Exclusive: Unredacted Ukraine Documents Reveal Extent of Pentagon's Legal Concerns  —  “Clear direction from POTUS to continue to hold.”  —  This is what Michael Duffey, associate director of national security programs at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), told Elaine McCusker …

Andrew Yang Raised $16.5 Million in the Last 3 Months, His Campaign Says  —  Donations to Mr. Yang in the fourth quarter of 2019 were his highest in any such period and put him among the top fund-raisers in the Democratic presidential field.  —  The entrepreneur Andrew Yang's presidential campaign …

Julián Castro Drops Out of Presidential Race  —  Mr. Castro, the former housing secretary and mayor of San Antonio, was the only Latino candidate in the race.  He championed progressive policies but did not find his footing in polls.  —  Julián Castro, the former housing secretary …

A deceptively edited video of Joe Biden signals what's coming  —  If you thought the 2016 election was awash in disinformation and lies, get ready: The 2020 election is going to make that affair look like a knitting session.  —  A video that was edited in a monumentally dishonest fashion …

POLITICO Playbook: Why holding the impeachment articles might not matter  —  HAPPY NEW YEAR, and thanks to Blake for filling in the last few days.  Welcome to an election year.  —  HERE'S A LITTLE BIT OF FOOD FOR THOUGHT: What if it doesn't matter if Speaker NANCY PELOSI sends over the impeachment articles?

It's 2020 and you're in the future  —  It's finally the 2020s.  After 20 years of not being able to refer to the decade we're in, we're all finally free—in the clear for the next 80 years until 2100, at which point I assume AGI will have figured out what to call the two decades between 2100 and 2120.

'It's Creepy': Unexplained Drones Are Swarming by Night Over Colorado  —  Sheriffs in western Nebraska and eastern Colorado say they don't know who's flying the drones — or why.  The F.A.A. is investigating.  —  They come in the night: Drones — lots of them — flying in precise formations over the Colorado and Nebraska prairie.

Australia's prime minister visited families devastated by the wildfires.  It did not go well.  —  The fire mercilessly tore through Cobargo, a small town near the coast in southern New South Wales, on Monday night, burning down the main street and killing two people, a father and son, caught in its destructive path.

I Was Google's Head of International Relations.  Here's Why I Left.  —  The company's motto used to be “Don't be evil.”  Things have changed.  —  When I walked out the door on my last day as Google's Head of International Relations, I couldn't help but think of my first day at the company.

Anti-Semitism Grows in Jewish Communities in NYC Suburbs  —  The expansion of Hasidic communities in New York's Hudson Valley, the Catskills and northern New Jersey has led to some anti-semitic rhetoric  —  What to Know  — With the expansion of Orthodox communities outside NYC has come civic sparring …

Hillary Clinton appointed chancellor of Queen's University, Belfast  —  Hillary Clinton is to be the new chancellor of Queen's University, Belfast (QUB).  —  She is the university's 11th chancellor and first woman to take up the post.  —  In a statement, Mrs Clinton said it was a “great privilege” to become the chancellor of QUB.

By ROSS IBBETSON FOR MAILONLINE  —  The leader of an Iran-backed US embassy siege in Baghdad was welcomed to the White House by Barack Obama eight years ago before becoming Tehran's ‘point man’ in Iraq.  —  Hadi al Amiri joined Iraq's then-Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki as his Minister …

Bill Taylor departs post as top US diplomat in Ukraine  —  Hear what Bill Taylor said to the House during impeachment  —  Washington (CNN)Bill Taylor, who led the US embassy in Ukraine and served as a key witness in the House impeachment inquiry, has departed his post.

The 2016 Electoral College Map: A Template for 2020  —  KEY POINTS FROM THIS ARTICLE  — In 2016, Hillary Clinton would have needed to flip 38 additional Electoral College votes to reach 270[1], thereby winning a majority in the Electoral College.  — Using 2016 presidential election results …

House Democrats Would Have Impeached Lincoln  —  I, like most people from my home state of Illinois, am a great admirer of Abraham Lincoln.  —  Recently I've wondered what would have happened had Nancy Pelosi been the Speaker of the House when Abraham Lincoln was president.

Ten senators to watch on Trump impeachment trial  —  As the impeachment spotlight shifts to the Senate, several senators are emerging as early pivotal players as Washington gears up for President Trump's trial.  —  The rules, where a simple majority can make or break decisions …

Don't Get Too Nostalgic About Old Media  —  (Bloomberg Opinion) — In the mid-1950s, William Greider worked for a couple of summers as a reporter at the Cincinnati Post, an afternoon newspaper that was the flagship of the scrappy Scripps-Howard chain.  —  Greider came from an affluent …

24-Year-Old Woman Charged In New Year's Day Attack On Jewish Man In Williamsburg  —  NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — The NYPD charged a 24-year-old woman overnight in an anti-Semitic attack against a young Jewish man in Williamsburg.  —  Police said the 22-year-old victim was assaulted shortly before 1 p.m. on Wednesday.

Ricky Gervais, 5-Time Golden Globes Host, Has a Few More Things to Say to Hollywood  —  At home in London with the bomb-throwing emcee as he lets loose on why he's returning, those controversial tweets, his ‘Office’ money and the jokes he can't tell in 2020: “Nowadays, you've got to make sure they're bulletproof.”

Civility and Its Critics  —  Some self-righteous writers believe that their goodness—and their opponents' badness—justifies incivility.  —  As long as there are political debates, there will be those who participate in nasty ways—lying, distorting, insulting.

Armed, even in church: Texas shooting is about a lot more than Jack Wilson's heroism  —  Jack Wilson is a hero.  But why were so many other parishioners armed?  And how did the shooter get his gun, given his criminal history?  —  Jack Wilson is a hero alright.

Why Is The UN Hiring English-Speaking Disarmament Officers In New York?  —  Is this in response to the Virginia crisis?  —  As the Second Amendment conflict heats up across the United States, here's another “crazy conspiracy theory” that has turned out to be true.  —  The United Nations is hiring in New York.

‘Unqualified, dangerous’: the oddball officials running Bolsonaro's Brazil  —  While the far-right president has trashed norms the lower ranks of his administration have shown jaw-dropping offensiveness  —  Brazil's far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro, and his gun-loving sons have hogged …