Iraqi supporters of Iran-backed militia attack US Embassy  —  BAGHDAD (AP) — Dozens of angry Iraqi Shiite militia supporters broke into the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad on Tuesday after smashing a main door and setting fire to a reception area, prompting tear gas and sounds of gunfire.

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 …

Warren confronts ghost of Howard Dean  —  Liberals swooned.  The Democratic establishment was on its heels.  Powered by small donors and grassroots energy, in late 2003 Iowa seemed Howard Dean's for the taking.  —  But then came the attacks — from both the center and the left.  The surge became a stall.

GOP Sen. Susan Collins criticizes McConnell, Democrats for pre-Trump trial comments  —  The Maine Republican is the second member of the Senate GOP to attack the Senate majority leader for saying he is coordinating with the White House.  —  Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine …

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.

Corey Lewandowski Forgoes NH Senate Run, Claims ‘I Would Have Won’  —  WOMP WOMP  —  Former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski took to Twitter on Tuesday to announced that he will not run for Senate in New Hampshire.  At the same time, he made the Trumpian boast that he “would have won” if he had tossed his hat into the race.

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 …

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.

Trump Organization fires more undocumented workers — a year after its use of illegal labor was revealed  —  CHARLOTTESVILLE — Nearly a year after the Trump Organization pledged to root out undocumented workers at its properties, supervisors at the Trump Winery on Monday summoned …

Trump is openly calling for his trial to be as corrupt as possible  —  One of the thorniest challenges of this moment is the difficulty of finding language adequate to capturing President Trump's actual, openly stated positions.  They are often so profoundly ridiculous or nakedly corrupt …

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 …

Indicted Giuliani associate wants to give documents to House  —  NEW YORK (AP) — A Rudy Giuliani associate who was indicted on campaign finance charges is asking a judge to allow him to turn over documents to Congress as part of the impeachment proceeding against President Donald Trump.

Texas shooting isn't as simple as it seems  —  James C. Moore is a communications consultant, political analyst, and author.  He has been writing and reporting on Texas politics for the past 40 years.  The views expressed here are the author's.  Read more opinion on CNN.

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 …

Kevin Spacey Settles Sexual Assault Lawsuit After Accuser's Death  —  The actor and the accuser's son file court papers to end the case.  —  The mysterious sexual assault lawsuit brought by an anonymous massage therapist against Kevin Spacey is ending, according to papers filed in federal court Monday.

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.

John Lewis gives AJC a look at coming cancer fight  —  AJC Exclusive  —  U.S. Rep. John Lewis famously tells the story of reaching the apex of the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma on March 7, 1965 — Bloody Sunday.  —  He and Hosea Williams were leading a group of civil rights marchers …

Voter purges: are Republicans trying to rig the 2020 election?  —  Controversies in Wisconsin and Georgia show how the mass removal of voters from the rolls has become a key part of the fight to win  —  The final weeks of December may have been dominated by news of Donald Trump's impeachment …

New book smashes taboo over French author's sex with teens  —  Paris (AFP) - A prominent French author who has never made any secret of his preference for sex with adolescent girls and boys is at the centre of a firestorm as a former partner publishes a book describing the lasting trauma of underage intercourse over three decades ago.

Lawsuit: Famed Jesuit abused boy 1,000 times around world  —  CHICAGO (AP) — One day in May of 1970, an 11-year-old boy and his disabled sister were sitting on the curb outside a Chicago tavern, waiting for their mother to come out.  When a priest with crinkly eyes and a ready smile happened …

Little Shell chair, others object to Stapleton post  —  A rambling weekend post by Secretary of State Corey Stapleton comparing Native American tribes' relationships with Montana and the U.S. government to the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict drew objections in Indian Country Monday.

Team Trump's Furious Hunt to Find Out Who ‘Liked’ a Chelsea Clinton Tweet  —  At least 10 Trump administration staffers were interviewed about whether they had dared to to hit the “like” button.  —  On the evening of July 10, 2017 staffers at the U.S. embassy in Brussels …

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?

Michael Bloomberg Says He Has ‘No Idea’ What His Stance Is Regarding Central Park 5  —  “I've been away from it for so long, I just really can't respond because I just don't remember,” the former New York City mayor said.  —  Democratic presidential contender Michael Bloomberg said this week that he has …

Beauty On The Ballot: Candidates' Attractiveness Plays Role In Voters' Decisions, Especially In U.S.  —  Political scientist finds “effects of appearance more extreme” in the United States: “Up to eleven percentage points can be gained on account of appearance alone” for U.S. Congressional candidates.

50 Numbers From 2019 That Are Almost Too Crazy To Believe  —  One of the best ways to determine where things are heading is to look back at how much has changed over the past 12 months.  2019 has been one of the most memorable years in our history, and it has certainly set the stage for the critical events of the decade to come.