ABC News reports: In a surprise development Thursday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced on the Senate floor that President Donald Trump would sign a border security funding bill that would avert a government shutdown, but also would declare a national emergency in order to get more funding for his proposed border wall. His announcement came just before a Senate …

Politico reports: Rep. Adam Kinzinger was deployed to the U.S.-Mexico border earlier this week with his Air National Guard unit, his office announced on Wednesday evening. “The Congressman is humbled to serve his IL-16 community here in the People’s House and equally proud to serve as a reconnaissance pilot in the Air National Guard,” Kinzinger’s communications director, Maura Gillespie, said …

Roger Stone and Jerome Corsi are already at each others’ throats and today Alex Jones melted down because Stone gave an “exclusive” to the homocon fake news site Gateway Pundit. An excerpt from his rant via Media Matters: “I like Roger as a friend, but he doles out exclusives – some to Fox News, some to Daily Caller – and …

The Daily Beast reports: Two teams of federal officials assembled to fight foreign election interference are being dramatically downsized, according to three current and former Department of Homeland Security officials. And now, those sources say they fear the department won’t prepare adequately for election threats in 2020. “The clear assessment from the intelligence community is that 2020 is going to …

The Hill reports: The Senate voted Thursday to approve William Barr as attorney general, giving the Justice Department its first confirmed chief since President Trump ousted Jeff Sessions last fall. More than 50 senators voted for Barr’s nomination, giving him enough support to be confirmed. The vote caps off a relatively low drama fight over Trump’s second nominee for the …

The Washington Post reports: In the days after the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School massacre, President Trump expressed support for universal background checks and raising the age to buy an assault weapon to 21. He even seemed to entertain a ban on assault weapons. A year later, on the anniversary of that wrenching tragedy, when 14 students and three faculty …

CNBC reports: Amazon says it will not build a headquarters in New York following mounting opposition, the company said in a statement Thursday. Last week, The Washington Post first reported that Amazon executives were considering backing out of its planned move to New York City. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo had warned at a news conference last week following the …

The Atlantic has published an excerpt from The Threat, the new book from former FBI Acting Director Andrew McCabe: People do not appreciate how far we have fallen from normal standards of presidential accountability. Today we have a president who is willing not only to comment prejudicially on criminal prosecutions but to comment on ones that potentially affect him. He …

The Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel reports: Stone, who typically is an colorful and ebullient and forceful speaker, sounded somewhat subdued on Wednesday. He said the lengthy Mueller investigation, and more recently the indictment, have taken a personal toll. Stone, who was at the Tiger Bay Club to speak and sign copies of his books, said his ability to earn a livelihood …

The New York Times reports: State legislatures, both Republican- and Democratic-controlled, passed 76 gun control laws in the past year — from bans on bump stocks and caps on magazine sizes to new minimum-age requirements and expanded background checks. Among the victories for gun control advocates was an omnibus bill in Florida that raised the minimum age to purchase a …

Axios reports: Outlining a blueprint for the vast Russia probe planned by the new House majority, a Democratic member of Congress suggested at a roundtable with reporters this week that lawmakers may seek testimony from Ivanka Trump. The lawmaker said Democrats have “made no decision as to Ivanka Trump,” but “obviously there are a number of public reports about her …

The Washington Examiner reports: President Trump tore into Andrew McCabe on Thursday as the fired FBI deputy director embarks on a media tour for his new memoir in which he said he ordered an obstruction of justice investigation into the commander in chief. In a pair of tweets, Trump accused McCabe of being part of a wide-ranging conspiracy to take …

The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports: A Clay County woman who pleaded guilty Monday to defrauding the Federal Emergency Management Agency is the same woman who was fired from a county development agency in 2016 after making a racist Facebook post about then-U.S. first lady Michelle Obama. Pamela Taylor, 57, admitted she took more than $18,000 in flood relief benefits. She falsely …

Reuters reports: When Chloe Kritharas Devienne was asked to photograph 28 couples kissing and cuddling in Greece while holding a bar of Lacta chocolate, she did not expect to be attacked by trolls. The Valentine’s Day adverts for the popular chocolate brand were the first to feature same-sex and interracial couples in Greece, a conservative country where the Orthodox Church …

The Kyodo News reports: Thirteen same-sex couples demanding marriage equality filed lawsuits against the government at district courts across Japan on Valentine’s Day on Thursday, arguing that its refusal to allow them to marry is unconstitutional and discriminatory. Each of the 26 plaintiffs is seeking 1 million yen ($9,000) in compensation, claiming that the government’s failure to recognize same-sex marriage …

The Orange County Register reports: A Disneyland visitor was ejected from the park Wednesday afternoon after he unfurled a large banner on the side of the Mark Twain riverboat that proclaimed “TRUMP 2020.” The guest, who identified himself on Facebook as Dion Cini, live-streamed the event on his Facebook page, reporting that he was expecting to be removed afterward. Disney …

CBS News reports: Soon after speaking to President Trump about the firing of his boss James Comey, Andrew McCabe, who became the bureau’s acting director, began obstruction of justice and counterintelligence investigations involving the president and his ties to Russia. In his first television interview since his own firing, McCabe tells 60 Minutes‘ Scott Pelley he wanted those inquiries to …

NBC News reports: President Trump and California Gov. Gavin Newsom traded tweets Wednesday over federal funding for the state’s scaled-back bullet train project. “California has been forced to cancel the massive bullet train project after having spent and wasted many billions of dollars,” Trump said. “They owe the Federal Government three and a half billion dollars. We want that money …

The New York Times reports: As he inched closer to reluctantly accepting a bipartisan spending compromise without the money he demanded for his border wall, Mr. Trump offered no acknowledgment on Wednesday that his pressure tactics had failed even as aides sought to minimize the damage by tamping down criticism on the right. One call was made to Lou Dobbs, …

USA Today reports: A group of state representatives in Kansas introduced legislation Wednesday that seeks to define same-sex marriage as “parody marriage,” stop the state from recognizing gay marriage and establish an “elevated marriage” option for straight couples who seek “higher standards of commitment.” One of the two bills introduced contends LGBTQ people are aligned with the secular humanism movement, …