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.

In New Documents, Cohen Says Trump “Instructed” Him To Lie  —  WASHINGTON — Attorneys for Michael Cohen, President Trump's former fixer, submitted documents to lawmakers Thursday night accusing Trump and his team of lawyers of instructing Cohen to lie to Congress about when negotiations ended to build a Trump Tower in Moscow.

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 …

Note to Team Mueller: If you don't indict, you can't incite  —  View Latest Opinions >>  —  I've covered the Justice Department for three decades, and seldom have I seen a story like the one published in the New York Times this week under the headline, “Some on Mueller's Team Say Report Was More Damaging Than Barr Revealed.”

A photo of me and Joe Biden went viral.  I want him to take ownership for his actions.  —  Sofie Karasek is a survivors' rights advocate and progressive organizer.  —  Two days before my photograph was taken with then-Vice President Joe Biden, as I stood on the 2016 Oscars stage with Lady Gaga …

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,” …

The unspoken Barr memo travesty: Using two spaces after a period |  The Angry Grammarian  —  The attorney general of the United States has just executed a cover-up so brazen, so grotesque, so audacious, that it was done in plain view.  Right under our noses.  —  He put two spaces after his periods.

Trump Is Already Plotting His Post-White House Tell-All Memoir  —  The president is ‘excited’ about penning a dishy book.  So much so that he keeps talking about the scores he plans to settle.  —  As he navigates turbulent domestic and international affairs, President Donald Trump …

If Biden Runs, They'll Tear Him Up  —  The old Democratic Party was warm, like him.  The new one rising is colder, less human and divisive.

Stacey Abrams torn between running for president, Senate  —  The Georgia Democrat met Thursday with Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who continues to recruit her for a Senate bid.  —  Stacey Abrams is doing everything a would-be presidential candidate would do: a nationwide book tour …

So Yale Law School endorses anti-religious bigotry now?  —  What starts in the ivory tower of academia — including blatant discrimination against religious groups and students — won't stay there for long.  —  CONNECT  —  What happens at our nation's elite law schools rarely stays there.

Trump's next possible Fed nominee can't understand basic policy issues  —  Nein, nein, nein.  —  That should be the Senate's response if President Trump actually nominates his friend Herman Cain, the former pizza magnate turned failed Republican presidential candidate, to the Federal Reserve Board, as Trump said he plans to do.

How a $230,000 debt and a LinkedIn message led an ex-CIA officer to spy for China  —  Kevin Mallory went years without a steady job, making him a ripe target for recruitment, court documents say.  —  Kevin Mallory, a former CIA officer, was $230,000 in debt and months behind on his mortgage in early 2017 …

Saudi Arabia arrests more activists, including 2 US citizens  —  DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Saudi Arabia detained eight people, including two dual U.S.-Saudi citizens, in a new round of arrests in the kingdom targeting individuals supportive of women's rights and those with ties to jailed activists …

What the heck does Steve King do all day?  —  Shunned by his party's leadership, bounced from congressional hearings, removed from key parts of the legislative process, and serving in the House minority — the Republican from Iowa has less to do than any congressman in recent history.

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.

Elizabeth Warren Issues Her Strongest Indictment of the Filibuster Yet  —  The Massachusetts Democrat will deliver some of her harshest words about the Senate filibuster in a speech on Friday morning.  —  Gideon Resnick  —  Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) is expected to issue the strongest indictment …

In Iowa, O'Rourke Says Some Trump Rhetoric Echoes Nazi Germany  — He slams the administration for separating families at border  — The former congressman spoke to crowd at a college in Iowa  —  Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke told a crowd in Sioux City, Iowa …

Report: David Stringer on child sex trafficking, 'I don't like to demonize it'  —  Former Arizona Rep. David Stringer made disturbing comments about child sex trafficking and his interactions with children within the past few years, two Prescott women told ethics investigators.

Biden Reaps the #MeToo Whirlwind  —  'It's never, never, never, never, never OK to touch her without her consent,' he told college men in 2011.

People Lose Their Employer-Sponsored Insurance Constantly  —  Nancy Pelosi said this about Medicare for All yesterday:  —  The bolded part is probably the most dishonest argument in the entire Medicare for All debate.  It implies that, under our current health insurance system …

How Trump Conspired with the Freedom Caucus to Shut Down the Government  —  It was as if Mark Meadows were watching a political car crash in slow motion.  In November 2018, when House Republicans lost their legislative majority, it rendered him a bit player in Donald Trump's Washington.

Exclusive: Google cancels AI ethics board in response to outcry  —  The controversial panel lasted just a little over a week.  —  This week, Vox and other outlets reported that Google's newly created AI ethics board was falling apart amid controversy over several of the board members.

UK police outside Ecuador embassy amid WikiLeaks tweets  —  LONDON (AP) — British police stationed armed officers outside the Ecuadorian Embassy in London on Friday after tweets from WikiLeaks quoted what it said were high-level sources saying that Julian Assange could be kicked out of the building within “hours to days.”

Ex-Congressman's Russian Bank Loses License for Money Laundering  — Republican Charles Taylor owns 80% stake in Bank Ivanovo  — Bank of Russia said lender broke money-laundering rules  —  A regional Russian bank owned by a former U.S. congressman had its license revoked Friday …

Trump's false claims about Mexico's immigration system  —  “Mexico, as you know, as of yesterday, has been starting to apprehend a lot of people at their southern border coming in from Honduras and Guatemala and El Salvador.  And they've — they're really apprehending thousands of people.

That Noise?  The Rich Neighbors Digging a Basement Pool in Their $100 Million Brownstone  —  The extremely loud and incredibly expensive renovations that have shattered a formerly quiet residential block in Manhattan.  —  In the middle of West 69th Street between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue …

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 …

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 …

Culture War and Peace at Stanford: The PC Uprising 25 Years On  —  PALO ALTO, Calif. — There was an overflow crowd last month at Stanford University's Pigott Hall as 120 or so students listened to Professor Dan Edelstein lecture on “how cities shape culture, states, and people.”  —  Penguin Random House

Poll: Americans give social media a clear thumbs-down  —  A sizable majority say social media does more to divide the country than unite it, according to the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll.  —  WASHINGTON — The American public holds negative views of social-media giants like Facebook and Twitter …

Donald Trump Is Trying to Kill You  —  Trust the pork producers; fear the wind turbines.  —  There's a lot we don't know about the legacy Donald Trump will leave behind.  And it is, of course, hugely important what happens in the 2020 election.  But one thing seems sure …