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.

It Started as a Tax Cut.  Now It Could Change American Life.  —  The tax plan has been marketed by President Trump and Republican leaders as a straightforward if enormous rebate for the masses, a $1.5 trillion package of cuts to spur hiring and economic growth.

Woman's effort to infiltrate The Washington Post dated back months … The failed effort by conservative activists to plant a false story about Senate candidate Roy Moore in The Washington Post was part of a months-long campaign to infiltrate The Post and other media outlets in Washington and New York …

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 …

McCain a yes on tax reform, boosting Republicans  —  (R-Ariz.) said on Thursday that he will support the Senate Republicans' tax plan, which GOP leadership wants to pass this week.  —  “After careful thought and consideration, I have decided to support the Senate tax reform bill.

Matt Lauer Accused of Sexual Harassment by Multiple Women (EXCLUSIVE)  —  As the co-host of NBC's “Today,” Matt Lauer once gave a colleague a sex toy as a present.  It included an explicit note about how he wanted to use it on her, which left her mortified.

Rep. John Conyers hospitalized in Detroit area  —  Conyers returned to Michigan this week amid sexual harassment claims  —  DETROIT - Rep. John Conyers is hospitalized in the Detroit area.  —  That's according to Conyers' office which confirmed the congressman is hospitalized but did not say why or at which hospital.

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.

Trump veers past guardrails, feeling impervious to the uproar he causes  —  The Debrief: An occasional series offering reporters' insights  —  President Trump walks across the South Lawn of the White House to board Marine One on Nov. 29, 2017, as he heads to Missouri to pitch the Republican tax plan.

Rubio: Offset Tax Cuts By Reducing Social Security, Medicare Benefits  —  Tax reform is only one piece of the overall puzzle needed to revitalize the American economy, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) told a group of Washington, D.C., lobbyists and policy analysts this morning at a Politico Playbook …

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 …

Scarborough: Trump allies told me he has dementia  —  MSNBC's Joe Scarborough said on Thursday that people close to President Trump told him during the campaign that Trump has “early stages of dementia.”  —  During MSNBC's “Morning Joe,” Scarborough said Trump is “completely detached from reality.”

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 Bragged: ‘Nothing in the World Like First-Rate P**sy’ … In a previously unreported comment to the now-defunct Maximum Golf magazine, Donald Trump singled out a “young socialite” at his club at Mar-a-Lago by telling a reporter, “there is nothing in the world like first-rate pussy.”

The case for normalizing impeachment  —  Impeaching an unfit president has consequences.  But leaving one in office could be worse.  —  In recent months, I have grown obsessed with a seemingly simple question: Does the American political system have a remedy if we elect the wrong person to be president?

Aurora 10-year-old takes her own life after suspected bullying incident caught on camera  —  AURORA, Colo. — An Aurora couple are dealing with an unimaginable loss as they prepare to lay their 10-year-old daughter to rest.  —  “She was just a child of joy and she brought joy to everyone,” her father Anthony Davis said.

Ivanka Trump recycles one of her own speeches in India  —  The city of Hyderabad had been anticipating White House senior adviser Ivanka Trump's speech at the Global Entrepreneurship Summit for months, banning the act of begging in the streets, rounding up the homeless and building a shopping center …

Who Owns LA Weekly? … Who owns the publication you're reading right now?  —  It's a question you should ask no matter what you're reading.  In Latin there's a phrase cui bono, which roughly translates as “who is benefiting?”  It's a good idea to know who is profiting in any situation.  Why?