Trump's Longtime Lawyer Says He Paid Stormy Daniels Out of His Own Pocket  —  Michael D. Cohen, President Trump's longtime personal lawyer, said on Tuesday that he paid $130,000 out of his own pocket to a pornographic-film actress who had once claimed to have had an affair with Mr. Trump.

White House reels as FBI director contradicts official claims about alleged abuser … The White House struggled Tuesday to contain a widening crisis over its handling of domestic violence allegations against a senior official, as it reeled from sworn testimony by the FBI chief …

Suspect wounded, SUV stopped after shooting at NSA gate  —  FORT MEADE, Md. (AP) — One person was wounded in a shooting Wednesday morning outside the National Security Agency campus at Fort Meade.  —  Authorities surrounded a handcuffed man after a black SUV ran into a barrier outside the Maryland base.

Democrats Lead by 8 Points On Generic House Ballot Nationally  —  Here are the highlights of PPP's first public national poll of the year:  —  2018 Landscape  —  Democrats have a solid 49-41 lead on the generic Congressional ballot, although that's down a shade from December when it was 51-40.

After a Twitter Storm, The Times and a New Hire Part Ways  —  On Tuesday afternoon, The New York Times announced that it had hired Quinn Norton, a journalist and an essayist known for her work at Wired magazine, as the editorial board's lead opinion writer on technology.

Wall Street might not like this: Inflation rises 2.1 percent, faster than expected … The Consumer Price Index, which measures how quickly prices are going up in the U.S. economy, rose at a faster than anticipated 2.1 percent in January compared to a year ago, triggering fears of another rocky run on Wall Street.

REPUBLICAN SCARE-MONGERING ON “SANCTUARY CITIES” BACKFIRES, DEMOCRATS WIN BIG UPSET IN FLORIDA SPECIAL ELECTION  —  In a special election on Tuesday, Florida's Republicans took a page from Ed Gillespie's playbook and deployed the threat of “sanctuary cities” to scare up the votes to win.

Poll: GOP gains on generic ballot, Trump approval ticks upward  —  Republicans have erased the Democratic advantage on the generic congressional ballot in a new POLITICO/Morning Consult poll that, for the first time since April, also shows President Donald Trump's approval rating equaling …

Six top US intelligence chiefs caution against buying Huawei phones  — The directors of the CIA, FBI, NSA and several other intelligence agencies express their distrust of Apple-rival Huawei and fellow Chinese telecom company ZTE.  — During a hearing, the intelligence chiefs commended …

EPA's Scott Pruitt got waiver to fly business class on foreign carrier from Italy to U.S.  —  WASHINGTON — EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt has been under fire for frequently flying in first and business class at taxpayer expense.  CBS News has learned more about one of those flights …

Kelli Ward touts endorsement from fake-news site  —  It looked as if Arizona Senate candidate Kelli Ward had scored a big endorsement: On Oct. 28, she posted a link on her campaign website and blasted out a Facebook post, quoting extensively from a column in the Arizona Monitor.

VA Secretary David Shulkin misused government resources, agency watchdog report says  —  VA Secretary David Shulkin says taxpayers did not foot the bill for his sightseeing during a European trip.  He also dismisses rumors that he is in the running to become the next HHS secretary.  —  CONNECT

GOP rep unveils ‘Crumbs Act’ to make bonuses tax-free, in swipe at Pelosi  —  A Republican lawmaker is set to unveil legislation that would make most bonuses given out as a result of President Trump's tax reform plan tax-free — and took a jab at House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi with the bill's name.

After more than a year, Trump still doesn't have a science adviser  —  CAMBRIDGE — When the Ebola virus began sweeping through West Africa four years ago, killing thousands of people and threatening to spread beyond the continent, President Obama turned to his science adviser for options.

Voting Reform in Michigan marches forward  —  The Promote the Vote coalition's effort to make voting in Michigan more secure and accessible has moved one step closer to getting on the November ballot as the State Board of Canvassers today approved the petition form.

New Hedge-Fund Tax Dodge Triggers Wild Rush Back Into Delaware  —  Firms set up LLCs in plan to avoid carried-interest change  —  Congress may have stumbled in narrowing loophole for managers  —  Wall Street's fast-money crowd is returning to well-trodden ground to elude Trump-era tax laws: Delaware.

Christopher Steele is a hero - and Americans owe him their thanks … Christopher Steele, the former British spy whose claims about Donald Trump's ties with Russia hold center stage in Washington right now, drives Republicans crazy.  They have recommended that the Department of Justice open a criminal investigation into his work.

Trump's ‘Harvest Box’ Isn't Viable in SNAP Overhaul, Officials Say  —  WASHINGTON — The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program offers about 46 million low-income Americans both sustenance and economic choice by providing an allowance to buy the fruit, meat, fresh vegetables, soda, ice cream and kind of bread they want to eat.

Open Letter to the Bruin Republicans Who Invited Milo Yiannopoulos to UCLA  —  This is a bad idea.  —  Editor's note: On February 13, UCLA's college Republican group, the Bruin Republicans, announced that they would be hosting Milo Yiannopoulos on campus to give a talk titled “10 Things I Hate About Mexico.”

Dems: Bill Clinton too toxic to campaign in midterms  —  Democrats are looking to embrace the #MeToo moment and rally women to push back on President Donald Trump in the midterms—and they don't want Bill Clinton anywhere near it.  —  In a year when the party is deploying all their other big guns …

Yellowstone ERUPTION: Supervolcano under ‘STRAIN’ - experts find magma chamber pressure  —  YELLOWSTONE is “under strain” according to a group of seismologists who are monitoring the potentially catastrophic volcano, prompting fears an eruption is imminent.  —  A process known as deformation …

Are Spies Like Us?  A National Security Reporter Says Yes, and No  —  When the C.I.A. sent me a recruitment letter in 1979, I had not yet stumbled into journalism, where I would end up spending many years writing about spies and their secret world.  But I have sometimes wondered whether that odd envelope planted a seed.

Duckworth: 'I can't technically take maternity leave'  —  Sen. Tammy Duckworth has a problem: How can a senator who needs to vote take time off to care for her newborn?  —  “I can't technically take maternity leave,” Duckworth said in the latest episode of the Women Rule podcast.