If You Think It's Bad for Mainstream Democrats Now, Just Wait  —  It is always darkest, John McCain used to say, before it gets totally black.  So it is for the American center-left right now.  Bernie Sanders is currently favored to win the nomination, a prospect that would make Donald Trump …

Fox News Internal Document Bashes Pro-Trump Fox Regulars for Spreading ‘Disinformation’  —  In a dossier obtained by The Daily Beast, Fox's research unit advises colleagues to be wary of “disinformation” from several Trump-boosting on-air regulars, including Giuliani.

Treasury Department sent information on Hunter Biden to expanding GOP Senate inquiry  —  The Treasury Department has complied with Republican senators' requests for highly sensitive and closely held financial records about Hunter Biden and his associates and has turned over " …

A doctor was arrested for warning China about the coronavirus.  Then he died from it  —  He appeared on social media warning of a deadly virus.  The Chinese government moved to downplay the emergency, but Dr. Li Wenliang's insistence that an epidemic was coming turned him into a folk hero …

Republican governor says Trump 'shouldn't be in office'  —  Vermont's Republican governor says he thinks President Donald Trump abused his power and shouldn't be in office  —  MONTPELIER, Vt. — President Donald Trump abused his power and shouldn't be in office, Vermont Gov. Phil Scott …

Trump celebrates end of impeachment with angry, raw and vindictive 62-minute White House rant  —  The Debrief: An occasional series offering a reporter's insights  —  He spoke without a teleprompter.  He cursed in the East Room.  He called the House speaker a “horrible person.”

Mikie Sherrill endorses Bloomberg for president  —  New Jersey congresswoman says Bloomberg ‘embodies the integrity we need from leadership’  —  Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-Montclair) is endorsing Michael Bloomberg for the Democratic nomination for president, giving the former New York City mayor …

Statement from the President  —  At the direction of President Donald J. Trump, the United States conducted a counterterrorism operation in Yemen that successfully eliminated Qasim al-Rimi, a founder and the leader of al-Qa'ida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and a deputy to al-Qa'ida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri.

Women of color bolt Warren's Nevada campaign in frustration  —  A half-dozen women of color have departed Elizabeth Warren's Nevada campaign in the run-up to the state's caucuses with complaints of a toxic work environment in which minorities felt tokenized and senior leadership was at loggerheads.

Bloomberg Plagiarized Parts of At Least Eight of His Plans  —  Mike Bloomberg's presidential campaign plagiarized portions of its plans for maternal health, LGBTQ equality, the economy, tax policy, infrastructure, and mental health from research publications, media outlets, and a number of nonprofit, educational, and policy groups.

Donald Trump ‘apoplectic’ in call with Boris Johnson over Huawei  —  Donald Trump vented “apoplectic” fury at Boris Johnson in a tense phone call over the UK's decision to allow Huawei a role in its 5G mobile phone networks, according to officials in London and Washington.

On Facebook, anti-vaxxers urged a mom not to give her son tamiflu.  He later died.  —  Online groups that routinely traffic in anti-vaccination propaganda have become a resource for people seeking out a wide variety of medical information.  —  Facebook groups that routinely traffic …

Yang fires dozens of staffers after Iowa debacle  —  Andrew Yang's campaign fired dozens of staffers this week after an abysmal finish in the Iowa caucuses, according to four former staffers who were let go.  —  Among those dismissed were the national political and policy directors of the campaign …

Ukraine Says The US Is Holding Up $30m Worth Of Guns And Ammo — And It Wants Its Money Back  —  KYIV — At the heart of the impeachment saga that ended on Wednesday in Donald Trump's acquittal was $391 million in US military assistance for Ukraine that the president ordered be withheld.

EXCLUSIVE: Indiana U defends ‘Sex Fest’ featuring BDSM demos, ‘kink’ and ‘sex toys’  — The second night offered BDSM demonstrations, including a man whipping a tied up woman in public.  —  New video and photos out of Indiana University show an individual being publicly whipped as part of a university-sponsored “sex fest.”

Trump Is Blowing Up a National Monument in Arizona to Make Way for the Border Wall  —  Contractors working for the Trump administration are blowing apart a mountain on protected lands in southern Arizona to make way for the president's border wall.  The blasting is happening …

These are turbulent times.  But we will persist and prevail.  —  Marie L. Yovanovitch served most recently as the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine.  —  After nearly 34 years working for the State Department, I said goodbye to a career that I loved.  It is a strange feeling to transition …

How Trump Wins Again  —  Are Democrats going to give this election away?  —  As several people have noticed, this was the most politically successful week of the Trump presidency.  —  First, President Trump's job approval numbers are rising.  When the impeachment inquiry got rolling in October his Gallup approval rating was 39.

Why Trump Will Be Re-Elected, In One Data Point  —  Gallup has some fascinating poll data on Americans' views of their own financial well-being.  The headline sums it up: “Record-High Optimism on Personal Finances in U.S.”  —  Gallup finds that 59% say they are better off than they were a year ago …

Criminals would be protected from deportation under bill AOC and other House Democrats back  —  At this moment there is a bill pending in Congress called the New Way Forward Act.  It's received almost no publicity, which is unfortunate as well as revealing.

Sanders Takes Lead, Buttigieg and Biden Vie For Second  —  Beating Trump is most important factor; uncertain impact from Iowa results  —  West Long Branch, NJ - Bernie Sanders has taken the lead in New Hampshire's presidential primary, while Pete Buttigieg and Joe Biden currently jockey for second place.

At Embassies Abroad, Trump Envoys Are Quietly Pushing Out Career Diplomats  —  “There's zero support or pushback from the department for the career people,” said one former U.S. official.  —  Lana Marks is a successful fashion designer and member of U.S. President Donald Trump's private Mar-a-Lago club in Florida.

Twitter demands legal fees from Devin Nunes' attorney in new filing over fake cow's identity  —  Twitter is demanding that Rep. Devin Nunes' lawyer pay its legal fees in a new court filing responding to one of the Republican congressman's attempts to identify anonymous people who heckle him online.

The Billion-Dollar Disinformation Campaign to Reelect the President  —  One day last fall, I sat down to create a new Facebook account.  I picked a forgettable name, snapped a profile pic with my face obscured, and clicked “Like” on the official pages of Donald Trump and his reelection campaign.