Why are Republicans accused of racism?  Because we're silent on things like this.  —  Tim Scott, a Republican, represents South Carolina in the U.S. Senate.  —  Over the past two years, Republicans have focused on spreading opportunity, and it has paid dividends: From the creation …

Exasperated Democrats try to rein in Ocasio-Cortez  —  Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is already making enemies in the House Democratic Caucus — and some of its members are mounting an operation to bring the anti-establishment, democratic socialist with 2.2 million Twitter followers into the fold.

GoFundMe Border Wall Campaign Implodes, Turns to Kris Kobach and Sheriff Clarke  —  The wall won't build itself.  —  A decorated veteran who raised more than $20 million to finance construction of a wall along the southern U.S. border has announced that he will instead use the money to finance …

The International Crisis of Donald Trump  —  While Washington melts down over the government shutdown, the worst-case scenario for the President's foreign policy has actually happened.  —  Congressional committees, like the priorities of the politicians who run them, change with the times.

Abrams goes to DC to discuss potential 2020 Senate bid  —  Stacey Abrams met with leading Senate Democrats in Washington this week to discuss a potential 2020 challenge to U.S. Sen. David Perdue as she weighs her next step.  —  The Democrat met separately on Thursday with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer …

Exclusive: Trump team should be allowed to ‘correct’ final Mueller report, says Giuliani  —  Rudy Giuliani says President Trump's legal team should be allowed to “correct” special counsel Robert Mueller's final report before Congress or the American people get the chance to read it.

Families of Sandy Hook shooting victims win legal victory in lawsuit against InfoWars, Alex Jones  —  Six families of victims killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School won a legal victory Friday in their fight against controversial radio and internet personality Alex Jones.

Ginsburg absence shakes court: White House makes preparations, coming weeks seen as key  —  White House preparing for possible departure of ailing Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, reports say  —  Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's absence this week from Supreme Court oral arguments …

Trump Sold $35 Million Of Real Estate In 2018  —  Donald Trump sold an estimated $35 million worth of real estate while serving in the White House last year, according to a Forbes analysis of local property records and federal filings.  Although the president delegated day-to-day management …

The Shutdown Has Foggy Bottom in a Funk  —  While diplomats file for unemployment benefits and seek school lunches for their children, Mike Pompeo is making unpaid workers organize a big ambassadors' conference in D.C.  —  Diplomats are filing for unemployment benefits.

APNewsBreak: US approved thousands of child bride requests  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Thousands of requests by men to bring in child and adolescent brides to live in the United States were approved over the past decade, according to government data obtained by The Associated Press.

CNN requests KUSI for local view on the border, declines our reporter after finding out wall works  —  SAN DIEGO (KUSI) - Thursday morning, CNN called the KUSI Newsroom asking if one of our reporters could give them a local view of the debate surrounding the border wall and government shutdown.

Why Jim Yong Kim's move has shaken up the World Bank  —  The day after suddenly announcing that he was ditching the presidency of the World Bank for a Wall Street private equity firm, Jim Yong Kim made an appearance before staff to muster an explanation.  —  In the packed atrium …

US official says troop withdrawal from Syria has started  —  BAGHDAD (AP) — After days of back and forth over U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to pullout American troops from Syria, a U.S. military official said Friday the process of withdrawal has begun, declining to comment on specific timetables or movements.

Most Americans Call Shutdown ‘Embarrassing’ As It's Set To Become Longest In History  —  Three-quarters of Americans say the government shutdown, now tied for the longest in U.S. history, is “embarrassing for the country,” including a majority of Republicans, a new NPR/Ipsos Poll finds.

White House Contemplates Weeks More of Shutdown  —  President Trump's aides have started preparations for the State of the Union speech, discussing how to use the Jan. 29 address if the shutdown remains in place, White House officials said.

