Mulvaney eggs Trump on in shutdown fight  —  President Donald Trump's new acting chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, is already putting his stamp on the West Wing after just a few days on the job.  —  While his recently departed predecessor, Gen. John Kelly, often tried to restrain President Donald Trump …

Rashida Tlaib on Donald Trump: We will ‘impeach the mother****er’  —  Well, this is one way to make your presence known on your first day in office.  —  Rashida Tlaib, who earlier Thursday was sworn in as one of Michigan's new Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives …

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Suggests Super Wealthy be Taxed Up to 70% to Fund ‘Green New Deal’  —  Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez sat with Anderson Cooper for an upcoming 60 Minutes interview set to air this Sunday, a portion of which has been released as a promotion.

While federal workers go without pay, senior Trump administration officials are poised to get $10,000 raises.  —  While many federal workers go without pay and the government is partially shut down, hundreds of senior Trump political appointees are poised to receive annual raises of about $10,000 a year.

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 …

House Democrats officially unveil their first bill in the majority: a sweeping anti-corruption proposal  —  Democrats will take up voting rights, campaign finance reform, and a lobbying crackdown — all in their first bill of the year.  —  House Democrats will unveil full details …

US citizen held in Moscow on espionage charges seeks Irish consular assistance  —  A former US Marine arrested last week on espionage charges in Russia has sought Irish consular assistance.  —  Canadian-born Paul Whelan is a US citizen and also holds an Irish passport.

US employers added a stellar 312,000 jobs in December  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. employers dramatically stepped up their hiring in December, adding 312,000 jobs in an encouraging display of strength for an economy in the midst of a trade war, slowing global growth and a partial shutdown of the federal government.

Donald Trump Was Never Vetted  —  “When a man becomes president,” said Rudy Giuliani not long ago, “he shouldn't be subject to a review of his entire life.”  Putting aside for the moment whether such a review should or should not take place, Giuliani has correctly identified what is happening.

The $9 Billion Upcharge: How Insurers Kept Extra Cash From Medicare  —  CVS, UnitedHealth, Humana and other health insurers' bids to manage Part D prescription-drug plans for seniors have been consistently off in ways that benefit the companies at the expense of taxpayers

Mainstream Media Is Blowing Its Coverage Of Elizabeth Warren's DNA Test  —  Tribal leaders and Native people say the senator is an ally — and they support her look at her ancestry.  But hardly anyone asked them.  —  WASHINGTON Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) was positioned to make a strong bid …

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.

US official: airstrike kills terrorist behind USS Cole bombing  —  Washington (CNN)The terrorist behind the 2000 attack on the USS Cole is believed to have been killed in a US airstrike in Yemen on Tuesday, according to a US administration official.  —  Jamel Ahmed Mohammed Ali Al-Badawi …

White Nationalist Podcast Hosts: Tucker Carlson Does What We Do ‘For an Audience of Millions’  —  Two of the white nationalist movement's most popular podcast hosts agree that Fox News host Tucker Carlson is repeating their talking points “for an audience of millions across the country.”

Trump's sons are running the business — and their big hotel expansion is at a standstill  —  Shortly after Donald Trump entered the White House, his eldest sons announced ambitious plans to open a new line of hotels called Scion that would target young, hip customers mostly in places where their father had proven popular with voters.

Posing as gay men on Twitter, a troll goes viral with attempts to falsely tie the LGBTQ community to pedophilia  —  Various efforts to tie the LGBTQ community to pedophilia have been linked back to fringe internet message board 4chan.  —  Around Christmas day, Karl Krause …

Cory Booker's campaign begins to take shape as he closes in on 2020 decision  —  (CNN)As Sen. Cory Booker nears a public decision on whether he will run for president in 2020, the machinery of his would-be campaign is shifting into a new gear: ready for launch.

Marijuana Is More Dangerous Than You Think  —  As legalization spreads, more Americans are becoming heavy users of cannabis, despite its links to violence and mental illness  —  Over the past 30 years, a shrewd and expensive lobbying campaign has made Americans more tolerant of marijuana.

Mark Zuckerberg vs. the Times  —  What's Next: Mark Zuckerberg and other Facebook executives are fed up with The New York Times after weeks of what they see as overtly antagonistic coverage that betrays an anti-Facebook bias, several sources at the social media giant tell me.

Teacher had young girl pose in lingerie, planned to sell her in Morocco, Texas cops say  —  A joint investigation between two Texas counties ended in the arrest of a 37-year-old woman Wednesday, accused of trying to sell a young female relative to men in Morocco for sex …