Cliff Sims Is Proud to Have Served Trump  —  In August, 2016, Cliff Sims, the C.E.O. of an Alabama-based conservative news site, joined the Trump campaign.  He then followed Trump to the White House, where he worked as the special assistant to the President and as the director …

No GOP appetite for a second shutdown  —  Senate Republicans are signaling they will do just about anything to prevent a second shutdown after the White House was widely seen as badly losing the political fight over the closure that ended with President Trump's retreat on Friday.

Tulsi Gabbard campaign in disarray  —  Tulsi Gabbard's presidential campaign hasn't officially launched yet but it's already melting down.  —  Two-and-a-half weeks after the Hawaii Democrat told CNN she had decided to run for the White House—an announcement that even her own staff didn't know was coming …

Chris Christie rips Kushner's dad: ‘One of the most loathsome, disgusting crimes that I prosecuted’  —  Former New Jersey governor Chris Christie took several shots at White House senior adviser Jared Kushner in his new book “Let Me Finish,” alleging that in an act of spite …

Kamala Harris is open to compromise on private insurers' role during ‘Medicare for all’ push  —  Kamala Harris backs ‘Medicare-for-all’ plan  —  (CNN)By stating she would eliminate private insurers as a necessary part of implementing “Medicare-for-all,” California Sen. Kamala Harris during …

GOP Lawmaker Tells Ocasio-Cortez Congress Isn't Just ‘Eating Bonbons’  — Leading House conservative addresses New York Democrat  — Two lawmakers mix it up at first meeting of Oversight panel  —  A leading House conservative backer of President Donald Trump decided …

Trump sat down with Putin at G20 without US note-taker  —  Donald Trump sat down with Vladimir Putin for several minutes of conversation at the end of an evening event at the G20 summit in Buenos Aires in November, with no translator or note-taker from the US side to record the dialogue between the leaders …

Livid liberals try to bully Schultz out of 2020  —  Furious Democrats hope to pound Starbucks chairman emeritus Howard Schultz into an early departure from his exploration of an independent 2020 bid.  —  The state of play: These Democrats want to prevent the coffee king from siphoning anti-Trump votes …

Exclusive: Clemson's Black Players Refused to Accept Donald Trump's Invitation to the McCookout  —  When Filet-O-Fish aficionado Donald Trump invited the Clemson Tigers to enjoy the White House's first Presidential Value Meal, most of Clemson's national championship football team members jumped …

Phoenix restaurant says this is a photo of coal miners.  But I see offensive blackface  —  Opinion: Who determines what's offensive?  A photo in a downtown Phoenix restaurant raises this key question.  —  CONNECT  —  A few weeks ago, I attended a holiday party at a downtown Phoenix restaurant.

Facebook pays teens to install VPN that spies on them  —  Desperate for data on its competitors, Facebook has been secretly paying people to install a “Facebook Research” VPN that lets the company suck in all of a user's phone and web activity, similar to Facebook's Onavo Protect app …

Deep space radio waves baffle astronomers; aliens not ruled out  —  Aliens!  —  Astronomers can't rule out that possibility after an exciting new discovery.  A team in Canada recently stumbled upon ultra-brief repeating waves from deep space for only the second time in history.

Exclusive: Foxconn reconsidering plans to make LCD panels at Wisconsin plant  —  (Reuters) - Foxconn Technology Group is reconsidering plans to make advanced liquid crystal display panels at a $10 billion Wisconsin campus, and said it intends to hire mostly engineers and researchers rather …

A Growing Chorus of Republican Critics for Trump's Foreign Policy  —  WASHINGTON — They think pulling out of Syria and Afghanistan would be a debacle.  They think North Korea cannot be trusted.  They think the Islamic State is still a threat to America.  They think Russia is bad and NATO is good.

I was ambassador to Afghanistan.  This deal is a surrender.  —  Ryan Crocker is diplomat in residence at Princeton University and a former U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Syria, Kuwait and Lebanon.  —  January 2002.  I arrive in Kabul to reopen the U.S. Embassy.  Destruction is everywhere.

Jared Trying To Broker A Major Immigration Compromise For Some Reason  —  The words “grand bargain” aren't used here by Axios but that's the upshot.  Kushner's thinking big — not “DREAM for wall” but bigger, trying to see if he can cobble something together that brings everyone aboard a la his success on criminal justice reform.

