Small group of Democrats floats censure instead of impeachment  —  A small group of vulnerable House Democrats is floating the longshot idea of censuring President Donald Trump instead of impeaching him, according to multiple lawmakers familiar with the conversations.

Washington, Obama, and Trump, Oh My!  —  Biden, Sanders, Warren continue to jockey for 2020 pole position  —  West Long Branch, NJ - Most Americans agree that George Washington was a better president than either Donald Trump or Barack Obama - but there are some interesting partisan divisions in that opinion.

Former FBI Lawyer Lisa Page Sues Justice Department and FBI  —  On Dec. 10, Lisa Page filed a complaint against the Department of Justice and the FBI for alleged violations of the Privacy Act related to the disclosure of information about her to the media.  The document is available here and below.

Barr thinks FBI may have acted in ‘bad faith’ in probing Trump campaign's links to Russia  —  “I think our nation was turned on its head for 3 years based on a bogus narrative,” said the attorney general in an exclusive interview with Pete Williams.  —  WASHINGTON — Attorney General William Barr …

Growing divide between Trump and McConnell over impeachment trial  —  Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell are both looking ahead to the Senate impeachment trial, but there is a growing divide between the two over what that trial should look like, CNN has learned.

Massive gun battle breaks out in New Jersey  —  New Jersey police officer was shot as the suspects then fled.  —  LIVE NOW  —  A gun battle has broken out in New Jersey after a Jersey City police officer was shot by two suspects at a cemetery, police said on Tuesday.

Trump pays $2 million in damages ordered by judge over misuse of charity funds, according to NY attorney general  —  President Trump has paid $2 million in court-ordered damages for misusing funds in a tax-exempt charity he controlled, the New York Attorney General said Tuesday.

Get The Brief.  —  Sign up to receive the top stories you need to know right now.  —  Sign Up Now  —  The most crucial point at which Yermak's recollection contradicts the testimony of the inquiry's witnesses relates to a meeting in Warsaw on Sept. 1, when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met …

Bolton knocks Trump administration for latest North Korea decision  —  President Trump's former national security adviser, John Bolton, is publicly criticizing the Trump administration's decision to stymie a United Nations Security Council meeting on North Korea's human rights abuses.

U.S. seeks no prison time for Rick Gates, senior 2016 Trump campaign aide, citing ‘extraordinary assistance’ in Mueller probe  —  Federal prosecutors on Tuesday recommended that former deputy Trump campaign chairman Rick Gates serve no prison time, citing his 'extraordinary assistance …

Tucker Carlson's War With a GOP Megadonor Has an Ironic Twist  —  The long and entwined history between one of the nation's top donors and Fox News' prime-time host tells the story of Trump's GOP.  —  In mid-2011, Tucker Carlson's digital media outlet the Daily Caller was looking for money …

Trump's fine with ditching USMCA prescription drug provision  —  As they took in Game 5 of the World Series together, President Trump told House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy he doesn't want to fight for the most prominent prescription drug component of the administration's trade pact …

The mystery of Rudy Giuliani's spokeswoman  —  The gatekeeper to the lawyer for the most powerful man in the world is a 20-year-old conservative activist with a thin resume, an inflated biography and an impossible job.  —  For the past three months, Trumpworld has been both abuzz and baffled …

Greenland's ice losses have septupled and are now in line with its highest sea-level scenario, scientists say  —  That's according to 26 separate satellite measurements and 89 scientists who have produced them  —  The Greenland ice sheet's losses have accelerated so fast since the 1990s …

EXCLUSIVE: Hunter Biden's baby mama Lunden Roberts has demanded he admit that he was employed by the Burisma, how much money he was paid by the Ukrainian company and that he also received money from a Chinese person or entity  — The mother of Hunter Biden's baby has demanded that he admit …

The Decade the Internet Lost Its Joy  —  What began as cheerful anarchy was devoured by vulture capital and ruthless consolidation  —  the beginning of 2015, Alex Balk, then-editor of the now-defunct website the Awl, wrote a post of advice for young people in which he supplied three laws about the internet.

Former Mexican Secretary of Public Security Arrested for Drug-Trafficking Conspiracy and Making False Statements  —  Genaro Garcia Luna Allegedly Received Millions of Dollars in Bribes from “El Chapo's” Sinaloa Cartel  —  An indictment was unsealed today in federal court …

The Arctic may have crossed key threshold, emitting billions of tons of carbon into the air, in a long-dreaded climate feedback  —  Report finds sweeping changes underway across the Arctic  —  The Arctic is undergoing a profound, rapid, and unmitigated shift into a new climate state …

GOP's Yoho announces retirement from Congress  —  Rep. Ted Yoho (R-Fla.) announced he will not seek re-election on Tuesday, citing his pledge to only serve four terms in Congress.  —  “I believed when I ran in term limits.  I ran on a pledge to serve four terms - eight years and come home,” he said.