrageous  —  Exhausted by the Trump presidency?  Brace yourself: White House officials expect Trump to be even more outrageous and cocksure in coming months.  —  What we're hearing: Officials tell us Trump seems more self-assured …

Why Alabamians Should Vote For Roy Moore  —  I am going to argue for the very unpopular, even shocking, view that, even if Roy Moore did what he is accused of doing, Alabamans are within their rights to vote for him, and they shouldn't let Democrats and Never Trumpers shame them into not voting.

Trump draws embarrassingly tiny crowd for National Christmas Tree lighting  —  Once again, his is much smaller than Obama's.  —  As Donald Trump nears the end of his first year in office, it is clear that nothing about the man has changed since the election.