McConnell Faces Pressure From Republicans to Stop Avoiding Shutdown Fight  —  WASHINGTON — For weeks, Senator Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader, has remained conspicuously on the sidelines, insisting that it was up to President Trump and Democrats to negotiate an end to the partial shutdown of the federal government.

Ex-US marine accused of spying in Russia is British citizen  —  Paul Whelan revealed to be dual national after being arrested in Moscow for ‘act of espionage’  —  The former US marine who is being held in Moscow on charges of spying is a British citizen, it has emerged.

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 …

Trump's Cracked Afghan History  —  His falsehoods about allies and the Soviets reach a new low.  —  By The Editorial Board  —  President Trump's remarks on Afghanistan at his Cabinet meeting Wednesday were a notable event.  They will be criticized heavily, and deservedly so.

That Viral Video of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Dancing Is a Meta-Meme  —  THURSDAY MARKED ONE of the most important days in congressional history for diversity.  A record 102 women took office, 35 whom were newly-elected.  They include Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, the first Muslim women …

Bernie Sanders' fans can't be allowed to poison another Democratic primary with personal attacks  —  Bashing Beto O'Rourke (and every other Democrat) doesn't help liberals' cause in 2020.  It only helps Trump.  —  I'm hardly the only political observer who blames Hillary Clinton's general election defeat …

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.

Senators warm to immigration deal as shutdown solution  —  Lawmakers are opening the door to reviving deeply polarizing immigration negotiations as they search for a way out of the partial government shutdown, which hit the two-week mark on Friday.  —  An agreement to overhaul …

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 …

Apple's stark warning may be ominous news for China  —  ANALYSIS: For most of the past two decades, China - with 400 million middle-class consumers growing richer by the day - was a one-way bet for the world's corporations and a driver of the global economy.

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.

Run or retire?  Pat Roberts will announce his decision on 2020 Senate race Friday  —  Sen. Pat Roberts will announce Friday whether he plans to end his political career or kick off another campaign as he approaches his fourth decade in Congress.  —  Roberts, R-Kansas, will announce …

U.S. Payrolls Rise 312,000 as Wage Gains Exceed Forecasts  — Unemployment rate rises to 3.9% as participation increases  — Annual wage gain of 3.2% matches fastest pace since 2009  —  U.S. employers added the most workers in 10 months as wage gains accelerated and labor-force participation jumped …

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 …

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 …

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 …

Congressman Cohen Introduces Constitutional Amendments  —  Would eliminate the Electoral College, limit Presidential pardon power  —  WASHINGTON - Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), a senior member of the House Judiciary Committee, introduced two Constitutional Amendments today on the opening day of the new Congress.

Trump Just Killed His Own Defense Strategy  —  The commander in chief just tore up 17 years of counterterrorism plans and offered his strange mix of talking points and lies.  —  “Sand and death.”  That's what Syria is to President Donald Trump, who has vowed to withdraw U.S. troops and support …

As Trump Holds Firm on Shutdown, He Never Mentions One Group: Federal Workers  —  WASHINGTON — He has talked about the need for “protection” along the country's southern border.  He has said he is willing to keep the government shut down indefinitely to ensure the funding of the wall he says will provide that protection.

Judge Rules Ed Sheeran Maybe Plagiarized Marvin Gaye's “Let's Get It On”  —  A U.S. district judge on Wednesday rejected Ed Sheeran's request to dismiss a lawsuit that accuses the pop star of plagiarizing Marvin Gaye's 1973 song “Let's Get It On” on his own 2014 hit “Thinking Out Loud,” Reuters reports.

Former NYT editor claims publisher drafted letter “all but apologizing” to China for tough story  —  In her new book Merchants of Truth, former New York Times executive editor Jill Abramson claims that the news outlet's publisher drafted a letter “all but apologizing” to the Chinese government …

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 …

If we're going to waste billions on a wall, let those billions be Trump's  —  President Trump wants a wall.  Democratic lawmakers don't want to pay for it.  —  Here's an elegant compromise: If Trump truly thinks building a wall is such a brilliant idea, he should pay for it himself.