Witness in Trump-Ukraine Matter Ordered Not to Speak in Impeachment Inquiry  —  WASHINGTON — The Trump administration directed a top American diplomat involved in its pressure campaign on Ukraine not to appear Tuesday morning for a scheduled interview in the House's impeachment inquiry.

Warren stands by account of being pushed out of her first teaching job because of pregnancy  —  On the campaign trail, Elizabeth Warren often tells the story of how she was fired from her first teaching job in 1971 because she was pregnant, a pivotal moment that ultimately put her on a path to Harvard …

Chaos in Syria, Washington after Trump call with Erdogan unleashed Turkish military  —  U.S. forces in Syria got an urgent alert Monday morning to pull back.  “They were told, 'We're departing the field,'” senior U.S. defense officials said.  —  WASHINGTON — American forces …

“Romney Is the Pressure Point in the Impeachment Process”: Mitt Won't Primary Trump—But He's Trying to Bring Him Down  —  Trump's favorite punching bag is reaching out to fellow Republicans to raise the temperature on impeachment.  “Romney is the one guy who could bring along Susan Collins …

Chinese state media and Tencent suspend broadcast of NBA preseason games in China  — Chinese state television CCTV said it was suspending the current broadcast arrangements for the NBA's pre-season games in China.  — CCTV also said it will “immediately investigate all co-operation and exchanges involving the NBA.”

RealClear Media Has a Secret Facebook Page to Push Far-Right Memes  —  RealClearPolitics has carefully cultivated a non-partisan image—while in the shadows its parent company pushes images of killer Clintons and a freedom-loving Kremlin.  —  The company behind the non-partisan news site RealClearPolitics …

Top Secret Russian Unit Seeks to Destabilize Europe, Security Officials Say  —  First came a destabilization campaign in Moldova, followed by the poisoning of an arms dealer in Bulgaria and then a thwarted coup in Montenegro.  Last year, there was an attempt to assassinate a former Russian spy in Britain using a nerve agent.

Inside Trump's obsession with polygraphs  —  President Donald Trump has compared White House leakers to spies and mused obliquely to other officials about executing them.  He's attacked individual reporters by name.  He rails frequently against press accounts of his administration, dismissing them as “fake news.”

John Hickenlooper posts Colorado fundraising record in his first six weeks as U.S. Senate candidate  —  The Democrat's fundraising in the third quarter bested the marks for his rivals, but not Republican U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner  —  John Hickenlooper raised more than $2.1 million …

Discussing Blackness on Reddit?  Photograph Your Forearm First  —  Moderators of a online forum called Black People Twitter have caused an uproar by requiring participants to submit a photograph proving they are not white.  —  It was meant to be a destination on the internet where black people could let down their guard.

POLITICO Playbook: Trump changes the subject  —  DRIVING THE DAY  —  THINK ABOUT what's transpired in the last few days. ...  PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP has reoriented the United States' policy in the Middle East.  He's officially changed the Washington conversation from impeachment to a unified …

The Humiliation of Lindsey Graham  —  It was a cri de cœur from Lindsey Graham, the lament of the sycophant scorned.  —  President Donald Trump's decision to abandon our Kurdish allies in Syria by leaving them undefended against a Turkish invasion was, Graham tweeted, “a disaster” and a “nightmare.”

America Needs Dialogue With Moscow  —  Sanctions have their place, but some of them are undermining trust without serving their purpose.  —  When I served as U.S. ambassador to Russia, the embassy in Moscow held a regular safety exercise called the “duck and cover drill.”

Trump's focus on his base may not help him with impeachment inquiry  —  Voters in critical swing state on impeachment  —  (CNN)President Donald Trump may have more room to fall in public attitudes toward his possible removal from office, detailed results from several new polls suggest.

Jerry Falwell Jr. settles Miami court case over South Beach ‘pool boy’ venture  —  Jerry Falwell Jr. has settled the Miami court case that laid out many of the details behind the South Beach real estate venture his family launched in 2013 with a former Fontainebleau pool attendant …

‘An avoidable, unforced error’: Trump's Ukraine trap starts worrying allies  —  To his allies, President Donald Trump never did anything to warrant the investigation into Russian collusion in the 2016 election.  —  But this is not Russia.  —  This time, some of those same allies say …

As Sea Levels Rise, So Do Ghost Forests  —  Up and down the mid-Atlantic coast, sea levels are rising rapidly, creating stands of dead trees — often bleached, sometimes blackened — known as ghost forests.  —  The water is gaining as much as 5 millimeters per year in some places …

Johnson Tells Merkel Deal ‘Essentially Impossible’: Brexit Update  —  Follow @Brexit and sign up to our Brexit Bulletin.  —  Boris Johnson told German Chancellor Angela Merkel a Brexit deal is essentially impossible if the EU demands Northern Ireland should stay in the bloc's customs union.

US pushes for western rival to Huawei  —  The US is looking at ways to funnel money to Huawei's European rivals, as officials warn that the Chinese company is becoming dangerously dominant in the global race for the next generation of mobile communications.  —  Officials in the US government …