House GOP leaders fear support eroding for Trump's shutdown fight  —  Several dozen House Republicans might cross the aisle this week to vote for Democratic bills to reopen shuttered parts of the federal government, spurring the White House into a dramatic effort to stem potential GOP defections.

Broadcast networks deliberating whether to air Trump's prime time immigration address  —  (CNN)The broadcast networks are deliberating over President Donald Trump's request for airtime to deliver a prime time address on border security, network executives told CNN.

Only six immigrants in terrorism database stopped by CBP at southern border in first half of 2018  —  The low number contradicts statements by Trump administration officials.  —  U.S. Customs and Border Protection encountered only six immigrants on the U.S-Mexico border in the first half …

Eminent Domain, Emergency Powers, and Trump's Wall  —  President Donald Trump claims he can use an “emergency” declaration to secure funding to use eminent domain to acquire land for his border wall, even without any additional congressional authorization.  The validity of this claim is dubious at best.

'It's Just Too Much': A Florida Town Grapples With a Shutdown After a Hurricane  —  MARIANNA, Fla. — A federal prison here in Florida's rural Panhandle lost much of its roof and fence during Hurricane Michael in October, forcing hundreds of inmates to relocate to a facility in Yazoo City, Miss., more than 400 miles away.

Bolton Walked Back Syria Statement.  His Disdain for Debate Helped Produce It.  —  WASHINGTON — John R. Bolton found himself last weekend in a familiar but dangerous spot for any White House aide: cleaning up after his boss, President Trump, announced the withdrawal of 2,000 troops from Syria …

Second body found in West Hollywood home of Democratic donor Ed Buck  —  A man's body was found early Monday in the West Hollywood home of prominent Democratic donor Ed Buck, authorities said.  —  Deputies from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's West Hollywood station responded …

U.S. Carbon Emissions Surged in 2018 Even as Coal Plants Closed  —  WASHINGTON — America's carbon dioxide emissions rose by 3.4 percent in 2018, the biggest increase in eight years, according to a preliminary estimate published Tuesday.  —  Strikingly, the sharp uptick in emissions occurred …

Corey Stewart, the firebrand Virginia Republican, will leave politics in December  —  Corey A. Stewart, the Republican firebrand whose fights to crack down on illegal immigration and preserve Confederate monuments reflected the nation's increasingly polarized political landscape …

The next juicy White House memoir comes out in 3 weeks, and ABC scored the first interview with its author  —  President Trump is curious — and White House aides, alumni and reporters are anxious — ahead of the Jan. 29 publication of the tightly embargoed “Team of Vipers,” a delicious, unsparing memoir by former Trump aide Cliff Sims.

Robert Mueller's 2019 To-Do List  —  LAST FRIDAY, JUST like Punxsutawney Phil, DC District Court judge Beryl Howell emerged from her chambers, saw her shadow, and announced six more months of Bob Mueller.  Judge Howell's extension of Mueller's grand jury, which was set to expire over the weekend …

Grown Men Are the Solution, Not the Problem  —  With young men in crisis, the American Psychological Association wrongly declares war on ‘traditional masculinity’  —  Yesterday afternoon, immediately after the Dallas Cowboys' hard-fought victory over the Seattle Seahawks …

A Fake Nude of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Was Debunked By Foot Fetishists  —  Wikifeet foiled an attempt to shame the congresswoman with a fake Instagram post.  —  An image that's being passed off as a nude of congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was debunked as being fake by a foot fetishist on Reddit …

Trump administration downgrades EU mission to US  —  The Trump administration has downgraded the diplomatic status of the European Union's delegation to the United States, an EU official has confirmed to DW.  The demotion happened at the end of last year without notice.

What's behind the confidence of the incompetent?  This suddenly popular psychological phenomenon.  —  The Dunning-Kruger effect explains why unskilled people think they know it all and tend to be overconfident.  —  You may have witnessed this scene at work, while socializing with friends …

Beto O'Rourke Plans Solo Road Trip to Meet Democratic Voters Outside Texas  —  Former Rep. Beto O'Rourke is asking aides to create an itinerary for a solo road trip outside Texas where he would ‘pop into places’ such as community colleges, as he considers whether to enter the 2020 Democratic presidential primary.

Romney gets chilly reception from GOP senators after Trump attack  —  Sen. James Lankford will occasionally take issue with President Donald Trump's tactics and rhetoric.  But he's not sure what Mitt Romney was thinking with his biting condemnation of the president before he was even sworn into office.

Japan earthquake: Large 6.4-magnitude tremor strikes off coast  —  The earthquake was 24 miles deep and centred 116km south southeast of Kagoshima in Japan  —  An earthquake at an estimated magnitude of 6.4 has struck off the coast of south east Japan.  —  The quake was 39km (24 miles) …

US spends twice as much on health care as its peers  —  (CNN)Despite many efforts to rein in US health care costs in recent years, spending is still on the rise.  —  Americans spend more than twice as much on health care per person as their peers in developed nations, according to a new analysis …

Brexit secretary denies UK seeks Article 50 extension  —  Theresa May's government is not seeking to extend Article 50, according to U.K. Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay.  —  Asked three times if he denied a report in the Telegraph that U.K. officials are “putting out feelers” …

Abrams gives herself a deadline to decide on next move  —  Stacey Abrams has some major decisions to make before she decides her next political step.  And she's giving herself until the end of March to make up her mind.  —  In a Monday interview with WABE's Rose Scott …

Trump's ‘authenticity’ is merely moral laziness and cruelty  —  In the carnage of American civic culture, some of the damage is obvious: the dehumanization of political opponents, the devaluation of truth, the rise of conspiracy thinking.  But other, less evident shifts are no less troubling.

Arizona GOP committeeman: Kyrsten Sinema elected because of ‘dumb ass people’  —  A prominent Arizona Republican official wrote a Facebook post Saturday that said “dumb ass people” helped U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema get elected.  —  Bruce Ash, a Tucson resident and national GOP committeeman …

Florida Law Restoring The Vote To Felons Takes Effect  —  Tuesday is a historic day in Florida.  Under an amendment passed by the voters in November, as many as 1.4 million felons are regaining the right to vote.  The referendum overturned a 150-year-old law that permanently disenfranchised people with felony convictions.