Trump Says Susan Rice May Have Committed a Crime  —  WASHINGTON — President Trump said on Wednesday that he thought that the former national security adviser Susan E. Rice may have committed a crime by seeking the identities of Trump associates who were mentioned on intercepted communications …

Partial Transcript: Trump's Interview With The Times  —  WASHINGTON — The following is a partial transcript of President Trump's interview with The New York Times' Maggie Haberman and Glenn Thrush.  It has been lightly edited for content and clarity, and omits several off-the-record comments and asides.

Negotiations to avert nuclear option collapse ahead of Gorsuch vote  —  Bipartisan negotiations involving as many as 10 senators hoping to avoid a floor blowup over the Senate rules and Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch have collapsed, setting up a partisan showdown on Thursday.

First on CNN: Secret Service agent on VP's detail caught after meeting with prostitute at Maryland hotel  —  Secret Service scandals Story highlights  —  Washington (CNN)CNN has learned from multiple law enforcement sources that a Secret Service agent on Vice President Mike Pence's detail …

House Intelligence Republicans Boycott Briefing From FBI's Russian Double-Agent  —  A House Intelligence Committee Democrat tried to reach across the aisle to reboot the committee's stalled Russia investigation.  Republicans met his gesture with total silence.

No One to Blame But Trump  —  A lot of Republicans who had deep misgivings about Trump went along with him because they assumed that he could produce legislation dear to their hearts.  But what if it turns out that he can't?  Politicians are highly pragmatic people; they will support a president as long as he isn't too costly to them.

Trump faces major diplomatic test in summit with China's Xi Jinping  —  President Trump is set to wrap up a week's worth of meetings with world leaders by undergoing what will arguably the most crucial diplomatic test of his presidency so far.  —  The president will host Chinese President Xi Jinping …

Ossoff pulls in record donations for Georgia special election  —  GEORGIA-POLITICS By Aaron Gould Sheinin and Greg Bluestein - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution  —  Democrat Jon Ossoff has raised more than $8.3 million for his campaign to represent suburban Atlanta in Congress …

No ‘sea to shining sea’ border wall, says Trump homeland security chief Kelly  —  WASHINGTON — Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly told the Senate on Wednesday morning that he doesn't expect construction of a wall the full length of the U.S.-Mexico border — marking the abandonment …

Conservative Megadonor Wrote $450,000 Check To Spread Indicted Congressman's Fake News Across Texas, Prosecutors Say  —  The indictment of former Rep. Steve Stockman (R-Texas) offers a rare look at how a wealthy conservative's money was spent.  —  Late last month, federal prosecutors indicted ex …

Shia LaBeouf's ‘Man Down’ Likely to End U.K. Run With Just 3 Tickets Sold  —  YOUTUBE  —  A box-office jump of 200 percent since its much-derided opening will bring the film's final theatrical haul in the U.K. to $26.  —  While a 200 percent box-office leap is something most producers might offer …

The IRS took millions from innocent people because of how they managed their bank accounts, Inspector General finds  —  The Internal Revenue Service has seized millions of dollars in cash from individuals and businesses who obtained the money legally, according to a new Treasury Inspector General's report.

It's now illegal in Russia to share an image of Putin as a gay clown  —  Russia has banned a picture depicting President Vladimir Putin as a potentially gay clown.  —  Russian news outlets are having trouble reporting exactly which image of the Internet's many Putin-gay-clown memes is now illegal to share.

Pepsi Pulls Ad Accused of Trivializing Black Lives Matter  —  Pepsi has apologized for a controversial advertisement that borrowed imagery from the Black Lives Matter movement, after a day of intense criticism from people who said it trivialized the widespread protests against the killings of black people by the police.

Using Technology to Protect Intimate Images and Help Build a Safe Community  —  By Antigone Davis, Head of Global Safety  —  Today, we are announcing new tools to help people when intimate images are shared on Facebook without their permission.  When this content, often referred to as …

Melania Trump and the politics of airbrushing  —  The official portrait of first lady Melania Trump is jarring because her face appears to be heavily retouched, or perhaps just photographed through a lens smeared with Vaseline.  It is devoid of fine lines and pores.

The Long, Lucrative Right-wing Grift Is Blowing Up in the World's Face  —  If you want to understand intra-GOP warfare, the decision-making process of our president, the implosion of the Republican healthcare plan, and the rest of the politics of the Trump era, you don't need …

Congressman: 'I don't think' Assad is behind Syria attack  —  Washington (CNN)Republican Rep. Thomas Massie expressed doubt Wednesday that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is responsible for Tuesday's chemical attack, and reinforced his stance that US intervention could “end up making the situation worse.”

Who Is Mike Cernovich?  A Guide  —  President Trump has frequently derided the news media as “fake news,” and on Tuesday his son, Donald Trump Jr., told the world there was one person he wants to see win the Pulitzer Prize, the highest honor in American journalism: Mike Cernovich.

Christian Bale, Steve Carell, and Amy Adams Circling Adam McKay's Dick Cheney Biopic  —  After diving into the economic crisis of 2008, “The Big Short's” Adam McKay is taking aim at one of Washington's most polarizing figures.  —  Sources tell Variety that Christian Bale, Steve Carell …