Exclusive: Mueller investigators questioned John Kelly in obstruction probe  —  Washington (CNN)White House chief of staff John Kelly was interviewed by special counsel Robert Mueller's team in recent months, three people with knowledge of the matter told CNN.

Rex Tillerson makes rare public appearance in Houston  —  Russia interfered with the 2016 U.S. elections, former Secretary of State and Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson said during a Thursday evening visit to Houston.  —  Making his first public appearance in nearly nine months …

Inside the frantic decision to open a Trump obstruction probe before Mueller got the job  —  Washington (CNN)In the hectic eight days after President Donald Trump fired FBI Director James Comey, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and top FBI officials viewed Trump as a leader who needed to be reined in …

Kevin Hart Missed A Big Opportunity To Stare Down The Outrage Mob  —  Kevin Hart should be hosting the Oscars.  But now he won't, because of homosexuality-related jokes he made a decade ago.  —  Kevin Hart was supposed to host the Oscars.  The comedian was tapped by the Academy on Tuesday to preside over February's ceremony.

Federal Judge: Hillary E-Mail Dodge “One Of The Gravest Modern Offenses To Government Transparency”  —  Yes, Virginia, there actually is a corruption scandal in Hillary Clinton's e-mail choices — or at least that's what Judge Royce Lamberth thinks.  In allowing a lawsuit by Judicial Watch to continue …

Trump to Pick Nauert to Replace Haley as UN Ambassador, Sources Say  — Nauert has been State Department spokeswoman, Fox News anchor  — Maintaining North Korea sanctions, defending Israel key jobs  —  President Donald Trump has decided to nominate State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert …

North Carolina Republican Owes $34,310 for Disputed Absentee Ballot and Turnout Work, Records Show  —  LUMBERTON, N.C. — The congressional campaign of Mark Harris disclosed late Thursday night that it owed more than $34,000 in connection with an absentee ballot and voter turnout operation …

Only the Best Candidates for Federal Courts  —  We should stop bringing candidates with questionable track records on race before the full Senate for a vote.  —  Over the past two years the Senate has confirmed a record number of judicial nominees.  I have proudly voted for more than 99% of them …

German conservatives pick a Merkel ally to be party leader, signaling continuity and a long goodbye  —  HAMBURG, Germany — Germany's conservatives on Friday picked Chancellor Angela Merkel's preferred successor as party leader, delivering Merkel a badly needed victory that solidifies her legacy …

Victorina Morales Spoke Out Against President Trump.  What Price Will She Pay?  —  Victorina Morales, a housekeeper at the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J., disclosed in an interview with The New York Times this week that she had been working illegally at the facility for more than five years.

Anti-Zionism Isn't the Same as Anti-Semitism  —  American Jews have nothing to fear from the new congressional critics of Israel.  —  On Monday, in an interview with The Intercept, Rashida Tlaib, a Michigan Democrat who in November became the first Palestinian-American elected to Congress …

State GOP chairman warns California is ‘canary in the coal mine’ for national party  —  SAN FRANCISCO — The outgoing chair of the California GOP — the nation's largest state Republican Party — has issued a dire warning that his state represents “the canary in the coal mine” …

Democrats speeding up their 2020 campaign launches  —  NEW YORK (AP) — Democrats are hitting fast forward.  —  The first major presidential campaign announcements could come before year's end.  The Democratic National Committee plans to announce a debate framework by then featuring 15 to 20 candidates.

Trump is not capable  —  Weekday nights Fox News Channel star, Tucker Carlson, can be found merrily berating hapless guests, grilling liberal pundits, and defending America's working and middle classes.  Puckish and pugilistic, the 49-year-old insists the Washington elites among whom he grew up despise America's “normal people.”

I'm not calling to revive WASP culture.  Just to learn from it.  —  The death of George H.W. Bush has occasioned a fair amount of nostalgia for the old American establishment, of which Bush was undoubtedly a prominent member.  It has also provoked a heated debate among commentators about that establishment …

TUI refunds holiday for ‘horrifying’ dead son tribute  —  Hotel staff created a “horrifying” effigy of a couple's dead son in a misguided attempt at a tribute.  —  Karen Baker had arranged for workers at a Jamaican resort to dress a room for friends Faye and Andrew Stephens, whose son Alex died in 2014.

Trump to nominate William Barr as attorney general  —  President Donald Trump said Friday that he plans to nominate former Attorney General William Barr to his old job, naming a formal replacement for Jeff Sessions after ousting him last month and inserting a new controversial figure …

Ammon Bundy Is Quitting The Militia Movement After Breaking With Trump On Anti-Immigrant Rhetoric  —  For more than six years Ammon Bundy and his family amassed hundreds of followers and supporters willing to pick up a gun at a moment's notice and rally to their side for a confrontation with the federal government.

Trump advisers fear 2020 nightmare: A recession  —  President Donald Trump's economic officials are reassuring investors about recent white-knuckle stock market volatility, while Trump's political advisers are increasingly alarmed that the economy could present a stiff 2020 campaign headwind.

Democratic Rep. Stephen Lynch, who signed letter opposing Rep. Nancy Pelosi's speaker bid, reverses course and announces support  —  The Massachusetts congressman said Friday that after several days of conversations, he will cast a vote for Pelosi when the full House votes on Jan. 3.