Lisa Murkowski Revives Bill Targeting Missing And Murdered Native Women  —  Indigenous women are disappearing and being killed.  Savanna's Act would help to bring them some justice.  —  WASHINGTON Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) reintroduced legislation on Monday to help law enforcement respond …

Trump digs in on border-wall funds as congressional negotiators prepare to convene  —  President Trump warned Wednesday that congressional negotiators would be “wasting their time” if they do not discuss his demand for a U.S.-Mexico border wall that led to a 35-day partial government shutdown that ended last week with a temporary truce.

Illinois police “arrest” Elsa for bringing polar vortex  —  Let her go!  An Illinois police department has placed Elsa — the Queen of Arendell from the Disney movie “Frozen” — under arrest Tuesday for bringing frigid cold temperatures to the Midwest.  For the first time in forever, Elsa is being punished for her crimes.

Peter Jackson Signs On to Make New Beatles Film Out of Unseen ‘Let It Be’ Footage  —  Sir Peter, meet Sir Paul, and Mother Mary.  “Lord of the Rings” filmmaker Peter Jackson has come aboard a project that Paul McCartney had previously hinted was in the works: a new Beatles documentary using …

Mueller Witness' Team Gamed Out Russian Meddling ... in 2015  —  One former analyst at the Wikistrat consulting firm called it “disturbing.”  —  Days after Donald Trump rode down an escalator at Trump Tower and announced he'd run for president, a little-known consulting firm with links …

Democrats are calling on the same donors, but few are ready to spend  —  The Democrats plotting presidential campaigns have relied on a lot of the same people to fund their political careers.  So far, those whales aren't ready to pick a 2020 favorite.  —  According to a McClatchy analysis …

From fake news to enemy of the people: An anatomy of Trump's tweets  —  Since announcing his candidacy in the 2016 presidential elections to the end of his second year in office, U.S. President Donald Trump has sent 1,339 tweets about the media that were critical, insinuating, condemning, or threatening.

Trump's company plans to expand check of employees' legal status following report that it hired undocumented workers for years  —  President Trump's company plans to institute E-Verify, a federal program that allows employers to check whether new hires are legally eligible to work in the United States …

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti will not run for president  —  LOS ANGELES — Eric Garcetti will not run for president in 2020, he confirmed late Tuesday, saying that being mayor of Los Angeles is “what I am meant to do.”  —  Garcetti, who traveled extensively for months as he mulled a presidential run …

Chuck Schumer Wants A LITERAL LOSER To Deliver The Democratic SOTU Response  —  ShareTweetSubscribe to the Chicks!  —  Email address:  —  Leave this field empty if you're human:  —  WATCH: Chuck Schumer Wants A LITERAL LOSER To Deliver The Democratic SOTU Response  —  I'm sorry, but...what?

Oberlin, University of Chicago and Other Elite Colleges Extend Application Deadlines  —  Elite colleges including Oberlin, George Washington University and the University of Chicago have extended their application deadlines in an effort to boost enrollment, a sign of the growing pressure many schools face to fill incoming classes.

Venezuela is how ‘illiberal democracy’ ends  —  For absolute proof that the ideological language of the 20th century is insufficient to describe the political realities of the 21st century, look no further than the international alliances that have formed around Venezuela.

Whitaker says Mueller's decisions will be reviewed.  It's unclear what that even means.  —  A Justice Department news conference — to announce criminal charges related to Chinese telecommunications conglomerate Huawei — has left a lot of lawyers scratching their heads.

U.S. Midwest Freezes, Australia Burns: This Is the Age of Weather Extremes  —  In Chicago, officials warned about the risk of almost instant frostbite on what could be the city's coldest day ever.  Warming centers opened around the Midwest.  And schools and universities closed throughout …

How a Ballot Initiative to Expand Medicaid in Utah May Be Denied  —  SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — In November, Utah's voters defied their state legislature and moved to adopt Obamacare's Medicaid expansion in the state.  With strong majority support, Utahns passed Proposition 3 …

Go into debt to pay rent?  California startup finances your rent with high-interest loans  —  Some critics worry it could make tenants' troubles worse  —  As soaring prices leave many Bay Area residents struggling to pay rent, one startup is offering an innovative but controversial option …

“We're Trying to Grab People by the Collar Every Day”: Axios, the Fast-Twitch Media Darling, Is Celebrating Its Second Anniversary—And Virtual Profitability  —  The start-up, forged by former Politico all-pros, had revenue of $25 million in its second full year.  What's next?  Subscriptions, naturally.