‘Fireside chat on live television’: Trump says he wants to read Ukraine call transcript to American people  —  A defiant President Trump signaled he will not cooperate with the Democratic Party's impeachment proceedings, insisting his telephone conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was …

Elizabeth Warren Releases $20.5 Trillion Plan to Pay for ‘Medicare for All’  —  Ms. Warren would impose huge tax increases on businesses and billionaires to provide free health coverage for all Americans, but she says she would not raise taxes on the middle class.

Warren Leads Tight Iowa Race as Biden Fades, Poll Finds  —  Ms. Warren garnered 22 percent in a New York Times/Siena College poll, to 19 percent for Bernie Sanders.  Pete Buttigieg has surged, while Mr. Biden's travails have put the race in flux.  —  Which of these Democrats would be your first choice in the Iowa caucuses?

Americans divided 49% to 47% on impeachment, with criticism for both sides: POLL  —  Americans are split essentially even on impeaching Donald Trump and removing him from office, with criticism on both sides of the issue — toward Trump, for his response to the inquiry, and toward congressional Democrats …

Trump, Lifelong New Yorker, Declares Himself a Resident of Florida  —  The president filed a “declaration of domicile” last month saying that his property in Palm Beach will be his permanent residence.  —  He came of age in Queens, built Trump Tower, starred in “The Apprentice,” …

Julián Castro's campaign exceeds $800K goal: 'We're not going anywhere'  —  “Time and time again this campaign has defied expectations,” says campaign manager Maya Rupert.  —  Talk of doom and a many pleas for donations paid off for the Julian Castro campaign which announced Friday it had reached its $800,000 fundraising goal.

Texas voters evenly split on impeachment of Donald Trump, UT/TT Poll finds  —  Texas voters are divided on whether the president should be removed from office, but nearly half think impeachment investigations should proceed, according to the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll.

GOP Lawmaker Head-Butts Camera Rather Than Answer A Question About Trump  —  Rep. Don Young really didn't want to answer this one.  —  Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska) came up with a novel way to avoid a question about President Donald Trump on Thursday.  —  Instead of ignoring the activists …

The Mavening of Sportswriting  —  Deadspin staffers resigned this week after a dispute with management.  Like so many other publications, the future will bring an undead version of the site.  —  You've been waiting for it, haven't you?  Wondering whether it'll turn up next to an old Drew Magary Funbag.

Trump abandons proposing ideas to curb gun violence after saying he would following mass shootings  —  President Trump has abandoned the idea of releasing proposals to combat gun violence that his White House debated for months following mass shootings in August, according to White House officials …

Keystone pipeline spills more than 350,000 gallons of oil in North Dakota  —  The Keystone pipeline has spilled hundreds of thousands of gallons of crude oil into North Dakota this week, The New York Times reports.  —  The pipeline has leaked roughly 383,000 gallons of crude oil …

How Deadspin Imploded  —  The last meeting for many of Deadspin's journalists took place on Wednesday in a conference room adorned with fake black cobwebs, a large spider and bloody handprints beside the words: “HELP US.”  —  The plea, it seemed, went unanswered.

The Women Changing Presidential Campaigns from the Inside  —  An unprecedented number of women have entered the 2020 presidential race—and not just on the ballot.  Behind the scenes, veteran staffers are transforming electoral politics with their ideas, their ambitions, and...their pregnancies.

Why the Impeachment Fight Is Even Scarier Than You Think  —  For decades, Republicans and Democrats fought over the same things: whose values and policies work best for American democracy.  But now, those age-old fights are changing.  What was once run-of-the-mill partisan competition …

The Next Phase of Pete Buttigieg  —  It's not just you.  Pete Buttigieg knows this is a little crazy, too.  —  He knows it's crazy that, back in January, his campaign had to schedule his launch announcement at a hotel a few blocks from the White House to persuade enough reporters to cover it …

Trump Is Committing ‘Felony Bribery’ by Giving Fundraising Cash to GOP Senators Ahead of Impeachment Trial: Ex-Bush Ethics Lawyer  —  Attorney Richard Painter, who served as the chief White House ethics lawyer in the George W. Bush administration, warned on Thursday that President Donald Trump appeared …

GOP Voters Are More Split On The Substance Of The Ukraine Scandal Than On Penalizing Trump For It  —  Welcome to Pollapalooza, our weekly polling roundup.  —  Polls of the week  —  Very few Republican voters favor the impeachment and removal of President Trump — only about 11 percent, according to our impeachment polls tracker.

ABA Violated Several of Its Own Policies in Rating Lawrence VanDyke, Nominee, United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit  —  1. Here are the ABA policies:  —  Background: American Bar Association Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary: What It Is and How It Works

The GOP's defense of Trump has me sinking into cynicism  —  Unless you were paying close attention, you might have missed one of the most illuminating moments so far in President Trump's impeachment saga.  —  During Army Lt. Col. Alexander S. Vindman's testimony Tuesday …