‘Off the rails’: Inside Trump's attempt to claim victory in his border wall defeat  —  After three weeks of pained negotiations to keep the federal government open, President Trump almost blew the whole thing up again on Thursday.  —  Headed for another defeat on his signature promise …

Bill Weld launches GOP presidential exploratory committee  —  Announces in NH he's eyeing run against Trump  —  Former Massachusetts Gov. William F. Weld is launching a presidential exploratory committee to challenge President Trump in the Republican primaries, saying the country is …

Trump liked the idea of a national emergency because it's the maximalist, most dramatic option  —  President Trump liked the idea of declaring a national emergency because it's the maximalist, most dramatic option.  —  Between the lines: Trump never gravitates towards complexity.

Andrew McCabe's disturbing account of working for Sessions and Trump  —  Greg Miller is national security correspondent for The Washington Post, a winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the author of “The Apprentice: Trump, Russia and the Subversion of American Democracy.”

Trump Keeps Doubling Down On The Same Failed Strategy  —  President Trump will declare a national emergency and seek money to build a border wall, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Thursday, moments before the U.S. Senate passed a compromise spending bill that didn't include wall funding.

The massacre Trump's envoy to Venezuela wants us to forget  —  Sign up for the Today's WorldView newsletter.  —  “I fail to understand,” the congresswoman said at a hearing Wednesday, “why members of this committee or the American people should find any testimony that you give today to be truthful.”

We're entering a new phase of the Trump-Russia investigation  —  President Trump has been insisting for so long that any investigation of his personal finances would cross a “ red line ” that people may have overlooked the outrageousness of his claim.  But this self-declared immunity is about to change.

Top US general disagrees with Trump over Syria troop pullout  —  Muscat, Oman (CNN)The US commander who has been leading the war against ISIS told CNN Friday that he disagreed with Donald Trump's decision to pull troops out of Syria and warned that the terror group was far from defeated, in a stark public break with the President.

Stop Alleging Anti-Semitism Just to Score Political Points  —  There's little doubt that Israel is shaping up to be one of the hottest of hot-button issues in the 2020 presidential-election cycle.  While one might hope that a presidential campaign could feature a productive discussion …

Sources: Police investigating whether Jussie Smollett staged attack with help of others, allegedly being written off ‘Empire’  —  Chicago police confirmed Thursday that detectives are talking to two persons of interest in connection with the alleged attack on “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett.

Boyfriend's Email: Butina ‘Manipulated’ Russian Spy Agency for NRA Trip  —  According to her boyfriend, Russian agent Maria Butina had major sway with the FSB officers “assigned” to her.  —  The boyfriend of confessed Russian agent Maria Butina wrote that she “manipulated” …

Why Are These Professional War Peddlers Still Around?  —  One thing that every late-stage ruling class has in common is a high tolerance for mediocrity.  Standards decline, the edges fray, but nobody in charge seems to notice.  They're happy in their sinecures and getting richer.

After the Coup is Gone  —  As the perpetrators of one of the most shameful scandals in American political history begin slowly to retreat, we are left to ponder one overarching question:  —  What now?  —  The tale we've been told for more than two years—that Donald Trump's campaign team …

Amazon's Escape From New York  —  In retrospect, the helipad was probably a bad idea.  —  The proposed transportation hub for senior Amazon executives was supposed to sit atop one of the company's gleaming new skyscrapers along the East River, part of its planned second headquarters in Queens, New York.