Rudy Giuliani butt-dials NBC reporter, heard discussing need for cash and trashing Bidens  —  “The problem is we need some money,” Giuliani says to unidentified man during accidental call to NBC News writer.  —  Late in the evening on Oct. 16, Rudy Giuliani made a phone call to this reporter.

NSC official plans to testify in impeachment probe even if White House tries to block him  —  Tim Morrison, a National Security Council official who has been identified as a witness to one of the most explosive pieces of evidence unearthed by House impeachment investigators …

Trump Organization Exploring Sale of Marquee Washington Hotel  —  Move is motivated partly by ethical criticisms concerning profiting on the property  —  The Trump Organization is exploring a sale of the rights to the company's opulent Washington, D.C., hotel, a move it says is motivated partly …

Judge rules DOJ must turn over Mueller grand jury material to House Democrats  —  A federal judge on Friday ruled that the Justice Department must turn over former special counsel Robert Mueller's grand jury evidence to the House Judiciary Committee, a groundbreaking victory for Democrats …

Cummings pallbearer skips McConnell handshake at memorial  —  A pallbearer at Rep. Elijah Cummings's (D-Md.) memorial on Thursday shook hands with all top congressional leaders except Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).  —  Video captured the pallbearer, who has been identified …

The U.S. deficit hit $984 billion in 2019, soaring during Trump era  —  Spending increases, tax cuts, and political apathy fueled surge, and interest payments now near $400 billion  —  The U.S. government's budget deficit ballooned to nearly $1 trillion in 2019, a $205 billion increase from a year earlier …

Scoop: The West Wing's impeachment war room  —  Top Trump officials have quietly created a de facto impeachment war room, with a chief goal of policing and solidifying Republican Senate support for acquittal.  —  What's happening: Most senior officials in the White House recognized quickly …

We represent the whistleblower.  Their identity is no longer relevant.  —  The public now knows more about the call with Ukraine than what was in the complaint.  —  Our client's whistleblower complaint about President Trump's efforts to solicit interference from Ukraine in the 2020 U.S. election …

Introducing Facebook News  —  Testing a dedicated place for news in the US  —  Journalism plays a critical role in our democracy.  When news is deeply-reported and well-sourced it gives people information they can rely on.  When it's not, we lose an essential tool for making good decisions.

DNC raises thresholds for December debate  —  The halfway mark of the Democratic debate calendar is coming up, and the sixth debate will likely feature the smallest stage yet.  —  New thresholds announced by the Democratic National Committee for the sixth debate — which will be hosted …

Trump critic gets 1st pitch at Series game Trump to attend  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — A day after President Donald Trump said he plans to attend Game 5 of the World Series, the Washington Nationals announced the ceremonial first pitch at that game will be thrown by chef José Andrés, a vocal critic of Trump.

U.S. Watchdog Council Says Justice Department Erred in Blocking Whistleblower Complaint  —  Memo saying matter wasn't urgent was wrong, Council of Inspectors General concludes  —  A U.S. watchdog council has faulted a Justice Department legal memo that initially blocked the Ukraine whistleblower's complaint …

Scoop: “Anonymous” to expose private Trump conversations  —  The anonymous “senior Trump administration official” who will release a tell-all book, “A Warning,” next month was a frequent participant in meetings with President Trump and plans to recount specific conversations, sources tell me.

Rand Paul: Is Quid Pro Quo the Status Quo?  —  Isn't all foreign aid supposed to be quid pro quo?  —  We give you this aid — on the expectation that you will not steal any of it for personal use, that you will spend it as we instruct, and on the understanding that if you don't spend the money …

Elizabeth Warren wants to remake American capitalism  —  As it stands, the Democratic front-runner's programme has too little time for markets or business  —  ELIZABETH WARREN is remarkable.  Born into a struggling family in Oklahoma, she worked her way up to become a star law professor at Harvard.

FBI agents manipulated Flynn file, as Clapper allegedly urged ‘kill shot’: court filing  —  An explosive new court filing from Michael Flynn's legal team alleges that FBI agents manipulated official records of the former national security adviser's 2017 interview that led to him being charged with lying to investigators.

Trump and Barr's big counterattack: Actually, they're still covering up the Russia conspiracy  —  Trump couldn't extort Ukraine into backing his vapid conspiracy theories.  Now he's got Barr doing the dirty work  —  During his otherwise subdued testimony before Congress this summer …

Trump should be very worried about Senate Republicans  —  Think of Senate Republicans' current antics protesting “secret” House hearings on impeachment — in which Republicans sit on the relevant committees — as not simply spurious (recall that Benghazi depositions were held by the House in private) …

Trump campaign urges White House to soften proposed flavored vape ban  —  President Trump's campaign manager Brad Parscale has privately warned the president that his plans to reduce youth vaping by banning flavored e-cigarettes could backfire in the 2020 election — placing Trump's reelection campaign …

Trump Cuts Out Media That Doesn't ‘Make Him Feel Beautiful’  —  It's a comfort mechanism for the president that intensifies whenever he feels under siege and when scandal swirls.  —  For months, President Trump has refused to grace CNN or MSNBC with what he views as the gift of his presence.

Embattled Rep. Katie Hill's husband claims he got jobs at non-profit where she worked because of her ‘influence’  — Rep. Katie Hill's husband got multiple jobs at a non-profit group where she held senior positions due to her ‘influence,’ he says in their divorce case.

As Impeachment Heats Up, a Trump Family Anniversary Party for Jared and Ivanka at Camp David  —  It's no Bedminster—Trump called it “very rustic”—but presidents have often retreated there when trouble looms.  Afterward, Jared is off to Israel and MBS's “Davos in the Desert.”

Trump Administration Responsible For More Than 5,400 Child Separations, ACLU Says  —  The figure includes more than 1,500 migrant children that were not previously disclosed by the Justice Department.  —  SAN DIEGO (AP) — U.S. immigration authorities separated more than 1,500 children …