After Ayers Turns Down Chief of Staff Job, Trump Is Left Without a Plan B  —  WASHINGTON — President Trump has often bragged about having his pick of only the best people to serve in his administration.  —  Being publicly rejected by his first choice for chief of staff …

We are former senators.  The Senate has long stood in defense of democracy — and must again.  —  By 44 Former U.S. Senators  —  As former members of the U.S. Senate, Democrats and Republicans, it is our shared view that we are entering a dangerous period, and we feel an obligation to speak …

Emmer, NRCC Start to Rebuild for 2020  —  The incoming chair doesn't think the GOP is doomed in the suburbs or that Trump will be a liability in 2020.  —  Ally Mutnick and Kyle Trygstad  —  ADD TO BRIEFCASE  —  Rep. Tom Emmer spent last Monday in a briefing on an email hack that plagued …

Time's 2018 ‘Person of the Year’ is killed and imprisoned journalists  —  Time magazine is spotlighting a handful of journalists who have one thing in common: They were targeted for their work.  —  “The Guardians.”  —  That's what Time magazine is calling the journalists behind 2018's …

How Michael Cohen could help the feds get the Trump Organization  —  Feds: Cohen broke the law at Trump's direction  —  New York (CNN)In most respects, Michael Cohen was a frustrating witness for New York investigators.  —  He toyed with, but wouldn't commit to, “full cooperation” with prosecutors, according to court filings.

Trump proposes to roll back decades of water protections  —  The Trump administration on Tuesday initiated the biggest rollback of Clean Water Act protections since shortly after the statute became law in 1972, proposing to remove federal pollution safeguards for tens of thousands of miles of streams and millions of acres of wetlands.

McConnell to bring up criminal-justice bill for a Senate vote  —  Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Tuesday that the Senate will vote on a sweeping overhaul of the criminal justice system that has proven deeply controversial within the Senate Republican ranks.

Beto O'Rourke narrowly tops wide-open MoveOn 2020 presidential straw poll; Biden runner up  —  The progressive group had backed Bernie Sanders in 2016 over Hillary Clinton.  —  An early straw poll of members of the progressive group MoveOn.org shows a wide-open competition for liberal voters …

China Agrees to Reduce Tariffs on U.S. Autos  —  China agreed to reduce tariffs on U.S. autos to 15%, down from 40% currently  —  China agreed to reduce tariffs on U.S. autos to 15%, down from 40% currently, during a phone call with U.S. officials that opened the latest round of trade talks aimed …

How the IRS Was Gutted  —  An eight-year campaign to slash the agency's budget has left it understaffed, hamstrung and operating with archaic equipment.  The result: billions less to fund the government.  That's good news for corporations and the wealthy.  —  In the summer of 2008 …

The Arctic is in even worse shape than you realize  —  The Arctic Ocean has lost 95 percent of its oldest, thickest ice.  If this thinning trend continues, scientists fear an added boost to global warming.  —  Over the past three decades of global warming, the oldest and thickest ice …

Slate's Newly Unionized Writers and Editors Give OK to Strike  — Outlet's editorial staff authorize walkout by 52 to 1 vote  — Company's “right-to-work” stance riles its employees  —  Writers and editors at Slate have voted nearly unanimously to green-light a strike …

The foundation of Trump's coalition is cracking  —  (CNN)Cracks have emerged in Donald Trump's hold on his core constituency of white working class voters, new data from the 2018 election reveals.  —  Though Republican candidates almost everywhere registered large margins among white voters without …

Military will build border wall if Pelosi, Schumer don't agree to pay for it: Trump  —  Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker-elect Nancy Pelosi are set to meet with President Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday morning in hopes they can come to a budget agreement to avoid a partial government shutdown next week.

Michelle Obama's Book Sales Hit 3 Million as She Adds New Cities to 2019 Tour: 'I'm So Humbled'  —  Not only is Michelle Obama continuing her book tour after attending former President George H.W. Bush's funeral last week, she's adding new cities to the lineup!

Thousands of mailed ballots in Florida were not counted  —  TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida officials say thousands of mailed ballots were not counted because they were delivered too late to state election offices.  —  The Department of State late last week informed a federal judge …

How a powerful Russian propaganda machine chips away at Western notions of truth  —  The initial plan was a Cold War classic — brutal yet simple.  Two Russian agents would slip onto the property of a turncoat spy in Britain and daub his front door with a rare military-grade poison designed …

PolitiFact's Lie of the Year: Online smear machine tries to take down Parkland students  —  In the days after 17 people were viciously gunned down at a high school in Florida, the state's Republican governor called for tighter gun laws and President Donald Trump hosted victims' families in the State Dining Room.

How Theresa May blew Brexit  —  Shakespeare famously wrote of the “sceptered isle” of Britain acting as a moat “against the envy of less happier lands.”  Lately, the less happier lands are winning in a rout.  —  Britain is suffering a political meltdown as it struggles to make good on a historic vote …

Biden Should Run on a Unity Ticket With Romney  —  It could totally work.  Here's how.  —  Last summer, John McCain told the world that he regretted not picking Joe Lieberman, the former senator and Democrat, to be his vice-presidential running mate in the 2008 presidential election.

Maria Butina, accused Russian agent, reaches plea deal with prosecutors that includes cooperation  —  Maria Butina, a 30-year-old Russian gun rights activist who stands accused developing a covert influence operation in the United States, has agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy and cooperate with federal …

Stephen Curry Doubts Moon Landings.  NASA Offers to Show Him the Rocks.  —  The space agency invited the Golden State star to visit the Johnson Space Center, “perhaps the next time the Warriors are in town to play the Rockets.”  —  It has been a big 24 hours for Stephen Curry.

French deficit will increase to finance social measures, says PM  —  France's prime minister said that measures announced by Emmanuel Macron to appease the Yellow Jackets protesters would have “consequences in terms of deficit.”  —  The measures, estimated to cost between €8 billion …