Trump, in Interview, Calls Wall Talks ‘Waste of Time’ and Dismisses Investigations  —  WASHINGTON — A defiant President Trump declared on Thursday that he has all but given up on negotiating with Congress over his border wall and will build it on his own even as he dismissed any suggestions …

Booker is running.  I've watched him for 20 years.  Here's what I've learned  —  It was inevitable, and now it's official: Sen. Cory Booker is running for president.  —  That means he's about to face brutal and unrelenting attacks from competing Democrats, wary Republicans, and probably a few dozen Russian bots.

Vice Media to Reorganize, Lay Off 10 Percent of Staff (Exclusive)  —  The cuts, which will impact around 250 people, are part of new CEO Nancy Dubuc's strategic plan to tighten spending and achieve profitability.  —  Vice Media is planning a reorganization that will include laying off …

Trump Lost the Shutdown, But At Least God Made Him President, and He's Building That Wall  —  Shortly after 7 a.m. on Thursday, President Trump began doing what increasingly passes for his workday: looking at the television and tweeting about it.  “So great to watch & listen to all these people …

Trump makes it official: U.S. to quit missile treaty with Russia  —  The United States is suspending its participation in a key arms control agreement with Russia, and will leave the pact completely in six months, the Trump administration announced Friday.  —  The decision to abandon …

Exclusive: Senate investigators told Trump Jr.'s mysterious calls weren't with his father  —  (CNN)Senate investigators have obtained new information showing Donald Trump Jr.'s mysterious phone calls ahead of the 2016 Trump Tower meeting were not with his father, three sources with knowledge of the matter told CNN.

Howard Schultz ‘freaked out’ by Democratic backlash to independent presidential run, rethinks effort  —  Howard Schultz on opposition to his potential presidential bid: Democrats need a little less caffeine  —  Howard Schultz is getting burned, like a bad cup of Starbucks coffee and it may force …

U.S. Economy Added 304,000 Jobs in January; Unemployment at 4%  —  The strong Labor Department report indicated that private-sector employers shrugged off the government shutdown.  —  The Labor Department released its monthly estimate of hiring, unemployment and wages for January on Friday morning.

We Will Rise … The lines that divide us are nowhere near as strong as the ties that bind us.  When we join together and work together — we will rise.

Sherrod Brown Gives America the Bird  —  It's time for another edition of Logo Watch, where we evaluate the graphic design choices of the growing Democratic field.  We begin today with . . . oh my.  Oh No. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD WHAT IS HAPPENING?  —  Sorry.  I just . . . I'm sorry.  Let's make it smaller.

Immigrants drove hours for fake, ICE-issued court dates on Thursday  —  Fearing deportation if they didn't show up, immigrants across the country traveled to ICE-issued court dates on Thursday only to find out those hearing dates were fake.  Some traveled for hours and hundreds of miles for nothing …

5 Takeaways From The Times's Interview With President Trump  —  WASHINGTON — President Trump wanted to talk.  He initially invited A. G. Sulzberger, the publisher of The New York Times, to an off-the-record dinner.  Mr. Sulzberger countered with a request for an on-the-record interview that included Times reporters.

Utah Voters Approved Medicaid Expansion At The Ballot Box.  The GOP Is Trying To Undo It.  —  The Republican majority in the Utah Legislature is moving fast to defy the will of Utahns who approved the proposition.  —  On Election Day, a majority of Utah voters approved a ballot initiative …

Attack of the Fanatical Centrists  —  Of obsessions, vanity and delusions of superiority.  —  Why is American politics so dysfunctional?  Whatever the deeper roots of our distress, the proximate cause is ideological extremism: Powerful factions are committed to false views of the world, regardless of the evidence.

What Trump is asking friends about the shutdown and 2020  —  Over the past week, President Trump has asked friends and advisers how they think the shutdown has affected him politically and what he should be doing to recover his standing in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan.

America colonisation 'cooled Earth's climate'  —  Colonisation of the Americas at the end of the 15th Century killed so many people, it disturbed Earth's climate.  —  That's the conclusion of scientists from University College London, UK.  —  The team says the disruption …

Tucker: Congress Should Ban Smartphones For Children  —  Tucker Carlson called for Congress to ban smartphones for children during his show on Thursday night.  —  WATCH:  —  It's not surprising then rates of mental illness and suicide among teens began to surge right around 2012.

Freedom Caucus plots with GOP leaders to cause Dem misery  —  The House Freedom Caucus was created to make life hell for the majority.  Now, it's the Democrats' turn to suffer.  —  After last fall's 40-seat electoral disaster, the conservative hard-liners have agreed to a cease-fire …

A domestic terrorist slaughtered 5 women in a Florida bank and hardly anyone noticed  —  It was a quiet, normal Wednesday at the SunTrust Bank branch in Sebring, Florida right up until about 12:30 p.m. or so.  A teller, Marisol Lopez, was behind the counter dealing with any customers.

Where Democratic Presidential Contenders Stand On The Venezuelan Crisis  —  Some of them agree with President Trump's decision to recognize the country's opposition leader as the legitimate president.  —  President Donald Trump drew rare bipartisan praise for his decision …

The Energy 202: EPA adds researcher who calls climate science ‘murky’ to key advisory board  —  THE LIGHTBULB  —  The Trump administration continued its reshaping of how science is evaluated at the Environmental Protection Agency with the appointment Thursday of a slew of new members to a key advisory panel.

Trump Returns This Weekend to Mar-a-Lago, His Gilded Comfort Zone  —  WASHINGTON — After two months spent scorching the earth in Washington and complaining about being cooped up in the White House, President Trump is planning to return this weekend to the one place where he knows he will receive …

Revealed: FBI investigated civil rights group as ‘terrorism’ threat and viewed KKK as victims  —  Bureau spied on California activists, citing potential ‘conspiracy’ against the ‘rights’ of neo-Nazis  —  The FBI opened a “domestic terrorism” investigation into a civil rights group in California …

Republicans seize on liberal positions to paint Democrats as radical  —  Sen. Kamala D. Harris is raising the possibility of eliminating private health insurance.  Sen. Elizabeth Warren and other prominent Democrats are floating new and far-reaching plans to tax the wealthy.

Fake FCC Comments Linked to Ex-Trump Campaign Director's Org, Boosted By Roger Stone  —  An organization run by a former Trump campaign statewide director is being investigated by the New York attorney general's office for its role in submitting potentially hundreds of thousands of fraudulent comments …

‘Everything stays on the table’: 2020 Dems weigh killing the filibuster  —  Democrats have a lot of big ideas if they win back the White House and Congress in 2020.  But it's not clear they are willing to do a key thing needed to implement them: eliminating the filibuster.