Phone logs in impeachment report renew concern about security of Trump communications  —  President Trump has routinely communicated with his personal lawyer, Rudolph W. Giuliani, and other individuals speaking on cellphones vulnerable to monitoring by Russian and other foreign intelligence services …

2020 Democrats Face Their Stress Test  —  Back in the 2016 campaign, I noticed a pattern that could be called “the spotlight paradox:” whenever the focus was on one candidate, the other candidate benefitted.  Here's what I wrote in late October of that year: “When we are talking about taxes …

Jobs growth soars in November as payrolls surge by 266,000  —  By Jeff Cox@JEFF.COX.7528@JEFFCOXCNBCCOM  — Nonfarm payrolls surged by 266,000 in November, better than the 187,000 expected by economists polled by Dow Jones.  — The unemployment rate ticked down to 3.5% from 3.6% …

The Problematic Pete Wars  —  Last week a problematic photo of Pete Buttigieg “surfaced” on Twitter dot com.  —  Problematic photos and videos about Mayor Pete seem to be “surfacing” to political reporters all the time these days, framed as if they were Milkshake Cicadas randomly emerging …

Doubts Surface Over Giuliani-White House Budget Office Calls  —  Number associated with OMB is also linked to several other offices in the White House  —  WASHINGTON—House Democrats earlier this week released records asserting that Rudy Giuliani was in contact with a phone number associated …

Rudy Not Even Waiting for Impeachment to End to Resume Ukraine Shakedown  —  The official House Republican impeachment report is dedicated to nitpicking the vast evidence of misconduct against President Trump, and wedging a handful of available facts into an alternative frame.

Mike Bloomberg says he's “not trying to take” Joe Biden's job in 2020 race  —  Mike Bloomberg says he's not just another billionaire running for president.  In an exclusive interview with “CBS This Morning” co-host Gayle King, Bloomberg spoke about President Trump, the other Democratic …

Ukrainian Fugitive Who Claimed to Have Dirt on Biden Firm Is Arrested  —  Oleksandr Onyshchenko publicly claimed to have inside information about Hunter Biden just as the impeachment proceedings got underway.  —  A former Ukrainian member of parliament who has claimed to have dirt …

The next 24 to 48 hours are crucial to avoid a potential government shutdown  —  Washington (CNN)Congress is once again running right up to the brink of a government shutdown.  There is cautious optimism, but still work to be done.  Progress has been made but the largest outstanding issues still stand.

Accused of Killing a Gambino Mob Boss, He's Presenting a Novel Defense  —  Anthony Comello is obsessed with conspiracy theories.  His paranoia is being a litigated in a Staten Island court.  —  Four days after pulling off the most high-profile mob killing in decades, Anthony Comello sat …

British GQ Quietly Scrubbed China's President And Thailand's King From Its “Worst Dressed” List  —  The magazine's parent company confirmed to BuzzFeed News they'd been removed over concerns of causing “unintended offence”.  —  When British GQ published its prestigious annual list of best-dressed men …

Uranium-contaminated site collapses into Detroit River  —  A Detroit property contaminated with uranium and other dangerous chemicals partially collapsed into the Detroit River on Nov. 26, the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy has confirmed.

(and That's a Very Good Thing)  —  As House Democrats invited Ivy League shrews to publicly grind their Trump-hating axe during Wednesday's disastrous impeachment charade, President Trump returned home after confronting our allies again about their lagging financial support of NATO.

The Supreme Court Case That Made Michael Bloomberg's Campaign Possible — And Doomed Kamala Harris  —  Democratic Sen. Kamala Harris of California suspended her presidential campaign on Tuesday.  Why?  Because, she said, she did not “have the financial resources we need to continue.  I'm not a billionaire.

WV employees suspended after photo emerges of correctional officers' Nazi salute  —  Local journalism makes a difference  —  Your support makes that possible — subscribe today for 99¢  —  Your support makes that possible — subscribe today for 99¢

Eyeing populist challenge from the left, Trump seeks plan to tackle student debt  —  President Trump is demanding aides present a plan to tackle student debt and the rising cost of a college education, worried that he has no response to expansive plans from Sen. Elizabeth Warren and other Democrats …

Southaven Republican challenges 14-vote loss to Democrat, asks House to overturn election  —  State Rep. Ashley Henley, a Southaven Republican, is asking the GOP-led Mississippi House to overturn the results of the election she narrowly lost to Democrat Hester Jackson-McCray.

I Was Once a Socialist.  Then I Saw How It Worked.  —  Two cheers for capitalism, now and forever.  —  I was a socialist in college.  I read magazines like The Nation and old issues of The New Masses.  I dreamed of being the next Clifford Odets, a lefty playwright who was always trying to raise proletarian class consciousness.

The Republicans' Star Impeachment Scholar Is a Shameless Hack  —  Jonathan Turley's testimony was so inconsistent, it contradicted his own previous statements on impeachment.  —  The House Judiciary Committee held something like a national teach-in on impeachment yesterday.

Boris Johnson wants to get tougher on crime.  Voters might reward him for it.  —  The London Bridge knife attack put a spotlight on voters' worries.  —  Last week's terrorist knife attack in London reignited Britain's political battle over crime, just as the United Kingdom heads toward a Dec. 12 general election.

Joe Biden says Trump is ‘ripping the soul out of this country’ and 'we're likely to inherit a recession'  — Joe Biden sat down with CNBC's John Harwood on Thursday to discuss a range of topics, including trade, health care, taxes and President Trump's standing among world leaders.

Another California GOP lawmaker is leaving the Republican Party.  Here's why  —  California's Republican Party is getting even smaller.  —  The super-minority in the Legislature has lost another state lawmaker, as former Assembly Republican leader Chad Mayes of Yucca Valley has decided …

Robbery suspects, hostage and bystander killed after hijacking, dramatic police chase  —  Armed robbers hijacked a UPS truck after a robbery in Coral Gables, leading police cars on a harrowing chase up Interstate 75 that ended Thursday night in a dramatic and deadly shootout on a busy street in Miramar.