Trump presents his own impeachment defense  —  On the eve of his likely impeachment, President Donald Trump has opted to act as his own defense lawyer.  —  In a six-page, stream-of-consciousness diatribe sent to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and released by the White House on Tuesday afternoon …

Fact check: Trump's wild letter to Pelosi is filled with false and misleading claims  —  Washington (CNN)It was on White House letterhead.  It read like a string of President Donald Trump's tweets.  —  And it was just as dishonest.  —  On Tuesday afternoon, Trump released a six-page letter …

Buttigieg omitted high-powered bundlers from disclosure  —  Pete Buttigieg's presidential campaign omitted more than 20 high-level fundraisers from a list of top bundlers it disclosed last week.  —  The public list of bundlers, featuring more than 100 people who have raised at least $25,000 for Buttigieg …

Trump Approval Inches Up, While Support for Impeachment Dips  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Donald Trump's job approval rating has inched up again and is now at 45%.  The president's ratings have increased six percentage points since the House of Representatives opened an impeachment inquiry against him in the fall.

GOP Sen. Collins of Maine launches reelection bid  —  FILE - In this Nov. 6, 2019, file photo, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, is surrounded by reporters as she heads to vote at the Capitol in Washington.  U.S. Sen. Collins officially launched her bid for a reelection Wednesday, Dec. 18 …

Letter from President Donald J. Trump to the Speaker of the House of Representatives  —  Speaker of the House of Representatives  —  Dear Madam Speaker:  —  I write to express my strongest and most powerful protest against the partisan impeachment crusade being pursued by the Democrats in the House of Representatives.

How Out of Control Is Our Surveillance State?  —  Americans deserve a stronger assurance than “hope” that their Fourth Amendment rights are being respected.  —  Mr. Sanchez is a senior fellow at the Cato Institute.  —  The F.B.I.'s investigation of the former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page …

Americans are counting on Senate for full and fair trial of Donald Trump [Editorial]  —  The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to vote Wednesday, for only the third time in our nation's history, to approve articles of impeachment accusing a president of “high crimes and misdemeanors” that could warrant his removal from office.

Trump intervened to cut Puerto Rico's Medicaid funding in spending bill: report  —  President Trump reportedly intervened to slash billions of dollars worth of Medicaid funding the federal government was preparing to allocate to Puerto Rico as part of a new $1.4 trillion spending package.

Hundreds of Obama alumni endorse Elizabeth Warren  —  (CNN)Hundreds of veterans of Barack Obama's campaigns and administration have signed on to endorse Sen. Elizabeth Warren for president, as multiple Democratic presidential candidates compete to claim the popular former president's political coalition and legacy.

History's Largest Mining Operation Is About to Begin  —  Unless you are given to chronic anxiety or suffer from nihilistic despair, you probably haven't spent much time contemplating the bottom of the ocean.  Many people imagine the seabed to be a vast expanse of sand, but it's a jagged …

Most Americans Think There's Enough Evidence To Impeach Trump  —  The House of Representatives is on the brink of making President Trump the third president in U.S. history to be impeached.  It will likely be a deeply divided vote, too, as no Republicans voted in favor of either of the two articles …

Trump administration reveals new organ donation rules  —  The Trump administration announced yesterday a new proposal aimed at making more organs available for transplant and holding organ procurement organizations accountable, part of its plan to tackle kidney disease.

Judge grants government proceeds from Edward Snowden's book  —  The government is entitled to any money former National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden makes from his memoir and paid speeches because he disclosed classified information without approval, a federal judge ruled Tuesday.

Georgia purged 309,000 voters from its rolls.  It's the second state to make cuts in less than a week.  —  Overnight, the number of registered voters in Georgia shrank by more than 300,000 in a contested but court-sanctioned action that could redefine the 2020 election, critics warned.

Half of active-duty service members are unhappy with Trump, new Military Times poll shows … President Donald Trump received a loud ovation when he participated in the coin toss ahead of Saturday's Army-Navy football rivalry game in Philadelphia.  But troops' actual feelings about the commander …

A Surveillance Net Blankets China's Cities, Giving Police Vast Powers  —  The authorities can scan your phones, track your face and find out when you leave your home.  One of the world's biggest spying networks is aimed at regular people, and nobody can stop it.

Among the World's Most Dire Places: This California Homeless Camp  —  We spent three months documenting the conditions of one homeless camp in the wealthiest state.  Then we traveled to a slum in Mexico City for comparison.

European Parliament gives human rights award to Uighur activist  —  One million Uighurs are estimated to be detained in internment camps.  —  The European Parliament on Wednesday gave its human rights prize to jailed Uighur economist Ilham Tohti and called for him to be released “immediately and unconditionally.”

US acting ambassador to Ukraine, Bill Taylor, to step down  —  Acting US Ambassador to Ukraine Bill Taylor, whose testimony helped build the case for impeaching Donald Trump, is to leave his post next month.  —  Mr Taylor will step down in January when his temporary appointment is due to expire, the New York Times reported.

Rudy Giuliani—and Russia—Pay Close Attention to This Ukrainian Conspiracy-Peddler  —  Ukrainian lawmaker Andriy Derkach's wild theories are easily disproved—but that hasn't stopped them from gaining traction with the top tiers of U.S. government and Trump's lawyer.