Flynn worries about son in special counsel probe  —  Washington (CNN)Former White House national security adviser Michael Flynn has expressed concern about the potential legal exposure of his son, Michael Flynn Jr., who, like his father, is under scrutiny by special counsel Robert Mueller …

GOP faces wrenching call: Running with or away from Trump  —  Sweeping losses in Tuesday's elections have exacerbated a growing rift inside the GOP over whether the party's candidates should embrace President Donald Trump in next year's midterms — or make a clean break.

Academic at heart of Clinton ‘dirt’ claim vanishes, leaving trail of questions  —  Poll: Americans concerned about Russia probe  —  (CNN)Joseph Mifsud, the Maltese academic suspected of being a link between the Trump campaign and Russian officials, was once a regular on the foreign policy circuit, attending conferences the world over.

GOP election drubbing scrambles tax reform outlook  —  Top Republicans in Congress had an urgent message to lawmakers after the party's drubbing in Tuesday's elections: Pass tax reform or we're toast in 2018.  —  “I think it simply means we've got to deliver,” Speaker Paul Ryan said Wednesday.

Rand Paul's neighbors rip media ‘landscaping dispute’ reports  —  The Bowling Green, Ky. neighbor who allegedly sucker attack Sen. Rand Paul last weekend, causing six broken ribs, was aggressively anti-Trump and anti-GOP in his social media, calling for the impeachment of the president …

Trump to Chinese leaders: I don't blame you for taking advantage of us  —  On Thursday morning (local time) in Beijing, President Trump repeated something he has told rallies across the U.S.: China is taking advantage of us, and I don't blame them for it.  —  Trump made remarks to that effect …

InfoWars Has Republished More Than 1,000 Articles From RT Without Permission  —  The conspiracy site also copied content from many other mainstream publications.  —  Over the past three years, conspiracy site InfoWars has copied more than 1,000 articles produced by Russian state-sponsored broadcaster RT …

HIV Charlie Sheen Raped 13-Year-Old Corey Haim — Shocking Claim  —  Dying child star named monster who assaulted him on ‘Lucas’ film set!  —  HIV-infected Charlie Sheen is finally being unmasked by The National ENQUIRER as a twisted child molester — the ruthless adult rapist …

US regulators demand CNN sale to approve AT&T-Time Warner deal … AT&T has been told by the US Department of Justice that it needs to sell CNN, Time Warner's cable news channel, to get its $84.5bn acquisition of the media company approved, according to three people with direct knowledge of the negotiations.

Gary Cohn: Trickle-down is good for the economy  — Gary Cohn says, “I don't believe that we've set out to create a tax cut for the wealthy.  If someone's getting a tax cut, I'm not upset that they're getting a tax cut.”  —  Gary Cohn, 57, was in some ways an unlikely choice for Donald Trump's White House.

‘Canary in the coal mine’: Republicans fear Democratic wins mean more losses to come  —  Virginia republican gubernatorial candidate Ed Gillespie pauses in his concession speech Tuesday night in Richmond, Va. (Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post)  —  A wave of Democratic victories ignited …

Could Alabama Be Next?  —  Jeronimo Nisa /The Decatur Daily via AP  —  Candidate Doug Jones chats with constituents before a Democratic Senate candidate forum at the Princess Theatre in Decatur, Alabama  —  The hill country of northern Alabama holds one of the keys to next month's special election …

Palm Springs City Council now entirely queer after election of transgender, bisexual women  —  The Palm Springs, Calif., City Council is entirely LGBT or queer after two new members were elected to the council Tuesday.  —  Lisa Middleton made history Tuesday as the first openly transgender candidate elected …

Twitter Verifies Charlottesville Rally Boss Jason Kessler, Who Called Slain Protester's Death ‘Payback Time’ … On Tuesday, Twitter gave its preferred status, a verified check mark, to Jason Kessler, the creator of the white supremacist Charlottesville rally in August that left one dead.

Heather Unruh says Kevin Spacey sexually assaulted her son  —  Fighting back tears, former Channel 5 anchor Heather Unruh told reporters on Wednesday that actor Kevin Spacey sexually assaulted her teenage son during an encounter last year at a Nantucket bar.

The New Washington Drama: Treasury Secretary Versus Treasury Secretary  —  WASHINGTON — It is an unwritten rule that if a former Treasury secretary has nothing nice to say about one of his successors he does not say anything at all.  But in the nation's capital these days, the rules of political comity are meant to be broken.

Is the National Anthem Racist?  —  There are several possible answers to this question:  —  1) Of course, because everything is racist.  —  2) It's anyone's guess.  The word “racist” has no meaning.  —  3) Don't be stupid.  —  “Yes” isn't really on the list.

After Night of Drinking, F.B.I. Supervisor Wakes to Find a Woman Stole His Gun  —  WASHINGTON — An F.B.I. counterterrorism supervisor is under internal investigation after a woman stole his gun following a night of heavy drinking in a North Carolina hotel, according to documents and government officials.

EXCLUSIVE: Hillary Clinton is in ‘secret negotiations’ with ex-British spy Christopher Steele to buy SECOND ‘dirty dossier’ on Trump's romantic englements with Russian women, claims Clinton author  — Ed Klein, author of four books on the Clintons, claims Hillary's minions are in secret talks …

OTL: Jerry Jones threatens to sue NFL if Roger Goodell's contract extension is approved  —  Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has threatened to sue the National Football League if a contract extension for commissioner Roger Goodell is approved by the league's compensation committee, sources told Outside the Lines.

The Promising Crisis in Saudi Arabia  —  Purging rivals is often a bad sign.  But in this case it may show an impatience to reform.  —  We've seen this before.  A rising leader arrests his political rivals on corruption charges to clear his path to power.  Usually this kind of thing doesn't work out well for U.S. interests.

Dead grasshopper discovered in Vincent van Gogh painting  —  A conservator came across the tiny insect submerged in paint while looking at Van Gogh's Olive Trees with a microscope  —  Art conservators dream of finding hidden secrets in the masterpieces they look after.  Rarely do they expect to find a dead grasshopper.

Governor LePage Issues Statement on Medicaid Expansion  —  Contact: Julie Rabinowitz, Press Secretary, 207-287-2531  —  AUGUSTA - Governor Paul R. LePage has issued a statement in response to Mainers approving a referendum that will cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars to give …

More layoffs planned at Carrier plant Trump promised to save  —  Carrier Corp., the HVAC manufacturer that had planned to move its operations to Mexico before President Trump staged a much-heralded intervention, said Tuesday it is gearing up for yet another round of layoffs.