Trump Lawyer Arranged $130,000 Payment for Adult-Film Star's Silence  —  Agreement just before election required woman to keep quiet about an alleged sexual encounter with Trump in 2006, people familiar with the matter say  —  A lawyer for President Donald Trump arranged a $130,000 payment …

Trump's vulgarity: Overt racism or a president who says what many think? … One barnyard epithet and the leader of the free world was now definitively a racist or, alternatively, was back in the good graces of those who had worried he'd been wavering in his nationalism.

Donald Trump Flushes Away America's Reputation  —  For a fleeting moment Tuesday, President Trump seemed to signal he would do the right thing on immigration.  At a 90-minute meeting with congressional Republicans and Democrats, much of it televised, he said he'd be willing to “take the heat” …

Anti-birth control official who led Title X departs HHS  —  Teresa Manning, the controversial official in charge of the Title X federal family planning program, was escorted from HHS premises on Friday.  —  Two sources with knowledge of Manning's departure tell POLITICO that she was fired by HHS.

Trump criticism dominates Chuck Grassley town meeting in rural Iowa  —  LOGAN, Ia.  — U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley faced relentless questioning about President Donald Trump's fitness for office and his own handling of the investigation into Russian election meddling at a rural town meeting here Friday morning.

Obama rips Fox News viewers: ‘You are living on a different planet’  —  Former President Barack Obama resurfaced on Friday and took a shot at Fox News viewers, saying they're “living on a different planet” than people who consume mainstream media.  —  Obama made the remarks on the premiere …

James O'Keefe says Trump asked him to go on birther-linked mission  —  Donald Trump in 2013 asked James O'Keefe, the controversial conservative filmmaker, if he could “get inside” Columbia University and obtain President Obama's sealed college records, according to a passage in O'Keefe's forthcoming book …

Exclusive: Watch Chris Matthews Joke About His ‘Bill Cosby Pill’ Before Interviewing Hillary Clinton  —  On January 5, 2016, MSNBC Hardball host Chris Matthews interviewed Hillary Clinton in an Iowa fire station during the Democratic primary season.  Network footage obtained by the Cut shows Matthews …

Kentucky to now require LITERACY TESTS for “certain populations” to receive medical care.  —  Throughout his 2015 gubernatorial campaign, Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin repeatedly promised that if elected, he'd get rid of both the state's award-winning, beloved Kynect (sorry..."kynect") …

Proud to Live in a Nation of Holers  —  As tourist destinations go, the Republic of Moldova — tucked between Ukraine and Romania — probably isn't on anyone's bucket list.  It's the poorest country in Europe, with per capita G.D.P. barely exceeding Sudan's.  Sex trafficking and organized crime are rampant.

CNN panel devolves into screaming match when televangelist offers biblical defense for Trump's ‘sh*thole’ comment  —  When a member of Donald Trump's evangelical board tried to offer a biblical defense for the president's comments about brown and black nations being “sh*thole countries,” …

Moore forces seek retribution against Shelby  —  Alabama GOP Sen. Richard Shelby is confronting a fierce backlash from conservatives over his refusal to support Roy Moore in last month's special election — with Moore backers pushing a censure resolution and robocall campaign targeting the powerful lawmaker.

White House struggles with muting function for 22 minutes on Iran conference call with reporters  —  It took the White House twenty-two minutes to figure out how to enable the “listening only” feature on a conference call on Thursday in which senior administration officials announced …

Black Protest Has Lost Its Power  —  Have whites finally found the courage to judge African-Americans fairly by universal standards?  —  The recent protests by black players in the National Football League were rather sad for their fruitlessness.  They may point to the end of an era for black America …

Las Vegas Gunman Took Elaborate Steps to Hide His Tracks, New Documents Show  —  As he meticulously planned the Las Vegas attack, the man responsible for the worst mass shooting in modern American history took elaborate steps to stymie the inevitable law enforcement investigation, according to federal court documents unsealed on Friday.

How Charlie Baker ditched Trump to become the most popular governor in America  —  BOSTON — Donald Trump got crushed by Hillary Clinton in Massachusetts.  And after his first year in office, polls show the president is now even less popular here.  —  Trump's rock-bottom ratings …

Doctor declares Trump is in ‘excellent health’ after physical  —  President Donald Trump was declared to be in “excellent health” after undergoing a physical Friday.  —  The president's physician issued a brief statement Friday evening, adding that more details about the results would be released Tuesday.