No thank you, Mr. Pecker  —  Something unusual happened to me yesterday.  Actually, for me it wasn't just unusual—it was a first.  I was made an offer I couldn't refuse.  Or at least that's what the top people at the National Enquirer thought.  I'm glad they thought that, because it emboldened them to put it all in writing.

Virginia Sen. Tommy Norment was an editor for VMI yearbook filled with racist photos and slurs  —  Blackface and Confederate flag images are seen from the 1968 edition of Bomb: Virginia Military Institute's yearbook.  —  Virginia Senator Thomas K. Norment arrives on the floor of the Senate chamber on Thursday, Feb. 7, 2019.

Trump furious after Schiff hires former NSC aides to help oversee his administration  —  Washington (CNN)House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff has hired officials with experience at the National Security Council to help with its oversight of President Donald Trump's administration, according to a committee aide.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Releases Green New Deal Outline  —  Whether it's a deadly cold snap or a hole in an Antarctic glacier or a terrifying new report, there seem to be constant reminders now of the dangers that climate change poses to humanity.  —  Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez …

‘They Hate This Guy’: Matt Whitaker Braces for Showdown With Dems  —  'We don't know what we're up against with the House Judiciary Committee,' one Justice Department source told The Daily Beast.  ‘We have no idea.’  —  Betsy Woodruff  —  The Justice Department is bracing for impact.

Year Before Killing, Saudi Prince Told Aide He Would Use ‘a Bullet’ on Khashoggi  —  WASHINGTON — Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia told a top aide in a conversation in 2017 that he would use “a bullet” on Jamal Khashoggi, the journalist killed in October …

“I Am Disgusted”: Behind the Scenes of Trump's Increasingly Scrutinized $107 Million Inauguration  —  Stephanie Winston Wolkoff was the mastermind event producer behind Trump's inaugural celebration, which has since come under S.D.N.Y. investigation.  Now, taped conversations reveal Wolkoff's concerns …

Manafort kept working in Ukraine after Mueller indictment, transcript shows  —  According to prosecutors, Paul Manafort and Konstantin Kilimnik had a discussion that referred to a “backdoor.”  —  The newly released transcript of a sealed hearing held earlier this week reveals …

Former Fox News reporter expected to be named to lead counter-propaganda efforts at State  —  (CNN)A former Fox News reporter is expected to be appointed to lead the State Department agency in charge of efforts to counter foreign propaganda and disinformation, two officials told CNN.

BREAKING: U.S. Rep. Rob Woodall will not seek re-election  —  U.S. Rep. Rob Woodall, who narrowly won the closest congressional race in the nation last fall, will not seek re-election next year, all but ensuring his rapidly-diversifying suburban House district will become one of the country's fiercest political battlegrounds in 2020.

Poll: Only 58 percent of Americans oppose blackface  —  The roiling blackface scandal in Virginia continues.  It not only includes Gov. Ralph Northam (D) but now Attorney General Mark Herring (D), who says that he dressed in blackface at a college party.  The scandal has put renewed focus …

Democratic focus groups may have identified a hidden vulnerability for Trump  —  This is the week that the broad outlines of President Trump's reelection strategy are coming into focus.  Trump will continue pushing forward with his reactionary xenophobic nationalist agenda on immigration …

A Florida politician allegedly made a habit of licking men's faces.  She's now resigned.  —  It was supposed to be a fun, lighthearted alternative to typical government meetings, and one befitting a laid-back beach town.  The city commission of Madeira Beach, Fla. — a coastal community …

Does inconspicuous clerk's marking on Stone indictment hold clues to Mueller case?  —  Hints of those ties may have been in a little-noticed marking on the indictment.  —  2h ago  —  Ex Fox News reporter, Navy vet tapped to lead center combating Russian disinformation

Senate Intel Chairman: 'We Don't Have Anything That Would Suggest There Was Collusion'  —  After more than two years of investigation, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence has not found evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government, the committee's Republican chairman said in interview.

Phoenix Police Refute Cindy McCain's Story of Human Trafficking at Airport  —  Phoenix police on Wednesday disputed Cindy McCain's account of human trafficking at an Arizona airport.  McCain had told local news station KTAR on Monday that she intervened at Sky Harbor International Airport …

A Swamp Divided: How Trump's Arrival Turned D.C. Nightlife Upside Down  —  “Trump doesn't need to build a wall; he's built one here.”  —  Washington is one of the only places in America where an election transforms the city's social life.  Plenty of people live here with no regard …

Trump's troop deployment strung ‘lethal’ razor wire on the border.  This city has had enough.  —  Arturo Garino said one of his constituents told him about the razor wire on Saturday night.  —  Garino knew the military had installed a line of wire across the top of the fence that divides Nogales …

Did U.S. Army Officials Pocket Over $1 Million of Taxpayer Money?  Exclusive Documents Reveal Investigation of ‘Gross Mismanagement’ Claims  —  A U.S. State Department report out of Kiev, Ukraine, has accused officials at U.S. Army Europe of trying to cover up the “gross mismanagement” …

The vow of ‘never again’ is dying in Assad's prisons  —  During his State of the Union address, President Trump invoked the Holocaust, praising some of his invited guests: American soldiers who liberated Nazi concentration camps and victims of those camps.  Trump's comments force us to ask ourselves …