Sen. Collins says retribution against witnesses in impeachment process is inappropriate  —  Maine's Republican senator defended her votes to acquit Trump as Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, who testified against him, was escorted out of the White House.  —  U.S. Sen. Susan Collins …

“We're losing our damn minds”: James Carville unloads on the Democratic Party  —  James Carville arrives for the annual JFK Profiles in Courage Award ceremony in Boston, Massachusetts, on May 20, 2018.  Paul Marotta/Getty Images  —  Why the longtime Democratic strategist is “scared to death” of the 2020 election.

NBC News/Marist poll: Sanders, Buttigieg continue to lead in New Hampshire  —  Just days away from the first-in-the-nation primary, Sanders holds a narrow lead but Buttigieg has seen enthusiasm for his candidacy rise.  —  MANCHESTER, N.H. — Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg remain atop …

Vice President Pence defends deficit expansion under Trump as necessary for economic growth  — Vice President Mike Pence defended deficit expansion under the Trump administration during a CNBC interview Friday, saying that debt and deficits are secondary concerns compared to economic growth.

Key House Democrat says Perez must go: 'He doesn't lead on anything'  —  A top Democratic voice on election reform is calling for the ouster of Tom Perez, the powerful chairman of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) who has come under fire following the Iowa caucuses.

As usual, Trump called me a sleaze.  But the audience reaction to his rant was more upsetting.  —  James B. Comey is a former director of the FBI and former deputy attorney general.  —  The most important thing that happened during President Trump's post-impeachment rant at the White House didn't happen at the lectern.

DOJ drops probe of carmakers that aligned with California on pollution  —  The Justice Department has ended its antitrust investigation of automakers who formed a voluntary deal with California to reduce air pollution — a probe that was one of a series of punitive Trump administration actions …

Secret Service has paid rates as high as $650 a night for rooms at Trump's properties  —  President Trump's company charges the Secret Service for the rooms agents use while protecting him at his luxury properties — billing U.S. taxpayers at rates as high as $650 per night …

Antarctica just hit 65 degrees, its warmest temperature ever recorded  —  It comes days after earth's warmest January on record.  —  Just days after the earth saw its warmest January on record, Antarctica has broken its warmest temperature ever recorded.  A reading of 65 degrees was taken …

Mike Bloomberg Is Paying ‘Influencers’ to Make Him Seem Cool  —  The Bloomberg campaign is trying an ad strategy familiar to every other startup with a ton of cash and a questionable business model: paying influencers to make it seem cool.  —  One day after the Iowa caucuses were effectively botched …

The Woman Defending Harvey Weinstein … In the trial of Harvey Weinstein, six women have taken the stand, each making similar accusations of rape and sexual assault against the movie producer.  Throughout their testimony, Weinstein's defense lawyers have portrayed those encounters as consensual …

Here's a new abuse of power by Trump that should alarm you  —  The big danger emerging from President Trump's acquittal isn't just that he has learned his whole party is unprepared to constrain any future abuse of power he undertakes.  It's that he has learned his party will …

The Age of Decadence  —  Cut the drama.  The real story of the West in the 21st century is one of stalemate and stagnation.  —  An Opinion columnist and the author of the forthcoming book “The Decadent Society,” from which this essay is adapted.  —  Everyone knows that we live …

Collins says it would not be appropriate for Trump to retaliate against impeachment witnesses  —  Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), one of two Republicans to vote last week to subpoena additional witnesses and extend the impeachment trial, said Friday that she would disapprove of President Trump retaliating …

New York to Sue Trump Administration Over Global Entry Freeze  —  The lawsuit will challenge the federal government's decision to bar New Yorkers from enrolling in programs that allow travelers to skip lines at airports.  —  New York State officials said on Friday that they planned to sue …

Docs: Shadow Inc. Directly Tied to Left-Wing Media Operation  —  A company called Shadow earned instant infamy this week when an app it created to tabulate the results of the Iowa caucuses led to a statewide meltdown that has thrown the Democratic presidential campaign into disarray.

Another Scandal at the DNC  —  Because of other disasters afflicting the Democratic Party in recent days, this story, from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, hasn't gotten a lot of attention.  But it fits with other recent instances of Democratic Party incompetence and worse: “Leaders of 2020 DNC Host Committee fired.”

In its own document, Fox News rips Fox News host Sean Hannity  —  Each night, Fox News hosts Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity engage in some shallow blather during the “handoff” between their ratings-killing programs.  In Thursday night's version, Hannity told Carlson, “You know the deep-state story is even getting bigger.

What It Was Like to Work for Andrew Yang  —  He has called his campaign “the journey of my life.”  But what got lost in the novelty of his bid, former employees say, was scrutiny of his life before this particular journey.  —  MANCHESTER, N.H. — The Andrew Yang on the presidential debate stage …

Exclusive photos of Giuliani in Spain show Lev Parnas has lots more to share  —  New York (CNN)Stored in devices seized from Lev Parnas by law enforcement, there's a 34-second cell phone video of Rudy Giuliani relishing a bullfight.  There are also photos of Donald Trump's personal attorney posing …