House Democrats now asking questions about Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin  —  Mnuchin will give the House a classified briefing Thursday, after a request from the Democratic chairs of the main House investigative panels.  —  WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has agreed …

Trump walks out of latest shutdown talks with Democrats, call them ‘waste of time’ … Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said that after Trump asked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi whether she would “agree to my wall,” and she said, “No,” Trump said, “We have nothing to discuss,” got up and left.

Coast Guard families told they can have garage sales to cope with government shutdown  —  Employees of the U.S. Coast Guard who are facing a long U.S. government shutdown just received a suggestion: To get by without pay, consider holding a garage sale, babysitting or serving as a “mystery shopper.”

Tom Steyer, Billionaire Impeachment Activist, Won't Run Against Trump  —  Tom Steyer, the California billionaire who has crusaded for President Trump's impeachment, said on Wednesday that he would not join the pack of Democrats running for president in 2020 and would instead redouble his efforts to topple Mr. Trump before the election.

Reduced inspections ‘put our food supply at risk’  —  The furloughing of hundreds of Food and Drug Administration inspectors has sharply reduced inspections of the nation's food supply — one of many repercussions of the partial government shutdown that make Americans potentially less safe.

People Bet On How Much Trump Would Lie In His Oval Office Address And Won $276,424  —  A gambling site is paying out thousands of dollars to people who correctly bet that President Donald Trump would tell more than 3.5 lies in his Oval Office address on Tuesday.

How much could Mackenzie Bezos get in a divorce?  — Bezos announced in a tweet Wednesday that he and his wife of 25 years, MacKenzie, have “decided to divorce.”  — Washington state, where the Bezoses live, is a community property state, meaning any wealth made during their marriage could be split equally between the two.

Modern Monetary Theory Doesn't Make Single-Payer Health Care Any Easier  —  You may have heard of Modern Monetary Theory, an approach to economics that is increasingly popular on the left, and which is sometimes mischaracterized (by advocates and especially detractors) as holding that budget deficits …

People older than 65 share the most fake news, a new study finds  —  And the finding holds true across party lines  —  Older Americans are disproportionately more likely to share fake news on Facebook, according to a new analysis by researchers at New York and Princeton Universities.

Angela Davis Says She's ‘Stunned’ After Award Is Revoked Over Her Views on Israel  —  Angela Davis, the activist and scholar, said this week that she was “stunned” after a civil rights group in her native Birmingham, Ala., reversed its decision to honor her with an award amid protests over her support for a boycott of Israel.

Tensions rise between 2 of Hawaii's Congressional leaders over ‘religious bigotry’ comments  —  HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Hawaii Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard appears to have “called out” Hawaii Senator Mazie Hirono over her questioning of a judicial nominee, accusing her and others of religious bigotry.

Trump's threat of national emergency declaration to fund the border wall is leaving Capitol Hill in shock  — President Donald Trump has been floating a national emergency declaration to start construction of a border wall without congressional approval.  — Democrats claim he has no legal basis …

Josh Hawley to furloughed federal workers: No comment  —  Josh Hawley, Republican U.S. senator from Missouri  —  Josh Hawley has a message to federal workers in Kansas City who won't receive paychecks this week: No comment.  —  Wednesday, the freshman Republican Missouri senator was asked …

Drugs and syringes have become such a problem in Starbucks bathrooms that the company is installing needle-disposal boxes in certain locations  — Starbucks is installing needle-disposal boxes in some bathrooms, as well as exploring other solutions to workers' concerns regarding improperly disposed …