Chris Christie rips Kushner's dad: ‘One of the most loathsome, disgusting crimes that I prosecuted’  —  Former New Jersey governor Chris Christie took several shots at White House senior adviser Jared Kushner in his new book “Let Me Finish,” alleging that in an act of spite …

Cliff Sims Is Proud to Have Served Trump  —  In August, 2016, Cliff Sims, the C.E.O. of an Alabama-based conservative news site, joined the Trump campaign.  He then followed Trump to the White House, where he worked as the special assistant to the President and as the director …

Tulsi Gabbard campaign in disarray  —  Tulsi Gabbard's presidential campaign hasn't officially launched yet but it's already melting down.  —  Two-and-a-half weeks after the Hawaii Democrat told CNN she had decided to run for the White House—an announcement that even her own staff didn't know was coming …

Kamala Harris is open to compromise on private insurers' role during ‘Medicare for all’ push  —  Kamala Harris backs ‘Medicare-for-all’ plan  —  (CNN)By stating she would eliminate private insurers as a necessary part of implementing “Medicare-for-all,” California Sen. Kamala Harris during …

‘Whatever works’: Lawmakers negotiate to avert another shutdown absent signal from Trump  —  Republicans intent on averting another government shutdown sought Tuesday to expand border security talks to dealing with U.S. debt and other issues as lawmakers operated with no clear signal from President Trump on what he would accept.

Trump sat down with Putin at G20 without US note-taker  —  Donald Trump sat down with Vladimir Putin for several minutes of conversation at the end of an evening event at the G20 summit in Buenos Aires in November, with no translator or note-taker from the US side to record the dialogue between the leaders …

Exclusive: Clemson's Black Players Refused to Accept Donald Trump's Invitation to the McCookout  —  When Filet-O-Fish aficionado Donald Trump invited the Clemson Tigers to enjoy the White House's first Presidential Value Meal, most of Clemson's national championship football team members jumped …

GOP Lawmaker Tells Ocasio-Cortez Congress Isn't Just ‘Eating Bonbons’  — Leading House conservative addresses New York Democrat  — Two lawmakers mix it up at first meeting of Oversight panel  —  A leading House conservative backer of President Donald Trump decided …

Livid liberals try to bully Schultz out of 2020  —  Furious Democrats hope to pound Starbucks chairman emeritus Howard Schultz into an early departure from his exploration of an independent 2020 bid.  —  The state of play: These Democrats want to prevent the coffee king from siphoning anti-Trump votes …

Phoenix restaurant says this is a photo of coal miners.  But I see offensive blackface  —  Opinion: Who determines what's offensive?  A photo in a downtown Phoenix restaurant raises this key question.  —  CONNECT  —  A few weeks ago, I attended a holiday party at a downtown Phoenix restaurant.

‘Empire’ Star Jussie Smollett Tells Cops His Attackers Touted MAGA  —  4:00 PM PT — Chicago PD confirms to TMZ Jussie told them, in a follow-up interview, about the attackers yelling, “MAGA country.”  —  They add Jussie still had the rope around his neck when he made contact with cops at 2:42 AM.

Deep space radio waves baffle astronomers; aliens not ruled out  —  Aliens!  —  Astronomers can't rule out that possibility after an exciting new discovery.  A team in Canada recently stumbled upon ultra-brief repeating waves from deep space for only the second time in history.

Facebook pays teens to install VPN that spies on them  —  Desperate for data on its competitors, Facebook has been secretly paying people to install a “Facebook Research” VPN that lets the company suck in all of a user's phone and web activity, similar to Facebook's Onavo Protect app …

Texas tells counties noncitizen voter report may be flawed  —  AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Officials with the Texas secretary of state's office began calling county election chiefs Tuesday to warn about problems with its recent report questioning the citizenship of tens of thousands of registered voters …

Illinois police “arrest” Elsa for bringing polar vortex  —  Let her go!  An Illinois police department has placed Elsa — the Queen of Arendell from the Disney movie “Frozen” — under arrest Tuesday for bringing frigid cold temperatures to the Midwest.  For the first time in forever, Elsa is being punished for her crimes.

I was ambassador to Afghanistan.  This deal is a surrender.  —  Ryan Crocker is diplomat in residence at Princeton University and a former U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Syria, Kuwait and Lebanon.  —  January 2002.  I arrive in Kabul to reopen the U.S. Embassy.  Destruction is everywhere.

From fake news to enemy of the people: An anatomy of Trump's tweets  —  Since announcing his candidacy in the 2016 presidential elections to the end of his second year in office, U.S. President Donald Trump has sent 1,339 tweets about the media that were critical, insinuating, condemning, or threatening.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti will not run for president  —  LOS ANGELES — Eric Garcetti will not run for president in 2020, he confirmed late Tuesday, saying that being mayor of Los Angeles is “what I am meant to do.”  —  Garcetti, who traveled extensively for months as he mulled a presidential run …

Chuck Schumer Wants A LITERAL LOSER To Deliver The Democratic SOTU Response  —  ShareTweetSubscribe to the Chicks!  —  Email address:  —  Leave this field empty if you're human:  —  WATCH: Chuck Schumer Wants A LITERAL LOSER To Deliver The Democratic SOTU Response  —  I'm sorry, but...what?

Schultz slammed by coffee mate  —  Howard Schultz has a problem with his base.  —  Not only are Democrats ripping the former Starbucks CEO's flirtation with an independent bid for president — now a fellow coffee mogul is, too.  —  “I first met Howard in 1984 and he's done a lot for coffee …

Oberlin, University of Chicago and Other Elite Colleges Extend Application Deadlines  —  Elite colleges including Oberlin, George Washington University and the University of Chicago have extended their application deadlines in an effort to boost enrollment, a sign of the growing pressure many schools face to fill incoming classes.

The case for Democrats winning the industrial Midwest  —  Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley says Sen. Sherrod Brown would make the party competitive in states that Donald Trump won in 2016  —  As potential presidential candidate Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) gets ready to tour four early-primary states this week …

Whitaker says Mueller's decisions will be reviewed.  It's unclear what that even means.  —  A Justice Department news conference — to announce criminal charges related to Chinese telecommunications conglomerate Huawei — has left a lot of lawyers scratching their heads.

Labor Secretary's Role in Epstein Plea Deal Under DOJ Scrutiny  —  The Justice Department's inspector general wants lawmakers to give him the authority to investigate a decade-old plea deal in which Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta allegedly helped an accused sex offender skirt the harshest punishment for crimes against teens.

Go into debt to pay rent?  California startup finances your rent with high-interest loans  —  Some critics worry it could make tenants' troubles worse  —  As soaring prices leave many Bay Area residents struggling to pay rent, one startup is offering an innovative but controversial option …

Mother Carrying Baby in Stroller Dies After Falling Down Subway Stairs  —  [What you need to know to start the day: Get New York Today in your inbox.]  —  A young mother died on Monday night when she fell down a flight of subway stairs in Midtown Manhattan while carrying her baby daughter in a stroller, the police said.