Bernie Sanders leads the Iowa Poll for the first time, just weeks before the Iowa caucuses  —  U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders leads the Democratic field three weeks ahead of Caucus Day in Iowa — narrowly overtaking his closest competitors, who remain locked in a tight contest just behind him.

Iran says it ‘unintentionally’ shot down Ukrainian jetliner  —  A woman mourns outside the Alberta Legislature Building in Edmonton, Alberta, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2020, during a vigil for those killed after a Ukrainian passenger jet crashed, killing at least 63 Canadians, just minutes after taking off from Iran's capital.

Trump now claims four embassies were under threat from Iran, raising fresh questions about intelligence reports  —  President Trump said on Friday that a senior Iranian general killed by a U.S. drone strike had been planning attacks on four U.S. embassies, a claim made to justify the decision …

White House considers expanding travel ban to more countries  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House is considering expanding its much-litigated travel ban to additional countries amid a renewed election-year focus on immigration issues by President Donald Trump, according to four people familiar with the deliberations.

Trump angered by House ally's push to limit his authority on Iran  —  Rep. Matt Gaetz, a Florida Republican and staunch Trump ally, pushed other Republicans to vote in favor of limiting the president's authority in the military confrontation with Iran, drawing ire from the president …

Trump Allies Explore Buyout of Conservative News Channel One America News Network  —  Hicks Equity Partners, a family investment firm tied to Republican National Committee co-chair Thomas Hicks Jr., is pitching GOP donors on possible deal  —  Allies of President Trump are pursuing an effort …

Stephanie Grisham: Trump's Press Secretary Who Doesn't Meet the Press  —  A presidency in crisis, a nation on the brink of war — and a White House press secretary who was largely out of sight.  —  It's not every day that the White House press secretary is offered $200,000 to appear on camera …

George Conway and Neal Katyal: How Pelosi should play her impeachment cards  —  George T. Conway III is a lawyer in New York and an adviser to the Lincoln Project, an anti-Trump super PAC.  Neal Katyal, a law professor at Georgetown University, is the author of “Impeach: The Case Against Donald Trump” …

We Found Major Trump Tax Inconsistencies.  New York's Mayor Wants a Criminal Investigation.  —  ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power.  Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they're published.  —  New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said Friday …

New Oman ruler vows to uphold late sultan's peaceful policy  —  DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Oman's new ruler, Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said, vowed Saturday to uphold his predecessor Sultan Qaboos bin Said's foreign policy approach, which steered the Arab country through choppy Persian Gulf waters …

You Won't Believe What Trump Said About His Middle Name  —  Special correspondent Gabriel Sherman dishes on the White House's Iran scramble, Don Jr.'s electoral ambitions, and—most importantly—the latest evidence of the president's mental decay.  —  In the midst of the Golden Globes …

Washington, Beijing Agree to New Dialogue to Pursue Reforms, Address Disputes  —  Semiannual talks, to be announced next week with phase-one deal, would be separate from second-phase trade negotiations  —  WASHINGTON—The U.S. and China have agreed to semiannual talks to push for reform …

F.B.I. Apologizes to Court for Botching Surveillance of Trump Adviser, and Pledges Fixes  —  In a rare public filing, the bureau said it would extend wiretap changes to other tools for collecting data on suspected spies and terrorists.  —  WASHINGTON — A chastened F.B.I. told a secretive court …

Michelle and Barack Obama advising ‘friends’ Harry and Meghan on life outside Royal Family  —  MICHELLE and Barack Obama have been advising Prince Harry and Megan Markle on their new life outside the Royal Family, insiders have claimed  —  The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are friends …

The blue-state exodus gains momentum  —  Nine years ago I published a piece that asserted, “Voters around the country are concluding it's better to be red than dead” — applying almost the exact opposite meaning to an old phrase referring to communism.  New Census Bureau figures appear to confirm my prediction — mostly.

Curtain falls on Chinese film festival as censorship intensifies  —  One of China's longest-running independent film festivals has decided to shut down against the backdrop of mounting government censorship, saying it was no longer possible to run a “purely independent” festival in the country.

In Blow to Beijing, Taiwan Re-elects Tsai Ing-wen as President  —  The victory was a remarkable comeback for Ms. Tsai and suggested that Beijing's pressure campaign had backfired.  —  TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwan's voters delivered a stinging rebuke of China's rising authoritarianism on Saturday …

Mike Lee signs on to Bernie Sanders' bill to prevent funding for military intervention in Iran  —  Sources: Trump furious over House War Powers vote  —  (CNN)Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah has agreed to co-sponsor Sen. Bernie Sanders' legislation that would freeze funding for any military action …

Swiss Back Channel Helped Defuse U.S.-Iran Crisis  —  The U.S. sent an encrypted fax via the Swiss Embassy in Tehran urging Iran not to escalate, followed by a flurry of back and forth messages  —  BERN, Switzerland—Hours after a U.S. strike killed Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani …

Wisconsin dairy farmers suffer massive blow thanks to Trump's trade war  —  Wisconsin lost 818 dairies in 2019 as farmers across the country suffer from Donald Trump's trade war with China.  —  The state of Wisconsin, famous for its cheese, lost 10% of its dairy farms in 2019, Dairy Herd Management reported on Thursday.