Prosecutors Examining Ukrainians Who Flocked to Trump Inaugural  —  WASHINGTON — Hours after he was sworn in as America's 45th president, Donald J. Trump and his wife, Melania, swayed together to a rendition of the Frank Sinatra classic “My Way,” as hundreds of their wealthiest …

Trump could take billions from disaster areas to fund wall  —  Under the proposal, Trump could dip into money set aside to fund civil works projects all over the country including storm-damaged areas of Puerto Rico.  —  President Donald Trump has been briefed on a plan that would use …

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.

I worked in the Justice Department.  I hope its lawyers won't give Trump an alibi.  —  Erica Newland is a counsel for the nonprofit group Protect Democracy and a former attorney adviser in the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel.  —  President Trump said Thursday that he will …

U.S. Begins Syria Withdrawal, Amid Uncertainty Over Strategy  —  BEIRUT, Lebanon — The United States has started withdrawing its troops from Syria, an American military spokesman said on Friday, further muddling the Trump administration's plans for disengagement from one of the Middle East's most complex battlefields.

‘The secretary barely testified’: Pelosi rebukes Mnuchin after Russia sanctions meeting  —  The Treasury secretary said he was ‘somewhat shocked’ by the remarks following a briefing about lifting sanctions on three Russian companies.  —  House Democrats excoriated Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin …

Pompeo's Cairo speech panned as ‘tone-deaf,’ ‘hyper-partisan,’ ‘offensive’  —  US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks to students at the American University in Cairo, Egypt, Jan. 10, 2019.  —  WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's stridently partisan speech in Cairo today chiding …

“I Felt Dirty”: Former Employees Of The Veteran Crowdfunding Trump's Wall Say He Pushed Fake News To Get Rich  —  “He never wanted the truth.  It was all just for clicks, and the more inflammatory, the better,” a former employee said.  “I felt dirty writing the stuff.”

Current shutdown ties record for longest government shutdown in US history  —  Where can't you travel during the shutdown?  —  Washington (CNN)The ongoing partial government shutdown hit a new milestone on Friday by matching the record for the longest government shutdown in US history.

Tarrant County GOP's vice-chairman survives recall vote over his religion  —  County party officials overwhelmingly rejected attempts to remove Shahid Shafi because he's Muslim.  The 139-49 vote came after the state's top Republican officials denounced the failed move to oust the trauma surgeon.

What Someone Needs to Explain to Trump About ‘National Emergencies’  —  When the recently arrived White House counsel Pat Cipollone took up his post, he could have had no illusions that the president he served would make his professional life easy.  Just weeks into the job …

Farm Country Stood by Trump.  But the Shutdown Is Pushing It to Breaking Point.  —  DENVER, Colo. — In Georgia, a pecan farmer lost out on his chance to buy his first orchard.  The local Farm Service Agency office that would have processed his loan application was shut down.

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.

EXCLUSIVE: ‘I killed JonBenét Ramsey!’  Convicted pedophile Gary Oliva has confessed to the murder of six-year-old pageant princess in prison letters to his friend - claiming it was ‘an accident’  — Gary Oliva, 54, has long been a suspect in the murder of JonBenét Ramsey …

Michael Cohen Agrees to Testify to Congress About Work for Trump  —  WASHINGTON — Michael D. Cohen, President Trump's former personal lawyer who implicated him in a scheme to pay hush money to two women claiming to have had affairs with him, has agreed to testify before the House Oversight …

Newsom promises unemployment insurance to California's federal workers  —  SACRAMENTO — California Gov. Gavin Newsom vowed Thursday that thousands of federal workers in California who are furloughed in the partial government shutdown will be made “quickly eligible” for unemployment insurance …

Republicans plotting to oppose Trump in 2020 waiting for Mueller and June before pulling trigger  —  Renegade Republicans intent on upending President Trump in 2020 are keeping their powder dry, waiting to see if legal and political controversies drive him from office first.

Manchin considering running for Governor... again  —  U.S. Senator Joe Manchin is once again considering running for Governor of West Virginia, according to several people who are familiar with the Senator's thinking.  —  At first glance, the fact that the political veteran is even contemplating the idea may be surprising.

Americans don't want Trump's border wall.  This is what they want instead.  —  Americans have lately been spectators for a gladiatorial battle between President Trump and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.  The president insists on getting $5.7 billion for a border wall in exchange for agreeing to fund the government and end the shutdown.

Sherrod Brown plans Iowa trip as top aide accelerates 2020 prep  —  Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown is preparing the biggest step yet toward a potential presidential campaign: a trip to Iowa in the coming weeks, which is in the final stages of planning and will soon be announced, according to four people with knowledge of the trip.

The Great Issue of Our Time...  ...is whether, as a people, we are too dumb to sustain a democracy.  This question arises often; for me, most recently, upon seeing this Daily Mail headline: “Twitter user stuns the internet with math that proves one 18-inch pizza has more in it than TWO 12-inch helpings.”

Early Withdrawal Will Lead to More Terrorism  —  A recent lull in attacks is welcome, but it seems to have made American leaders complacent.  —  America has a new counterterrorism policy: retrenchment.  Declaring victory over ISIS, the Trump administration seeks to bring home the modest number …

Fusion GPS-Linked Group Worked With Tech Company Tied To Russian ‘False Flag’ Operation  — A non-profit group linked to Fusion GPS has ties to a cybersecurity firm recently implicated in a self-described “false flag” operation in the Alabama Senate race.  — The Democracy Integrity Project …