Trump Offered Assange Pardon if He Covered Up Russian Hack, WikiLeaks Founder's Lawyer Claims  —  Lawyers acting for the WikiLeaks founder said Dana Rohrabacher, a former Republican congressman, had brought the message to London from Trump.  —  LONDON—President Trump offered to pardon Julian Assange …

Bloomberg camp's “dire” warning: Bernie Sanders will soon be unstoppable  —  Mike Bloomberg's campaign is sounding the alarm that Bernie Sanders will soon amass an unsurmountable delegate lead if the Democratic field stays split — and took the extraordinary step of suggesting laggards should drop out.

Bloomberg Bankrolls a Social-Media Army to Push Message  —  Campaign is hiring workers for $2,500 per month to promote Bloomberg to all their contacts  —  Michael Bloomberg's presidential campaign is hiring hundreds of workers in California to post regularly on their personal social-media accounts …

The Hill's review of John Solomon's columns on Ukraine  —  On Nov. 18, 2019, The Hill announced it was reviewing John Solomon's opinion columns on Ukraine after State Department diplomats criticized several of those columns during House impeachment hearings.

Twitter Is Real Life  —  Elites just pretend it's not.  —  Mr. Warzel is an Opinion writer at large.  —  For the better part of a year I've been hearing the same refrain.  Friends, colleagues, peers, respected pollsters have cautioned: Twitter is not real life.

The Hidden History of Sanders's Plot to Primary Obama  —  Bernie Sanders got so close to running a primary challenge to President Barack Obama that Senator Harry Reid had to intervene to stop him.  —  It took Reid two conversations over the summer of 2011 to get Sanders to scrap the idea …

House Democrats Stand Down  —  After Senate Republicans voted to conceal the evidence of Donald Trump's high crimes, and acquit him of them without holding a real trial, House Democrats seemed to understand that he'd interpret the outcome not as a chastening brush with accountability but as permission to commit further crimes unbound.

China Expels Three Wall Street Journal Reporters  —  China's Foreign Ministry says move was punishment for a recent opinion piece published by the Journal  —  China revoked the press credentials of three Wall Street Journal reporters based in Beijing, the first time in the post-Mao era …

Trump commutes sentence of Miami woman doing 35 years in prison for bilking Medicare  —  A Hialeah woman convicted in a massive Medicare fraud scheme a decade ago had her 35-year prison sentence commuted Tuesday by President Donald Trump as he announced 11 pardons and commutations in high-profile cases.

Sanders surges into national lead in new Post-ABC poll  —  Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), on the strength of his performances in Iowa and New Hampshire, has surged nationally and now holds a sizable lead over all of his rivals for the Democratic presidential nomination, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll.

What is the ‘boogaloo?’  How online calls for a violent uprising are hitting the mainstream  —  The movement says it wants a second Civil War targeting liberal political opponents and law enforcement.  —  An anti-government movement that advocates for a violent uprising targeting liberal political opponents …

Top Pentagon policy official resigns at Trump's request  —  Washington (CNN)The Pentagon's top policy official John Rood resigned on Wednesday at the request of President Donald Trump, according to a copy of his resignation letter obtained by CNN.  —  John Rood, Under Secretary of Defense …

Does Anyone Really Believe Free Market Fundamentalists Are ‘Running the Show’?  —  Let's hope not.  —  1 hr  —  Dear Reader,  —  “Conservative intellectuals launch a new group to challenge free-market ‘fundamentalism’ on the right.”  —Washington Post, February 18, 2020

Florida Can't Bar People From Voting Because of Inability to Pay, Appeals Court Says  —  The court found that a law critics described as a poll tax violates the Constitution.  —  Florida cannot bar people with felony convictions from voting if they can't pay court-issued fines and fees, a federal appeals court ruled on Wednesday.

Mark Zuckerberg reportedly gets his armpits blow dried before speeches  —  It's not one of Facebook's better perks.  —  Communications employees at the social network routinely blow-dry CEO Mark Zuckerberg's armpits before big speeches, a new book claims.  —  Zuckerberg — who became famous …

Sanders Suggests He Won't Release Full Medical Records  —  After he had a heart attack in October, Bernie Sanders said he would release ‘comprehensive’ medical records.  But he has not done so.  —  LAS VEGAS — Ahead of a crucial Democratic debate on Wednesday night, Bernie Sanders is facing …

Nikki Haley poaches top conservative from Heritage Action  —  Nikki Haley has hired Tim Chapman, the head of Heritage Action, to run her conservative policy group Stand For America, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the hire.  Haley and Chapman confirmed the hire …

Andrew Yang joins CNN as a political commentator  —  Washington (CNN)Former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang is joining CNN as a political commentator, the network announced Wednesday.  —  “I'm excited to join @CNN to help shed light on the election and the candidates' experiences …

EXCLUSIVE: Leaked Bloomberg Campaign NDA Protects Abusive Bosses  —  The campaign's non-disclosure agreement could prevent staffers from reporting workplace abuse and discrimination.  —  A Bloomberg campaign non-disclosure agreement obtained by The Nation contains language that could prevent staffers from reporting workplace abuse.

Utah senators pass bill to decriminalize polygamy  —  A bill that would effectively decriminalize polygamy and dispel fears of prosecution for plural marriage among consenting adults sailed through the Utah Senate on Tuesday.  —  Sen. Deidre Henderson's bill would reclassify bigamy as an infraction …

Environmentalist In Iran Prison Exposes Torture, Sexual Threats By Interrogators  —  A female environmentalist whose 10-year sentence was upheld by the Court of Appeals on February 18 says her interrogators tortured and threatened her with sexual assault.  —  The revelation was first made …

Meet the Women Moderators of Tonight's Debate, Hallie Jackson and Vanessa Hauc  —  Hauc and Jackson tell InStyle about their careers (and how Hallie's priorities have changed now that she's 8 months pregnant) and how they're prepping for tonight's big event.  —  PIN  —  FB

Monkey menace at Taj Mahal could spoil Donald Trump's trip  —  The monkeys and other stray animals have attacked numerous domestic and foreign tourists till date inside the Taj Mahal.  All the efforts made by the local CISF unit and ASI staff, to control the monkeys, have gone in vain.  —  Agra