GOP senator: Trump's ‘straw man proposal’ not meant to become law  —  A Republican senator who encouraged President Donald Trump to pursue a compromise with congressional Democrats to end the partial government shutdown described the White House's offer this weekend as “a straw man proposal” that is not intended to become law.

The Mayor of Covington, Kentucky, Explains What His City Stands For  —  I don't know who the young man in the MAGA hat in this photo is.  And I don't care to know.  —  His name, which the internet will inevitably turn up, really doesn't matter.  It matters to his parents, of course—and to his teachers.

Inside the Mueller team's decision to dispute BuzzFeed's explosive story on Trump and Cohen  —  When a BuzzFeed reporter first sought comment on the news outlet's explosive report that President Trump had directed his lawyer to lie to Congress, the spokesman for special counsel Robert S. Mueller III treated …

Giuliani: Trump Tower Moscow negotiations ‘as far as October, November’ 2016  —  Rudy Giuliani, President Trump's personal lawyer, says that negotiations over Trump Tower Moscow likely went up to the 2016 election, during an interview with Meet the Press.

The man who stood behind Trump  —  After his laugh was heard around the country, Joe Davidson is wondering: “I'm a good person.  Isn't that what people say about me?”  —  A man on his way to see President Trump was speeding along a two-lane highway when his phone rang.  —  “Yes ma'am . . .”

Trump's Slippage in Support is Real  —  The president is losing support—not just among independents, but from his evangelical and white-male base, too.  —  The veteran and shrewd New York political operative Bruce Gyory, who's always worth listening to, writes:  —  Wanted to drop you a note.

Elizabeth Warren's Early Stroke of Genius  —  CLAREMONT, N.H.—Elizabeth Warren wants the look on her face to be funny.  It's somewhere between stern and confused and disappointed, complete with fists briefly on her hips, like she's playing a mom in a commercial who just found an adorable kid making a mess on the floor.

Giuliani: ‘100 percent certain’ on Trump-Cohen  —  Rudy Giuliani, President Donald Trump's attorney, said Sunday he is “100 percent certain” that Trump never asked Michael Cohen to lie to Congress.  —  Speaking about the president to Chuck Todd on NBC's “Meet the Press,” Giuliani said …

A vulture swoops down on Gannett  —  The smartest insight and analysis, from all perspectives, rounded up from around the web:  —  The Gannett chain was the most voracious acquirer of local papers in the news business, said Brooke Sutherland at ­Bloomberg.  Now “the hunter has become the hunted.”

SEE IT: Blackface video roils elite Brooklyn private school  —  Two white students in blackface jumped and gibbered like monkeys in an allegedly racist video that stunned classmates and parents at an elite Brooklyn private school, the Daily News has learned.