'I don't want to sit on your lap,' she thought.  But, she alleges, Mark Halperin insisted.  —  Dianna Goldberg was a young researcher at ABC News in 1994 when she asked a colleague, Mark Halperin, for some information about a story.  He readily agreed to help her and asked her to come to his office.

Release of JFK Assassination File Is Delayed as Deadline Looms  —  The U.S. government was in danger Thursday of missing the deadline to release a trove of previously classified records from the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, adding an unexpected twist to a saga already rife with rumors and conspiracies.

The Very Busy, Very Unproductive Life of Leon Wieseltier  —  New Republic literary editor Leon Wieseltier is the egghead boy toy of such glamorous powers as Barbra Streisand, Shirley MacLaine, and Tipper Gore.  But has he abandoned the life of the mind to be the life of the party?

Car drives into immigration protesters outside Rep. Ed Royce's office  —  A vehicle drove into a group of protesters outside of GOP Rep. Ed Royce's office in Brea on Thursday afternoon, but no injuries have been reported to police so far.  —  A vehicle drove into a group of protesters outside …

George H.W. Bush Groped Me, Too  —  It was during an April 2014 photo op, and later I was asked to “be discreet.”  —  In April of 2014, I was invited to Houston as a guest author for the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy fundraiser, along with two well-known male authors …

GOP winds down Russia probes with Trump collusion unanswered  —  Republican lawmakers say they're approaching the end of their investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election even though the most politically explosive issue — whether associates of President Donald Trump colluded …

State Department Scraps Sanctions Office  —  The Trump administration is three weeks late on Russia sanctions.  But it's killed the office that coordinates them.  —  The State Department shuttered an office that oversees sanctions policy, even as the Donald Trump administration faces criticism …

The Coming Russia Bombshells  —  A judge may order Fusion GPS to give House investigators its bank records.  —  The confirmation this week that Hillary Clinton's campaign and the Democratic National Committee paid an opposition-research firm for a “dossier” on Donald Trump is bombshell news.

12 hours v. 20 minutes: Fox's uneven sex harassment coverage  —  https://apnews.com/5d83428f09ea495d9b14 a8bd887f7645  —  Link copied!  —  NEW YORK (AP) — Bill O'Reilly and Harvey Weinstein are the celebrity faces of sexual harassment in 2017.  But on Fox News Channel, O'Reilly's former home …

Gillespie's ads are poisonous to Virginia and the nation  —  (Pete Marovich/For The Washington Post)  —  SINCE 2001, when he was convicted of a sex offense and served a brief prison term, and early this year, when he was convicted on child-pornography charges, Virginia resident John Bowen …

APNewsBreak: Georgia election server wiped after suit filed  —  https://apnews.com/877ee1015f1c43f1965f 63538b035d3f  —  Link copied!  —  A computer server crucial to a lawsuit against Georgia election officials was quietly wiped clean by its custodians just after the suit was filed, The Associated Press has learned.

IRS Apologizes for Targeting Conservative Groups  —  White House names new IRS commissioner as well.  —  Two big items happened today concerning the IRS.  No, the agency still exists and we have to pay taxes.  However, the agency has apologized for targeting conservative groups due …

Amazon gains wholesale pharmacy licenses in multiple states  —  Throughout the past year, and without much fanfare, Amazon.com Inc. has gained approval to become a wholesale distributor from a number of state pharmaceutical boards, according to a review of public records.

How Team Hillary played the press for fools on Russia  —  MORE FROM: … Hillary Clinton's campaign didn't just pay for the Kremlin-aided smear job on Donald Trump before the election; she continued to use the dirt after the election to frame her humiliating loss as a Russian conspiracy to steal the election.

How Congress plays by different rules on sexual harassment and misconduct  —  Briony Whitehouse was a 19-year-old intern in 2003 when she boarded an elevator in the Russell Senate Office Building with a Republican senator, who she said groped her until the doors reopened.

The (Ir)relevance of the Trump “Dossier”  —  Much has been made this week of reports that the Clinton campaign paid for the so-called “dossier” about Trump that was compiled by a former British intelligence agent.  One important point is sometimes lost in the discussion.

Incoming Florida Senate Democratic leader apologizes for affair with lobbyist  —  TALLAHASSEE — The incoming leader of Florida's Senate Democrats apologized Thursday for having an affair with a lobbyist during the last legislative session.  —  “I used poor judgment and hurt people that I care about …

Words, Not Action, From Mr. Trump on Opioids  —  President Trump's brother died an alcoholic, so it's hard to dispute that Mr. Trump understands the horrors of addiction.  —  But in what was billed as a major speech on Thursday, Mr. Trump demonstrated that he has not grasped what's needed …

U.S. Soldiers Were Separated From Unit in Niger Ambush, Officials Say  —  WASHINGTON — In the chaotic moments after an Army Special Forces team and 30 Nigerien troops were ambushed by militants in a remote corner of West Africa three weeks ago, four of the Americans were separated from the larger group.

The Attempted Remaking of Michael Grimm  —  Steve Bannon looked at a convicted felon — and saw a populist.  —  It was Friday, which meant it was Michael Grimm's cheat day.  —  The muscle mass he carried during his time as a Marine, an undercover FBI agent, and even as a congressman has …