The Case for the Impeachment Defense  —  My client's call with the Ukrainian president was innocent, and the House inquiry is a travesty.  —  If your only sources of news the past two months have been CNN and MSNBC, you probably think President Trump has committed some heinous act …

What Impeachment Will Cost the GOP  —  On December 19, 1998, the day House Republicans impeached President Bill Clinton, he recorded his highest-ever score in Gallup's presidential approval poll: 73 percent favorable.  —  That was 24 percentage points higher than Clinton's …

University of Florida's student president faces impeachment after bringing Donald Trump Jr. to campus for $50,000  —  After the University of Florida's student body president helped bring Donald Trump Jr. and Trump campaign adviser Kimberly Guilfoyle to campus last month to the tune of $50,000 …

POLITICO Playbook: We know how the impeachment show ends, but we're still watching  —  DRIVING THE DAY  —  THE HOUSE'S IMPEACHMENT OF PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP IS KIND OF LIKE WATCHING the newest season of “Jack Ryan” on Amazon Prime Video.  Sure, the twists and turns are exciting.

Plague Is Diagnosed in China, Prompting Fears of an Outbreak  —  Two cases of pneumonic plague, a fatal and highly infectious illness related to bubonic plague, were diagnosed in Beijing.  —  阅读.体中 文.閱讀.體 中文.

Democrats' impeachment lawyer cut his teeth prosecuting mobsters, Wall Street cheats  —  The Democrats' lead impeachment hearing lawyer made his bones as a prosecutor by sending mobsters, stock swindlers and a multimillion-dollar inside trader to prison, cases in which colleagues said he mixed brains and “swagger” to win convictions.

This Tom Hanks Story Will Help You Feel Less Bad  —  Hanks is playing Mister Rogers in a new movie and is just as nice as you think he is.  Please read this article anyway.  —  Here is a list of stories about Tom Hanks I've heard over the last few miserable months, as it appeared that politeness …

AJC POLL: Trump faces tough re-election fight in Georgia  —  A majority of Georgians disapprove of President Donald Trump's performance in the White House and he appears to be facing a hard fight against each of the five top Democratic candidates seeking to replace him, according to an exclusive Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll.

Trump prepared for impeachment hearings with an epic Fox News binge  —  Trump and First Lady Melania Trump walk on the South Lawn after they returned to the White House from New York City on Tuesday.  Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images  —  Trump is getting his spin directly from Dobbs …

The impeachment calculus Democrats don't want to talk about  —  Sen. Brian Schatz, the Democrat from Hawaii, is well-known for a jokey Twitter feed popular with the #Resistance.  When I talked to him last night as he was walking into the Senate on the eve of the first impeachment hearings in 21 years, he was in a more serious mood.

ABC scrambles to figure out identity of Amy Robach leaker, who goes by ‘Ignotus’  —  ABC bigwigs are going potty to find the identity of the leaker behind the Amy Robach tape — after the alleged source posted a letter online slamming the network under the name “Ignotus,” a wizard from the “Harry Potter” franchise.

U.S. October Budget Gap Widens to $134.5 Billion From Year Ago  —  Explore what's moving the global economy in the new season of the Stephanomics podcast.  Subscribe via Apple Podcast, Spotify or Pocket Cast.  —  The U.S. budget deficit widened in October, the first month of the fiscal year …

Justice Department Filing Suggests No McCabe Prosecution Imminent  —  In pending lawsuit, DOJ says it won't block release of documents related to former deputy FBI head based on probe  —  The Justice Department suggested in a filing Wednesday that it had no immediate plans …

Scoop: House committees request new testimony from U.S. official in Ukraine  —  The House committees investigating President Trump and Ukraine have scheduled closed-door depositions for David Holmes, an official working at the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine, and Mark Sandy, an official working …