John Roberts blocks mentions of alleged whistleblower's name  —  Chief Justice John Roberts has communicated to senators that he will not read aloud the alleged Ukraine whistleblower's name or otherwise publicly relay questions that might out the official, a move that's effectively blocked Sen. Rand Paul from asking a question.

ALAN DERSHOWITZ FOR THE DEFENSE: L'ÉTAT, C'EST TRUMP  —  Donald Trump's lawyer says that the President can do just about anything he wants.  —  An hour into the Senate trial of Donald John Trump on Wednesday, the emeritus Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz came to the floor to answer …

Portion of US border wall in California falls over in high winds and lands on Mexican side  —  (CNN)Newly installed panels from the US border wall fell over in high winds Wednesday, landing on trees on the Mexican side of the border.  —  The area is part of an ongoing construction project to improve existing sections of the wall.

Biden sees Bloomberg as threat — and boon to Sanders  —  Former Vice President Joe Biden's allies are growing anxious about former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, believing he will siphon off Biden's centrist support on Super Tuesday and pave the way for Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) to win the nomination.

Document shows Bernie Sanders's team preparing dozens of potential executive orders  —  Rising in the polls ahead of the Iowa caucuses, the presidential candidate considers spelling out how he could go around Congress if elected president  —  Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) …

Katie Hopkins' Twitter account suspended  —  Move comes after Countdown host Rachel Riley and campaigners demand action from social network  —  Far-right commentator Katie Hopkins has been suspended from Twitter after calls for a “full review” by the social network.

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross says China's coronavirus ‘will help’ bring jobs back to U.S.  —  Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said the Chinese coronavirus — which has killed 170 in China and infected more than 7,700 people — could “help” to bring jobs to the United States because companies …

What Will You Do When the Culture War Comes for You?  —  Newsrooms still aren't ready for the trolls.  —  Mr. Warzel is an Opinion writer at large.  —  The culture war will come for us all.  —  On Sunday, it came for a Washington Post reporter, Felicia Sonmez.

I have just read 25 books and am here to perform your open-heart surgery  —  “What I would encourage people to do is try to divorce yourself from all of the history that's happened over the years and read this plan.”  —  “I've been getting criticized for the last couple of years by all the people …

How Trump's impeachment created two Democratic superstars  —  The House Democratic Caucus has long been dominated by a gaggle of also-rans: men and women who, while good enough for Congress, proved to be underwhelming on the larger stage of national politics.  —  That's changed.

Hillary Clinton refuses to be served Tulsi Gabbard's defamation lawsuit  —  Hillary Clinton has now twice snubbed a process server attempting to deliver the defamation lawsuit filed against her by Democratic presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard, according to Gabbard's attorney.

‘Election Meltdown Is A Real Possibility’ In 2020 Presidential Race, Author Warns  —  Toggle more options  —  What if a blackout were to happen in a major city in one of America's swing states on Election Day 2020?  Or if an error occurred while tabulating electronic ballots?

Trump Impeachment Trial: Top Democrat Concedes ‘Probably No’ on Witnesses  —  During questioning, a lawyer for President Trump argued that any action to aid re-election could be considered in the nation's interest and therefore could not be impeachable.

How impeachment could flip the Senate  —  Rahm Emanuel is a former mayor of Chicago, Democratic congressman from Illinois and White House chief of staff.  —  When House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) initiated an impeachment inquiry into President Trump several months ago …

21 Hours With Alan Dershowitz  —  Over the course of one week, Tom Chiarella watched Donald Trump's TV-loving lawyer prepare for his biggest argument to date.  He still can't make sense of it.  —  He sits with his back half-turned to the window of his eighth-floor apartment in Miami Beach …

Republicans' damaging new line of defense  —  JOHN BOLTON has not yet testified or spoken anywhere in public about the Ukraine affair, but his unpublished manuscript is exerting a gravitational pull on the Senate trial of President Trump.  The former national security adviser is reported …

Is time running out for ambitious political journalism at the Des Moines Register?  Not yet.  —  DES MOINES — Brianne Pfannenstiel has been giving her red 2010 Toyota Corolla a workout lately.  —  “900 miles in three days,” said the 31-year-old chief politics reporter for the Des Moines Register …

Trump is being impeached over an extortion scheme, not a ‘policy dispute’  —  Trump was shaking down Zelensky while trying to keep the rest of the government in the dark.  That's not a ‘policy,’ that's a conspiracy.  —  President Donald Trump's lawyers in his Senate trial …

Conservative group will launch ad broadside against Collins in Georgia  —  The conservative Club for Growth plans to air a massive ad campaign attacking Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.), adding fuel to the intraparty battle that kicked off after the GOP congressman launched a Senate campaign this week.

Media's NeverTrump Voices Drown Out Republican Perspective  —  Over the weekend, Washington Post columnist Max Boot had a novel take on President Trump's impeachment.  According to Boot, what Trump said on the phone call with Ukraine's president was in some ways worse than Andrew Jackson's forced relocation …

10 Worst Colleges for Free Speech: 2020  —  Since 2011, FIRE has named and shamed 65 individual colleges and universities as America's worst for free speech.  Some — we're looking at you Harvard, DePaul, and Syracuse — are regulars and have appeared four or five times.

WATCH LIVE: Gwen Ifill honored in Forever stamp dedication ceremony  —  A familiar PBS NewsHour face may soon grace your mailbox.  —  The late NewsHour co-anchor Gwen Ifill is being commemorated by the U.S. Postal Service with a Forever stamp this year.  USPS will celebrate the release …