Pence and White House officials leave meeting with congressional aides with no end to shutdown  —  Top White House officials and senior congressional aides left a three-hour meeting Saturday with no apparent breakthrough for ending the partial government shutdown, which has now entered its third week with no end in sight.

The Economics of Soaking the Rich  —  What does Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez know about tax policy?  A lot.  —  I have no idea how well Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez will perform as a member of Congress.  But her election is already serving a valuable purpose.  You see, the mere thought of having a young …

The Border Wall: How a Potent Symbol Is Now Boxing Trump In  —  WASHINGTON — Before it became the chief sticking point in a government shutdown drama that threatens to consume his presidency at a critical moment, President Trump's promise to build a wall on the southwestern border was a memory trick for an undisciplined candidate.

How Millennials Became The Burnout Generation  —  I couldn't figure out why small, straightforward tasks on my to-do list felt so impossible.  The answer is both more complex and far simpler than I expected.  —  “I tried to register for the 2016 election, but it was beyond the deadline …

Iowa Democrats fill events to the rafters with 13 months left before the 2020 caucuses  —  SIOUX CITY, Iowa — People stood in parking lots, jostled into front yards and packed into the rafters to witness Sen. Elizabeth Warren's inaugural appearances here in the first presidential caucus state.

The People vs. Donald J. Trump  —  He is demonstrably unfit for office.  What are we waiting for?  —  The presidential oath of office contains 35 words and one core promise: to “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”  Since virtually the moment Donald J. Trump took …

All three CIA directorates will now be headed by women  —  CIA Director Gina Haspel has named Cynthia “Didi” Rapp deputy director for analysis, making her the agency's top analyst.  —  CIA Director Gina Haspel has appointed another woman to the top level of the agency, naming Cynthia “Didi” …

Pentagon chief of staff Kevin Sweeney resigns  —  Department of Defense chief of staff Rear Adm. Kevin Sweeney has stepped down from his post. … The big picture: Sweeney served as chief of staff to former Defense Secretary James Mattis, who resigned last month after President Trump's decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria.

Our privacy regime is broken.  Congress needs to create new norms for a digital age.  —  OUR PRIVACY regime is not working.  This fact became painfully apparent over the past year as Americans realized how much of their information Internet companies possess and how little they have done to protect it.

If Trump thinks migrants in the U.S. illegally are dangerous, why has he hired so many of them?  —  By now much of the nation recognizes President Trump as the embodiment of hypocrisy, but still, sometimes his blatant duplicity needs to be pointed out.  —  For instance, Trump railed …

'There's a Real Tension.' Democrats Puzzle Over Whether a Woman Will Beat Trump  —  Joyce Cusack would love to see a woman as president in her lifetime.  But she is not sure it should happen in 2020.  —  “Are we ready in 2020?  I really don't think we are,” said Ms. Cusack, 75 …

Shutdown spares federal park rangers at site in Trump hotel  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Smithsonian museums are closed.  There are no federal staffers to answer tourists' questions at the Lincoln Memorial.  And across the United States, national parks are cluttered with trash.

Trump administration did not understand chaos they would create before president shut it down: report  —  The Trump administration did not anticipate a lengthy shutdown of the federal government, nor did it grasp what the federal government actually does before President Donald Trump shut it down December 22.

Don't run  —  That is an unfavorable opinion, especially among most Vermonters and progressives who support the platform that has come to define him.  But at this point, there are more things about another Sanders run at the White House that concern us than excite us.

3 shot dead, 4 injured at Torrance bowling alley  —  Three men were fatally shot and four were injured late Friday at a Torrance bowling alley, police said, and relatives and friends wept and shouted outside as they awaited word on the victims.  —  The shooting, which was apparently preceded by a fight …