Morning Joe Asks Howard Schultz How Much a Box of Cheerios Costs.  He Does Not Know.  —  Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz was asked a question on MSNBC Wednesday that may shed some light on how well he connects with the little things Americans tend to notice in their everyday lives.

Exclusive: Foxconn reconsidering plans to make LCD panels at Wisconsin plant  —  (Reuters) - Foxconn Technology Group is reconsidering plans to make advanced liquid crystal display panels at a $10 billion Wisconsin campus, and said it intends to hire mostly engineers and researchers rather …

GOP delay in naming House Intelligence Committee members may have cost Mueller  —  Democrats have been unable to authorize release of witness transcripts to the special counsel without GOP members who were just named Wednesday.  —  WASHINGTON — House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. …

Bezos Launches Investigation Into Leaked Texts With Lauren Sanchez That Killed His Marriage  —  The Amazon chief's security consultants suspect the leak to the National Enquirer may have been politically motivated.  —  Jeff Bezos' personal security team has launched an investigation …

Trump blasts U.S. intelligence officials, disputes assessments on Iran and other global threats  —  President Trump lashed out at U.S. intelligence officials Wednesday, calling them “extremely passive and naive” about the nuclear danger posed by Iran and pushing back on their assessments …

Mueller Witness' Team Gamed Out Russian Meddling ... in 2015  —  One former analyst at the Wikistrat consulting firm called it “disturbing.”  —  Days after Donald Trump rode down an escalator at Trump Tower and announced he'd run for president, a little-known consulting firm with links …

Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley is charging a whopping $200,000 per speaking gig  — Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley is currently quoting $200,000 and the use of a private jet for domestic speaking engagements, according to five people with knowledge of the arrangement.

McConnell says bill that would make Election Day a federal holiday is a ‘power grab’ by Democrats  —  Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Wednesday that a Democratic bill that would make Election Day a federal holiday is a “power grab,” sparking a fierce backlash online.

Pro-Russian Twitter account used non-public material from Mueller's team in effort to discredit Russia probe  —  Washington (CNN)A pro-Russian Twitter account used information from a criminal case that Robert Mueller's team brought against a Russian social media company as part of a disinformation campaign …

We Asked 2016 ‘Never Trump’ Republicans if They'll Back the President in 2020: 'I Mean, He's in Office'  —  In 2016, a number of Senate Republicans made the rare political decision to oppose their own party's nominee, then-candidate Donald Trump.  They were known as “Never Trumpers.”

The Racist, Homophobic Attack on Jussie Smollett Is Far-Right America's Endgame  —  When one of the most famous black and gay men in America is not safe, the message is clearer than it has ever been.  —  Early Tuesday morning, Jussie Smollett, the 36-year-old star of Fox's Empire …

Undocumented worker who was fired by Trump Organization to attend State of the Union  —  An undocumented worker who was fired from the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J., after she publicly disclosed her immigration status will attend President Trump's State of the Union address next week.

The BuzzFeed Layoffs as Democratic Emergency  —  Digital media has always been a turbulent business, but last week's layoffs suggest a reason for panic.  —  Working in digital media is like trying to build a fort out of marshmallows on a foundation made of marbles in a country ruled by capricious and tyrannical warring robots.

Why Trump's superfans dig Ocasio-Cortez  —  They detest what she stands for.  They think her policies would destroy the country.  And they wish she would just go away.  —  All the same, many of President Donald Trump's most media-conscious supporters can't help but admit it: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has got serious political game.

Special Report: Inside the UAE's secret hacking team of U.S. mercenaries  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two weeks after leaving her position as an intelligence analyst for the U.S. National Security Agency in 2014, Lori Stroud was in the Middle East working as a hacker for an Arab monarchy.

Is There Room in 2020 for a Centrist Democrat?  Maybe One or Two.  —  Howard Schultz, the former Starbucks chief executive contemplating an independent run for president, stated it as a plain matter of fact: For someone with his views — a distinctly white-collar blend of conservative fiscal instincts …

Roger Stone faces a gag order.  He has a plan to resist it.  —  Roger Stone has long feared he would be slapped with a gag order if he got indicted — and he's readied a plan to make sure he won't have to stay silent.  —  The federal judge in Stone's case, Amy Berman Jackson …

Progressive pollster finds majority support for Elizabeth Warren's wealth tax … by BENJY SARLIN  —  LATEST POSTS FROM THE RUNDOWN  —  BENJY SARLIN  —  January 30, 2019  —  Progressive pollster finds majority support for Elizabeth Warren's wealth tax

The Peculiar Logic of the Trump-Russia Scandal Deniers  —  Six Trump campaign associates so far have been indicted for or pleaded guilty to a wide array of federal crimes.  And this is before some of the best-known episodes in the Russia scandal, like the Trump Tower meeting and the president's efforts …

Virginia Governor Defends Letting Infants Die  —  This morning on WTOP's “Ask The Governor,” Virginia governor Ralph Northam defended the new abortion bill introduced by state Democrats this month, the Repeal Act, which would legalize abortion up to the point of birth.

Poll: Voters oppose another shutdown, emergency declaration  —  Voters have little appetite for another government shutdown if Congress does not approve money to build President Donald Trump's proposed wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, according to a new POLITICO/Morning Consult.

OxyContin Maker Explored Expansion Into “Attractive” Anti-Addiction Market  —  Not content with billions of dollars in profits from the potent painkiller OxyContin, its maker explored expanding into an “attractive market” fueled by the drug's popularity — treatment of opioid addiction …

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.

An early look at the 2020 electorate  —  The 2020 U.S. presidential election is rapidly coming into view - and so is the electorate that will determine its outcome.  —  While demographic changes unfold slowly, it's already clear that the 2020 electorate will be unique in several ways.

We Now Know The Law Firm Representing The Mystery Foreign-Owned Company That Is Fighting A Grand Jury Subpoena  —  WASHINGTON — The law firm of Alston & Bird is representing the mystery company owned by a foreign country that is fighting a grand jury subpoena at the Supreme Court …

Former Texas Republican Party chair leaving White House to work on John Cornyn's campaign  —  Steve Munisteri is headed home to help Texas' senior U.S. senator in his 2020 re-election bid. … WASHINGTON — After two years serving in the Trump White House, a former Texas GOP chairman is coming home.

Beto O'Rourke Weighs Presidential Campaign From an Unusual Position: Front Runner  —  Beto O'Rourke has run for office in the past by painting incumbents as out of touch with constituents.  That message may have to change if he gets into the crowded 2020 Democratic presidential primary.

Loss of newspapers contributes to political polarization  —  NEW YORK (AP) — The steady loss of local newspapers and journalists across the country contributes to the nation's political polarization, a new study has found.  —  With fewer opportunities to find out about local politicians …

NRA says 2015 Moscow trip wasn't ‘official.’ Emails, photos reveal gun group's role  —  The National Rifle Association made its first public attempt this week to distance itself from any formal involvement in a now infamous trip to Moscow undertaken by a group of its high-ranking members …