GOP senator calls on Congress to end shutdown without border deal  —  Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), who faces a potentially tough re-election in 2020, says Congress should re-open the federal government, even without a deal on funding President Trump's border wall.

White House Mulls Jim Webb, Ex-Democratic Senator, as Next Defense Secretary  —  WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is considering Jim Webb, a former Democratic senator and Reagan-era secretary of the Navy, to be the next defense secretary, according to three officials …

Nancy Pelosi Just Outlined Her Agenda for the Most Diverse Congress Ever  —  Newly-elected House Speaker Nancy Pelosi addressed the U.S. House of Representatives Thursday after Democrats officially took control of the legislative body, invoking two Presidents while laying out her leadership agenda.

Here's who I'd like to see run for president.  (Hint: It's not me)  —  Voters want Former Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Bernie Sanders to run in the 2020 Presidential election, a new poll suggests.  Veuer's Sam Berman has the full story.  —  Former Democratic candidate makes his pick for 2020

Justice Dept. investigating whether Zinke lied to inspector general  —  The Justice Department's public integrity section is examining whether newly departed Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke lied to his agency's inspector general investigators, according to three people familiar with the matter …

The terrifying depths of Donald Trump's ignorance, in a single quote  —  It's been two years since a reality-television mogul, billionaire real estate grifter and sleazy beauty-pageant impresario who somehow ended up on the Republican ticket in the 2016 U.S. presidential election …

How the Border Patrol union became Trump's closest shutdown allies  —  Union officials: it's okay if our agents don't get paid on time, as long as we get the wall.  —  President Donald Trump's hastily called “press conference” on Thursday afternoon — in which neither he nor press secretary …

Mitt Romney supports the status quo.  But for everyone else, it's infuriating  —  Newly-elected Utah senator Mitt Romney kicked off 2019 with an op-ed in the Washington Post that savaged Donald Trump's character and leadership.  Romney's attack and Trump's response Wednesday morning on Twitter …

Trump's reign of corruption will now face real opposition.  Here are three things to watch.  —  Watch live video from washingtonpost on www.twitch.tv  —  We talk a lot about President Trump's corruption these days, but with Democrats set to take over the House of Representatives on Thursday afternoon …

Undocumented Worker Says Trump Resort Shielded Her From Secret Service  —  A former employee of the Trump National Golf Club in New Jersey said that her name was removed from a list of workers to be vetted by the Secret Service after she reminded management that she was unlawfully in the United States …

California's Rep. Brad Sherman to introduce impeachment measure … Rep. Brad Sherman plans to introduce articles of impeachment against President Trump on Thursday, the first day of Democratic control of the House.  —  Sherman (D-Northridge) is reintroducing a measure that he first rolled out in 2017.

Feds charge powerful Ald.  Edward Burke with attempted extortion  —  Ald.  Edward Burke has been charged with attempted extortion after the FBI raided his City Hall and Southwest Side ward offices.  —  Longtime Ald.  Edward Burke, one of Chicago's most powerful figures and a vestige …

Why Trump's Generals Have Abandoned Ship  —  After a couple of tumultuous years, President Donald Trump seems to have reached the conclusion that he has had quite enough of generals.  Now, as a retired admiral, I have certainly been annoyed over the years by a number of generals.

Pelosi Invites President Trump to Deliver State of the Union Address  —  Washington, D.C. - Speaker Nancy Pelosi sent the following letter today to President Trump inviting him to deliver a State of the Union address to a Joint Session of Congress on Tuesday, January 29, 2019.

Rubio, top GOP senators hit back at Trump's Syria pullout with sanctions bill  —  They can't make Trump keep troops in Syria.  They've asked for increased sanctions on Syria instead.  —  WASHINGTON — On the first day of the new Senate, top Republicans are pushing back on President Trump's move …

As Democrats take the House, GOP takes a beating along motorcade route  —  As Democrats prepared to take over the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday morning, an anti-Trump political action committee took aim at the GOP with a new billboard along the presidential motorcade route in West Palm Beach.

Iran ‘can do what they want’ in Syria: Trump's comments defy the position of his top aides  —  In his first Cabinet meeting of the year, President Trump stuck a dagger in a major initiative advanced by his foreign policy team: Iran's leaders, the president said, “can do what they want” in Syria.

China Travel Advisory  —  Exercise increased caution in China due to arbitrary enforcement of local laws as well as special restrictions on dual U.S.-Chinese nationals.  —  Chinese authorities have asserted broad authority to prohibit U.S. citizens from leaving China by using 'exit bans …

Louis C.K. — and his critics — are a plague on comedy  —  American comedy is slowly dying, under assault from two opposing forces.  From without, PC scolds seek to silence comics whose edgy material makes them feel “unsafe.”  And from within, a growing number of comedians have come …

House Democrats Not Rushing To Get Trump's Tax Returns  —  The delay by the Ways and Means Committee seems like an effort to be civil and statesmanlike ... in the Trump era.  —  WASHINGTON The first thing Democratic lawmakers have to do to obtain copies of President Donald Trump's personal …

The interview Egypt's government doesn't want on TV  —  In an interview with 60 Minutes the Egyptian government later asked not be shown, President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi denies estimates of 60,000 political prisoners in his country.  See the full interview, Sunday, January 6 at 7 p.m. ET/PT.

Trump Allies Try to Rig the 2020 GOP Nomination … Trump supporters on the Republican National Committee jumped to argue for changing party rules to aid Trump's renomination prospects in 2020.  In particular, Jevon Williams, national committeeman from the Virgin Islands …

A Florida girl had her SAT result flagged.  She says she didn't cheat and hires famous lawyer.  —  (CNN)Kamilah Campbell wants to go to Florida State University and major in dance.  She has a 3.1 grade point average and a lifetime of dance experience.  —  But after getting her score …

The radical agenda of Brazil's new president  —  He has a chance to transform his country but he may do it grave harm  —  “Hope, finally, defeated fear,” declared Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva upon becoming Brazil's president 16 years ago.  Many Brazilians greeted the election of Lula …

Trey Gowdy swears off politics as he joins power firm Nelson Mullins in Greenville  —  Former U.S. Congressman Trey Gowdy, who elevated his profile in American politics leading several high-profile government investigations, has joined the Greenville office of power law firm Nelson, Mullins …

Attacks On Ocasio-Cortez Are Reaching Self-Defeating Levels  —  One of the features of 2018 politics was the ascension of the Right's favorite young, upstart Socialist defeating a longtime Democratic incumbent representative in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Projects in Afghanistan speak for itself: India after Trump mocks Modi  —  NEW DELHI: India has asserted that its projects worth $3 bn in Afghanistan speaks for itself and has regretted the ignorance of American officials after President Donald Trump mocked PM Narendra Modi over the utility of Delhi sponsored …

NBC News veteran warns of ‘Trump circus’ in 2,228-word farewell  —  New York (CNN Business)There are goodbye notes — and then there's William Arkin's frustrated farewell to NBC News.  —  Arkin's 2,228-word memo to his colleagues says that his time at NBC News has been “gratifying.”

Paul Whelan, American Accused of Spying, Is Said to Be Charged in Russia  —  MOSCOW — The Russian authorities have brought espionage charges against an American citizen, Paul N. Whelan, who faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted, the news agency Interfax reported on Thursday.