Rand Paul blocks resolution calling for release of Mueller report  —  Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) blocked a resolution calling for special counsel Robert Mueller's report on the Russia probe be made public, marking the fifth time Republicans have blocked the House-passed measure.

Trump Asked That Confirmation of I.R.S. Counsel Be a Priority  —  President Trump earlier this year asked Senator Mitch McConnell, the majority leader, to prioritize a confirmation vote for his nominee to be the chief counsel of the Internal Revenue Service, indicating that it was a higher priority …

In bid to remain out of jail, Michael Cohen tells Congress he has more to add  —  Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump's former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen is offering House Democrats new information in a bid to stay out of jail while he cooperates with Congress.

APNewsBreak: White House pulls nomination to lead ICE head  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration on Thursday sent paperwork withdrawing the nomination of longtime border official Ron Vitiello to lead Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to three people with knowledge of the move.

He bought the fencing coach's house.  Then his son got into Harvard  —  NEEDHAM — It was a modest house by this town's standards, a center-entrance colonial, three bedrooms and a two-car garage on a quarter-acre lot.  The inside hadn't welcomed a renovator in many, many years, and the outside didn't wear its age particularly well.

Donald Trump reacts to Barbara Bush quotes  —  President Trump said he was not surprised by former first lady Barbara Bush's attacks on him, as posthumously quoted in a new biography.  —  “I have heard that she was nasty to me, but she should be.  Look what I did to her sons,” …

House Dems ask Capital One for docs on Trump's sprawling businesses  —  Three powerful House committee chairs asked Capital One for documents last month related to President Donald Trump's business empire — and the financial giant said it was already preserving documents but needs a subpoena …

Scoop: Trump expected to name Herman Cain to Federal Reserve board  —  President Trump has told confidants he wants Herman Cain on the Federal Reserve board, but will wait until his background check is completed before making the formal announcement, according to two senior administration officials familiar with the decision.

U.S. Ethics Office Declines to Certify Mnuchin's Financial Disclosure  —  WASHINGTON — The top federal ethics watchdog said on Thursday that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin's sale of his stake in a film production business to his wife did not comply with federal ethics rules …

Pete Buttigieg's 10 Favorite Books  —  Bookseller One Grand Books has asked celebrities to name the ten titles they'd take to a desert island, and they've shared the results with Vulture.  Below is South Bend, Indiana, mayor and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg's list.

Trump loyalist Gaetz eyes Senate bid in Alabama  —  Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz, one of President Trump's most devoted loyalists on Capitol Hill who represents the Florida Panhandle, has told GOP colleagues he is considering moving across the state line to run for the Senate in Alabama in 2020, several House lawmakers told The Hill.

How China Turned a City Into a Prison  —  We visited Kashgar several times to see what life is like.  We couldn't interview residents — that would have been too risky for them, because we were constantly followed by the police.  But the restrictions were everywhere.

Wendy's Owner Gives Big to Trump While Refusing Farmworkers' Demands  —  Since January 2013, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) has been mounting an effort to pressure Wendy's to participate in its Fair Food Program, which ensures better wages and safer working conditions for Florida's tomato pickers.

In Defense of Joe Biden: A Hug When I Needed One  —  At age 33, I had been a life-long Republican.  I worked for, what many might describe as the “dark side and/or Darth Vaders of politics”, including George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, and Sarah Palin.  I was conservative in my upbringing, values, and beliefs.

The Guardian's nifty old-article trick is a reminder of how news organizations can use metadata to limit misinformation  —  This is a great idea: In order to reduce the number of its old stories that get recirculated as new, The Guardian is making a story's age more prominent …

157 Republicans Just Opposed Renewing The Violence Against Women Act  —  They sided with the National Rifle Association over women's safety.  Not a good look!  —  WASHINGTON The House passed legislation Thursday to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act, despite the vast majority …

Paul Gosar Omitted Dinner with Far-Right Nationalists in Travel Report  —  A new documentary on Steve Bannon reveals that the Arizona congressman dined with European far-right nationalists in London last year.  —  EDITED BY  —  When Arizona Republican Rep. Paul Gosar filed his travel report …

The Electoral College Was Not a Pro-Slavery Ploy  —  There is a lot wrong with how we choose the president.  But the framers did not put it into the Constitution to protect the South.  —  Mr. Wilentz is the author, most recently, of “No Property in Man: Slavery and Antislavery at the Nation's Founding.”

Clarence Thomas on Joe Biden's handling of his confirmation hearings  —  As he moves toward a presidential run, Joe Biden has been under fire from the Left for his treatment of Anita Hill, but in his 2007 memoir, Clarence Thomas offered a different perspective on Biden's performance during his confirmation hearings.

Jamie Dimon weighed a 2020 presidential run, sources say.  Here's why he decided against it  — Dimon, 63, spent much of last year mulling a 2020 presidential run, sources said.  He ultimately decided that he couldn't win either party's nomination.  — He is now focusing on ways …

Anti-Semitism Is Back, From the Left, Right and Islamist Extremes.  Why?  —  BERLIN — Swastikas daubed on a Jewish cemetery in France.  An anti-Semitic political campaign by Hungary's far-right government.  Labour lawmakers in Britain quitting their party and citing ingrained anti-Semitism.