Gordon Sondland says Giuliani pushed Ukraine probes at Trump's direction  —  Gordon Sondland, the U.S. ambassador to the European Union, broke sharply from President Donald Trump on Thursday, telling House impeachment investigators that he opposed the president's request to run Ukraine policy through his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani.

Turkish president Erdogan 'threw Trump's Syria letter in bin'  —  Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan put US President Donald Trump's letter “in the bin”, the BBC has been told.  —  In the letter dated 9 October, and sent after US troops were pulled out of Syria, Mr Trump told Mr Erdogan: “Don't be a tough guy.

Perry Tells Trump He Will Resign as Energy Secretary  —  Rick Perry, the former governor of Texas who has become enmeshed in the Ukraine scandal, said he would resign as secretary of energy.  —  Rick Perry, the energy secretary who has drawn scrutiny for his role in the controversy surrounding …

Our Republic Is Under Attack From the President  —  If President Trump doesn't demonstrate the leadership that America needs, then it is time for a new person in the Oval Office.  —  Admiral McRaven is a former commander of the United States Special Operations Command.

Elijah E. Cummings, Powerful Democrat Who Investigated Trump, Dies at 68  —  A son of sharecroppers, he fought tirelessly for his hometown of Baltimore and became a key figure in the impeachment investigation of President Trump.  —  Representative Elijah E. Cummings, a son of sharecroppers …

In U.S., Decline of Christianity Continues at Rapid Pace  —  An update on America's changing religious landscape  —  The religious landscape of the United States continues to change at a rapid clip.  In Pew Research Center telephone surveys conducted in 2018 and 2019 …

At the Times, a Hesitance to Hyperlink  —  Journalists at the New York Times and its own standards editor say that getting continually dragged by other journalists for not giving credit is embarrassing.  —  There's a joke in the journalism industry: It's not news until the New York Times says it is.

Outrage grows in firing of Madison West High School security guard over use of N-word  —  Outrage was growing among members of Madison's black community Thursday, a day after a black West High School security guard was fired for what he said was explicitly telling a student not to call …

Americans already pay a ‘gigantic’ hidden health-care tax, economists say  —  The question of who will foot the bill for Medicare-for-all is almost beside the point, according to the authors of ‘The Triumph of Injustice’  —  The topic of Medicare-for-all was front and center — again …

Things Aren't Getting Better for 2020's Most Vulnerable Senate Republicans  —  Five vulnerable Republicans see declines in net approval  —  Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) delivers remarks during a weekly Capitol Hill news conference on June 25.  The latest Morning Consult Senator Approval Rankings found …

N.Y.C. Votes to Close Rikers.  Now Comes the Hard Part.  —  The City Council approved a sweeping $8 billion plan to close the troubled jail complex and replace it with four smaller jails by 2026.  —  One 886-bed jail will tower over shops and restaurants in Downtown Brooklyn.

Trump's “Nervous Nancy” tweet shows his problem with powerful women  —  A photo tweeted by President Trump on Wednesday shows House Speaker Nancy Pelosi chastising him while others look on at a White House meeting.  White House photo by Shealah Craighead  —  Trump tried to shame Nancy Pelosi by tweeting a photo of their meeting.

Modest Changes in Views of Impeachment Proceedings Since Early September  —  54% approve of House decision to conduct inquiry  —  Most Americans have not changed their views on whether the House should conduct impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump since early September …

How Evil Is the Left?  This Evil  —  I wrote here about the riot that occurred in downtown Minneapolis during and after President Trump's rally last Thursday night.  Trump supporters were assaulted, their vehicles were blocked, police officers and police horses were attacked, and so on.

Does Trump Realize the Trouble He's In?  —  Recognizing when things are going wrong is an essential skill of the presidency.  Trump doesn't seem to have it.  —  Wednesday, the 1,000th day of Donald Trump's presidency, went badly.  That's no surprise; most of the first 999 days went badly too.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg says in interview he fears ‘erosion of truth’ but defends allowing politicians to lie in ads  —  His approach to political speech has come under fire in recent weeks.  —  Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said in an interview he worries “about an erosion of truth” …

Trump Sent Attorney General Barr to Rome in Search of a Deep State Plot.  Italian Intelligence Says There's Nothing There.  —  The Italian government has determined that its intelligence services had no connection to a Maltese professor who told a Trump campaign adviser in 2016 …