Lev Parnas, Key Player in Ukraine Affair, Completes Break With Trump and Giuliani  —  In an interview, he said the president knew everything about the effort to push Ukraine to investigate the Bidens and the 2016 election.  —  WASHINGTON — Lev Parnas, the Soviet-born businessman who played …

Rand Paul threatens fellow Republicans with explosive witness votes  —  Sen. Rand Paul is waging a fierce campaign to prevent the Senate from hearing witnesses in Donald Trump's impeachment trial, vowing to force tough votes on his fellow Republicans if they break with the president or back Democrats' demands for new evidence.

Exclusive: Warren accused Sanders in tense post-debate exchange of calling her a ‘liar’ on national TV  —  Sanders responded that it was Warren who called him a liar and said they should not talk about it right then.  —  When the CNN/Des Moines Register debate concluded …

AP Explains: New rules could muddle results of Iowa caucuses  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — For the first time, the Iowa Democratic Party will report three sets of results from the party's presidential caucuses.  And there is no guarantee that all three will show the same winner.

Inside Jared Kushner's Unusual White House Role  —  Jared Kushner's White House office is a shrine to his own influence.  Gold-framed accolades from his father-in-law hang on the walls, written in thick black Sharpie in President Donald Trump's spiky hand.  To Jared, Great job on Mexico.

Ukraine launches probe into alleged surveillance of former U.S. envoy  —  The Interior Ministry is also investigating alleged hacking of Burisma Holdings, the natural gas company at the center of the Trump impeachment case.  —  Ukraine has launched criminal investigations …

Former mayor of South Bend, Ind.  —  The editorial board is a group of opinion journalists whose views are informed by expertise, research, debate and certain longstanding values.  —  This interview was conducted by the editorial board of The New York Times, which will announce its Democratic primary endorsement on Jan. 19.

Koch network plans its biggest election-year effort in 2020  —  (CNN)The conservative political network affiliated with billionaire Charles Koch intends to launch its widest election effort in 2020 and could engage in nearly 200 federal and state races this year, top Koch officials tell CNN.

The Silicon Valley Economy Is Here.  And It's a Nightmare.  —  Vanessa Bain was less than a year into her gig as an Instacart shopper when the company announced it would no longer allow tipping on its app.  Instacart instead began imposing a 10 percent “service fee” that replaced the previous default tip of 10 percent.

Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney announces she will not run for Senate  —  Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney announced Thursday she will not be making a bid for the U.S. Senate, initiating a reelection campaign some predict could one day lead to her becoming speaker of the house.

Landmark Trade Deal With China; New York Times Hardest Hit  —  President Trump signed the “Phase One” trade agreement with China today at the White House.  The agreement is far-ranging; you can read its entire text here.  Among other things, it includes “commitments from Beijing …