Barr Assigns U.S. Attorney in Connecticut to Review Origins of Russia Inquiry  —  WASHINGTON — Attorney General William P. Barr has assigned the top federal prosecutor in Connecticut to examine the origins of the Russia investigation, according to two people familiar with the matter …

White House Reviews Military Plans Against Iran, in Echoes of Iraq War  —  WASHINGTON — At a meeting of President Trump's top national security aides last Thursday, Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan presented an updated military plan that envisions sending as many as 120,000 troops …

Before Trump's purge at DHS, top officials challenged plan for mass family arrests  —  In the weeks before they were ousted last month, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and top immigration enforcement official Ronald Vitiello challenged a secret White House plan to arrest thousands …

YouTube's Newest Far-Right, Foul-Mouthed, Red-Pilling Star Is A 14-Year-Old Girl  —  “Soph” has nearly a million followers on the giant video platform.  Its executives only have themselves to blame.  —  What does a 14-year-old girl dressed in a chador have to say on YouTube to amass more than 800,000 followers?

Rosenstein calls Comey a ‘partisan pundit’ in revealing speech  —  Washington (CNN)Rod Rosenstein took aim at James Comey Monday, calling him a “partisan pundit” in prepared remarks for a speech that included the most public retelling yet of the twists and turns of the Russia investigation by the man who oversaw it.

Republicans surrender to Trump's China tariffs  —  The GOP is starting to give up on thwarting President Donald Trump's trade agenda.  —  Senate Republicans acknowledge that the president's latest tariff increase on Chinese imports are harming farm state economies, their own constituents and some of Trump's most reliable voters.

Judiciary chairman says Trump Jr. should plead the Fifth to Intelligence panel  —  The head of the Senate Judiciary Committee encouraged Donald Trump Jr. to invoke his right against self-incrimination and refuse to answer questions from the Senate Intelligence Committee if he complies …

What's behind the absurd gamble on women's rights and health  —  Companies halt production in Georgia over abortion law  —  Carliss Chatman is an assistant professor of law at Washington and Lee University School of Law and writes about corporate personhood, corporate governance, and ethics.

Republicans Call Tlaib Anti-Semitic for Saying Something Nice About Israel  —  The Republican Party, which has a hair-trigger sensitivity to left-wing anti-Semitism as censorious as any social justice warrior, has whipped itself into its latest frenzy over comments by Representative Rashida Tlaib.

U.S. Rejects Top Palestinian Official Hanan Ashrawi's Visa Request  —  Ashrawi, who in the past met with U.S. presidents and senior officials, says no reason was given for refusal ■ State Department says it does not refuse visas based solely on political views if they are ‘lawful in the United States’

Is There a Connection Between Undocumented Immigrants and Crime?  —  It's a widely held perception, but a new analysis finds no evidence to support it.  —  A lot of research has shown that there's no causal connection between immigration and crime in the United States.

WhatsApp voice calls used to inject Israeli spyware on phones  —  A vulnerability in the messaging app WhatsApp has allowed attackers to inject commercial Israeli spyware on to phones, the company and a spyware technology dealer said.  —  WhatsApp, which is used by 1.5bn people worldwide …

EXCLUSIVE: Trump comes out against Equality Act  —  With a vote on the Equality Act in the U.S. House expected on Friday, a senior administration official indicated exclusively to the Washington Blade that President Trump opposes the bill.  —  “The Trump administration absolutely opposes discrimination …

Conservatism has become a racket, and Trump is the grifter in chief  —  “Every great cause begins as a movement, becomes a business, and eventually degenerates into a racket.”  -Eric Hoffer  —  You can debate when the conservative movement became a racket — I nominate 1996 …

Mayor de Blasio's NYPD vehicle was driving wrong way when it crashed with truck, sparking cover-up  —  Mayor de Blasio's NYPD SUV was cruising the wrong way with lights and sirens blaring when it got into a car crash, sparking a frantic cover-up by his security detail, a new accident report obtained by the Daily News shows.

Power to the people: DC residents could soon issue parking tickets  —  A new pilot program that's part of an overhaul of transportation safety in D.C. would let some residents issue parking tickets on their own.  —  The Citizen Safety Enforcement Pilot Program is part of a larger “Vision Zero” …

Omarosa requests to join lawsuit alleging women were underpaid by the Trump campaign  —  A former campaign staffer who accused President Trump of sexual misconduct and pay discrimination in a lawsuit this year filed a motion Monday asking a judge to formally expand the scope of her suit so that others …

Wisconsin Republican Party maxed out credit card, racked up $600 in monthly interest as it tried to save Scott Walker  —  MADISON - The state Republican Party fell so far behind financially in recent months that it missed payments to insurers and racked up nearly $600 a month in interest …

2020 hopeful Biden says he's open to breaking up Facebook  —  HAMPTON, N.H. (AP) — Joe Biden said Monday that he would be open to breaking up Facebook, a sign of the deep skepticism among many Democratic presidential contenders about the power of massive technology firms.