Porn star who alleged Trump affair: I can now tell my story  —  NEW YORK (AP) — Stormy Daniels, the porn star whom President Donald Trump's personal attorney acknowledges paying $130,000 just before Election Day, believes she is now free to discuss her alleged sexual encounter with Trump.

“A Death Match”: As Kelly Twists, a Chaotic Search for a New Chief of Staff Engulfs the West Wing  —  Different factions are pushing their own candidates: Javanka wants Cohn, Hannity pushed Wayne Berman, Trump wanted Mulvaney or Barrack.  But who would take the job?

Third White House official resigns after being told he wouldn't qualify for full clearance  —  National Economic Council official George David Banks departed amid increasing scrutiny of the Trump administration's decision to let multiple staffers work on interim clearances.

Read the text of Elizabeth Warren's speech to Native American group  —  Read the prepared text of the speech Senator Elizabeth Warren gave to Native Americans on Wednesday.  —  Thank you for having me here today.  —  I want to start by thanking Chairwoman Andrews-Maltais for that introduction.

Veterans Affairs chief Shulkin, staff misled ethics officials about European trip, report finds  —  Veterans Affairs Secretary David J. Shulkin's chief of staff doctored an email and made false statements to create a pretext for taxpayers to cover expenses for the secretary's wife on a 10 …

Utah's Republican chairman slams Mitt Romney and his expected Senate bid, compares him to Hillary Clinton  —  The Utah Republican Party chairman blasted Mitt Romney's anticipated Senate run, hitting him for “essentially doing what Hillary Clinton did in New York” — campaigning in a state he hasn't spent much time in.

In Leaked Chats, WikiLeaks Discusses Preference for GOP Over Clinton, Russia, Trolling, and Feminists They Don't Like  —  On a Thursday afternoon in November 2015, a light snow was falling outside the windows of the Ecuadorian embassy in London, despite the relatively warm weather …

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 …

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.

After Storm Over Tweets, 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.

Adam Schiff: There is ‘ample evidence’ of collusion between Trump campaign, Russians  —  WASHINGTON — There is “ample evidence” that the Trump campaign colluded with Russians, but only special counsel Robert Mueller can decide if it's enough to prove a crime beyond a reasonable doubt …

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.

As Shaun White cements legacy, why so little attention paid to sexual harassment allegations?  —  GANGNEUNG, South Korea — Shaun White is an American cultural institution, winning the third Olympic gold medal of his pioneering career Wednesday at the 2018 Winter Olympics.

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.

So Long, Huck Finn and Atticus Finch  —  The desire to stamp out disturbing expression is illiberal.  —  When the censors come, it will be with a smile on their face and unctuous talk about your feelings on their lips.  It's for your own good, they'll say.  Art that takes a stand against hatred will be confused with hate speech.

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.”

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.

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 …

An immigrant called 911 to report a crime.  Police took him to ICE in handcuffs. … At 5:30 a.m. Thursday, as Wilson Rodriguez Macarreno was getting ready for work, he noticed a stranger peering into his Tukwila, Wash., home.  —  Rodriguez, a carpenter and native of Honduras …

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 …

CNN host debunks GOP congressman's FBI conspiracy in just 2 minutes  —  During a CNN interview on Wednesday morning, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) placed Carter Page at the center of the FBI's alleged anti-Trump plot during the 2016 election.  But after host Chris Cuomo pointed out the obvious holes …