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 …

When Pete Buttigieg Was One of McKinsey's ‘Whiz Kids’  —  Among the hoops that candidates for plum consulting jobs at McKinsey & Company had to jump through in late 2006 was a bit of play acting: They were given a scenario involving a hypothetical client, “a business under siege,” …

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% …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.

Biden: Media, rivals wrong that AOC represents direction of party  —  Former Vice President Joe Biden told “Axios on HBO” in Iowa that he has shaped the 2020 race, faulting the media and his rivals for thinking Democratic voters are more liberal than the reality.

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.

Adam Schiff's Attack on the Free Press  —  Even if John Solomon's reporting on Ukraine was misleading or destructive, it wouldn't warrant being unmasked by the government.  —  Where are all the self-styled champions of the free press now that Adam Schiff has used the surveillance powers …

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.

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¢

Inside the Cell Where a Sick 16-Year-Old Boy Died in Border Patrol Care  —  Video obtained by ProPublica shows the Border Patrol held a sick teen in a concrete cell without proper medical attention and did not discover his body until his cellmate alerted guards.  The video doesn't match the Border Patrol's account of his death.

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.

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.

(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.

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.

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 …

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 …

R. Kelly Used Bribe to Marry Aaliyah When She Was 15, Charges Say  —  He bribed a government employee in 1994 so that he could obtain a fake ID for the singer Aaliyah, a person familiar with the matter said.  —  A persistent question has dogged R. Kelly's two-decade music career …

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 …

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.

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.