The Register's editorial: Steve King should resign for the good of Iowa  —  Some may argue that 4th District voters are getting what they deserve.  But the entire state needs a healthy rural economy.  Low commodity prices and President Trump's tariffs have hit farmers hard.  —  CONNECT

Shutdown's Economic Damage Starts to Pile Up, Threatening an End to Growth  —  WASHINGTON — The partial government shutdown is inflicting far greater damage on the United States economy than previously estimated, the White House acknowledged on Tuesday, as President Trump's economists doubled projections …

Karen Pence Is Working At A School That Bans LGBTQ Employees And Kids  —  The school discriminates against LGBTQ people in its job application and says LGBTQ kids aren't welcome.  —  Karen Pence, wife of Vice President Mike Pence, started at a job this week teaching art at Immanuel Christian School in Northern Virginia.

Hoping to keep his seat and wary of angering the base, McConnell defers to Trump on the shutdown  —  During former President Barack Obama's tenure, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., first as the Senate minority leader and later majority leader, assumed the mantle of lead policy maker and negotiator for his party.

Exclusive excerpt: Chris Christie torches Jared  —  Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie settles scores in “Let Me Finish,” a memoir out Jan. 29 from Hachette Books, writing that President Trump “trusts people he shouldn't, including some of the people who are closest to him.”

T-Mobile announced a merger needing Trump administration approval.  The next day, 9 executives had reservations at Trump's hotel.  —  Last April, telecom giant T-Mobile announced a megadeal: a $26 billion merger with rival Sprint, which would more than double T-Mobile's value and give it a huge new chunk of the cellphone market.

Trump and Putin Have Met Five Times.  What Was Said Is a Mystery.  —  WASHINGTON — The first time they met was in Germany.  President Trump took his interpreter's notes afterward and ordered him not to disclose what he heard to anyone.  Later that night, at a dinner …

New court filing indicates prosecutors have extensive details on Manafort actions not yet made public  —  Prosecutors working for special counsel Robert S. Mueller III have intensively scrutinized Paul Manafort's activities after President Trump's election — including after Manafort was criminally charged …

Republicans Break Ranks Over Move to Lift Sanctions on Russian Oligarch's Firms  —  WASHINGTON — A group of 11 Republican senators broke ranks with their leadership and the administration on Tuesday to side with Democrats in a showdown over sanctions on Russia, underscoring the political sensitivity …

WeWork's CEO Makes Millions as Landlord to WeWork  —  Adam Neumann has bought properties and leased them to his co-working startup, sparking conflict of interest concerns  —  For more than two months after employees at International Business Machines Corp. moved into a Manhattan building managed …

Pelosi gets revenge against one of the Dem rebels  —  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi exacted revenge against one of her most outspoken detractors Tuesday night, blocking Rep. Kathleen Rice from landing a seat on the high-profile House Judiciary Committee.  —  Pelosi lobbied for other members …

“He's not a guy who likes a plan”: How Trump takes his strategic cues from Mike Tyson  —  When a frustrated adviser once tried to convince President Trump to consider a strategic plan, the president launched into a story about his friend Mike Tyson, the former world heavyweight boxing champion.

Ocasio-Cortez Said Poised to Join Panel Overseeing Wall Street  — Socialist Democrat recommended for House finance committee  — 29-year-old New Yorker has called for breakup of biggest banks  —  Wall Street, get ready for a lot more scrutiny from U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Islamic State claims blast in U.S.-patrolled city in Syria; monitoring group, local media report casualties  —  BEIRUT — The Islamic State claimed responsibility Wednesday for a suicide blast in Syria's U.S.-patrolled city of Manbij, marking the first such attack since President Trump …

Most Border Wall Opponents, Supporters Say Shutdown Concessions Are Unacceptable  —  Partisan divide on whether shutdown is ‘very serious’ problem  —  With the partial shutdown of the federal government in its third week, both opponents and supporters of expanding the U.S.-Mexico border …

U.S. troops reportedly killed in Syria suicide attack claimed by ISIS  —  A handful of U.S. troops have reportedly been caught up in an attack in northern Syria, and a monitoring group says Americans are among the dead.  The U.S.-led military coalition in Syria, Operation Inherent Resolve …

Abrams and Gillum are likely 2020 kingmakers  —  Stacey Abrams and Andrew Gillum — two of the Democratic Party's breakout candidates of 2018, despite losing their elections for governor of Georgia and Florida — are looking to parlay their near-success into the defeat of Donald Trump in 2020.

German minister says UK should be given more time on Brexit  —  Berlin is signaling that London should be given more time to figure out its position after the crushing rejection of Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal by the House of Commons.  —  “The first conclusion I can draw …

Sacklers Directed Efforts to Mislead Public About OxyContin, New Documents Indicate  —  A filing in a Massachusetts lawsuit contains dozens of internal Purdue Pharma documents suggesting the family was far more involved than the company has long contended.  —  Members of the Sackler family …

Talk show host calls out black commentator for his “white privilege”  —  “White privilege” is a dubious concept.  It's typically invoked in lieu of reasoned rebuttal.  Often, it's akin to an ad hominen argument.  —  The concept first gained currency on college campuses.

Trump Job Approval Sets New Record for Polarization  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. — The average 79-percentage-point difference between Republicans' and Democrats' job approval ratings of President Donald Trump during his second year in office is the largest Gallup has measured in any presidential year to date.

Is AOC the Future of Politics?  Is Trump?  —  Do these two represent the future of politics?  —  Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Donald Trump could not be more different as people.  Old vs. young; glamorous vs. fat; making ends meet vs. ultra-rich; democratic-socialist vs. populist-conservative.

Democrats refuse to compromise on border wall funding to end the shutdown  —  As the partial government shutdown continues, President Trump tweeted about the new caravan heading for the southern border.  Veuer's Sam Berman has the full story. … CONNECT  —  America has a national security …

Steven Spielberg Met With Puerto Ricans About ‘West Side Story’ Concerns  —  At a town hall with University of Puerto Rico students and faculty, the director, flanked by screenwriter Tony Kushner, said his remake of the musical will strive for authenticity.  Critics say the problems go deeper than that.

Trump blasts Democrats, points to border wall construction elsewhere in the world  —  President Trump lashed out Wednesday at Democrats as “a Party of open borders and crime” and pointed to a surge in construction of border walls by other countries as a standoff continued over his demand for funding a wall at the U.S.-Mexico border.

El Chapo Trial: Former Mexican President Peña Nieto Took $100 Million Bribe, Witness Says  —  Former Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto took a $100 million bribe from international drug traffickers, according to a witness at the trial of Joaquín Guzmán Loera, the infamous crime lord known as El Chapo.

Tucker Carlson Battled Obama Adviser Over Trump Bashing NATO, Russia  —  Tucker Carlson debated an Obama foreign policy adviser over whether it is a civic offense to consider withdrawing the United States from NATO or discussing whether the alliance should be altered.

William Barr tries to clean up his Clinton comments — but stumbles into a new Mueller problem  —  A newly released email makes clear Barr thought Clinton probes were more warranted than Mueller's collusion probe.  —  Attorney general nominee William P. Barr's comments about special counsel …

My Mother Worked to Make America Great.  She Lived to See Trump Make It Worse.  —  No, she was no president or business titan.  She was just a fierce woman of the greatest generation who embodied and lived values that will long outlast Trump.  —  BEAST INSIDE