Trump Praises Top Adviser Accused of Abusing Ex-Wives  —  WASHINGTON — President Trump on Friday praised Rob Porter, the White House staff secretary who resigned on Wednesday amid spousal abuse allegations, saying it was a “tough time” for the disgraced former aide and noting that Mr. Porter had denied the accusations.

No. 3 Official at the Justice Department Is Stepping Down  —  WASHINGTON — Rachel L. Brand, the No. 3 official at the Justice Department, plans to step down after nine months on the job as the country's top law enforcement agency has been under attack by President Trump, according to two people briefed on her decision.

U.S. Secretly Negotiated With Russians to Buy Stolen NSA Documents — and the Russians Offered Trump-Related Material, Too  —  The United States intelligence community has been conducting a top-secret operation to recover stolen classified U.S. government documents from Russian operatives, according to sources familiar with the matter.

Breaking with tradition, Trump skips president's written intelligence report and relies on oral briefings … For much of the past year, President Trump has declined to participate in a practice followed by the past seven of his predecessors: He rarely if ever reads the President's Daily Brief …

Fox News Removes Exec's “Darker, Gayer” Olympics Column After Uproar  —  Three gay rights organizations had criticized the piece.  —  Fox News has removed an online column by executive vp and executive editor John Moody following intense criticism online and from gay rights activists, who roundly attacked the piece.

Has Anyone Seen the President?  —  Michael Lewis goes to Washington in search of Trump and winds up watching the State of the Union with Steve Bannon.  —  Back when he was president, Barack Obama told me that only two people treated any interaction with him as a zero-sum game.

I have very sad news.  My two and a half year year old son Henry has passed away.  Henry had been diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2016, shortly after his first birthday, following persistent vomiting and weight loss.  He had surgery to remove the tumor and further treatment through the early part of 2017.

Minnesota Rep. Nolan won't run for reelection  —  Rep. Rick Nolan (D-Minn.) said Friday he won't seek reelection this year, a blow to Democrats' chances at holding his battleground seat in November.  —  Nolan, 74, was first elected to Congress in the Watergate midterm election of 1974.

2/9: Showdown with the Intelligence Community: Americans More Likely to Believe the FBI than President Trump  —  Two-thirds of Americans (66%) say, if President Donald Trump and the FBI disagree, they would believe the FBI over the president.  Only 24% of U.S. residents report they would take the side of Mr. Trump.

Blake Farenthold has still not paid back $84,000 settlement he said he would repay  —  Ex-Farenthold aide felt pressured, source says  —  (CNN)Two months ago, Rep. Blake Farenthold vowed to repay the $84,000 he used in taxpayer money to pay the settlement of a former aide who accused …

Newsweek Editors Blast Exec to His Face: 'What You're Doing Is Bulls**t.  You Don't Understand Journalism.' … During a private meeting with editors this week, a top Newsweek executive blamed his own journalists for the magazine's recent turmoil and refused to answer whether the company committed financial crimes.

Bay Area News Group Hammered by More Layoffs, Resignations  —  Bay Area News Group—the Digital First Media chain that includes the Mercury News and several South Bay community newspapers—went through yet another downsizing this week.  More than two-dozen journalists and support staff lost …

California police worked with neo-Nazis to pursue ‘anti-racist’ activists, documents show  —  Officers expressed sympathy with white supremacists and sought their help to target counter protesters after a violent 2016 rally, according to court documents

We All Live on Campus Now  —  Over the last year, the most common rebuttal to my intermittent coverage of campus culture has been: Why does it matter?  These are students, after all.  They'll grow up once they leave their cloistered, neo-Marxist safe spaces.  The real world isn't like that.

Uber and Waymo Reach Settlement  —  Share to FacebookShare to TwitterEmailMore sharing options  —  Below is a statement from Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Uber, regarding a settlement reached in our litigation with Waymo.  —  My job as Uber's CEO is to set the course for the future of the company …

Arizona G.O.P. Tiptoes Between a Trump-Loving Base and a Leery Wider Electorate  —  PHOENIX — Representative Martha McSally of Arizona worked hard to carve out a moderate profile since her election in 2014 to a border district seat that had been held for decades by paragons of centrism from both political parties.

Sen. Tim Kaine demands release of secret Trump war powers memo  —  WASHINGTON — Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine is demanding the release of a secret memo outlining President Trump's interpretation of his legal authority to wage war.  —  Kaine, a member of the Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees …

Democrats' ‘Resistance’ to Trump Is Eroding, and So Are Their Poll Numbers  —  Remember “this is not normal?”  —  A year ago, it was the motto of the self-styled “Resistance”—the coalition of liberals, Democrats, and a few wayward conservatives who were implacably opposed to the Trump administration.

‘Sinking’ Pacific nation is getting bigger: study  —  The Pacific nation of Tuvalu—long seen as a prime candidate to disappear as climate change forces up sea levels—is actually growing in size, new research shows.  —  A University of Auckland study examined changes in the geography …

This Student Failed Her Assignment Because Her Professor Said “Australia Isn't A Country”  —  This is Ashley Arnold, a 27-year-old resident of Idaho Falls, Idaho.  She's a stay-at-home mom completing an online sociology degree with Southern New Hampshire University.