How Michael Wolff Got Into the White House for His Tell-All Book  —  Some of president's staff thought they were authorized to talk  —  Wolff's working title suggested sympathetic view of Trump  —  Author Michael Wolff's pitch to the White House to win cooperation for his book included …

Democrats grab key Wisconsin Senate seat in Tuesday's special elections  —  MADISON - Democrats snagged a GOP-leaning state Senate seat in western Wisconsin on Tuesday, buoying progressive hopes that they could ride a wave of victory this fall.  —  Patty Schachtner, the chief medical examiner …

Nearly all members of National Park Service advisory panel resign in frustration  —  Three-quarters of the members of a federally chartered board advising the National Park Service abruptly quit Monday night out of frustration that Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke had refused to meet with them or convene a single meeting last year.

Investigators Are Scrutinizing Newly Uncovered Payments By The Russian Embassy  —  US authorities are poring over hundreds of newly uncovered payments from Russian diplomatic accounts.  Among them are transactions by former ambassador Sergey Kislyak 10 days after the 2016 presidential election …

Sanjay Gupta calls out doctor over Trump's ‘excellent’ health: ‘He has evidence of heart disease and he is borderline obese’  —  CNN chief medical correspondent Sanjay Gupta on Tuesday questioned a White House physician for giving President Donald Trump a clean bill of health.

Mr. President, stop attacking the press  —  John McCain, a Republican, represents Arizona in the U.S. Senate.  —  After leaving office, President Ronald Reagan created the Ronald Reagan Freedom Award to recognize individuals who have fought to spread liberty worldwide.

Fox News shelved story on Trump and porn actress Stormy Daniels before election  —  Fox News had a story at the height of the presidential election that detailed an alleged sexual relationship between porn actress Stephanie Clifford — whose stage name is “Stormy Daniels” — and Donald Trump …

The truth about the FBI's Russia probe  —  “Does this concern you at all?” asks a tart email message from a Trump supporter who wonders why the mainstream media doesn't take a closer look at allegations that the Justice Department's investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 election has been tainted by bias.

Ex-C.I.A. Officer Suspected of Compromising Chinese Informants Is Arrested  —  WASHINGTON — A former C.I.A. officer suspected of helping China identify the agency's informants in that country has been arrested, the Justice Department said on Tuesday.  Many of the informants were killed …

With A Possible Shutdown Hours Away, Republicans Are Negotiating With Themselves  —  House conservatives could throw the government into chaos.  —  WASHINGTON Just a few days before a shutdown, lawmakers are still sorting out how they plan to fund the government past Friday.

Athletes Who Are the Same Size as Donald Trump  —  Trump is 6'3" and 239 pounds, according to his annual physical.  You can't teach size, the old adage goes.  —  “I was always the best athlete, people don't know that,” Donald Trump told the Wall Street Journal last week ahead of his much-anticipated annual physical.

New California Declares Independence From Rest Of State  —  SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — With the reading of their own version of a Declaration of Independence, founders of the state of New California took the first steps to what they hope will eventually lead to statehood.

Trump ends 1st year with lowest average approval rating  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — This is a record not to be coveted: Donald Trump is wrapping up a year in office with the lowest average approval rating of any elected president in his first year.  —  That's according to polling by Gallup …

Donald Trump's terrifying plan to win the 2018 midterms  —  A Washington Post report shows again he doesn't understand governing beyond self-interest  —  Is Donald Trump hoping foreign terrorists attack the United States?  —  That terrifying question is subtly embedded in a story …

Awl Ends  —  It is with a mixture of disappointment and relief that we are announcing the cessation of editorial operations on The Awl at the end of this month.  For nearly a decade we followed a dream of building a better Internet, and though we did not manage to do that every day we tried …

Oprah 2020 gets low ratings from voters  —  Americans love Oprah Winfrey.  But they aren't exactly clamoring for the media mogul and former talk-show host to challenge President Donald Trump in 2020.  —  A majority of voters across several polls don't think Winfrey should run for the White House …

Trump Fans Threatened Psychiatrists Who Warned Trump Was Inciting Violence … Two psychiatrists who warned that Donald Trump was inspiring violence had their point made, the hard way, when Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) abruptly canceled a planned public meeting with them at a senior center after receiving violent threats about the event.

GOP activist from Virginia quits Republican Party over Trump's remarks  —  A young Republican activist from Northern Virginia who was seen as a potential rising star quit the party Tuesday, citing President Trump's “appalling comments” about Haitian immigrants and what he called a nativist streak in his home state.

Ann Curry Claims NBC Had Pervasive Culture of Verbal Sexual Harassment … Matt Lauer's former Today show co-anchor Ann Curry, appearing on CBS News' rival morning show Wednesday, accused Lauer and NBC management of fostering a pervasive “climate of verbal sexual harassment” against women during her 15 years at the Peacock network.

The Antitrust Case Against Facebook, Google and Amazon  —  A few technology giants dominate their worlds just as Standard Oil and AT&T once did.  Should they be broken up?  —  Standard Oil Co. and American Telephone and Telegraph Co. were the technological titans of their day, commanding more than 80% of their markets.

California bullet train cost surges by $2.8 billion: ‘Worst-case scenario has happened’  —  The estimated cost of building 119 miles of bullet train track in the Central Valley has jumped to $10.6 billion, an increase of $2.8 billion from the current budget and up from about $6 billion originally.

U.S. Navy Statement on USS Fitzgerald and USS John S. McCain Consolidated Disposition Authority Accountability Actions  —  WASHINGTON (NNS) — Below is a statement released January 16 by U.S. Navy Chief of Information (Acting), Capt. Greg Hicks on Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) …

Fine, Trump Doesn't Have Dementia.  He's Just a Moron.  —  A recent Washington Post story chronicled the rise of Kevin McCarthy, the House majority leader, who has gained special influence with President Trump.  McCarthy's methods include obsequiousness, attention to detail …