Pelosi has edge over Trump on budget negotiations, CBS News poll shows  —  Seven in 10 Americans don't think the issue of a border wall is worth a government shutdown, which they say is now having a negative impact on the country.  But partisans don't want their own side to budge …

Trump's Lawyer Said There Were “No Plans” For Trump Tower Moscow.  Here They Are.  —  Trump's lawyer claims the Moscow tower was barely more than a notion.  “There were no drafts.  Nothing in the file.”  Documents obtained by BuzzFeed News tell a different story.

Gay valedictorian banned from speaking at Covington graduation ‘not surprised’ by D.C. controversy  —  A gay student who was barred by the Covington diocese from speaking at his 2018 graduation, is “not surprised” by the Covington Catholic High School video.

Gawker 2.0 Implodes as Its Only Reporters Quit  —  The new site's only two full-time writers exited Wednesday in protest of editorial director Carson Griffith's offensive remarks about everything from race to penis size.  —  Gawker 2. is blowing up on the launchpad just two weeks after the site's …

A “go big” idea to end the shutdown  —  A new immigration idea has been circulating over the past 24 hours at senior levels inside the White House and on Capitol Hill: Give a path to green cards to the 700,000 current DACA recipients, three sources familiar with the conversations tell Axios.

Biden's Paid Speech Buoyed the G.O.P. in Midwest Battleground  — A speech by Joe Biden in October helped Fred Upton, a vulnerable Republican, win re-election in Michigan.  — Mr. Biden, who earned $200,000 for the speech, stunned Democrats and elated Republicans by praising Mr. Upton …

The Uninsured Rate Is The Highest It's Been In 5 Years  —  The Affordable Care Act brought the share of Americans without health insurance to a historic low.  Things have changed since Donald Trump became president.  —  About 7 million fewer Americans had health insurance at the end …

White House Economist Says Economy May Not Grow In First Quarter  —  Kevin Hassett says growth could be ‘very close to zero’ if shutdown continues  —  WASHINGTON—The Trump administration's top economist said Wednesday that the U.S. economy may not grow at all in the first quarter if the partial government shutdown continues.

Federal Employees Going Through ‘a Little Bit of Pain’ but Border Wall Is ‘Bigger Than’ Them Says Lara Trump  —  The 800,000 furloughed federal employees and 400,000 working without pay due to the government shutdown over $5 billion dollars in funding for a wall on the U.S. southern border are going through …

Pete Buttigieg joins the Democratic race for the 2020 presidential nomination  —  South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, who has signaled for months that he would try to leap from local to presidential politics, announced Wednesday that he will join the burgeoning cast of Democratic candidates in the 2020 race.

The Trump-Era Overcorrection  —  It was like a scene out of left-wing protest literature: a group of white, parochial-school boys in “Make America Great Again” gear taunting an American Indian protester, jeering and laughing, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial after attending the anti-abortion March for Life.

Who is the prototypical rich person?  —  I recommend this op-ed by Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman.  Not because I agree with its recommendation of super high tax rates on the rich, but because it makes clear the perspectives and motives of the Left.  —  In the standard economic approach …

‘Nobody Is Going to Believe You’  —  Over the past two decades, Bryan Singer's films—The Usual Suspects, Valkyrie, Superman Returns, four of the X-Men movies—have earned more than $3 billion at the box office, putting him in the top tier of Hollywood directors.

Hundreds of IRS employees are skipping work.  That could delay tax refunds.  —  Hundreds of Internal Revenue Service employees have received permission to skip work during the partial government shutdown due to financial hardship, and union leaders said Tuesday they expected absences to surge …

Report Says Shutdown Is Impeding F.B.I.'s Law Enforcement Efforts  —  WASHINGTON — As the partial government shutdown enters its fifth week, the funding freeze has impeded F.B.I. efforts to crack down on child trafficking, violent crime and terrorism, according to a report issued Tuesday …

Sheila Jackson Lee Leaves 2 Posts After Aide Says She Was Fired for Reporting Sexual Assault  —  WASHINGTON — Representative Sheila Jackson Lee, facing blowback from a lawsuit claiming she fired an aide who said she was sexually assaulted by a supervisor at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation …

‘Knock them in the teeth.’ How Trump turns crises into leverage.  —  The 800,000 federal workers who are expected to miss their second paycheck in the coming days are the most extreme example yet of a negotiating tactic President Trump has used repeatedly since taking office.

No. 3 House Democrat floats possible $5.7 billion in border funding  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The No. 3 Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday raised the possibility of approving $5.7 billion in funding to secure the U.S. border though various means but not by building a wall.

US backtracks on Iran-focused conference in Poland after objections  —  Broadening of agenda to Middle East may make it easier for the UK to attend  —  European objections have forced the United States to backtrack on plans to stage a two-day conference in Poland focused on building a global coalition against Iran.

New York law is an open invitation to home invaders … There is a reason homeowners can rarely afford to dispense mercy on an overnight invader: Criminal intruders tend to be the dangerous type.  What homeowners don't expect are law enforcers and prosecutors going after them for ­defending themselves and their loved ones.

Bill Clinton Is Writing a Book About His Post-Presidential Life  —  Former President Bill Clinton is writing a new book about his post-presidential life, according to people familiar with the project, which was also confirmed by his spokesman.  —  While Mr. Clinton has been out of public office …

U.S. ramping up probe against Julian Assange, WikiLeaks says  —  Federal prosecutors have formally approached people in the U.S., Germany and Iceland and pressed them to testify against Assange, according to WikiLeaks.  —  American federal prosecutors have been pressing witnesses in the U.S …