Trump Discussed Pulling U.S. From NATO, Aides Say Amid New Concerns Over Russia  —  WASHINGTON — There are few things that President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia desires more than the weakening of NATO, the military alliance among the United States, Europe and Canada that has deterred Soviet and Russian aggression for 70 years.

Democrats turn down White House invitation for shutdown talks  —  No Democrats will attend a lunch on Tuesday with President Trump designed to reach an agreement to end the government shutdown and fund a border wall, the White House said.  —  Trump had invited several moderate House Democrats …

Mueller Probes an Event With Nunes, Flynn, and Foreign Officials at Trump's D.C. Hotel  —  Devin Nunes has been a pitbull for the president, growling at the prosecutors investigating Trumpworld.  Now an event that Nunes himself attended is under Mueller's microscope.

NBC News Tells Staffers Not To Directly Call Steve King's Racist Remarks Racist  —  “It is ok to attribute to others as in ‘what many are calling racist,’” an email from the standards department reads in part.  —  NBC News' standards department sent an email to staffers Tuesday telling …

Chris Christie accuses Jared Kushner of political ‘hit job’ in explosive new book  —  Exclusive: ex-New Jersey governor, who had prosecuted Kushner's father, was sacked as head of Trump's transition team  —  Chris Christie, who was ousted as chairman of Donald Trump's White House transition team in 2016 …

Democratic National Committee drops partnership with Women's March  —  The Democratic National Committee has dropped its partnership in the Women's March over anti-Semitism concerns, according to a Democratic source.  —  This development comes amid accusations of anti-Semitism within …

McConnell blocks House bill to reopen government for second time  —  Senate Republicans blocked a House-passed package to reopen the federal government for a second time in as many weeks on Tuesday.  —  Democratic Sens. Chris Van Hollen (Md.) and Ben Cardin (Md.) asked for consent …

Poll: A majority of Americans support raising the top tax rate to 70 percent  —  Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and her Republican critics have both called her proposal to dramatically increase America's highest tax rate “radical” but a new poll released Tuesday indicates that a majority of Americans agrees with the idea.

New York federal judge blocks Trump on the 2020 census  —  A federal judge in New York on Monday ruled against the Trump administration's decision to include a citizenship question to the 2020 census.  —  Why it matters: Critics argue that the inclusion of a citizenship questions would lead …

John Kasich signs with CNN as senior political commentator  —  (CNN)John Kasich's time as Ohio governor just came to an end.  And his time as a CNN contributor just began.  —  On Tuesday morning CNN announced that Kasich is the newest addition to the network's stable of contributors.

CNN Analyst Calls Out Fox News' David Webb On-Air For ‘White Privilege’.  Webb Informs Her He's Black.  —  2019 is so woke that you don't even need to be white to be accused of “white privilege” anymore.  —  CNN analyst Areva Martin mistakenly accused Sirius XM radio host …

Twenty Things You Probably Didn't Know about Kamala Harris  —  A trip through the life and career of the California senator as she gears up for a probable presidential run  —  1. As both a district attorney and state attorney general, Harris pushed for a new statewide law …

A Failure to Adjust  —  We can't blame all of the struggles of the working class on “China Shock.”  —  A debate has erupted, particularly on the right, in response to a recent Tucker Carlson monologue on how “Washington elite” policy choices, in particular international trade liberalization …

Beto O'Rourke's immigration plan: No wall but no specifics  —  EL PASO — In a digital ad that recently went viral, Beto O'Rourke tore into President Trump's desired border wall with soaring footage of the Rio Grande Valley and an explanation of what the wall would do: cut off access to the river …

White House Considering Indra Nooyi to Head World Bank  —  WASHINGTON — The White House is considering Indra K. Nooyi, the former chief executive officer of PepsiCo, for the position of World Bank president, according to several people familiar with the process.

‘The essence of involuntary servitude’: Federal unions sue the Trump administration to get paid for shutdown work  —  BREAKING: A federal judge Tuesday refused to compel the government to pay federal employees who have been forced to work without pay during shutdown.  This article will be updated.

Former top FBI lawyer James Baker subject of criminal media leak probe, transcript reveals  —  Republican's questions uncovered revelations that FBI leadership debated if Trump was directed by Russians to fire Comey  —  The former top lawyer at the FBI has been under federal investigation …

Adam Schiff makes specialty hires for reopened Russia probe  —  Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee have wasted no time in beefing up the investigative staff dedicated to continuing the committee's work on its semi-dormant Russia probe, even as the committee's new membership is still taking shape.

Mueller files status report highlighting cooperation by key witness  —  Former Trump campaign aide Richard Gates is still cooperating with federal prosecutors on “several ongoing investigations,” according to a status report filed by special counsel Robert Mueller and Gates' defense attorneys on Tuesday.

The polar vortex has fractured, and the eastern U.S. faces a punishing stretch of winter weather  —  Forecasts call for a very cold and stormy pattern, just underway, to peak in a few weeks  —  The swirling winds tens of thousands of feet high in the sky above the Arctic — the dreaded polar vortex …