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.

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.

Virginia Police Sergeant Suspended After Antifa Ties Him to White Nationalism  —  A police sergeant in Virginia who was assigned to monitor the protests related to Gov. Ralph Northam was suspended Wednesday after being identified by an anti-fascist group as having an “affinity with white nationalist groups.”

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 …

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 …

Who Wants to Be a Billionaire?  —  Howard Schultz has a point: They don't deserve all the blame for America's wealth inequality.  —  I have found that when somebody or something is remorselessly mocked in my Twitter feed, there is usually something to be said in their defense.

What Robert Mueller Knows—and Isn't Telling Us  —  IT'S ONLY WEDNESDAY, but the increasingly sprawling investigations surrounding President Donald Trump this week have already sprawled even further.  News came Monday that federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York served …

The parking lot suicides  —  Veterans are taking their own lives on VA hospital campuses, a desperate form of protest against a system that they feel hasn't helped them.  —  Alissa Harrington took an audible breath as she slid open a closet door deep in her home office.

Sergei Millian, identified as an unwitting source for the Steele dossier, sought proximity to Trump's world in 2016  —  Around the time of President Trump's inauguration, two of his supporters met to toast the new administration at the Russia House, a Washington restaurant known among Russian diplomats …

Trump Is Walling Off the GOP  —  The most misleading line in Donald Trump's State of the Union address this week might have also been the most revealing about how he is reconfiguring the Republican Party and reshaping America's electoral alignment.  —  “Legal immigrants enrich our nation …

CNN Poll: Almost everyone wants a public report on Mueller's findings  —  WASHINGTON (CNN)Nearly nine in 10 Americans say Robert Mueller's investigators should produce a full, public report on their findings, a sentiment that crosses party lines, according to a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS.

Trump's Popularity Slumps to Record Low in January  —  (Photo by Jim Lo Scalzo-Pool/Getty Images)  — A majority of voters in 12 states approved of Trump's job performance, while a majority disapproved in 27 states.  — Trump's best numbers came in Wyoming and West Virginia …

Liam Neeson Can't Be Racist Because of How He Kisses, Says Michelle Rodriguez  —  “Dude, have you watched Widows?  His tongue was so far down Viola Davis's throat,” Neeson's onetime co-star said.  —  Michelle Rodriguez is certain that her Widows co-star Liam Neeson is not a racist.

The Mueller investigation has sprouted.  Therein lies the jeopardy for Trump.  —  It's not the crime; it's the offspring of the crime.  —  If the old Watergate expression is “It's not the crime; it's the coverup,” then today's equivalent might be “It's not the crime; it's the crime's offspring.”

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 …

Bundeskartellamt prohibits Facebook from combining user data from different sources  —  Date of issue:  —  The Bundeskartellamt has imposed on Facebook far-reaching restrictions in the processing of user data.  —  According to Facebook's terms and conditions users have so far only been able …

Rep. Bobby Scott learned of sexual assault allegation against Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax a year ago from the accuser: Aides  —  Virginia Democratic Congressman Bobby Scott was made aware of allegations of sexual assault against now-Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax over a year ago by the alleged victim herself, ABC News has learned.

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.

Paul Erickson, Russian Agent Maria Butina's Boyfriend, Indicted for Fraud  —  The federal indictment in South Dakota alleges that he ran a criminal scheme from 1996 to 2018 using a chain of assisted living homes.  —  Betsy Woodruff  —  Paul Erickson, the American political operative …

Trump ‘open to talking about’ a change in tax law that is costing Californians $12 billion  —  President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he is open to revisiting changes to a state and local tax deduction that Republicans in Washington enacted in 2017 and were projected to cost California taxpayers an extra $12 billion.

Some Truths About Opposition Research  —  The revelations around Virginia Democrats and Elizabeth Warren have once again thrust opposition research into the news.  There's been a lot of noise about research and while some of it is just noise, these episodes do bring to light several industry truths I thought worth sharing:

Sen. Amy Klobuchar's Mistreatment Of Staff Scared Off Candidates To Manage Her Presidential Bid  —  At least three people withdrew from consideration to lead the senator's nascent campaign — in part because of Klobuchar's history of mistreating her staff.  —  At least three people …

Escaping Our Ship of Fools  —  I generally avoid books written by radio or TV hosts.  They are typically slap-dash efforts—often dictated or ghost-written, padded, and calculated to cash in on sales to an uncritical fan base.  Accordingly, even though I regularly watch, and enjoy …

Stacey Abrams Says She's “Thinking About Everything” For 2020  —  WASHINGTON — Georgia Democrat Stacey Abrams said she's considering all her options, including a possible presidential run, when thinking about her political future.  —  “I'm thinking about everything, I gave myself a deadline …

Biden presses Hill friends for 2020 support  —  Joe Biden is working one of his most important constituencies as he closes in on a decision about running for president: Capitol Hill Democrats.  —  In recent weeks, the former vice president and longtime Democratic senator has spoken …

Will There Be A Moderate Lane In The 2020 Democratic Primary?  —  If you follow politics through cable news, or via Twitter, you might get the impression that the Democratic Party is dominated by voters who are almost exclusively coastal, liberal, secular, well-educated and relatively young.

Trump to the National Prayer Breakfast: ‘I will never let you down.  I can say that.  Never.’  —  Since his campaign, President Trump has taken a page from President Ronald Reagan's playbook.  —  “I know you can't endorse me,” Reagan famously told a room full of evangelicals in 1980.