Chief Justice John Roberts says Americans may ‘take democracy for granted’  —  Photos:  —  In photos: Chief Justice John Roberts  —  Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts listens to President Donald Trump's State of the Union address in January 2018.  —  1 of 20  —  Photos:

Pentagon expects to deploy troops to Mideast after Iraqi protesters assault US embassy, torch guardhouse to protest airstrikes  —  Two Apache helicopters conducted a show of force over the embassy as a warning.  —  The Pentagon expects to send additional U.S. troops to the Middle East …

North Korea Is No Longer Bound by Nuclear Test Moratorium, Kim Says  —  Kim Jong-un said North Korea was free of a self-imposed pause on testing nuclear weapons and long-range missiles, which President Trump had called a diplomatic victory.  —  SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea's leader …

Susan Collins Becomes Second GOP Senator to Question McConnell Over Impeachment Trial  —  With only a four-vote Senate majority, a small bloc of Republican senators could upend majority leader's efforts  —  WASHINGTON—Maine Sen. Susan Collins has become the second Republican to question …

Illinois governor clears thousands of marijuana convictions  —  CHICAGO (AP) — Illinois' governor granted more than 11,000 pardons for low-level marijuana convictions on Tuesday, describing the step as a first wave of thousands of such expungements anticipated under the state's new marijuana legalization law.

Ghosn's Escape Followed Weeks of Planning  —  Aim of associates was to help spirit him to a more friendly legal environment  —  Carlos Ghosn's escape to Lebanon from Japan followed weeks of planning by associates aimed at getting the former auto executive to a country they believed would provide …

NC voter ID law written with ‘discriminatory intent,’ says judge who just struck it down  —  Racial discrimination was at least part of the motivation for a new voter ID law in North Carolina, a federal judge wrote Tuesday, striking the law down for now.  —  The judge's ruling Tuesday …

DLCC's Top Ten Victories of 2019  —  There are a lot of victories for Democrats to celebrate from 2019, a major battleground year in the states.  We had newly blue chambers ready to enact forward-thinking legislation.  We won critical elections that flipped seats, and legislatures, blue.

Here's why Congress wants to look inside the bank that fronted Donald Trump $2 billion  —  Just try phoning Trump's private banker Rosemary T. Vrablic at Deutsche Bank's U.S. headquarters in Manhattan.  Back in 2017, before too many bankers involved with Deutsche Bank started turning up dead …

EPA's scientific advisers warn its regulatory rollbacks clash with established science  —  The Environmental Protection Agency is pressing ahead with sweeping changes to roll back environmental regulations despite sharp criticism from a panel of scientific advisers, most of whom were appointed by President Trump.

FBI Agents: McCabe Apologized for Changing His Story on Leak  —  McCabe flip-flopped on the origins of a Wall Street Journal story during the 2016 campaign—then apologized for his changing account.  —  Former FBI chief Andrew McCabe faced scorching criticism and potential criminal prosecution …

Prime Minister Netanyahu to officially ask for immunity on Wednesday  —  “I hope the prime minister will not request immunity, but if he does, we will deal with it then,” Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Liberman said.  —  Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will formally request immunity …

Two tribes aren't recognized federally.  Yet members won $500 million in minority contracts  —  Companies set up by members of a self-described and state-recognized Creek Indian tribe in Alabama have received more than $240 million in federal minority-business contracts …

Democrats sharpen their differences as Iowa caucuses loom  —  DES MOINES — The Democratic presidential candidates spent the final day of 2019 sharpening their differences as they braced for the final sprint to the Iowa caucuses, with polls showing a fluid and unsettled race five weeks before the first nominating contest.

‘Yeah, I briefly chased the pee tape’ — New York Times reporter talks Steele dossier, Horowitz report and more  —  Seventh in a series on the media's handling of the dossier.  See Parts one, two, three, four, five and six.  —  The headline on the front page of the New York Times on Nov. 23 read …

FDA to Ban All E-Cigarette Pod Flavors Except Tobacco and Menthol  —  Impact on small businesses and Trump's re-election prospects drive compromise  —  The Food and Drug Administration plans to ban the sale of fruity flavors in cartridge-based e-cigarettes, but the restriction won't apply …

Thousands Flee to Shore as Australia Fires Turn Skies Blood Red  —  The country's east coast was dotted with apocalyptic scenes on the last day of the warmest decade on record in Australia.  —  SYDNEY, Australia — As the fire stalked the east coast of Australia on Tuesday, the daytime sky turned inky black, then blood red.

IRS Reforms Free File Program, Drops Agreement Not to Compete With TurboTax  —  ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power.  Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they're published.  —  Finding free online tax filing should be easier this year for millions of Americans.

Ghislaine Maxwell Scoffing at Law Thanks to ‘Serious Dirt’ on Powerful People, Former Friend Says  —  A former friend says the Epstein confidante was relieved at her former boyfriend's death—because it meant he could not turn on her.  —  Ghislaine Maxwell, the former girlfriend …

The Historian of Moral Revolution  —  Economists measure economic change and journalists describe political change, but who captures moral change?  Who captures the shifts in manners, values, and mores, how each era defines what is admirable and what is disgraceful?

The jig is up: Bolton and Mulvaney have no excuse for not testifying  —  On Monday, a federal judge dismissed a case brought by Charles Kupperman, a former deputy national security adviser, asserting an “absolute immunity” to protect him from testifying.  Both the House Judiciary Committee …