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.

Chief Justice John Roberts warns about dangers of fake news  —  Some read the annual New Year's Eve message as a rebuke of President Donald Trump.  —  U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts.  Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images  —  Chief Justice John Roberts — who's on the verge …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.

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.

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 …

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?

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.

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.

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.

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.