“THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW” SCORES HISTORIC RATING OF 4.5M TOTAL VIEWERS IN EXPLOSIVE INTERVIEW WITH LEV PARNAS  —  Maddow's Exclusive Interview with Giuliani Associate Lev Parnas Dominates News Cycle and Draws Largest-Ever Audience for “The Rachel Maddow Show,” Kicking Off 2020 With Huge Ratings Win

GOP senator's vicious outburst shows the corruption of Trump's defenders  —  If you were a United States senator who just snapped angrily at a reporter for politely asking whether compelling new information about a matter of great import to the nation was weighing on your understanding …

Justice Dept. Investigating Years-Old Leaks and Appears Focused on Comey  —  An inquiry into years-old disclosures of classified information is highly unusual and leaves law enforcement officials open to accusations of politicizing their work.  —  WASHINGTON — Federal prosecutors in Washington …

Eleven US Troops Were Injured in Jan. 8 Iran Missile Strike  —  The troops were medevaced this week to Germany and Kuwait to be treated for traumatic brain injury after experiencing concussion symptoms.  —  Nearly one dozen American troops were wounded in Iran's Jan. 8 missile attack on Iraq's al-Asad air base.

Virginia Capital on Edge as F.B.I. Arrests Suspected Neo-Nazis Before Gun Rally  —  The three men had obtained guns and discussed traveling to Virginia for protests against new gun control measures, officials said.  —  RICHMOND, Va. — Alarming calls online for a race war.  The arrest of three suspected neo-Nazis.

Bernie ‘will play dirty’: Ex-Vermont governor slams Sanders  —  A former Vermont governor and ex-chair of the Democratic Governors Association is taking aim at Bernie Sanders and his campaign, accusing the senator of trying to “Hillarize” Elizabeth Warren.  —  In an interview with POLITICO …

A Meticulous Account of Trump's Tenure Reads Like a Comic Horror Story  —  The essence of irony, Henry Fowler wrote in “A Dictionary of Modern English Usage,” is that it “postulates a double audience” — one that's in on the joke, and another that isn't.  The title of Philip Rucker …

Exclusive: Evelyn Yang reveals she was sexually assaulted by her OB-GYN while pregnant  —  Washington (CNN)Evelyn Yang was reading letters that voters had sent to her husband, Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang, and suddenly stopped in her tracks.

Senator Chris Van Hollen on new GAO report: ‘This is a bombshell’  —  Nonpartisan U.S. Government Accountability Office, the GAO, concluded that the Trump administration violated the law in withholding the aid to Ukraine.  Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen, who last month …

Georgia election server showed signs of tampering, expert says  —  The server was left exposed to the open internet for at least six months, a problem the same expert discovered in August 2016.  —  BOSTON — A computer security expert says he found that a forensic image of the election server central …

Teacher of the Year Takes a Knee  —  Kelly Holstine is a left-wing Minnesota teacher who was honored as the state's Teacher of the Year for 2018-19, and made headlines locally by refusing to attend the White House ceremony at which the states' honorees were recognized last spring.

Inside Jared Kushner's Unusual White House Role  —  Jared Kushner's White House office is a shrine to his own influence.  Gold-framed accolades from his father-in-law hang on the walls, written in thick black Sharpie in President Donald Trump's spiky hand.  To Jared, Great job on Mexico.

“It's Quite an Upheaval”: In an Ongoing Makeover of the Times Opinion Babel, the Old Editorial Voice of God Is Being Rationed  —  Even as controversies (Bret Stephens) explode like bombs, Opinion chief James Bennet, the second-most powerful journalist at the Times, pursues his cacophonous plans.

Exclusive: Rep. Ayanna Pressley Reveals Beautiful Bald Head and Discusses Alopecia for the First Time  —  We'd like to have A Word with you.  In The Root's op-ed video series, thought leaders across various disciplines give their perspectives on the important issues you should know about.

A Partisan Impeachment, a Profile in Courage  —  JFK lauded the senator who bucked his party and voted to acquit Andrew Johnson.  —  The John F. Kennedy Library Foundation is accepting nominations for its annual “Profile in Courage” award.  The award recognizes “a public official …

‘The View’ Has a Meghan McCain Problem  —  The daytime co-hosts' heated bipartisan debates are played down as disagreement among friends.  But the strain for “civility” is tiring.  —  Ms. Ibrahim is a culture writer and reporter.  —  During an episode of “The View” earlier this month …

This Trump Supreme Court Short-Lister Says God Can Instruct Juries on Guilt and Innocence  —  Judge William Pryor of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, a jurist from Alabama with a long record in law enforcement, has twice now been high on President Donald Trump's short list of potential Supreme Court nominees.

Twitter apologises for letting ads target neo-Nazis and bigots  —  Twitter has apologised for allowing adverts to be micro-targeted at certain users such as neo-Nazis, homophobes and other hate groups.  —  The BBC discovered the issue and that prompted the tech firm to act.

Finally.  The Feds — including ICE — appear to be investigating Rep. Ilhan Omar.  —  At least three departments are reviewing what could be the worst-ever crime spree by an elected US official  —  On Oct. 30, I reported that the Department of Justice had assigned an FBI Special Agent in Charge …