Trump backer Tom Barrack defends Saudi Arabia  —  Real estate developer said that kingdom was misunderstood by the West  —  Dubai: America is in no moral position to criticise Saudi Arabia, according to financier and key Trump backer Tom Barrack.  —  Speaking on stage at the Milken Institute MENA Summit …

Schumer recruits famed fighter pilot to challenge McConnell in 2020  —  Chuck Schumer is actively recruiting a high-profile fighter pilot to take on Mitch McConnell in 2020 — a calculated act of aggression against a leading Republican foe.  —  Schumer met with Amy McGrath …

Trump, No Stranger to Jewish Stereotypes, Rejects Ilhan Omar's Apology  —  WASHINGTON — President Trump demanded on Tuesday that a freshman lawmaker from Minnesota resign after she posted tweets deemed anti-Semitic even by fellow Democrats, but those tweets echoed some of the same insinuations …

How Team Trump keeps changing its story in the Russia investigation  —  Over the past two years, President Donald Trump and his team have offered changing accounts regarding key matters in the Russia investigation.  Their denials have been debunked, Trump has contradicted his senior aides …

President Trump wants the press to check out the Great Tariff Debate of 1888.  Okay!  —  On tariffs, what can 1888 tell us about 2019?  —  Many things happened at President Trump's El Paso rally on Monday night.  A BBC cameraman was violently attacked by a #MAGA supporter; you can read his colleague's account of that here.

House Democrats plan vast Russia probe  —  Mueller is just the beginning.  House Democrats plan a vast probe of President Trump and Russia — with a heavy focus on money laundering — that will include multiple committees and dramatic public hearings, and could last into 2020.

McCarthy blames Republican loss of House majority on GOP health care bill  —  Speaking privately to his donors, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy squarely blamed Republican losses in last year's midterm elections on the GOP push to roll back health insurance protections for people …

Trump intends to sign border deal to avoid another shutdown  —  Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump intends to sign the border security deal to avoid another partial government shutdown, according to two sources who have spoken directly with the President.

Michael Bloomberg's $500 million anti-Trump moonshot  —  Billionaire philanthropist Michael Bloomberg is preparing to spend at least $500 million from his own pocket to deny President Trump a second term, according to Democratic operatives briefed on his plans.

Howard Schultz's campaign is based on 3 ideas, and they're all wrong  —  Howard Schultz isn't solving America's problems.  He's reinforcing them.  —  On Tuesday night, CNN hosted a live town hall with former Starbucks CEO, and potential presidential candidate, Howard Schultz.  It didn't go particularly well.

Trump Is Immune From Impeachment if Mueller Can't Share His Evidence  —  Attorney General nominee William Barr sounds likely to try to keep what the special counsel finds out from Congress.  Thanks to Watergate, there's a way around him.  —  Donald Trump's next attorney general may attempt …

The official fast food French fry power rankings  —  Look, it's been a long two years for everyone.  We're tired, our brains have been melted to a thin pap by the news cycle, and we've soundly backslid into our slothful ways despite resolving to exercise off all the cookies we cry-ate over the holiday.

Chris Christie talks his time with Trump at Manhattan soirée  —  Chris Christie told Trump stories for nearly an hour last night at the Manhattan home of hedge fund billionaire Steven Cohen.  —  What he's saying: Standing in front of 10-foot-high windows on the first floor of a home …

Multiple White Supremacist Gang Members among 54 Defendants Charged in RICO Indictment  —  Charges Include Solicitation of Murder, Kidnapping, Maiming, and Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine  —  Dozens of members of a white supremacist gang allegedly responsible for multiple acts …

A Veep Joke About Leg-Shaving Was Inspired by a Rumor About Amy Klobuchar  —  Last week, in the lead-up to Amy Klobuchar announcing her presidential run, HuffPost and BuzzFeed published stories in which several anonymous former staffers confirmed long-circulating rumors that the Minnesota senator …

Brie Larson isn't letting ‘Captain Marvel’ press tour be ‘overwhelmingly’ white and male … Brie Larson is on a mission to save the world — and not just in her latest flick, superhero blockbuster “Captain Marvel.”  —  The Academy Award-winning actress might be the star …

Trump Approval, Economic Confidence Rebound  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Donald Trump's job approval rating has risen to 44% after the conclusion of the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.  While views of Trump have improved, the public's heightened positivity does not extend …

‘Finish the wall’?  Facing failure, Trump tries rebranding … For President Trump, chants and signs saying “Build the wall” are so 2016 — “Finish the wall” is his new rallying cry.  Yet two years into his term, not one new mile of a barrier has been erected along the nearly 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexico border.

‘Makes going to work look easy’: Decades before she was House speaker, Nancy Pelosi had an even harder job  —  Last month, Nancy Corinne Prowda was watching television when her mother, Nancy Pelosi, came on the screen.  Pelosi had disinvited President Trump from giving his State of the Union speech …

National debt tops $22 trillion for the first time as experts warn of ripple effects  —  President Trump is proposing a $4 trillion-plus budget that projects a $1 trillion or so federal deficit.  AP's Economic Reporter Josh Boak says the plan is like a ‘Christmas list, a wish list’ that amounts amounts to a ‘massive bet’.

Warner splits with Burr on collusion question  —  Sen. Burr: Our involvement in Comey firing done  —  (CNN)Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, rejected Republican Chairman Richard Burr's recent statements that the committee has not found evidence of collusion …

‘You can feel it now’: New Democrats push party, and 2020 candidates, to the left on divisive issues  —  A new generation of Democrats is using far-reaching policy ideas and a brash social media presence to upend the party — pushing it to the left on divisive issues such as health care …

Before Bezos Fight, Enquirer Publisher AMI Faced Steep Losses  — AMI had negative net worth as of Sept. 30, documents show  — Losses spurred borrowing, leading to more than $1 billion debt  —  The publisher of the National Enquirer, currently under attack by Amazon.com Inc. founder Jeff Bezos …

Bullock steps closer to White House run with Iowa visit  —  Gov. Steve Bullock of Montana will travel to Iowa at the end of the week as he further explores a run for the Democratic presidential nomination, his Big Sky Values PAC told POLITICO on Tuesday.  —  Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller …

Venezuelan Professional Women Working As Prostitutes To Feed Their Families  —  Social justice is supposedly what socialism is all about.  Instead of a system that allows some to be rich and some to be poor based on how they apply themselves and what they contribute to society, democratic socialism promises to smooth things out.

The Senate just passed the decade's biggest public lands package.  Here's what's in it.  —  The bipartisan measure would create more than 1.3 million acres of wilderness out West, add three national park units and expand eight others.  —  The Senate on Tuesday passed the most sweeping …

Trump Proposes Fourth of July Parade in D.C., Which Already Exists  —  President Trump kicked off Tuesday's Cabinet meeting by announcing his desire to hold a “Salute to America” parade on the National Mall.  “We're thinking about doing, on the Fourth of July or thereabouts, a parade, a ‘Salute to America’ parade,” said Trump.

'This wasn't on people's radar': Khanna set for victory in Yemen vote  —  In 2004, a little-known 27-year-old lawyer ran one of the first campaigns centered on opposition to military intervention at the height of the Iraq war.  He lost by 54 points.  —  Fifteen years later, Rep. Ro Khanna …

New York City Legislation Would Make it Cheaper to Rent an Apartment  —  Two council members are proposing bills that would limit brokers' fees and security deposits  —  Two New York City Council members will introduce a package of bills on Wednesday that aim to make renting apartments more affordable.