Some Dems float idea of primary challenge for Ocasio-Cortez  —  Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) has infuriated colleagues by aligning with a progressive outside group that's threatening to primary entrenched Democrats.  Now some of those lawmakers are turning the tables …

‘Empire’ Star Jussie Smollett Beaten in Homophobic Attack By MAGA Supporters  —  ‘Empire’ Star Jussie Smollett — Victim of Homophobic Attack By MAGA Supporters  —  EXCLUSIVE  —  10:30 AM PT — “Empire” staff held an emergency meeting Tuesday morning in Chicago to tell everyone what happened to Jussie.

U.S. Intelligence Chiefs Contradict Trump on North Korea and Iran  —  WASHINGTON — A new American intelligence assessment of global threats has concluded that North Korea is “unlikely to give up” all of its nuclear stockpiles, and that Iran is not “currently undertaking the key nuclear weapons …

Senate panel postpones attorney general nominee William P. Barr's confirmation vote amid Democrats' concerns  —  President Trump's nominee for attorney general is expected to clear the Senate Judiciary Committee and be confirmed by the full Senate, but Democrats are worried …

Roger Stone's Indictment Says Mueller Ain't Done Yet  —  Matthew Whitaker says the investigation is ‘close to being completed.’ If true, why did the Special Counsel say so much about the Trump campaign and execute search warrants?  —  Roger Stone, President Trump's former campaign adviser …

APNewsBreak: Infamy, zeal for carnage inspired Vegas shooter  —  LAS VEGAS (AP) — A high-stakes gambler who rained down a hail of gunfire, killing 58 people from his high-rise casino suite in Las Vegas wanted infamy and mass destruction, the FBI told the Associated Press Tuesday …

The lowest-paid shutdown workers aren't getting back pay  —  Janitors, security guards and cooks aren't guaranteed compensation after losing wages  —  Her debt was mounting: $156 for the gas bill, $300 for electricity, $2,000 for the mortgage.  She could no longer afford her blood pressure pills.

Elizabeth Warren's plan to tax the super-rich has been tried before.  Here's what happened.  —  Versions of a “wealth tax” proposed by the 2020 hopeful have been put in place in a number of countries.  Most have gotten rid them.  —  Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., has made a splash with her plan for a …

Graham urges Trump to tie debt limit to border security funding  —  Manchin: Stop Washington's paychecks, stop shutdowns 01:16  —  Washington (CNN) — An influential Republican senator is urging President Donald Trump to up the ante in talks over his border wall: To push for an increase …

Harris backs ‘Medicare-for-all’ and eliminating private insurance as we know it  —  Kamala Harris backs ‘Medicare-for-all’ plan  —  (CNN)California Sen. Kamala Harris fully embraced “Medicare-for-all” single payer health insurance at a CNN town hall Monday and said she's willing to end private insurance to make it happen.

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 …

Baltimore will stop prosecuting marijuana possession, Mosby announces  —  Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby announced Tuesday her office would cease prosecuting people for possessing marijuana regardless of quantity or criminal history.  —  Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby announced Tuesday …

A House Democrat Is Probing Whether Steven Mnuchin Had A Conflict Of Interest In The Russian Sanctions Fight  —  WASHINGTON — A House Democrat is demanding answers about an alleged business deal that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin had with an associate of a Russian oligarch whose companies recently received US sanctions relief.

Democrats' 2020 presidential contest is wide open as danger mounts for Trump, new Washington Post-ABC News poll shows  —  Amid new signs of danger for President Trump's reelection hopes, the opposition race to replace him is wide open, with most Democratic voters not able to name their favorite candidate …

Harley-Davidson Profit Is Wiped Out by President Trump's Tariffs  — Earnings per share miss estimates by widest margin since 2009  — Retail deliveries in home market dropped 10% in fourth quarter  —  Harley-Davidson Inc. broke even in the last quarter of a year …

Gone in a Generation  —  Across America, climate change is already disrupting lives  —  The continental United States is 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than it was a century ago.  Seas at the coasts are nine inches higher.  The damage is mounting from these fundamental changes, and Americans are living it.

Rap star Cardi B is headed to Des Moines this spring  —  Who's ready for some Cardi B, okurrr?!  —  The chart-topping “I Like It” and “Money” rap star plans to make her Des Moines debut May 3 at Wells Fargo Arena, a Friday night.  Tickets to see the New York native go on sale Friday at 10 …

Joshua Trees Destroyed in National Park During Shutdown May Take Centuries to Regrow  —  The partial government shutdown ended last week after 35 days, but conservationists have warned that its impact may be felt for hundreds of years in at least one part of the country: Joshua Tree National Park.

Let Them Fight  —  Last Friday the president of the United States trudged into the Rose Garden a torpid mess, with his tuft of hair-like substance sitting lifelessly on his head.  It was a harbinger of the weekend to come.  Presiding over the longest government shutdown ever had taken …

LOLsob  —  BuzzFeed's layoffs were painful for its staffers—and fatal to its self-mythology.  —  There's a phenomenon familiar to news junkies on Twitter that I'll call the BuzzFeed Effect.  Whenever BuzzFeed publishes a story it's proud of, its writers and editors tweet and retweet …

A third-party centrist candidate like me could win the presidency in 2020  —  To become better, we must repair our broken two-party system.  To those who say a third choice can't succeed, I say that's as un-American as you can get.  —  CONNECT  —  Imagine if our country were more united.