Trump Won't Let No. 2 Spy Chief Take Over When Coats Leaves  —  WASHINGTON — The White House is planning to block Sue Gordon, the nation's No. 2 intelligence official, from rising to the role of acting director of national intelligence when Dan Coats steps down this month …

'We're All Tired of Being Called Racists'  —  CINCINNATI—Donald Trump's supporters would like to be clear: They are tired of being called racists.  —  Leave it to the president's eldest son to set the tone.  Last night at the 17,500-person-capacity U.S. Bank Arena downtown here …

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's Chief of Staff and Communications Director Will Depart Her Office  —  Two of Rep. Alexandria-Ocasio Cortez's top staffers are leaving her office.  —  Saikat Chakrabarti, her chief of staff, and Corbin Trent, her director of communications — who …

Ben Folds makes a song called ‘Moscow Mitch’  —  Rock musician Ben Folds was performing on the roof of New York City's Pier 17 Thursday when he asked the audience to help him out with a new song.  “What I want to do is put a little cool stutter in it, like, you know, 'My-my-my-my-my-my Sharona …

Pelosi Statement on Progress of House Investigations  —  Washington, D.C. - Speaker Nancy Pelosi released this statement on the progress of the House's investigations:  —  “When we take the oath of office, we solemnly vow 'to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies …

Detailed Maps of the Donors Powering the 2020 Democratic Campaigns  —  Candidates with the most individual donors  —  Darker shades on the map indicate a greater share of estimated donors.  —  1. Sanders  —  2. Warren  —  3. Buttigieg 4. Harris  —  5. Biden  —  6. O'Rourke

First, the GOP shrinks.  Next it should get crushed.  —  Sane Senate Republicans and critics of President Trump, including Bob Corker (Tenn.) and Jeff Flake (Ariz.) as well as a slew of House Republicans, retired in 2018 rather than face the challenge of reelection in the Trump era.

Top State Department adviser fired over ‘abusive’ management style  —  A senior adviser to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was fired this week over what officials described as her “abusive” management style, including making homophobic remarks and accusing people of having affairs, according to two people.

‘Take Texas seriously’: GOP anxiety spikes after retirements, Democratic gains  —  Republicans have long idealized Texas as a deep-red frontier state, home to rural conservatives who love President Trump.  But political turbulence in the sprawling suburbs and fast-growing cities are turning …

It didn't take long for Democratic candidates to rush to embrace Obama  —  It took progressive Democratic candidates for president less than 24 hours to realize they had gone way overboard in slamming President Barack Obama's record and suggesting that defense of it was akin to “Republican talking points.”

Brittany Kaiser's work with Cambridge Analytica helped elect Donald Trump.  She's hoping the world will forgive her.  —  She'd like to be remembered as a whistleblower and a human rights advocate.  You decide.  —  Brittany Kaiser first emerged in last year's Cambridge Analytica scandal …

Emails show Stephen Miller pressed hard to limit green cards  —  White House senior adviser Stephen Miller wasn't getting an immigration regulation he wanted.  So he sent a series of scorching emails to top immigration officials, calling the department an “embarrassment” for not acting faster, according to emails obtained by POLITICO.

Pentagon testing mass surveillance balloons across the US  —  Exclusive: the high altitude balloons promise a cheap surveillance platform that could follow multiple cars and boats for extended periods  —  The US military is conducting wide area surveillance tests across six midwest states …

Pantaleo, N.Y.P.D. Officer in Eric Garner's Death, Should be Fired, Judge Says  —  Mr. Garner's last words — “I can't breathe” — ignited a national outcry over aggressive policing in minority neighborhoods.  —  Five years after Eric Garner died in police custody and ignited a national outcry …

Trump Officials Still Pushing for a Coal Bailout, Regulator Says  — Cheryl LaFleur says officials still discussing coal rescue  — FERC chairman has in past supported subsidizing plants  —  High ranking officials in the Trump administration are still pushing to bail out money-losing coal plants …

Conservatives Are Hiding Their ‘Loathing’ Behind Our Flag  —  The molten core of right-wing nationalism is the furious denial of America's unalterably multiracial, multicultural national character.  —  The Republican Party under Donald Trump has devolved into a populist cult of personality.

Russian-backed Kentucky mill makes PR push amid Democratic concerns  —  Braidy Industries, which is developing a new Kentucky aluminum mill partially backed by the Russian aluminum giant Rusal, has hired a firm with ties to Sen. Mitch McConnell (r-Ky.) to give the project a public relations boost …

‘I think Trump needs to show his face’: Laid-off miners losing faith in coal promises  —  CUMBERLAND, Ky. — Protesting Kentucky coal miners sweated through a fourth day on top of a railroad track as they continued blocking a coal train from leaving a Harlan County mine.

Biden Inc.  —  The day the Bidens took over Paradigm Global Advisors was a memorable one.  —  In the late summer of 2006 Joe Biden's son Hunter and Joe's younger brother, James, purchased the firm.  On their first day on the job, they showed up with Joe's other son, Beau …