McConnell prepares to move forward on impeachment trial rules without Democrats  —  Senate Republican leaders are preparing to move forward on a set of impeachment trial rules without Democratic support.  —  Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has locked down sufficient backing …

Stampede kills 32 at funeral for Iran general killed by US  —  TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — A stampede erupted on Tuesday at a funeral procession for a top Iranian general killed in a U.S. airstrike last week, killing 32 people and injuring 190 others, state television reported.

New incident at Mar-a-Lago under ‘criminal investigation’ by Secret Service  —  Palm Beach police say they are conducting an “open and active criminal investigation” at Mar-a-Lago, President Donald Trump's South Florida estate, following an unspecified incident Monday night.

Don't Tilt Scales Against Trump, Facebook Executive Warns  —  In an internal memo, Andrew Bosworth said he “desperately” wanted the president to lose.  But, he said, the company should avoid hurting Mr. Trump's campaign.  —  SAN FRANCISCO — Since the 2016 election, when Russian trolls …

Bloomberg Takes On Trump With a $10 Million Super Bowl Ad  —  Michael R. Bloomberg's presidential campaign has secured a 60-second advertising spot to be aired nationally during the game on Feb. 2, campaign officials said.  —  Michael R. Bloomberg's presidential campaign has secured …

CNN settles lawsuit with Nick Sandmann  —  COVINGTON, Ky. (FOX19) - CNN agreed Tuesday to settle a lawsuit with Covington Catholic student Nick Sandmann.  —  The amount of the settlement was not made public during a hearing at the federal courthouse in Covington, Kentucky.

Prosecutors recommend Michael Flynn serve up to 6 months in prison  —  Federal prosecutors recommended in a sentencing memo Tuesday that President Trump's former national security adviser Michael Flynn receive a sentence of zero to six months in prison, arguing that he should not receive credit …

Trump Inaugural Committee Donor to Plead Guilty to Obstruction  — Zuberi back-dated check to donor, deleted emails, U.S. says  — Lawyer says Zuberi will plead guilty for a second time  —  A fundraiser for President Donald Trump will plead guilty to obstructing a federal investigation …

6.4 quake strikes Puerto Rico, killing at least 1 amid heavy seismic activity  —  “We've never been exposed to this kind of emergency in 102 years,"said the governor as the island grapples with ongoing aftershocks and assesses the damage.  —  A 6.4-magnitude earthquake struck Puerto Rico early Tuesday …

Ricky Gervais, Man of the People  —  In a room filled with self-absorbed narcissists, one brave, slightly less self-absorbed narcissist had the balls to speak truth to power—and his name is Ricky Gervais.  —  If courage had a face, it would be a slightly overweight, pasty British multi-millionaire drinking a pint.

The Nightmare Stage of Trump's Rule Is Here  —  Unstable and impeached, the president pushes the U.S. toward war with Iran.  —  There are no more adults in the room.  —  After three harrowing years, we've reached the point many of us feared from the moment Donald Trump was elected.

Russian trolls are targeting American veterans, and Trump's government isn't helping, group says  —  The Trump administration has for nearly two years ignored mounting evidence that Russian operatives and other foreign actors were deliberately targeting U.S. troops and veterans …

How to Talk to Your Kids About the Situation With Iran  —  On Jan. 3, the U.S. military carried out a drone attack in Iraq.  The attack killed Qasem Soleimani, a top military leader from Iran.  The action comes after increased tensions between the U.S. and Iran, and has fueled anxiety about what might happen as a result.

Anatomy of a Screw-Up: The Story Behind the Letter Withdrawing Our Troops  —  In a letter dated January 6, Brigadier Gen. William Seely III, the commanding general of Task Force Iraq, wrote to his Iraqi counterpart with big news: The United States military was preparing to leave Iraq.

Mysterious repeating fast radio burst traced to nearby galaxy  —  (CNN)Astronomers have traced the signal of an enigmatic repeating fast radio burst for only the second time — and it's in a spiral galaxy similar to our own, not so far away.  —  Fast radio bursts, or FRBs, are millisecond-long bursts of radio waves in space.

Trump walks back targeting cultural sites: “I like to obey the law”  —  President Trump said in the Oval Office Tuesday that he would obey international laws banning the targeting of cultural sites when considering how to retaliate against a potential Iranian attack.

Trump Is The Most Unpopular President Since Ford To Run For Reelection  —  Now that the 2020 election has gone from “next year” to “this year,” it's worth taking a step back and asking a question that we first posed in early 2017: How popular is Donald Trump?

Muslim religious leader in Texas charged with sex crimes against four children  —  A well-known Islamic religious leader in Texas has been busted for sexually assaulting four children — though authorities believe he's victimized others.  —  Mohamed Omar Ali, a 59-year-old Somali national …

Ball of Confusion  —  As noted below, in the broadest sense we know why President Trump ordered the assassination of Soleimani: it was an attempt to dominate a weaker power by dramatically escalating a simmering conflict.  This squares with how states act and it squares with President Trump's personality.

Ivanka Trump's CES keynote address sparks backlash  —  Some critics say there are women with more technical experience who are better qualified to speak at the annual technology conference  —  LAS VEGAS — Ivanka Trump may face an icy reception today at one of the world's largest technology conferences …

Fox News's Tucker Carlson: In San Francisco, ‘Civilization Itself Is Coming Apart’  —  Fox News host and Daily Caller co-founder Tucker Carlson described San Francisco as a place where “civilization itself is coming apart.”  —  “The reality of that city we discovered when we spent …

Bernie Sanders can unify Democrats and beat Trump in 2020  —  The first in a Vox series making the best case for each of the top Democratic contenders. … The case for Bernie Sanders is that he is the unity candidate.  —  The Vermont senator is unique in combining an authentic …

Windshield … To stay connected with the campaign:  —  About Pete:  —  Pete Buttigieg is a husband, Afghanistan veteran, and the Mayor of his hometown, South Bend, Indiana.  —  Pete is running for president because this is a now or never moment for our nation.

Every American family basically pays an $8,000 ‘poll tax’ under the U.S. health system, top economists say  —  SAN DIEGO — America's sky-high health-care costs are so far above what people pay in other countries that they are the equivalent of a hefty tax, Princeton University economists Anne Case and Angus Deaton say.

President Trump's stock market gamble  —  As the 2020 presidential election campaign gets into full swing, President Trump might want to reflect on a 1929 cautionary tale involving Irving Fisher, the pre-eminent U.S. economist of his time.  Maybe then Trump would not keep making …