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.

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.

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.

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 …

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.

Barrage of setbacks spoils Trump's post-Mueller reset  —  It was just last week that President Donald Trump and his allies euphorically celebrated what they called Trump's exoneration after special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe.  The apparent absence of proof that Trump's 2016 campaign conspired …

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.

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,” …

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.

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.

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.”

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 …

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 …

Jeff Bezos, in divorce settlement, retains 75 percent of the Amazon stock he held with his now ex-wife MacKenzie  —  MacKenzie Bezos's stake will be worth roughly $36 billion, making her one of the wealthiest women in the world  —  Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and his ex-wife, MacKenzie Bezos …

White Nationalists Adopt Clowns as Their Next Racist Symbol (Yes, Seriously)  —  Online personalities in far-right and white nationalist online circles are attempting to attribute racism and anti-Semitism to an image of cartoon character Pepe the Frog depicted poorly drawn and as a clown …

Over 750,000 people could lose food stamps under Trump administration proposal  —  More than 750,000 people, many among the nation's poorest, would likely lose their food stamps this year under a new rule proposed by the Trump administration.  —  The proposed rule aims to make more able-bodied adults work …

De Blasio Wouldn't Say Who's Hosting His Boston Fund-Raiser.  We Found Out.  —  The invitation was sent to a select group of well-heeled potential donors, who were asked to attend a Friday morning fund-raiser at a construction firm in Boston.  Donations of up to $5,000 were expected.

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 …

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 …