Jussie Smollett update: ‘Empire’ actor indicted on 16 felony counts by grand jury … There have been dozens of twists and turns since “Empire” start Jussie Smollett reported being attacked.  Here are some key moments from the start of this story.  —  WLS

“Trump Has Been Calling Him Bill ‘No Shine’”: Why Roger Ailes's Former Right Hand Is Leaving the West Wing  —  Sean Hannity lobbied for Shine to get the job, but things quickly soured.  “Trump needs someone to blame for his bad press,” said a former West Wing official.

I Stopped the Stormy Daniels Story at Fox News.  Here's Why.  —  Two weeks before the 2016 presidential election, as the editorial head of Fox News online, I reviewed a draft news story that said porn actress Stormy Daniels had confirmed having an affair with Donald Trump a decade earlier.

Did Blackwater's Erik Prince Lie to Congress About a Trump Tower Meeting?  I Asked Him.  —  Did Erik Prince perjure himself in front of Congress?  —  The founder and former CEO of the notorious private security firm Blackwater — and younger brother of hapless Education Secretary Betsy DeVos …

Jared Kushner goes rogue in Saudi Arabia, prompting national security concerns  —  Jared Kushner has gone rogue.  —  Donald Trump's senior White House adviser once again abandoned government normalities during an official state trip to Saudi Arabia, reportedly discussing US-Saudi cooperation …

In Surprise Move, House Republican Releases Bruce Ohr Transcript  —  Georgia Rep. Doug Collins unilaterally released a 268-page transcript Friday of a deposition that Justice Department official Bruce Ohr gave to Congress in August.  —  Collins, the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee …

Judge: Trump administration may have to reunite thousands of additional migrant families  —  Amid public outcry over the thousands of migrant children separated from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to keep families together.

How Should We Talk About the Israel Lobby's Power?  —  Let's get this out of the way first: Using the phrases “all about the Benjamins” and “allegiance to a foreign country” when referring to the Israel lobby in D.C., as freshman Democratic representative Ilhan Omar recently did, is anti-Semitic.

Trump cheered Kraft's team to Super Bowl victory with founder of spa where he was busted  —  Seated at a round table littered with party favors and the paper-cutout footballs that have become tradition at his annual Super Bowl Watch Party, President Donald Trump cheered the New England Patriots …

Terri McCullough to be new chief of staff in speaker's office  —  Speaker Nancy Pelosi has tapped Terri McCullough to be her new chief of staff in the speaker's office, the first woman in modern times to serve in the role in a paid, full-time capacity.  —  McCullough will replace Danny Weiss …

Where Is Robert Levinson?  Inside the Secret Campaign to Find Ex-FBI Agent Who Disappeared on Mission to Iran  —  The plans were ready; the $250,000 payoff cash was committed.  On December 10, 2018, a former Air Force intelligence officer named Bob Kent was planning to board a plane in New York …

Capitalism and the Democratic Party  —  The most successful economic system shouldn't be a dirty word.  —  John Hickenlooper ought to be a poster child for American capitalism.  After being laid off from his job as a geologist during the oil bust of the 1980s, he and his business partners turned …

Ilhan Omar: Obama's a ‘pretty face’ who got ‘away with murder’  —  Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar ripped ex-President Obama in an interview published Friday, belittling his “pretty face” and saying his agenda of hope and change was an illusion.  —  She cited the “caging of kids” …

Biden eyes fundraising challenge amid new sense of urgency  —  NEW YORK (AP) — On the cusp of another White House run, Joe Biden faces a daunting challenge that could complicate his path to the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination: money.  —  Those close to the former vice president believe …

ICE Is Detaining 50,000 People, an All-Time High  —  Never before has America held so many allegedly undocumented immigrants in detention at one time.  —  For the first time in its history, the U.S. government is detaining more than 50,000 people it says are undocumented immigrants in jails and prisons around the country.

A Trump official said seismic air gun tests don't hurt whales.  So a congressman blasted him with an air horn.  —  Rep. Joe Cunningham's stunt made a bang in a subcommittee hearing that questioned the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's decision to permit seismic testing, which harms whales.

Military Doctors Told Them It Was Just “Female Problems.”  Weeks Later, They Were In The Hospital.  —  From body armor to health care, the US military has been slow to adapt to women in its ranks.  Female service members are paying the price, often with lifelong consequences.  —  Reporting From

America's Light Bulb Revolution  —  '11  —  '12  —  '13  —  '14  —  '15  —  Percentages may not add up to 100 due to rounding.  Source: Department of Energy  —  Solar panels and wind turbines get a lot of attention, but a more inconspicuous instrument is helping …

What You Need To Know About Meghan McCain's Jewish Heritage  —  Meghan McCain, daughter of the late statesman and presidential candidate John McCain and co-host of ABC's The View, has taken an increasingly prominent role during the recent national conversation over the troubling rise of antisemitism in American politics.

‘He said, he said’ - Who can you trust in Cohen-Trump saga?  —  NEW YORK (AP) — It's a “he said, he said” where the “he” — no matter who he is — has a credibility problem.  —  The latest White House legal drama — whether or not the president's former legal fixer asked him for a pardon …

Bored Iowa Town Trying To Convince Kirsten Gillibrand It Local Tradition To Eat Live Tarantula  —  SAYLORVILLE, IA—Assuring the New York senator the custom has been observed by seven generations of proud Saylorville citizens, several bored Iowans reportedly decided Friday they would try …

Trump inauguration took money from shell companies tied to foreigners  —  Creators of firms that donated revealed by Guardian as Indian financier, lobbyist with links to Taiwan and Israeli real estate developer  —  Donald Trump's inauguration received tens of thousands of dollars …

Inside Twitter's ambitious plan to change the way we tweet  —  Twitter wants to limit snark and get “healthy.”  So far, it's gone nowhere.  —  There are few things the internet loves more than a vicious Twitter dunk.  —  Whether it's a celebrity ripping on President Donald Trump …

If We Blow Up an Asteroid, It Might Put Itself Back Together  —  Despite what Hollywood tells us, stopping an asteroid from creating an extinction-level event by blowing it up may not work.  —  Faced with the prospect of a sizable asteroid heading toward Earth and causing doomsday, humanity has come up with various responses.