Susan Rice Unmasked  —  Obama's security adviser sought the name of at least one Trump official in intelligence reports.  —  Well, what do you know.  On the matter of who “unmasked” the names of Trump transition officials in U.S. intelligence reports, we now have one answer: Susan Rice, Barack Obama's national security adviser.

Blackwater founder held secret Seychelles meeting to establish Trump-Putin back channel  —  The United Arab Emirates arranged a secret meeting in January between Blackwater founder Erik Prince and a Russian close to President Vladi­mir Putin as part of an apparent effort to establish …

Republican Health Proposal Would Undermine Coverage for Pre-existing Conditions  —  Throughout the debate to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, President Trump and Republican congressional leaders have insisted they would retain a crucial, popular part of the health law …

Trump Administration Considers Far-Reaching Steps for ‘Extreme Vetting’  —  Foreigners entering U.S. could be forced to hand over phones, answer questions on ideology; changes could apply to allies like France and Germany  —  Foreigners who want to visit the U.S., even for a short trip …

Sessions orders Justice Department to review all police reform agreements  —  Attorney General Jeff Sessions ordered Justice Department officials to review reform agreements with troubled police forces nationwide, saying it was necessary to ensure these pacts do not work against the Trump …

Mercedes-Benz pulls ads from 'The O'Reilly Factor' — will others follow?  —  O'Reilly accuser: ‘My voice is not for sale’  —  Mercedes-Benz said Monday that it has “reassigned” its advertisements on “The O'Reilly Factor” following a report about five settlements with women who alleged sexual harassment …

A (probably futile) plea for sanity in the Senate  —  If you think there isn't enough extremism in American politics, this week's for you.  —  If all goes as expected, the week will conclude with the confirmation of Neil Gorsuch as a Supreme Court justice.  This outcome is lamentable.

EXCLUSIVE: Controversial Trump Aide Sebastian Gorka Backed Violent Anti-Semitic Militia  —  As a Hungarian political leader in 2007, Sebastian Gorka, President Trump's chief counter-terrorism adviser, publicly supported a violent racist and anti-Semitic paramilitary militia that was later banned …

Trump's Authoritarian Vision … Standing before the cheering throngs at the Republican National Convention last summer, Donald Trump bemoaned how special interests had rigged the country's politics and its economy, leaving Americans victimized by unfair trade deals, incompetent bureaucrats and spineless leaders.

NCAA Board of Governors' Position on HB2 Repeal  —  In August of 2016, the NCAA Board of Governors instructed the relocation of NCAA championships scheduled in North Carolina during the 2016-17 academic year because of the cumulative impact HB2 had on local communities' ability to ensure a safe …

‘It went off the rails almost immediately’: How Trump's messy transition led to a chaotic presidency  —  Two days after the November election, leaders of President Trump's transition team presented his inner circle with more than 100 names of candidates for key Cabinet and other senior positions in the new administration.

Poll: Trump approval rating plummets  —  President Trump's approval rating has tumbled 11 points since March, according to a new poll released Monday.  —  Thirty-four percent of Americans approve of Trump's job performance in the latest Investor's Business Daily (IBD)/TechnoMetrica Institute of Policy and Politics (TIPP) survey.

Third Black Employee Sues Fox News for Racial Discrimination  —  Fox News' legal woes just keep getting bigger.  This morning, another black female employee in Fox News' payroll department is joining a racial discrimination lawsuit filed last week by two of her black colleagues.

Data Patterns Suggest Trump Tower/Spectrum Health Ran a “Stealth Data Machine” With Russia  —  Jared Kushner is currently taking a victory lap, crowin' about his “Stealth Data Machine” that put Donald Trump over the top in the 2016 race.  Let's pry off the lid and peer into the inner-workings of this “Data Machine.”

Rep. Cummings calls Steve Bannon a ‘white supremacist-type’  —  On the 49th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Rep. Elijah Cummings said Tuesday morning that the famed civil rights icon “would be very disappointed” by the political realities of 2017 and especially …

Putin Derangement Syndrome Arrives  —  Whatever the truth about Trump and Russia, the speculation surrounding it has become a dangerous case of mass hysteria  —  So Michael Flynn, who was Donald Trump's national security adviser before he got busted talking out of school to Russia's ambassador …

‘Young Turk’ online news host attempting a ‘hostile takeover’ of Democratic Party  —  Cenk Uygur likes to fight.  —  If you've watched him on The Young Turks, the wildly popular online news show he leads, you know that.  It's also clear if you've tracked his rise from public access TV host to internet sensation.

I told Paul Ryan what it's like to be poor.  I wonder if he remembers me now.  —  Poverty isn't a choice, and Americans like me need a strong safety net.  Does the speaker care?  —  In 2014, I testified before U.S. Rep. Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.), now the House Speaker, at a congressional hearing about poverty in America.

Syria conflict: ‘Chemical attack’ in Idlib kills 58  —  At least 58 people have been killed and dozens wounded in a suspected chemical attack on a rebel-held town in north-western Syria, a monitoring group says.  —  The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that strikes on Khan Sheikhoun …

In a Trump-defying move, California's Senate passes sanctuary state bill  —  Sanctuary cities: what you need to know  —  San Francisco (CNN)In defiance of President Donald Trump's immigration policies, the California Senate passed a bill to limit state and local police cooperation with federal immigration authorities.