First on CNN: Hundreds of TSA screeners, working without pay, calling out sick at major airports  —  Where can't you travel during the shutdown?  —  Washington (CNN)Hundreds of Transportation Security Administration officers, who are required to work without paychecks through …

Dems livid after Tlaib vows to ‘impeach the motherf—er’  —  House Democrats are furious that an incoming freshman's expletive-riddled statement about impeaching Donald Trump has suddenly upended their carefully crafted rhetoric on their plans to take on the president.

Trump considering declaring national emergency to secure wall funding: Sources  —  President Donald Trump is seriously considering potential options to circumvent Congress, including declaring a national emergency, to reprogram funds from the Department of Defense and elsewhere to help pay …

Proud Boys Founder Gavin McInnes Can Get Back To Antifa After He Battles His Neighbors  —  McInnes is complaining that his neighbors' anti-hate yard signs are an attack on him and his family.  —  Gavin McInnes' ongoing fight against his detractors has spilled over into his tony neighborhood outside …

Mueller grand jury gets 6 month extension  —  Washington (CNN)Special counsel Robert Mueller's federal grand jury has been extended by six months.  —  The grand jury, based in Washington, DC, was seated for an 18-month term that began in July 2017 and was set to expire in the coming days.

Three dead in national parks as shutdown wears on  —  Trump administration officials decided to leave the scenic parks open even as the Interior Department has halted most of its operations — a departure from previous extended shutdowns  —  Three days after most of the federal workforce …

Millions face delayed tax refunds, cuts to food stamps as White House scrambles to deal with shutdown's consequences  —  Food stamps for 38 million low-income Americans face severe reductions and more than $140 billion in tax refunds are at risk of being frozen or delayed if the government shutdown stretches …

While federal workers go without pay, senior Trump administration officials are poised to get $10,000 raises.  —  While many federal workers go without pay and the government is partially shut down, hundreds of senior Trump political appointees are poised to receive annual raises of about $10,000 a year.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Suggests Super Wealthy be Taxed Up to 70% to Fund ‘Green New Deal’  —  Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez sat with Anderson Cooper for an upcoming 60 Minutes interview set to air this Sunday, a portion of which has been released as a promotion.

Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand gauges Wall Street executives' interest in backing a potential 2020 presidential run  — Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand has been reaching out to Wall Street executives about supporting a potential 2020 run for president.  — The New York Democrat's effort comes …

Does Mitch McConnell know he's part of the first branch of government?  —  The New York Times reported on the eve of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's (D-Calif.) swearing-in: … That is a politician fully aware of and ready to use her power.  Contrast that with the pathetic passivity …

Supreme Court to hear cases on partisan gerrymandering  —  The Supreme Court once again will take up unresolved constitutional questions about partisan gerrymandering, agreeing Friday to consider rulings from two lower courts that found congressional maps in North Carolina and Maryland so extreme that they violated the rights of voters.

Posing as gay men on Twitter, a troll goes viral with attempts to falsely tie the LGBTQ community to pedophilia  —  Various efforts to tie the LGBTQ community to pedophilia have been linked back to fringe internet message board 4chan.  —  Around Christmas day, Karl Krause …

Trump Wanted Out of Syria Immediately.  Now U.S. Says ‘No Timeline’ to Leave.  —  Trump's snap decision prompted the resignation of Jim Mattis.  According to a senior State Department official, now it's going to be a while before U.S. troops depart.  —  In the latest revision to a wartime decision …

Recently re-elected Maine lawmaker quits Republican Party  —  AUGUSTA, Maine — A state legislator from York County left the Republican Party on Thursday without explaining his decision to unenroll, reducing the party's minority in the Maine House of Representatives to 56 and becoming the seventh independent in the chamber.

Bob Brady waves goodbye to Congress and wants to smoke some pot ... if it is legal |  Philly Clout  —  Brady on Thursday ended two decades of service in the U.S. House.  That got us thinking about something Brady told us two weeks ago as we trailed him from Philadelphia to the District of Columbia in the final weeks of his term.

American Jews and Israeli Jews Are Headed for a Messy Breakup  —  Is the world ready for the Great Schism?  —  Mr. Weisman is the deputy Washington editor of The New York Times.  —  The events of the past year brought American and Israeli Jews ever closer to a breaking point.

Dems Move to Block Trump From Lifting Sanctions on Russian Oligarch Oleg Deripaska  —  The first major steps are being made to force the administration's hand on the Manafort-linked Deripaska  —  Congressional Democrats are gaming out strategies to try to reverse the Trump administration's …

How the government shutdown is hurting some of America's poorest families  —  As the shutdown drags on, it's jeopardizing the welfare of those who live in HUD-subsidized housing, including low-income families and the elderly.  —  The partial government shutdown has frustrated tourists …

Mark Zuckerberg vs. the Times  —  What's Next: Mark Zuckerberg and other Facebook executives are fed up with The New York Times after weeks of what they see as overtly antagonistic coverage that betrays an anti-Facebook bias, several sources at the social media giant tell me.

US official: airstrike kills terrorist behind USS Cole bombing  —  Washington (CNN)The terrorist behind the 2000 attack on the USS Cole is believed to have been killed in a US airstrike in Yemen on Tuesday, according to a US administration official.  —  Jamel Ahmed Mohammed Ali Al-Badawi …

Trump's Cracked Afghan History  —  His falsehoods about allies and the Soviets reach a new low.  —  By The Editorial Board  —  President Trump's remarks on Afghanistan at his Cabinet meeting Wednesday were a notable event.  They will be criticized heavily, and deservedly so.

FBI Investigating Fake Texts Sent to GOP House Members  —  Person impersonating aide to Vice President Mike Pence sought whereabouts of certain lawmakers  —  WASHINGTON—The Federal Bureau of Investigation is investigating fake text messages sent to some House Republican lawmakers …

Run or retire?  Pat Roberts will announce his decision on 2020 Senate race Friday  —  Sen. Pat Roberts will announce Friday whether he plans to end his political career or kick off another campaign as he approaches his fourth decade in Congress.  —  Roberts, R-Kansas, will announce …

American detained by Russia was convicted of trying to steal thousands of dollars while deployed to Iraq as a Marine  —  The Marine Corps found Paul Whelan, the American citizen detained by Russia on espionage charges, guilty of attempting to steal more than $10,000 worth of currency …

Mainstream Media Is Blowing Its Coverage Of Elizabeth Warren's DNA Test  —  Tribal leaders and Native people say the senator is an ally — and they support her look at her ancestry.  But hardly anyone asked them.  —  WASHINGTON Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) was positioned to make a strong bid …

Fox News guest to Tucker Carlson: It's ‘almost impossible to find’ sexism these days  —  Fox News host Tucker Carlson is famous for challenging guests on dubious statements.  He badgers them; he goads them; he needles them; and when they fail to meet his standards, he goes with the high-pitched laugh.