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.

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.

“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 …

Political giant John Dingell dies at 92  —  Michigan Democrat John Dingell, the longest-serving member ever of Congress who helped write most of the nation's major environmental and energy laws, died Thursday, his wife said.  He was 92.  —  The Dearborn statesman was a champion …

Supreme Court Blocks Louisiana Abortion Law  —  WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Thursday blocked a Louisiana law that its opponents say could have left the state with only one doctor in a single clinic authorized to provide abortions.  —  The vote was 5 to 4, with Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. joining …

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.

Year Before Killing, Saudi Prince Told Aide He Would Use ‘a Bullet’ on Jamal 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 …

The 10 Most Insane Requirements Of The Green New Deal  —  The Green New Deal isn't just un-America, it's also completely bonkers.  —  Note: Ocasio-Cortez's office has taken down their page describing the Green New Deal.  —  A number of Democratic Party presidential hopefuls …

Can a Journalist as Important as Jill Abramson Be a Plagiarist?  —  The Worst Thing We Read Yesterday™  —  Last night, Michael C. Moynihan of Vice tweeted a series of examples of Jill Abramson, formerly an executive editor of the New York Times, plagiarizing other writers' work in her new book …

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 …

Trump's biggest nightmare isn't Mueller  —  In this new weekly column “Cross-exam,” Elie Honig, a former federal and state prosecutor and CNN legal analyst, gives his take on the latest legal news and answers questions from readers.  Post your questions below.  The views expressed in this commentary are his own.

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.

Kirsten Gillibrand Offers Justin Fairfax's Accuser ‘Support’ Rather Than ‘Belief’  —  “I support Dr. Tyson... We have to support survivors first so their claims can be fully investigated.”  —  Sen. Kirsten Gillbrand (D­-N.Y.), one of several contenders for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination …

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

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 …

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 …

New York's Grand Hyatt Hotel to Be Torn Down  —  A development group will demolish the glass-sheathed hotel by Grand Central Terminal that was Donald Trump's first major Manhattan project, and replace it with a mixed-use tower.