Exclusive: Robert Mueller met with Trump's pollster  —  Washington (CNN)Special counsel Robert Mueller sought information directly last year from one of Donald Trump's campaign pollsters who is also a former business associate of Paul Manafort's.  —  Mueller's team met with pollster Tony Fabrizio …

Before Trump, Steve King Set the Agenda for the Wall and Anti-Immigrant Politics  —  Years before President Trump forced a government shutdown over a border wall, triggering a momentous test of wills in Washington, Representative Steve King of Iowa took to the House floor to show off a model of a 12-foot border wall he had designed.

Test of steel prototype for border wall showed it could be sawed through  —  NBC News obtained a photo showing results of a test on a steel wall prototype.  —  President Donald Trump has repeatedly advocated for a steel slat design for his border wall, which he described as …

Rubio: Are You Ready For President Kamala Harris Declaring A National Emergency Over Climate Change?  —  Does anyone care about long-term consequences for precedents set in the short term any more?  I thought this argument died when Harry Reid pursued the nuclear option in the Senate to allow Barack Obama to stack the DC Circuit.

Trump White House urging allies to prepare for possible RBG departure  —  The White House is reaching out to political allies and conservative activist groups to prepare for an ailing Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's possible death or departure from the Supreme Court — an event that would trigger …

Beware the Lindsey Graham amnesty betrayal  —  Only in politics can the very people who created a problem then be tasked with solving the problem.  And they try to solve it with more of what caused it in the first place.  —  DACA and similar amnesty magnets created the new wave of Central American migration since 2013.

POLITICO Playbook: Trump's one way out  —  DRIVING THE DAY  —  SHUTDOWN ... DAY 20 ... TRUMP'S ONLY WAY OUT ...  THERE IS AN INCREASING RECOGNITION in the White House and among his most important allies on Capitol Hill that the only way for PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP to get movement …

Trump will “probably” declare national emergency absent a deal in Congress  —  President Trump indicated Thursday he will likely declare a national emergency if Congress doesn't reach an agreement to fund his border wall — a move that is sure to set off challenges in the courts if he goes ahead with it.

Kamala Harris Ready To Enter Race For President, Sources Say  —  She's Finalizing Plans For Bay Area Rally To Announce Candidacy  —  Sen. Kamala Harris has decided to run for president in 2020 and will announce her candidacy on or around Martin Luther King Jr. Day, probably at a campaign rally in Oakland …

Texas landowners prepare wall fight; Trump to visit border  —  HIDALGO, Texas (AP) — As President Donald Trump travels to the border in Texas to make the case for his $5.7 billion wall, landowner Eloisa Cavazos says she knows firsthand how the project will play out if the White House gets its way.

O'Rourke talks border during Instagram video at dentist  —  Former Rep. Beto O'Rourke (D-Texas) recorded his trip to the dentist on Thursday to showcase his hygienist's experiences growing up near the southern border.  —  “So I'm here at the dentist and we're going to continue our series …

Q13 FOX staffer fired after TV station airs altered Trump video  —  A staffer at local FOX affiliate Q13 has been fired after the station aired what appears to be a doctored video of President Trump's Tuesday night speech from the Oval Office.  —  A staffer at local FOX affiliate Q13 …

Texas county GOP set to vote this week to remove leader because he is Muslim  —  The Tarrant County Republicans in Texas will vote this week to remove their vice chairman because he is Muslim.  —  Republican Dorrie O'Brien is leading a group of colleagues in an attempt to unseat Shahid Shafi …

Police Issue Warrant for Soccer Superstar Ronaldo's DNA in Rape Case  —  After discovering DNA on dress of alleged victim, Las Vegas police want to know if it matches Ronaldo's  —  Authorities in Las Vegas have issued a warrant to obtain the DNA of soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo …

Ocean Warming Is Accelerating Faster Than Thought, New Research Finds  —  Scientists say the warming of the world's oceans is accelerating more quickly than previously thought, a finding with dire implications for climate change given that the vast majority of the heat trapped by greenhouse gases ends up stored there.

Pompeo repudiates Obama Mideast policy, takes aim at Iran  —  CAIRO (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo delivered a scathing rebuke of the Obama administration's Mideast policies on Thursday as he denounced the former president for “misguided” and “wishful” thinking that diminished America's role …

The ‘doomsday’ scenario: Here's what happens if the shutdown drags on  —  Economists warn that a catastrophe is in the making if the partial government closure continues for weeks or months.  —  The country would face an economic hellscape if the government shutdown lasts “months or even years …

Farenthold resigns as Calhoun Port Authority lobbyist … Calhoun Port Authority Board Chairman Randy Boyd, middle left, speaks with Port Director Charles Hausmann before a special meeting May 24 in Point Comfort.  During the meeting, the board voted 3-3 to fire Blake Farenthold.

Fact-checking the mob song from ‘Beauty and the Beast’ … An angry mob, having learned that a Beast lives near their village in rural France, 18th century  —  GASTON AND VILLAGERS: We're not safe until he's dead.  —  First off, there are many ways to die that are not directly related to beast attacks!

Payday without pay hits federal workers as shutdown drags on  —  OGDEN, Utah (AP) — Payday will come Friday without any checks for about 800,000 federal employees affected by the government shutdown, forcing workers to scale back spending, cancel trips, apply for unemployment benefits and take out loans to stay afloat.

Exclusive: Pentagon preparing options to build border wall as Trump weighs emergency declaration  —  WASHINGTON - The Pentagon is preparing options to build barriers on the southern border in the event that President Donald Trump declares a national emergency there, the latest indication …

Rick Scott blindsides DeSantis on his way out  —  Scores of 11th-hour appointments by outgoing Gov. Rick Scott.  Roadblocks for the new transition team.  A rival inaugural ball.  —  The contentious handoff of the Florida governor's office from Scott to fellow Republican Ron DeSantis …