Florida Secretary of State Michael Ertel resigns after Halloween blackface photos emerge  —  Michael Ertel, the newly appointed Secretary of State of Gov. Ron DeSantis, has resigned after photos emerged of him posing as a Hurricane Katrina victim in blackface at a private Halloween party 14 years ago.

Elizabeth Warren to propose new ‘wealth tax’ on very rich Americans, economist says  —  Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) will propose a new “wealth tax” on Americans with more than $50 million in assets, according to an economist advising her on the plan, as Democratic leaders vie …

Trump just lost a lot of leverage in the shutdown  —  Thursday's votes on President Trump's and the Democrats' plans to end the month-long government shutdown were never going to succeed.  But they sure seem to have reduced Trump's leverage.  —  Six Republican senators wound up voting …

Exclusive: White House preparing draft national emergency order and identified $7 billion for wall  —  Washington (CNN)The White House is preparing a draft proclamation for President Donald Trump to declare a national emergency along the southern border and has identified more than $7 billion …

Wilbur Ross doesn't understand why furloughed federal workers need food banks  —  Commerce secretary suggests they should be able to take out bridge loans  —  Chuck Grassley reminds U.S. Olympic Committee about requirements for its tax exemption Senate sets up Thursday test votes on ending shutdown …

Venezuela's Military Backs Maduro  —  Announcement comes a day after Juan Guaidó, head of the national assembly, declared himself president  —  Venezuela's military on Thursday threw its support behind embattled President Nicolás Maduro on Thursday, a day after the head …

Witness in special counsel probe, former Stone associate, collected payments from Infowars through job Stone arranged  —  Over the past several months, author and conspiracy theorist Jerome Corsi has emerged as one of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III's most vexing witnesses in his probe of Russian interference in the 2016 campaign.

The Unfinished Business of Bernie Sanders  —  He went from the rumpled bit player of the progressive movement to a legit presidential candidate and liberal kingmaker.  But now that Sanders wields such enormous power in Democratic politics, the question is, what's he going to do with it?

Trump's Disney Robot Obsession and Anthony Scaramucci's Dick Joke: Scenes From a White House Insider  —  They are who we thought they were.  —  Shortly after Donald Trump's election, a Disney crew was dispatched to the White House to record the new president's voice, which would be played through …

Skripal poisoning: Trump admin yet to impose new Russia sanctions required by law  —  The European Union punished 4 Russians this week in connection with the Skripal poisoning, but the U.S. hasn't moved forward with its own penalties.  —  WASHINGTON — Nearly three months after deeming Russia …

Michael Cohen subpoenaed by Senate Intelligence committee  —  (CNN)President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer Michael Cohen was subpoenaed Thursday to testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee in mid-February, according to a source close to Cohen.  —  It is not clear how Cohen will respond.

Koch network tells donors it plans to stay out of 2020 race, once again declining to back Trump  —  The conservative Koch political network has told donors that it plans to once again stay out of the presidential race and will not work to help reelect President Trump in 2020 …

Fox News Poll: Voters see shutdown as bigger problem than border situation  —  Most voters consider the partial government shutdown a major problem or, even worse, an emergency, according to a new Fox News Poll.  —  After a 33-day stalemate over the funding for a U.S.-Mexico border wall …

Shoot Someone In A Major US City, And Odds Are You'll Get Away With It  —  A shocking number of shootings go unsolved.  In some police departments, hundreds of cases aren't investigated at all.  A joint investigation by The Trace and BuzzFeed News. … Devon Little was shot …

The political scientist Donald Trump should read  —  What Trump would do if he really wanted his wall.  —  It's not often I run across political science that genuinely changes my understanding of how American politics works.  But Frances Lee's research has done exactly that.  Twice.

Yesterday was a reassuring day for me.  I was on my way to Walter Reed Military Hospital for an exam.  As I drove along Interstate 495 my left front tire blew out.  I am a car guy and knew I could change it but it was cold outside and the lug bolts were very tight.

Sen. Michael Bennet slams Ted Cruz for ‘crocodile tears’ over the shutdown  —  Sen. Michael F. Bennet, typically a mild-mannered, congenial guy, on Thursday unleashed all of his furor over the partial government shutdown on Sen. Ted Cruz.  —  In a fiery exchange that played …

Nathan Phillips is a liar, not a victim  —  Days after Nathan Phillips' story of his confrontation with a group of students in Washington was thoroughly discredited, many on the left are still rallying behind him, pretending he was somehow a victim.  —  This, even after both the New York Times …

Group launches ‘Draft Ann Coulter’ for president  —  A political action committee that pushes for stricter immigration controls said Thursday it is launching a campaign to draft conservative writer Ann Coulter to challenge President Trump.  —  Americans for Legal Immigration PAC has been among …

We Followed YouTube's Recommendation Algorithm Down The Rabbit Hole  —  How many clicks through YouTube's “Up Next” recommendations does it take to go from an anodyne PBS clip about the 116th United States Congress to an anti-immigrant video from a designated hate organization?

Where's the ‘art of the deal’?  Trump has simply stopped negotiating to end the shutdown  —  First Read is your briefing from “Meet the Press” and the NBC Political Unit on the day's most important political stories and why they matter.  —  WASHINGTON — As workers continue without pay …

Trump's Wall of Shame  —  It would stand as a lasting reminder of the white racial hostility surging through this moment in American history.  —  This is Jamelle Bouie's debut column.  —  The wall of Donald Trump's campaign and presidency has always operated both as a discrete proposal …

4 girls allegedly strip searched at middle school  —  BINGHAMTON, N.Y. (AP) — A community firestorm has erupted over an alleged strip search of four 12-year-old girls at a New York middle school.  —  The Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin says about 200 community members packed …

This Time It's Russia's Emails Getting Leaked  —  The Russian oligarchs and Kremlin apparatchiks spared by Wikileaks in the past will not be so lucky this week, when transparency activists drop a massive archive of leaked docs.  —  Russian oligarchs and Kremlin apparatchiks may find …

AOC Thinks Concentrated Wealth Is Incompatible With Democracy.  So Did Our Founders.  —  In 1835, Alexis de Tocqueville produced one of the earliest accounts of the American dream.  In his famous study of the Jacksonian U.S., the Frenchman wrote that Americans possessed “the charm of anticipated success” …

California Republican Party gets even smaller: A GOP lawmaker defects to the Democrats  —  California Republicans suffered yet another loss Thursday when one of their Assembly members defected to the Democrats.  —  Democrats celebrated with a victorious news conference Thursday morning …

Ocasio-Cortez's misfired facts on living wage and minimum wage  —  “I think it's wrong that a vast majority of the country doesn't make a living wage, I think it's wrong that you can work 100 hours and not feed your kids.  I think it's wrong that corporations like Walmart and Amazon can get paid …

Bryan Singer to Keep ‘Red Sonja’ Directing Gig Even After New Accusers Speak Out  —  The director will get a fee of up to $10 million for the Millennium film.  —  More than 24 hours after The Atlantic published a bombshell exposé about Bryan Singer and underage boys …

Why do people such as Lindsey Graham come to Congress?  —  Back in the day, small rural airports had textile windsocks, simple and empty things that indicated which way the wind was blowing.  The ubiquitous Sen. Lindsey O. Graham has become a political windsock, and as such, he …