Facebook takedowns show new Russian activity targeted Biden, praised Trump  —  The company disabled a network of accounts that posed at times as locals in swing states to post on divisive political issues and the upcoming presidential election.  —  Facebook on Monday said it removed a network …

Putin and Hungary's Orban helped sour Trump on Ukraine  —  President Trump's effort to pressure Ukraine for information he could use against political rivals came as he was being urged to adopt a hostile view of that country by its regional adversaries, including Russian President Vladi­mir Putin …

Poll: Iowa caucuses are ‘up for grabs’ as Pete Buttigieg surges into top tier  —  It's a new three-way race in Iowa.  —  Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, who was initially seen as a long-shot presidential contender, has surged within striking distance of former vice president Joe Biden …

Pentagon draws up plans for quick Afghanistan withdrawal just in case Trump blindsides military  —  Officials cautioned, however, that the planning is a precaution and there is currently no White House directive to pull all U.S. troops out of Afghanistan.  —  WASHINGTON — The Pentagon …

White House Personnel Director Told Trump That Top Candidates for Acting DHS Secretary Aren't Eligible  —  The White House personnel director told President Trump that neither Ken Cuccinelli nor Mark Morgan, top candidates for acting Department of Homeland Security secretary, aren't qualified under federal vacancies law.

Private Photos of Indicted Donor Depict Ties to Trump, Giuliani  —  Dating back to 2015, the private Instagram account of Lev Parnas, a Ukrainian-American indicted for illegal campaign donations, appears to show VIP access to President Trump and a close relationship with Rudy Giuliani.

House Democrats zero in on ‘abuse of power’ in Trump impeachment inquiry  —  Pelosi is said to favor one sweeping charge related to Ukraine, but there's some debate about the need for additional charges.  —  WASHINGTON — House Democrats are zeroing in on a framework for their impeachment case …

Trump admin apparently over Khashoggi killing, will attend Saudi's ‘Davos in the Desert’  —  US Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin and presidential son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner plan to attend this year's “Davos in the Desert,” a Saudi Arabian economic conference the US …

Trump is ‘fully prepared’ to take military action against Turkey if needed, Mike Pompeo says  — “We prefer peace to war,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tells CNBC's Wilfred Frost.  “But in the event that kinetic action or military action is needed, you should know that President Trump is fully prepared to undertake that action.”

Why Congress Might Impeach Trump and Actually Remove Him From Office  —  If you have seen the 1995 movie Casino, the fate of Joe Pesci's character gives a fairly good sense of how Donald Trump might eventually be impeached and removed from office.  If you haven't seen Casino, Pesci's character …

CNN hired Sean Duffy, who immediately pushed conspiracy theories that CNN had already debunked  —  CNN's new hire, former Rep. Sean Duffy (R-WI), has used his first two appearances on the network to push a conspiracy theory that has already been widely debunked — including by CNN's own reporting.

Ilhan Omar, 37, is not only dating, but living ‘on and off’ with her married campaign aide Tim Mynett, 38, in Washington DC, DailyMail.com can reveal  —  DailyMail.com has obtained photographic evidence that confirms Omar and Mynett have been hooking up whenever she is in DC for congressional work.

Trump's Cabinet meetings have become about everything but the business of his Cabinet  —  The Debrief: An occasional series offering a reporter's insights  —  The Cabinet meeting was billed as a discussion of the administration's “successful rollback of the abuses and the high cost of the bloated regulatory state.”

Trump Conflicts of Interest Top 2,500, CREW Releases Live Tracker  —  If President Trump's leadership sometimes feels haphazard and temperamental, it's in contrast to one area where he seems to maintain a laser focus: Trying to use the presidency to enrich himself through the private businesses he still owns as president.

Dozens of new websites appear to be Michigan local news outlets, but with political bent  —  2019 Lansing city council candidates share what they believe to be the biggest concern for the city of Lansing and its residents  —  LANSING — Dozens of websites branded as local news outlets …

Teen Models Remember Trump Would “Find a Reason” to Come Backstage When They Were Changing  —  In exclusive excerpts from the explosive new book  —  , “Nobody has more respect for women than me!”  Although his sordid history with women has been well-documented (to date,

Residents of northeast Syria city pelt departing US troops  —  AKCAKALE, Turkey (AP) — Angry over the U.S. withdrawal, residents of a Kurdish-dominated Syrian city hurled potatoes at departing American military vehicles as they drove by on Monday.  Defense Secretary Mark Esper said U.S. troops …

‘One Grotesque Irony After Another’: Inside the Rise and Fall of Gawker 2.0  —  Last year, Bryan Goldberg revealed big plans for his relaunch of Gawker, then postponed it indefinitely while laying off the whole staff.  Now, there's serious talk of reviving it yet again.  Here's what happened behind the scenes.

Tulsi Gabbard Is Being Used by the Russians, and to a Former US Double Agent, the Evidence Is Clear |  Opinion  —  , NEWSWEEK COLUMNIST, FORMER FBI DOUBLE AGENT AND THE AUTHOR OF “HOW TO CATCH A RUSSIAN SPY”  —  Much has been made of Hillary Clinton's implication that Tulsi Gabbard is someone Russia has “their eye on.”

Supreme Court wipes out Michigan partisan gerrymander ruling  —  The court had already declared in June that such challenges involve an essentially political issue, beyond the authority of federal courts to resolve.  —  Supreme Court strikes down Michigan gerrymandering ruling

It's Official: the Press Failed Hillary Clinton and America in 2016  —  New State Department report implicitly indicts media behavior.  —  There's only one thing in my mind that captures the absurdity and exhaustion of our present moment more than the dustup last weekend between Hillary Clinton and Tulsi Gabbard.

Ohio counties, four drug firms reach $260 million settlement in opioid epidemic case, averting trial  —  CLEVELAND — Two Ohio counties settled Monday with four drug companies on the eve of a landmark federal trial over responsibility for the opioid epidemic, in a $260 million deal that emerged …