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.

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 …

Whitaker says he won't testify unless Democrats drop their subpoena threat  —  Acting attorney general Matthew G. Whitaker said he will not appear before Congress Friday without assurances he won't be subpoenaed — giving Democrats a deadline of 6 p.m. Thursday to respond.

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.

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.

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 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 …

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 …

Metropolitan Republican Club Leader Says He Advised Nazi-Friendly German Party  —  Ian Walsh Reilly heads group that invited Proud Boys to New York and did work for Alternative fur Deutschland, which wants to shoot migrants and forget about the Holocaust.  —  The new president …

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.”

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:

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.

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.

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 …

Some Texas Democrats want Beto O'Rourke to shun presidential bid, challenge John Cornyn instead  —  Beto O'Rourke appears to be close to jumping into the race for president, but some Texas Democrats hope he'll run for Senate instead.  —  That's not to say they would be terribly upset by their favorite son running for the White House.

Can A ‘Moderate’ Win 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.

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 …

The NRA Welcomed Maria Butina—Even As She Worked to Arm Anti-American Thugs Abroad  —  The American public has continued to know little about Maria Butina, who pleaded guilty in December to participating in a foreign conspiracy against the United States.  Not much has emerged …

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 …

Richard Burr on the Senate Intelligence Committee's Russia investigation, 2 years on  —  The investigation into Russian intelligence activities by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence turned two years old, without fanfare, last month.  —  For almost as long, the inquiry …