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 …

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.) …

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.

GOP senators know Trump's defense is based on lies.  Here's proof.  —  As President Trump's trial hurtles toward a vote on new witnesses, his lawyers have based his defense in part on the notion that Trump's demand that Ukraine investigate the Bidens was legitimate.

Bloomberg's $11 Million Super Bowl Ad: Gun Violence and a Grieving Mother  —  Michael R. Bloomberg's presidential campaign is airing a 60-second ad during the game that will promote his record on gun control to a huge national audience.  —  DES MOINES — After the dazzle and pop of Jennifer Lopez …

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 …

U.S. Economy Grew at 2.1% Rate in Fourth Quarter  —  WASHINGTON—The U.S. economy grew at its slowest pace since 2016 last year, after posting a 2.1% advance in the fourth quarter.  —  Gross domestic product-the value of all goods and services produced across the economy-rose at a seasonally …

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.

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.

Ex-Trump aide Carter Page files suit against DNC over dossier: ‘This is only the first salvo’  —  EXCLUSIVE: Former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page filed a lawsuit Thursday in federal court against the Democratic National Committee, law firm Perkins Coie and its partners tied to the funding …

Democrats Say They Are Stunned by Trump Lawyer's Stance on Foreign Information  —  Democrats reacted angrily to White House lawyer Patrick Philbin's argument on the Senate floor that it is not a campaign violation if a foreign power offers information about a person running for political office …

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.

As Voting Begins, Democrats Are Upbeat About the 2020 Field, Divided in Their Preferences  —  Democrats uncertain about prospects for defeating Trump  —  How we did this  —  Ahead of the first contests in the 2020 election, Democratic voters are highly engaged with the race for their party's nomination …

Biden to pre-empt Trump rally with speech and ad on ‘character’  —  DES MOINES, Iowa — Former Vice President Joe Biden is set to take on President Donald Trump ahead of the president's rally in Iowa Thursday, pointing out key differences between their leadership styles as he attempts …

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 …

The Iowa Caucuses Are In 4 Days.  Almost Anything Could Still Happen.  —  As much as we try to remind you all about how uncertain elections can be — pleas that sometimes fall on deaf ears — it's important to keep in mind in advance of the Iowa caucuses.  To begin with, primaries are much harder …

Impeachment Trial Pushes Ted Cruz to Top of Podcast Charts  —  Former campaign foe of President Trump has become a multimedia defender during Senate trial  —  WASHINGTON—During breaks in the Senate impeachment trial proceedings for the past week, a bevy of Republicans eager to defend President Trump …

Trump administration has yet to reveal details of Jared Kushner's secretive 2017 meeting in China  — In late 2017, CNBC filed a Freedom of Information Act request for details about Jared Kushner's secretive meeting in China during President Trump's visit to the country.

Lyceum poll: Bernie is Trump's toughest rival in Texas  —  Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders are running neck-and-neck among Texas Democrats, but it is the socialist U.S. senator from Vermont who poses the strongest challenge to President Donald Trump in the Lone Star state, according to a Texas Lyceum poll released Wednesday.

Hashi wipes his Facebook page  —  On Sunday Ilhan Omar's henchman — one Guhad Hashi — emitted a stream of terroristic threats against David Steinberg.  They were numerous, they were vulgar, they were public, and they were intended to silence David and others.  —  I wrote about the threats here.

Trump administration expected to loosen restrictions on use of landmines  —  Washington (CNN)The Trump administration is expected to loosen restrictions on the US military's ability to use landmines in the coming days, weapons that have been banned by more than 160 countries due to their history …

F-35's Gun That Can't Shoot Straight Adds to Its Roster of Flaws  — Annual Pentagon testing report also finds 873 software issues  — It cites 13 ‘must-fix’ items before $22 billion upgrade phase  —  Add a gun that can't shoot straight to the problems that dog Lockheed Martin Corp …

Don't Believe Anyone Who Says Bernie Sanders Can't Win  —  There is now enough polling evidence to conclude that Bernie Sanders is surging, and he's surging at exactly the right time.  I'm writing this piece less than a week before the Iowa caucus, where he leads three of the last four polls.

The Coronavirus Could Be Trump's Katrina  —  I have always lived my life around a simple principle, “Don't eat weird stuff.”  And see?  I was right.  The Coronavirus ripping through the Wuhan region of Red China - and that has now spread here - may well have crossed over to our species because some people in China eat bats.