APNewsBreak: White House pulls nomination to lead ICE head  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration on Thursday sent paperwork withdrawing the nomination of longtime border official Ron Vitiello to lead Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to three people with knowledge of the move.

In New Documents, Cohen Says Trump “Instructed” Him To Lie  —  WASHINGTON — Attorneys for Michael Cohen, President Trump's former fixer, submitted documents to lawmakers Thursday night accusing Trump and his team of lawyers of instructing Cohen to lie to Congress about when negotiations ended to build a Trump Tower in Moscow.

A photo of me and Joe Biden went viral.  I want him to take ownership for his actions.  —  Sofie Karasek is a survivors' rights advocate and progressive organizer.  —  Two days before my photograph was taken with then-Vice President Joe Biden, as I stood on the 2016 Oscars stage with Lady Gaga …

Trump is floundering disastrously on multiple fronts.  Stop pretending he's in control.  —  Because so many of us got it so wrong in 2016, there's a tendency among many commentators to reflexively assume President Trump possesses some kind of hidden sway over the political environment that we're all missing.

Trump Asked That Confirmation of I.R.S. Counsel Be a Priority  —  President Trump earlier this year asked Senator Mitch McConnell, the majority leader, to prioritize a confirmation vote for his nominee to be the chief counsel of the Internal Revenue Service, indicating that it was a higher priority …

How Trump Conspired with the Freedom Caucus to Shut Down the Government  —  It was as if Mark Meadows were watching a political car crash in slow motion.  In November 2018, when House Republicans lost their legislative majority, it rendered him a bit player in Donald Trump's Washington.

Saudi Arabia arrests more activists, including 2 US citizens  —  DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Saudi Arabia detained eight people, including two dual U.S.-Saudi citizens, in a new round of arrests in the kingdom targeting individuals supportive of women's rights and those with ties to jailed activists …

Trump Is Already Plotting His Post-White House Tell-All Memoir  —  The president is ‘excited’ about penning a dishy book.  So much so that he keeps talking about the scores he plans to settle.  —  As he navigates turbulent domestic and international affairs, President Donald Trump …

Barr invited to meet DoJ officials on day he submitted memo critical of Mueller  —  Revealed: The attorney general, then a private lawyer, called the special counsel's obstruction of justice inquiry into Trump ‘fatally misconceived’  —  William Barr was invited to meet justice department officials …

Donald Trump reacts to Barbara Bush quotes  —  President Trump said he was not surprised by former first lady Barbara Bush's attacks on him, as posthumously quoted in a new biography.  —  “I have heard that she was nasty to me, but she should be.  Look what I did to her sons,” …

If Biden Runs, They'll Tear Him Up  —  The old Democratic Party was warm, like him.  The new one rising is colder, less human and divisive.

The unspoken Barr memo travesty: Using two spaces after a period |  The Angry Grammarian  —  The attorney general of the United States has just executed a cover-up so brazen, so grotesque, so audacious, that it was done in plain view.  Right under our noses.  —  He put two spaces after his periods.

Stacey Abrams torn between running for president, Senate  —  The Georgia Democrat met Thursday with Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who continues to recruit her for a Senate bid.  —  Stacey Abrams is doing everything a would-be presidential candidate would do: a nationwide book tour …

Critical Carlos reads ‘Healthy Holly’  —  Inside the children's book that has landed Baltimore's mayor in a political scandal  —  Hi, I'm Critical Carlos, and I want you to read books like I do!  Reading is good for your brain and helps us all learn.  If you read enough books, then one day …

Is Bill de Blasio Running for President in 2020?  Sure Looks Like It  —  He has traveled to three early presidential primary states, held $5,000-a-plate events for donors and hired a small-dollar fund-raising consultant.  —  He spoke at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee …

Trump's next possible Fed nominee can't understand basic policy issues  —  Nein, nein, nein.  —  That should be the Senate's response if President Trump actually nominates his friend Herman Cain, the former pizza magnate turned failed Republican presidential candidate, to the Federal Reserve Board, as Trump said he plans to do.

That Noise?  The Rich Neighbors Digging a Basement Pool in Their $100 Million Brownstone  —  The extremely loud and incredibly expensive renovations that have shattered a formerly quiet residential block in Manhattan.  —  In the middle of West 69th Street between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue …

So Yale Law School endorses anti-religious bigotry now?  —  What starts in the ivory tower of academia — including blatant discrimination against religious groups and students — won't stay there for long.  —  CONNECT  —  What happens at our nation's elite law schools rarely stays there.

What the heck does Steve King do all day?  —  Shunned by his party's leadership, bounced from congressional hearings, removed from key parts of the legislative process, and serving in the House minority — the Republican from Iowa has less to do than any congressman in recent history.

How a $230,000 debt and a LinkedIn message led an ex-CIA officer to spy for China  —  Kevin Mallory went years without a steady job, making him a ripe target for recruitment, court documents say.  —  Kevin Mallory, a former CIA officer, was $230,000 in debt and months behind on his mortgage in early 2017 …

Trump's sales pitch to black voters — look at the economy! — is getting a bit wobbly  —  By now, President Trump has said it so many times that fact-checkers have rebuttals at the ready before he's finished his sentence.  —  “Our economy is probably as good as it's ever been, or better.

Biden Reaps the #MeToo Whirlwind  —  'It's never, never, never, never, never OK to touch her without her consent,' he told college men in 2011.

Donald Tusk floats 1-year Brexit ‘flextension’  —  Britain can have another year to think on Brexit — provided it joins the European Parliament election next month, a senior EU official said.  —  European Council President Donald Tusk raised the idea after hours of meetings and consultations Thursday …

U.S. Ethics Office Declines to Certify Mnuchin's Financial Disclosure  —  WASHINGTON — The top federal ethics watchdog said on Thursday that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin's sale of his stake in a film production business to his wife did not comply with federal ethics rules …