Trump has concealed details of his face-to-face encounters with Putin from senior officials in administration  —  President Trump has gone to extraordinary lengths to conceal details of his conversations with Russian President Vladi­mir Putin, including on at least one occasion taking possession …

Trump Tweets Lengthy Attack on F.B.I. Over Inquiry Into Possible Aid to Russia  —  WASHINGTON — President Trump on Saturday unleashed an extended assault on the F.B.I. and the special counsel's investigation, knitting together a comprehensive alternative story in which he had been framed by disgraced …

Americans blame Trump and GOP much more than Democrats for shutdown, Post-ABC poll finds  —  By a wide margin, more Americans blame President Trump and Republicans in Congress than congressional Democrats for the now record-breaking government shutdown, and most reject the president's assertion …

White House Sought Options to Strike Iran  —  State and Pentagon officials were rattled by the request  —  WASHINGTON—On a warm night in early September, militants fired three mortars into Baghdad's sprawling diplomatic quarter, home to the U.S. Embassy.  —  The shells—launched …

In A Private Meeting, Kirsten Gillibrand Signaled She Will Run For President  —  New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand on Saturday signaled to a group of about 20 influential women that she will run for president, according to a person familiar with the meeting.  —  Gillibrand made her intentions clear …

‘In the White House waiting’: Inside Trump's defiance on the longest shutdown ever  —  When President Trump made a rare journey to the U.S. Capitol last week, he was expected to strategize about how to end the government shutdown he instigated.  Instead, he spent the first 20-odd minutes delivering a monologue about “winning.”

Ocasio-Cortez is driving more Twitter conversation than the top 5 news companies combined  —  Note: Kamala Harris tweets under both a private and a Senate account.  Her total is combined; Data: CrowdTangle; Chart: Chris Canipe/Axios  —  A freshman congresswoman who has held office for less …

Infowars Must Turn Over Internal Documents to Sandy Hook Families, Judge Rules  —  The families of victims in the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School must receive access to internal documents at Infowars, the internet and radio show whose host, Alex Jones, has spread the false claim …

Rick Scott chased the Hispanic vote and got it  —  Nine years ago Rick Scott, then a Florida businessman, sat down with a group of self-described jaded Republican strategists to discuss what it would take for him to run for governor.  —  “You are not going to get anywhere with Hispanic voters …

Jeremy Corbyn: We will do ‘everything’ to prevent no-deal Brexit  —  U.K. opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said his party would do “everything we can” to prevent a no-deal Brexit.  —  Speaking on the BBC's Andrew Marr Show, Corbyn said that if MPs reject Theresa May's Brexit deal …

An emotional opening for ‘Hamilton’ in Puerto Rico — not just for Lin-Manuel Miranda but an island still reeling from a storm  —  SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO — With Lin-Manuel Miranda once again as its star, the celebrated Broadway hit “Hamilton” opened for business in Puerto Rico this weekend …

Senator Tim Scott Excoriates the GOP For Being Silent on Rep. Steve King & Racism in Blistering Op-Ed  —  U.S. Rep. Tim Scott, left, speaks to the media during a news conference as South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley looks on at the South Carolina Statehouse on Monday, Dec. 17, 2012, in Columbia …

She Accused Him Of Rape.  Text Messages Proved It Was A Lie.  —  A college student claimed she was forcibly raped by a man and reported him to police.  Now she's been arrested for filing a false accusation.  —  On Dec. 16, 2018, Nikole P. Tucker reported that she had been forcibly raped …

By granting asylum to Saudi woman, Canada shows its moral leadership  —  Bessma Momani is professor at the University of Waterloo and Balsillie School of International Affairs.  She is a senior fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation and author of Arab Dawn: The Demographic Dividend Arab Youth Will Bring.

V.A. Seeks to Redirect Billions of Dollars Into Private Care  —  WASHINGTON — The Department of Veterans Affairs is preparing to shift billions of dollars from government-run veterans' hospitals to private health care providers, setting the stage for the biggest transformation of the veterans' medical system in a generation.

Blind date: ‘I left my knickers at a house party we crashed’  —  What happened when Joanne, 24, barista, met Morgan, 24, children's social worker?  —  What were you hoping for?  —  A fun evening on the Guardian's dime!  —  First impressions?  —  Cute, chatty and early.  —  What did you talk about?