Sessions Is Interviewed in Mueller's Russia Investigation  —  WASHINGTON — Attorney General Jeff Sessions was questioned for several hours last week by the special counsel's office as part of the investigation into Russia's meddling in the election and whether the president obstructed justice …

Pat Meehan says he saw younger aide as ‘a soul mate’ but denies harassment  —  U.S. Rep Pat Meehan said Tuesday he had developed a deep “affection” for a younger aide and told her that he saw her as “a soul mate” as they talked over ice cream one night last year, but in an interview …

Schumer withdraws offer on Trump's wall  —  Chuck Schumer is taking his big spending boost for Donald Trump's border wall off the table.  —  The Senate minority leader, through an aide, informed the White House that he was retracting the offer he made last week to give Trump well north …

EXCLUSIVE: Tammy Duckworth is pregnant; will be 1st senator to give birth  —  Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., is pregnant and will become the first sitting U.S. senator to give birth.  Duckworth is holding her daughter, Abigail, during a ceremonial swearing in by Vice President Joe Biden on Jan. 3, 2017.

Poll: Democrats, Trump to blame for government shutdown  —  Americans blame President Donald Trump and congressional Democrats about equally for the three-day government shutdown that ended Monday with another stopgap spending measure, according to a new NBC News|  SurveyMonkey poll.

Manchin Will Seek Re-Election but Sends Democrats a Stern Warning  —  WASHINGTON — Senator Joe Manchin III of West Virginia told colleagues on Tuesday that he intended to run for re-election this year after all, ending an anxiety-making flirtation with retirement and easing Democratic fears …

Tony Perkins: Trump Gets ‘a Mulligan’ on Life, Stormy Daniels  —  Donald Trump is still the answer to many conservative evangelical leaders' prayers.  Or at least to their continuing grievances.  —  They embrace Trump the policymaker, despite being uneasy about Trump as a man, says Tony Perkins …

Republicans launch extraordinary new tactics to protect Trump on Russia  —  THE MORNING PLUM:  —  Republicans may be on the verge of publicly releasing a secret memo compiled by Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), one of President Trump's most devoted bodyguards against accountability on Capitol Hill …

Drudge: Trump loves his job, can't wait to run for reelection in 2020  —  Drudge Report's Matt Drudge said in a rare tweet Tuesday that President Trump  —  loves his job and is “already talking about his 2020 re-election run.”  —  Drudge's tweet linked to a story on The Hill detailing comments …

FBI director, under pressure to make changes, is replacing Comey aides … FBI Director Christopher A. Wray, who has been under political pressure to remove top officials at the bureau, is filling two senior positions previously held by people who served under former director James B. Comey.

Female journalists covering Pence in Israel forced to stand behind male colleagues  —  JERUSALEM — If there's one thing female journalists covering the trip of Vice President Pence to Israel will remember it is the “special treatment” they received, first by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin …

Howard Kurtz's new book on Trump White House offers scathing critique of the media  —  The media's negative coverage of President Trump is actually helping the White House, Fox News anchor Howard Kurtz argues in his new book, “Media Madness: Donald Trump, the Press, and the War over the Truth.”

Border Patrol arrests ASU instructor who gave food, water to immigrants  —  The arrest came hours after the group released videos showing some Border Patrol agents kicking over water bottles left for immigrants.  —  PHOENIX (AP) - A volunteer for group that offers aid to immigrants crossing …

Kentucky school shooting: 2 dead, 12 more shot at Marshall County High School - live updates  —  BENTON, Ky. — Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin said Tuesday afternoon that a 15-year-old boy shot 14 people Tuesday morning at a southwestern Kentucky high school.  Two of the victims, a 15-year-old boy and 15-year-old girl, died.

AMVETS says NFL censored its ad against flag protests  —  WASHINGTON — AMVETS officials are decrying “corporate censorship” from the National Football League for their decision not to run an ad in their Super Bowl program which responds to league players' decision to kneel for the national anthem in protest of national equality issues.

Biden: McConnell stopped Obama from calling out Russians  —  Joe Biden said Tuesday that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell stopped the Obama administration from speaking out about Russian interference in the 2016 campaign by refusing to sign on to a bipartisan statement of condemnation.

All Glenn Greenwald's Women  —  A lot of people have opinions about Glenn Greenwald, who has emerged as one of the most controversial voices in the debate over Russia's interference in the 2016 election.  But according to New York magazine, none of them are women.

Source: Twitter Pins #ReleaseTheMemo on Republicans, Not Russia … The online groundswell urging the release of House Republicans' attacks on the Federal Bureau of Investigation appears thus far to be organically American—not Russian propaganda, a source familiar with Twitter's internal analysis told The Daily Beast.

This Is Facebook's News Survey  —  Two straightforward questions, big implications for news publishers.  —  Last week, Facebook said its News Feed would prioritize links from publications its users found “trustworthy.”  —  The company is overhauling News Feed amid ongoing criticism of its platform …

Oprah returns to Michigan to talk politics with local voters  —  Since Oprah Winfrey's rousing Golden Globes speech, the talk-show queen herself is perhaps the only A-lister who hasn't weighed in on her potential presidential bid.  That relegates the rest of us to tea-leaf reading and social-media-crumb following.

NEIL DIAMOND ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT FROM CONCERT TOURING AUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND TOUR DATES CANCELLED  —  NEIL DIAMOND ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT FROM CONCERT TOURING  —  AUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND TOUR DATES CANCELLED  —  Legendary singer, songwriter and performer Neil Diamond today announced …

Republican senator caught on mic calling teenage staff ‘beautiful girls’  —  Republican Senator Roger Wicker has been roundly criticised after he was caught in footage calling underage teenagers “beautiful girls”.  —  The 66-year-old made the comments during Monday's Senate vote on a temporary funding bill …

Ursula K. Le Guin, Acclaimed for Her Fantasy Fiction, Is Dead at 88  —  Ursula K. Le Guin, the immensely popular author who brought literary depth and a tough-minded feminist sensibility to science fiction and fantasy with books like “The Left Hand of Darkness” and the Earthsea series …

125,000 Disney employees to receive $1,000 cash bonus due to tax reform  —  Disney announced Tuesday it will pay over 125,000 employees a one-time cash bonus of $1,000, as well as make a new $50 million investment into education program for employees.  —  “We are directing approximately $125 million …

Trustee: More to worry about at Michigan State than ‘just this Nassar thing’  —  A 15-year-old girl says Michigan State University is still billing her for medical appointments during which she says sports doctor Larry Nassar sexually assaulted her.  He faces prison time of at least 25-40 years for molestation.

Republicans and Democrats Grow Even Further Apart in Views of Israel, Palestinians  —  Netanyahu remains a deeply polarizing figure in the U.S.  —  The partisan divide in Middle East sympathies, for Israel or the Palestinians, is now wider than at any point since 1978.