As North Korea Speeds Its Nuclear Program, U.S. Fears Time Will Run Out  —  WASHINGTON — Behind the Trump administration's sudden urgency in dealing with the North Korean nuclear crisis lies a stark calculus: a growing body of expert studies and classified intelligence reports that conclude …

Trump Willing to Hold Off on Border-Wall Funding  —  President's flexibility on wall funding could ease bipartisan deal on spending bill to avoid a government shutdown later this week  —  WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump is open to waiting until later this year to secure funding …

Ivanka Trump gets booed, hissed at during Berlin event  —  BERLIN — Ivanka Trump arrived in Berlin Tuesday morning armed with facts and figures to recite at what was expected to be a high-brow international summit to discuss women entrepreneurship, alongside German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: Trump's tax plan — JUST WONDERING: What is the W.H. gov't shutdown strategy?  — POLITICO names new CEO — ANNIE KARNI on Ivanka in Berlin — LUMBER WARS — B'DAY: AshLee Strong  —  Listen to the Playbook Audio Briefing http://bit.ly/2orock8 ... Subscribe on iTunes http …

How an Alternative Donald Trump Opening Act Might Have Unfolded  —  The president could have taken advantage of the fact he isn't an ideological conservative or traditional Republican, but a centrist  —  Let's imagine an alternative opening act to the Trump presidency.

Christie gives Trump a ‘B,’ says WH staff need to ‘get their act together’  —  Warren gives Trump an ‘F’ on first 100 days  —  Washington (CNN)With a few days left of his first 100 days in office, President Donald Trump's friend Gov. Chris Christie graded his performance so far as a “B.”

Trump Slaps Duty on Canada Lumber, Intensifying Trade Fight  —  Step will raise cost of home-building, mattress box springs  —  Canada vows to fight back against 'unfair" import duties  —  U.S. President Donald Trump intensified a trade dispute with Canada, slapping tariffs of up to 24 percent …

Chobani sues Alex Jones, saying he falsely linked company to child rape, tuberculosis  —  Chobani, the maker of Greek yogurt, is suing right-wing provocateur Alex Jones, claiming he published articles and videos that falsely linked the company to child rape and a tuberculosis outbreak near its plant in Twin Falls, Idaho.

BART takeover robbery: 40 to 60 teens swarm train, rob weekend riders  —  A recent string of robberies on BART trains took a frightening turn when dozens of juveniles swarmed an Oakland station over the weekend and commandeered a train car, forcing passengers to hand over bags and cell phones …

The Media Bubble Is Worse Than You Think  —  How did big media miss the Donald Trump swell?  News organizations old and new, large and small, print and online, broadcast and cable assigned phalanxes of reporters armed with the most sophisticated polling data and analysis to cover the presidential campaign.

Macron Campaign Wards Off Hacking Attempts Linked to Russia  —  Presidential candidate's campaign suffers multipronged phishing attack beginning in mid-March  —  PARIS—Hackers matching the profile of a pro-Kremlin group have tried in recent weeks to access campaign email accounts …

Only 37 percent say Trump should repeal and replace Obamacare: Poll  —  As President Donald Trump and the Republicans in Congress gear up for another attempt at repealing and replacing Obamacare, an ABC News/Washington Post poll finds broad public preference for keeping and improving it …

Wikipedia founder to fight fake news with new Wikitribune site  —  Crowdfunded online publication from Jimmy Wales will pair paid journalists with army of volunteer contributors … Jimmy Wales, the co-founder of Wikipedia, is launching a new online publication which will aim to fight fake news …

Prosecutors: Inmate's water cut off for 7 days before his death in the Milwaukee County Jail  —  An inquest has been ordered following the April 2016 dehydration death of Milwaukee County Jail inmate Terrill Thomas.  Here's how an inquest works, and how the only other Milwaukee County inquest in the past decade ended.

Flynn's Turkish lobbying linked to Russia  —  The Turkish man who gave Mike Flynn a $600,000 lobbying deal just before President Donald Trump picked him to be national security adviser has business ties to Russia, including a 2009 aviation financing deal negotiated with Vladimir Putin, according to court records.

The Effects of Ending the Affordable Care Act's Cost-Sharing Reduction Payments  —  Controversy has emerged recently over federal payments to insurers under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) related to cost-sharing reductions for low-income enrollees in the ACA's marketplaces.

Infighting cools down in Trumpland  —  President Trump's White House is making an effort to heal the wounds from the infighting and leaks that have dogged the administration over its first 100 days.  —  Trump appears to have brokered at least a temporary peace between son-in-law Jared Kushner …

LESBIAN METHODIST BISHOP FACES CHALLENGE TO HER ELECTION  —  NEW YORK (AP) — Karen Oliveto clutched a friend's hand, closed her eyes and wept when she learned last year she had been elected a bishop of the United Methodist Church.  Oliveto, who is married to another woman, had become the denomination's first openly gay bishop.

Republicans in Congress push for religious liberty executive order  —  WASHINGTON — Dozens of Republican lawmakers are asking President Trump to scale back Obama-era protections for gays and lesbians in order to make good on a campaign promise to protect religious liberty.

Robert Pirsig dies at 88; wrote counterculture classic ‘Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance’  —  Robert Pirsig in 1991 at the Charles Hotel in Cambridge, Mass. (Gary Guisinger / For The Times)  —  In the nearly five years it took Robert Pirsig to sell “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance …

Can Facebook Fix Its Own Worst Bug?  —  Mark Zuckerberg now acknowledges the dangerous side of the social revolution he helped to start.  But is the most powerful tool for connection in human history capable of adapting to the world it created?  —  In early January, I went to see Mark Zuckerberg at MPK20 …