‘Take her out’: Recording appears to capture Trump at private dinner saying he wants Ukraine ambassador fired  —  Trump apparently heard discussing firing Ukraine ambassador Marie Yovanovitch.  —  A recording reviewed by ABC News appears to capture President Donald Trump telling associates …

Pentagon: 34 US troops had brain injuries from Iran's strike  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon said Friday that 34 U.S. troops were diagnosed with traumatic brain injuries suffered in this month's Iranian missile strike on an Iraqi air base, and that half of the troops have returned to their military duties.

Neo-Nazi Rinaldo Nazzaro running US militant group The Base from Russia  —  The American founder of US-based militant neo-Nazi group The Base is directing the organisation from Russia, a BBC investigation has found.  —  Rinaldo Nazzaro, 46, who uses the aliases “Norman Spear” and “Roman Wolf” …

Why Democrats Still Have to Appeal to the Center, but Republicans Don't  —  Polarization has changed the two parties — just not in the same way.  —  Mr. Klein is the author of “Why We're Polarized.”  —  American politics has been dominated by the Democratic and Republican Parties since the Civil War.

Trump, a late convert to cause, to join anti-abortion rally  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — It was just four years ago that a political committee supporting one of Donald Trump's Republican rivals unveiled an ad slamming his views on abortion, complete with footage from a 1999 interview in which he declared, “I am pro-choice in every respect.”

Americans still divided on Trump's removal from office, but a strong economy is boosting his approval rating, Post-ABC poll finds  —  President Trump's approval rating has climbed to match the highest of his presidency, boosted by majority approval of his economic stewardship …

Report Alleging Saudi Hack of Bezos Phone Puzzles Security Experts  —  Investigation by FTI appears to be inconclusive, several specialists in cybersecurity say  —  A report concluding that Saudi Arabia likely hacked into Jeff Bezos ' smartphone has spurred questions and confusion among cybersecurity experts …

Joe Biden Is Stronger Than You Think  —  Here's why he is still winning.  —  It was yet another epic failure of political punditry.  Go back to the early months of Joe Biden's presidential campaign and read what the consultants and commentators were saying about him: His support is just name recognition; he'll fade!

Adam Schiff Stands Up and Speaks the Truth at Mitch McConnell's Upside-Down Stalinist Show Trial  —  Yes, say Senate Republicans, we know there's evidence that makes Trump's guilt even clearer.  But we will sit as judges to disallow it before we sit as jurors to “exonerate” him.  —  BEAST INSIDE

Mitch McConnell doesn't care what you think.  He just wants to win.  —  First, the smirk.  —  Mitch McConnell's smirk is a frown by another name.  The corners of his mouth either remain flat enough to level a picture frame, or plunge downward, as if unwilling to do battle with the laws of gravity.

‘On life support’: Buttigieg's struggles with black voters threaten his candidacy  —  ORANGEBURG, S.C. — When Pete Buttigieg holds “big rally type events” in South Carolina, “it's mostly white folks showing up,” he acknowledged ruefully Thursday night.  And his struggle to fix that problem …

Coronavirus Live Updates: Travel Limits Cover 35 Million People, and Infections Exceed 900  —  Shanghai Disneyland shut down, hospitals pleaded for help, and the youngest victim so far was identified as a 36-year-old man in central China.  —  RIGHT NOW A second case was confirmed in the United States …

Donald Trump Is Already Trying to Cut Entitlements  —  Earlier this week, at the bleeding-heart billionaire class' annual handwringing exhibition in Davos, Switzerland, Donald Trump suggested that he would “take a look” at cutting entitlement programs “at some point.”

Lindsey Graham screeches at reporters over impeachment: Trump ‘did nothing wrong in his mind’  —  Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), a close ally of President Donald Trump, on Thursday complained that the president's impeachment trial should end quickly because the American people “need a break.”

How the Gun Show Became the Trump Show  —  AUTHOR'S NOTE: Late last year, I moved home to Michigan.  I did so primarily for family reasons, but also because I wanted to get back in touch with parts of the country where D.C. journalists often visit but rarely stay for long.

Exclusive: This site pays Americans to write ‘news’ articles.  Signs indicate it originates in Iran  —  New York (CNN)American Herald Tribune bills itself as a “genuinely independent online media outlet.”  Set up in 2015, it publishes in English and pays Americans to write articles.

Vice Officers Fired Over Stormy Daniels's 2018 Arrest at Ohio Strip Club  —  The misdemeanor charges of illegal sexually oriented activity were dropped within 24 hours after the pornographic film actress was arrested in 2018.  —  Two vice officers were fired on Thursday by the city of Columbus …

The honest Trump defense that is too embarrassing to advance  —  House impeachment managers have demonstrated through a painstaking presentation of facts and law that: 1) President Trump wanted a foreign government to help him win reelection by announcing an investigation into former vice president Joe Biden …

Judge sets high bar for former Trump adviser Flynn to withdraw guilty plea  —  To persuade a judge to let him withdraw his guilty plea, Flynn could be called to testify under oath and be subject to cross-examination during a hearing.  —  Federal District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan …