As House convenes on impeachment, Trump declares disbelief  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump woke up in the White House Wednesday morning and expressed utter disbelief that he will likely become just the third U.S. president to be impeached by the House of Representatives.

State Charges Against Manafort Dismissed by Judge in New York  —  A judge threw out state charges against Paul J. Manafort, President Trump's former campaign chairman, on Wednesday, dealing a setback to efforts by the Manhattan district attorney to ensure Mr. Manafort will still face prison …

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.

Some House Democrats push Pelosi to withhold impeachment articles, delay Senate trial  —  A group of House Democrats is pushing Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other leaders to withhold the articles of impeachment against President Trump that are expected to emerge on Wednesday, potentially delaying a Senate trial for months.

The GOP's closing impeachment argument: Denying basic facts  —  It's often been said that the two sides in the current impeachment debate can't even agree on basic facts.  But increasingly for the GOP, that's also true of well-established and indisputable facts.

‘In a class by herself’: Pelosi has roared back in the Trump era  —  Speaker Nancy Pelosi stood in front of her members on Tuesday morning and gestured to a bright red poppy pinned to her coat.  —  Pelosi received the memorial pin while attending the 75th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge in Belgium over the weekend.

Horowitz Examining Past FISA Applications to Determine if FBI's ‘Basic Errors’ are Systemic  —  The Justice Department inspector general said Wednesday that his team will take a closer look at Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act warrant applications involving counterintelligence …

“AN ASSAULT ON AMERICA”: Trump fires off dozens of tweets on impeachment day … What he's saying:  — “Can you believe that I will be impeached today by the Radical Left, Do Nothing Democrats, AND I DID NOTHING WRONG!  A terrible Thing.  Read the Transcripts.  This should never happen to another President again.

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.

Judge Rules Snowden Book Profits Must Be Handed to the Government  —  WE'LL TAKE THAT  —  Any money former National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden makes from his recent memoir and paid speeches must be handed to the U.S. government, a federal judge ruled Tuesday.

Democrats are sleepwalking into a Biden disaster  —  The Democratic primary has had much hue and cry over Pete Buttigieg, Elizabeth Warren, and Bernie Sanders of late.  Yet the front-runner continues to be former Vice President Joe Biden, and there is little sign as yet that he is going to lose his lead, despite his fumbling campaign.

Every Person In America Should Know Crystal Mason's Name  —  Mason faces a five-year prison sentence for trying to vote while ineligible.  HuffPost Reports documents the days leading up to her appeal.  —  Maybe you've heard of Crystal Mason.  Last year, a Texas judge sentenced her to five years …

Hundreds of ‘pink slime’ local news outlets are distributing algorithmic stories and conservative talking points  —  An increasingly popular tactic challenges conventional wisdom on the spread of electoral disinformation: the creation of partisan outlets masquerading as local news organizations.

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.

Agency says it will review Trump Jr.'s sheep hunt in Mongolia  —  The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said it will review allegations that Donald Trump Jr., may have illegally killed a rare sheep during a recent trip to Mongolia and imported parts of the animal back to the U.S.

Joe Biden Is Sounding Like a Pundit, and He's Bullish on a Certain Former V.P.  —  As he campaigns, Mr. Biden offers free-flowing analysis about the race he's running in.  Among his takes: He should be described as the front-runner, and he's best positioned to beat President Trump.

USDA tariff tracker removes Wakanda, fictional home of Black Panther, as free trade partner  —  There were hundreds of U.S. Department of Agriculture data inputs for Wakanda, a nation that first appeared in the July 1966 Marvel comic Fantastic Four #52.  —  Wakanda's free trade agreement with the United States wasn't forever.

How Cenk Uygur Threw The Race To Replace Katie Hill Into Chaos  —  California Democrats were supporting Hill's anointed successor, Christy Smith.  Then a controversial lefty upended everything.  —  LOS ANGELES — Rep. Katie Hill, the freshman Democrat who resigned in October after apologizing …

My client, Travis Runnels, did not deserve to die  —  The death penalty is the rot at the core of our culture and our values.  —  Power  —  The death penalty is the rot at the core of our culture and our values.  —  Mark Pickett Dec—18—2019 12:04PM EST

Trump Urged To Resign Before Impeachment Vote: ‘It Would Be The Most Shared Tweet Of All Time’  —  As President Donald Trump faces impeachment in a historic vote likely to take place on Wednesday, Democrats are reminding the U.S. leader that there is still another way forward: resigning.

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 …