Evaluating Trump's economic policies, 2 years in  —  How have Trump's economic policies fared during the first two years of his term?  Paul Solman sits down with the president's top economic adviser, Kevin Hassett, to discuss recent stock market volatility, the Federal Reserve, tariffs …

A Seattle TV station aired doctored footage of Trump's Oval Office speech.  The employee has been fired.  —  On Tuesday night, an estimated 43.3 million Americans hunkered down to watch President Trump make an Oval Office pitch for his border wall.  With the federal government shutdown stretching …

Freedom Caucus members tell Trump to back off wall emergency  —  A core group of the hard-line House Freedom Caucus is urging President Donald Trump against the explosive step of declaring a national emergency to build his wall.  —  Multiple Republicans in the conservative group …

EXCLUSIVE: Transcripts of Lisa Page's Closed-Door Testimonies Provide New Revelations in Spygate Scandal  —  Transcripts of two closed-door testimonies by Lisa Page, the former assistant general counsel at the FBI, have provided new insights into the actions of the FBI, DOJ, and others …

EXCLUSIVE: The Rock slams snowflakes as ‘looking for reasons to be offended’  —  THE world's biggest movie star Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson has body slammed Britain's growing snowflake culture.  —  He “laid the smackdown” on PC softies in an exclusive chat with the Daily Star.

Documents Show NRA and GOP Candidates Coordinated Ads in Key Senate Races  —  The National Rifle Association appears to have illegally coordinated its political advertising with Republican candidates in at least three recent high-profile Senate races, according to Federal Communications Commission records.

Why is Congress so dumb?  —  We lawmakers dumped our in-house experts.  Now lobbyists do the thinking for us.  —  In a year of congressional lowlights, the hearings we held with Silicon Valley leaders last fall may have been the lowest.  One of my colleagues in the House asked Google CEO Sundar Pichai …

A new migrant caravan is forming in Central America, with plans to leave next week  —  MEXICO CITY — Another migrant caravan is forming in Honduras, with plans to set out next week on a journey that will once again test the immigration policies of Mexico and the United States.

Will the Media Be Trump's Accomplice Again in 2020?  —  We have a second chance.  Let's not blow it.  —  “Pocahontas” won't be lonely for long.  —  As other Democrats join Elizabeth Warren in the contest for the party's presidential nomination, President Trump will assign them their own nicknames …

Bloomberg says he'd self-fund possible 2020 White House bid  —  AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg says that if he runs for president, he'll pay for it himself, defending candidates who use personal riches to bankroll campaigns.  —  Bloomberg's comments to reporters …

Is a Portland Professor Being Railroaded by His University for Criticizing Social-Justice Research?  —  Last fall, it was revealed that a trio of researchers, the philosopher Peter Boghossian, the mathematician James Lindsay, and the medieval-studies independent scholar Helen Pluckrose …

The Purge We Need  —  It's past time for the GOP to expel the mouth-breathers and bigots who are ruining the party.  —  Tarrant County's GOP got it half right Thursday night.  —  In a closed door session, the party's precinct chairs voted 139-49 to reject an attempt to oust one of its vice chairmen …

Federal work at Superfund sites suspended during shutdown  —  BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — The government shutdown has suspended federal cleanups at Superfund sites around the nation and forced the cancellation of public hearings, deepening the mistrust and resentment of surrounding residents …

Trump's Typos Reveal His Lack of Fitness for the Presidency  —  They suggest not just inadequate manners or polish, but inadequate thought.  —  The president of the United States has many faults, but let's not ignore this one: He cannot write sentences.  If a tree falls in a forrest …

Due to TSA absences, Miami airport will temporarily close one terminal early for 3 days  —  How does the government shutdown affect you?  —  (CNN)Miami International Airport will close a terminal early for three days because of a shortage of Transportation Security Administration screeners, airport spokesman Greg Chin said Thursday.

Now on Craigslist, Facebook: Household items from furloughed workers trying to make ends meet  —  A federal worker in Morgantown, W.Va., took to Facebook this week to sell welding tools, left behind by his deceased father-in-law.  Another, a die-hard Star Wars fan in Woodbridge, Va. …