Trump Appeals to Nation for Wall: ‘This Is a Choice Between Right and Wrong’  —  WASHINGTON — President Trump sought to go over the heads of Congress to enlist public support for his long-promised border wall on Tuesday night, raising the stakes of an ideological and political conflict …

Rosenstein expected to depart DOJ in coming weeks once new attorney general confirmed  —  Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein is expected to leave his role in the coming weeks, multiple sources familiar with his plans told ABC News.  —  Rosenstein has communicated to President Donald Trump …

A few Republicans defend Article I of the Constitution.  So far, Romney isn't one of them.  —  My suggestion on Tuesday that “now would be a really good time for Mitt Romney to round up a few R's and step forward to say a declaration of emergency would be egregious violation of Constitution and …

One more Russian contact: Here's why it matters  —  The Post reports, “Paul Manafort shared 2016 presidential campaign polling data with Konstantin Kilimnik, an associate the FBI has said has ties to Russian intelligence, according to a court filing.”  We learned about the confab between Donald Trump's …

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.

Proud Boy Member Accused of Murdering His Brother With a Sword  —  Prosecutors say Buckey Wolfe was convinced his brother was a lizard.  —  A self-proclaimed member of the far-right Proud Boys group who also believes in the QAnon conspiracy theory allegedly murdered his own brother with a sword.

TSA union: Officers quitting over shutdown, posing threat to passenger safety  —  As the partial government shutdown continues, federal workers might miss this week's paychecks.  The federal agency tasked with guaranteeing U.S. airport security acknowledged an increase in the number of its employees calling off work.

North Carolina Looks Like Battleground Once Again For 2020  —  PPP's first North Carolina poll of the 2020 cycle finds the state is likely to once again be a key battleground for President next year.  Voters in the state are closely divided on Donald Trump but split narrowly against him …

Trump is still considering an emergency declaration to get the funds to build a border wall  —  A source close to President Trump tells Jonathan Swan that he thinks a declaration of a national emergency at the border — which Trump stopped short of last night — remains the most likely ultimate option …

Elizabeth Warren Knows Something Other Presidential Hopefuls Don't: Exactly Why She's Running For President  —  In Council Bluffs, her mic went dead.  —  “No sound!” someone in the back yelled.  —  “I know!” she yelled back in a laugh, before continuing on with her speech.

AP FACT CHECK: Trump and the disputed border crisis  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — In his prime-time speech to the nation, President Donald Trump declared a border crisis that's in sharp dispute, wrongly accused Democrats of refusing to pay for border security and ignored the reality of how drugs come …

Wrinkled, white, and wrong — this is the face of the Democratic party  —  Ignore the colorful and fresh-faced Democrats filling up your social media feed.  The new face of their party is the same as the old one.  It is a white, wrinkled face that no amount of plastic surgery can reconfigure.

Turning Point Dissidents Turn on ‘Snowflake’ Founder and Fox News Darling Charlie Kirk  —  Memes included an altered photo of founder Charlie Kirk's face. … Campus conservative group Turning Point USA and its founder, Fox News darling Charlie Kirk, had a problem.

The G.O.P.'s Plan to Take Down Beto: Unleash the Bernie Bros  —  Republicans are digging into O'Rourke's voting record and Big Oil ties in an attempt to isolate him from progressives.  —  In the run-up to Texas's closely watched Senate election, Republicans' attempts to smear Beto O'Rourke centered …

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.

Trump tried to play a normal president on television.  The result was very strange.  —  Every day, the comedian Megan Amram tweets “Today was the day Donald Trump finally became president.”  It's a joke both on the people who hoped that Trump might grow into his office, and on the president himself …

Two women charged with assault on transgender person at Glenwood South bar  —  RALEIGH, N.C. — Two women have been charged with assaulting a 29-year-old transgender person in a bathroom at a popular Glenwood South bar last month.  —  According to investigators, the victim was inside …

Forget the wall.  Trump is the national security crisis  —  Sarah Kendzior is the author of The View From Flyover Country and the co-host of the podcast Gaslit Nation.  —  On December 22, 2018, the second-longest shutdown of the federal government in United States history began.

Trump Campaign Consultants Cambridge Analytica Found Guilty of Breaking Data Laws  —  The British analytics company employed by the Trump campaign has been fined for refusing to disclose to an American voter how much data they held on him and how they used it.  —  Nico Hines

Trump has never known how to work with Congress  —  Two months after announcing his candidacy for the presidency, Donald Trump arrived at the Iowa State Fair in a “Trump"-emblazoned helicopter.  Over an hour-and-a-half, he pushed through the fairgrounds, surrounded by a clot of admirers and curious Iowans.

Donald Trump Jr. Says Border Wall Is Like A Zoo Fence Protecting You From Animals  —  Critics slammed the president's son over the Instagram message.  —  Donald Trump Jr. is getting called out for an Instagram message he posted that compared the proposed border wall to a zoo fence.

Presidential address: The one word Trump didn't say  —  Josh Campbell is a CNN analyst covering national security issues.  He previously served as a Supervisory Special Agent with the FBI, special assistant to the bureau's director, and is currently writing a book on recent attempts by elected officials to undermine the rule of law.

Trump again threatens to cut off FEMA funds for California  —  President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he may order FEMA to cut off funding for forest fire relief in California, ratcheting up an old threat that received widespread condemnation for politicizing a natural disaster.

Secretary Pompeo's Meeting With Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abd al-Mahdi  —  Readout  —  Office of the Spokesperson  —  Washington, DC  —  The below is attributable to Deputy Spokesperson Robert Palladino:  —  Secretary Michael R. Pompeo met today with Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abd al-Mahdi.