Trump Ordered Mueller Fired, but Backed Off When White House Counsel Threatened to Quit  —  WASHINGTON — President Trump ordered the firing last June of Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel overseeing the Russia investigation, according to four people told of the matter …

The Trumps asked to borrow a Van Gogh for the White House.  The Guggenheim offered an 18K gold toilet instead.  —  The emailed response from the Guggenheim's chief curator to the White House was polite but firm: the museum could not accommodate a request to “borrow” a painting by Vincent Van Gogh …

White House jumps back into Dreamer battle with citizenship offer  —  President Donald Trump on Monday will propose a pathway to citizenship for 1.8 million undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children — a key concession to Democrats that he hopes will win their support for a massive border wall with Mexico.

‘Secret Society’ FBI Text Actually Began With A ‘Beefcake’ Putin Calendar  —  The backstory to the message that's been blowing up conservative media is pretty funny.  —  WASHINGTON It was hours after Donald Trump became the president-elect, and two FBI officials, like many of their fellow citizens, were flabbergasted.

Rep. Pat Meehan will not seek reelection after sexual harassment furor  —  Rep. Pat Meehan will not seek reelection amid a furor over his use of taxpayer dollars to settle a sexual harassment claim against an aide, and the national response to his describing the woman as his “soul mate.”

Kris Kobach's Office Leaks Last 4 Social Security Digits of Nearly Every Kansas Lawmaker and Thousands of State Employees, Including Kris Kobach  —  This is starting to just get sad.  —  Prior to receiving notice from Gizmodo this morning, Kris Kobach's office was leaking sensitive information belonging …

GOP Senate candidate flips out over 'women's rights': ‘I want to come home to a cooked dinner every night’  —  Republican U.S. Senate candidate for Missouri Courtland Sykes blasted “women's rights” this week.  —  In a statement posted to Facebook on Tuesday, Sykes said that he had been asked if he “supports women's rights.”

Casey Affleck Withdraws From Oscars: Won't Present Best Actress Award  —  EXCLUSIVE: Casey Affleck has withdrawn from presenting the Best Actress Award at the upcoming Oscars, Deadline hears.  He has notified the Academy he will not be attending the event, sources said.

Dutch agencies provide crucial intel about Russia's interference in US-elections  —  Hackers from the Dutch intelligence service AIVD have provided the FBI with crucial information about Russian interference with the American elections.  For years, AIVD had access to the infamous Russian hacker group Cozy Bear.

Vince McMahon: XFL to return in 2020 without gimmicks  —  WWE founder and chairman Vince McMahon announced Thursday he is giving a professional football league another go.  —  It will be called the XFL, the same name of the league McMahon and NBC tried for one season in 2001 …

Grassley Says ‘Spooked’ Kushner Won't Agree to Russia Interview  —  Committee to release other transcripts on Trump Tower meeting  —  ‘That section of our investigation is done,’ senator says  —  A “spooked” Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law and adviser …

Russians got tens of thousands of Americans to RSVP for their phony political events on Facebook  —  Russian operatives used Facebook to publicize 129 phony event announcements during the 2016 presidential campaign, drawing the attention of nearly 340,000 users — many of whom said they were planning …

Trump and the great GOP abdication  —  THE MORNING PLUM:  —  Something remarkable is happening in our politics right now.  On multiple fronts, it has fallen to Democratic elected officials to step up and defend the integrity and basic functionings of our government …

The Photo That Never Saw The Light of Day: Obama With Farrakhan In 2005  —  A journalist announced last week that he will publish a photograph of then-Illinois Sen. Barack Obama (D) and Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan that he took in 2005 at a Congressional Black Caucus meeting …

Trump says dollar will get ‘stronger and stronger,’ Mnuchin was misinterpreted  — “The dollar is going to get stronger and stronger and ultimately I want to see a strong dollar,” Trump told CNBC in an exclusive interview.  — On Wednesday, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said he welcomed …

California Considers $1,000 Fine for Waiters Offering Unsolicited Plastic Straws  —  Ian Calderon wants restaurateurs to think long and hard before giving you a straw.  —  Calderon, the Democratic majority leader in California's lower house, has introduced a bill to stop sit-down restaurants …

Cuckolding can be positive for some couples, study says  —  (CNN)In our current political climate, the term “cuck” — short for “cuckservative” — has become an insult of the so-called alt-right, aimed at men they view as spineless and emasculated.  The slur has its roots in the concept of cuckolding, or having an adulterous partner.

CNN's Climate of Hate Comes Home to Roost  —  For nearly five years, going all the way back to the Trayvon Martin uproar, Breitbart News has aggressively documented CNN's devolution into a 24/7 hate network.  This week, CNN's climate of hate finally came home to roost when a Michigan man …

WH Plan: Big Amnesty Now, Nothing for Americans Until 2027  —  President Donald Trump's new “framework” amnesty plan would provide citizenship to at least 1.8 million illegals — but would not allow any beneficial reduction in cheap-labor immigration until 2027.

The female price of male pleasure  —  The world is disturbingly comfortable with the fact that women sometimes leave a sexual encounter in tears.  —  When Babe.net published a pseudonymous woman's account of a difficult encounter with Aziz Ansari that made her cry, the internet exploded with …

Putin Family Split Offers Peek at Secret Dealings of Russia Inc.  —  During his courtship and marriage, Kirill Shamalov catapulted into the ranks of the super-rich with a little help from some of the closest allies of his father-in-law: Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Melania Trump skips Davos, visits museum and heads to Florida  —  STORY HIGHLIGHTS  —  Washington (CNN)First lady Melania Trump's plane arrived in West Palm Beach, Florida, Thursday, the same week she cancelled her planned trip with her husband to Davos, Switzerland, at the last minute.

Harvey Weinstein's Ex-Assistant Sues for Harassment, Says He Regularly Dictated Emails Naked  —  Sandeep Rehal claims she was required to clean up after his “extremely prolific sexual encounters.”  —  Harvey Weinstein's former personal assistant says she was forced to work in a …

The U.S. Can No Longer Hide From Its Deep Poverty Problem  —  You might think that the kind of extreme poverty that would concern a global organization like the United Nations has long vanished in this country.  Yet the special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Philip Alston …