First on CNN: US drops largest non-nuclear bomb in Afghanistan  —  Washington (CNN)The US military has dropped an enormous bomb in Afghanistan, according to four US military officials with direct knowledge of the mission.  —  A GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast Bomb, nicknamed MOAB …

U.S. May Launch Strike If North Korea Reaches For Nuclear Trigger  —  The U.S. is prepared to launch a preemptive strike with conventional weapons against North Korea should officials become convinced that North Korea is about to follow through with a nuclear weapons test, multiple senior U.S. intelligence officials told NBC News.

British spies were first to spot Trump team's links with Russia  —  Exclusive: GCHQ is said to have alerted US agencies after becoming aware of contacts in 2015  —  Britain's spy agencies played a crucial role in alerting their counterparts in Washington to contacts between members …

Trump's base turns on him  —  Donald Trump's true believers are losing the faith.  —  As Trump struggles to keep his campaign promises and flirts with political moderation, his most steadfast supporters — from veteran advisers to anti-immigration activists to the volunteers who dropped …

Undercooled meat.  Dangerous fish.  Health inspectors zing Trump's Mar-a-Lago kitchen  —  Just days before the state visit of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to Mar-a-Lago, President Donald Trump's Palm Beach private club, Florida restaurant inspectors found potentially dangerous raw fish …

Spicer refuses to say if Trump was in Situation Room for Afghanistan strike, flees amid questions  —  The United States dropped a GBU-43 bomb, the most powerful non-nuclear bomb in our arsenal, on what has been described as an “ISIS tunnel complex” in Afghanistan.

Assad Says Videos of Dead Children in Syria Chemical Attack Were Faked  —  Syria's president intensified on Thursday a propaganda counterattack against Western accusations that he had ordered a lethal chemical weapons bombing last week on civilians, asserting that videos of victims …

Trump privately signs anti-Planned Parenthood law  —  Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump privately signed a bill on Thursday that allows states to withhold federal money from organizations that provide abortion services, including Planned Parenthood, a group frequently targeted by Republicans.

Why I won't date hot women anymore  —  When it came to dating in New York as a 30-something executive in private equity, Dan Rochkind had no problem snagging the city's most beautiful women.  —  “I could have [anyone] I wanted,” says Rochkind, now 40 and an Upper West Sider with a muscular build and a full head of hair.

Detroit physician charged with mutilating girls' genitalia  —  Detroit — A Detroit emergency room physician was charged Wednesday with mutilating the genitalia of two 7-year-old girls in what is believed to be the first case of its kind brought under federal law.

How many American atheists are there really?  —  “There's a lot of atheists in the closet” — why most polls on religious belief are probably wrong.  —  Here's a simple question: How many Americans don't believe in God?  —  Pew and Gallup — two of the most reputable polling firms in America — both come to a similar figure.

In its last year, the Obama administration had its eyes on burnishing the outgoing president's legacy — and ignored the threat from an old foe.  —  No one from  —  the Obama administration seems to remember when they figured out they were falling victim to one of the greatest intelligence operations in history.

Where in the World Are Jared & Ivanka for Passover?  Canada  —  In a misdirection of sorts, Ivanka Trump posted the following photo on Monday of her family at the White House: … This post led to much of the media including The Jerusalem Post to conclude, “This year …

GOP rep: ‘Bullcrap’ to say taxpayers pay my salary  —  Rep. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) faced off with constituents at a town hall this week, telling the audience that they don't pay his salary.  —  “You say you pay for me to do this?  That's bullcrap,” Mullin said at the town hall in Jay, Okla., according to a video of the incident.

Vulgar video causes Republicans to pull support from Assembly candidate in competitive district  —  The video clip is just 10 seconds long, but it was enough to cause Cape May County Republicans to pull support from the candidate they had endorsed for Assembly in what was supposed …

Trump's threat prompts Democrats to play hardball over Obamacare payments  —  Democrats signaled that they will seek to secure payments owed to health insurers under the Affordable Care Act as part of pending negotiations over a government spending bill Thursday — a new wrinkle in sensitive talks …

Within Trump's inner circle, a moderate voice captures the president's ear  —  As power struggles and ideological battles engulfed the White House, an unlikely player is exercising new influence on the direction of President Trump's administration.  —  Gary Cohn, a former Goldman Sachs president …

Trump Nominates Salesman To Run Military Draft  —  Don Benton has a long record of controversies, but no record of military service.  —  Late Monday night, when many Americans were in bed, President Donald Trump quietly announced his intention to nominate former Washington state senator Don Benton …

‘Survivor’ Contestant Opens Up About Being Outed as Transgender (Guest Column)  —  “I'm not wild about you knowing that I'm trans,” two-time show player Zeke Smith writes for THR about this week's episode. … I'm not wild about you knowing that I'm trans.

Trump 90 Days Ago: “My People Will Have a Full Report on Hacking Within 90 Days!”  —  Donald Trump, then president-elect, issued a series of tweets attacking the claims in former British MI6 officer Christopher Steele's “dossier” that the Russian government had long been “cultivating, supporting and assisting” Trump.

Trump Said No to Troops in Syria.  His Aides Aren't So Sure.  —  Listening to his campaign rhetoric, the last thing you would expect Donald Trump to do as president would be to escalate a ground war in the Middle East.  He won the Republican nomination last year by campaigning …

Teen accidentally kills himself as friends watch on Instagram Live … “I heard a big boom.  I couldn't tell if it was a gun shot or what.”  —  Shaniqua Stephens had just watched her 13-year-old son take out the trash Monday evening when she heard a noise.  —  “I just knew that it was something that was wrong,” she said.

Uber's Top Secret “Hell” Program Exploited Lyft's Vulnerability  —  As the ride-sharing market was exploding in the U.S. between 2014 and the early part 2016, Uber had an advantage over Lyft that helped Uber maintain its lead, The Information has learned.  Thanks to a secret software-based …