Test of steel prototype for border wall showed it could be sawed through  —  NBC News obtained a photo showing results of a test on a steel wall prototype.  —  President Donald Trump has repeatedly advocated for a steel slat design for his border wall, which he described as …

For Trump, Storming Out of a Meeting Is a Signature Ploy  — He has long used dramatic exits as a negotiating tactic  — Trump once walked out on a judge during a divorce proceeding  —  President Donald Trump's decision to abruptly storm out of a meeting with congressional leaders on Wednesday shocked some on Capitol Hill.

Before Trump, Steve King Set the Agenda for the Wall and Anti-Immigrant Politics  —  Years before President Trump forced a government shutdown over a border wall, triggering a momentous test of wills in Washington, Representative Steve King of Iowa took to the House floor to show off a model of a 12-foot border wall he had designed.

Married Amazon Boss Jeff Bezos Getting Divorce Over Fling With Movie Mogul's Wife  —  The ENQUIRER's blockbuster exclusive of world's richest couple's break-up!  —  The marriage of the world's richest couple is set to explode in all-out war — after billionaire Jeff Bezos was caught cheating …

Kamala Harris Ready To Enter Race For President, Sources Say  —  She's Finalizing Plans For Bay Area Rally To Announce Candidacy  —  Sen. Kamala Harris has decided to run for president in 2020 and will announce her candidacy on or around Martin Luther King Jr. Day, probably at a campaign rally in Oakland …

Texas landowners prepare wall fight; Trump to visit border  —  HIDALGO, Texas (AP) — As President Donald Trump travels to the border in Texas to make the case for his $5.7 billion wall, landowner Eloisa Cavazos says she knows firsthand how the project will play out if the White House gets its way.

Trump's team had over 100 contacts with Russian-linked operatives, report shows  —  WASHINGTON - Members of President Donald Trump's campaign and transition team had more than 100 contacts with Russian-linked operatives, according to a new report.  —  The milestone illustrates …

Facing gridlock, GOP senators seek big immigration deal to end shutdown  —  (CNN) — Staring at a prolonged government shutdown, Republican senators are privately planning to court Democratic senators on an immigration deal that would give President Donald Trump money for his border wall …

House Democrats now asking questions about Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin  —  Mnuchin will give the House a classified briefing Thursday, after a request from the Democratic chairs of the main House investigative panels.  —  WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has agreed …

Jerry Falwell Jr.'s Trumpian Theology  —  Do Christians have a moral duty to support Trump, no matter what?  —  Like many Christians, I read Jerry Falwell, Jr's New Year's Day interview with the Washington Post with both my mouth open and my heart racing.  “He can't be saying what I'm reading!”

Top Bernie Sanders 2016 adviser accused of forcibly kissing subordinate  —  On the final night of the Democratic National Convention in July of 2016, Bernie Sanders' staffers went out to a Mediterranean restaurant and hookah bar in Center City Philadelphia to celebrate and mourn the end of the campaign.

Rick Scott blindsides DeSantis on his way out  —  Scores of 11th-hour appointments by outgoing Gov. Rick Scott.  Roadblocks for the new transition team.  A rival inaugural ball.  —  The contentious handoff of the Florida governor's office from Scott to fellow Republican Ron DeSantis …

Texas county GOP set to vote this week to remove leader because he is Muslim  —  The Tarrant County Republicans in Texas will vote this week to remove their vice chairman because he is Muslim.  —  Republican Dorrie O'Brien is leading a group of colleagues in an attempt to unseat Shahid Shafi …

Pompeo repudiates Obama Mideast policy, takes aim at Iran  —  CAIRO (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo delivered a scathing rebuke of the Obama administration's Mideast policies on Thursday as he denounced the former president for “misguided” and “wishful” thinking that diminished America's role …

The 5 Key Constituencies Of The 2020 Democratic Primary  —  Over the long course of the Republican presidential nomination process in 2015 and 2016, we frequently featured a diagram called “The Republicans' Five-Ring Circus.”  The chart was based on the idea that the GOP essentially consisted …

Here's Trump Allies' Plan To Meddle In The 2020 Democratic Primary  —  The pair of outside groups tied closely to President Donald Trump has retained the top Republican opposition group in an effort to smother Democrats seeking to challenge him — and perhaps even help pick his 2020 challenger.

Cable News Repeats Myth Illegals Commit Less Crime Than Citizens  —  Between Monday evening and Wednesday morning, a significant number of journalists and regular commentators across CNN, MSNBC, and even Fox News have cited claims from a handful of flawed studies claiming that illegal immigrants commit crimes …

‘This is ridiculous’: Small-business owners can't get loans as shutdown enters Day 20.  —  Brooks Troxler is a small-business owner in North Carolina who's known as “Trox the tech” for his ability to fix any computer problem.  Business is growing and he had big plans to start 2019 by cutting …

'If there's a concrete wall in front of you, go through it,' Trump said in 2004 speech  —  Donning an emerald green graduation gown, Donald Trump stood grinning on the stage at Wagner College in Staten Island as a faculty member offered a glowing introduction in May 2004: “A New York original.

Trump's Emergency Powers Threat Could End Shutdown Crisis, but at What Cost?  —  WASHINGTON — President Trump's repeated threat to declare a national emergency so he can build his border wall without congressional approval has been denounced by Democrats as extreme and an overreach.

ICE Might Be Violating Federal Law By Keeping Immigrants Detained During The Shutdown  —  A lengthy government shutdown over border wall funding has potentially put Immigration and Customs Enforcement at risk of violating a more than 100-year-old law that could not only require the release of …

Trump will “probably” declare national emergency absent a deal in Congress  —  President Trump indicated Thursday he will likely declare a national emergency if Congress doesn't reach an agreement to fund his border wall — a move that is sure to set off challenges in the courts if he goes ahead with it.

Virginia Study Finds Increased School Bullying In Areas That Voted For Trump  —  After the 2016 presidential election, teachers around the country reported they were seeing increased name-calling and bullying in their classrooms.  Now, research shows that those stories — at least in one state — are confirmed by student surveys.

A Memorial for Jamal Khashoggi  —  On Thursday, I will be joining the documentarian Alex Gibney and the former F.B.I. special agent Ali Soufan, along with lawmakers, journalists, human-rights advocates, and friends, at the U.S. Capitol, in Washington, D.C., to honor Jamal Khashoggi …

Evangelical Pastor Robert Jeffress Defends Trump's Border Wall: ‘Heaven Itself Is Going to Have a Wall Around It’  —  An evangelical preacher who is a prominent supporter of President Donald Trump has said that if a wall is good enough for heaven, then it is good enough for the U.S. southern border.

A beefed-up White House legal team prepares aggressive defense of Trump's executive privilege as investigations loom large  —  A beefed-up White House legal team is gearing up to prevent President Trump's confidential discussions with top advisers from being disclosed to House Democratic investigators …

Pastor Who Praised Pulse Nightclub Gunman Resigns After Allegedly Paying for Sex  —  A Baptist minister in Texas who came to national attention in 2016 when he praised the gunman who killed 49 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla., resigned from his ministry last week after allegedly using drugs …