How the Russia Inquiry Began: A Campaign Aide, Drinks and Talk of Political Dirt  —  WASHINGTON — During a night of heavy drinking at an upscale London bar in May 2016, George Papadopoulos, a young foreign policy adviser to the Trump campaign, made a startling revelation to Australia's top diplomat …

Man arrested in ‘Call of Duty’ ‘swatting’ hoax that led to fatal police shooting  —  A 25-year-old California man was arrested in connection to an online quarrel between two “Call of Duty” gamers that prompted a hoax call and led to a man being killed by police in Kansas.

VP Mike Pence gets message from Aspen neighbors: Make America Gay Again  —  For Vice President Mike Pence, the message was unmistakable and the banner that carried it unmissable.  —  “Make America Gay Again,” the rainbow banner reads.  —  Neighbors of the home near Aspen where Pence and his wife …

Trump Justice Department Pushes for Citizenship Question on Census, Alarming Experts  —  “This is a recipe for sabotaging the census,” said one.  The administration's stated reason for the controversial move: protecting civil rights.  —  The Justice Department is pushing for a question …

Donald Trump Is a Consequential President.  Just Not in the Ways You Think.  —  On January 20, 2017, as President Donald Trump began his inaugural address, a cold rain began to fall.  —  A few hours later, Trump claimed the rain had not begun to fall.  —  “The crowd was unbelievable today …

Soldier home for holidays died saving lives in Bronx inferno  —  An Army solider died in the Bronx inferno Thursday night — while heroically rushing in and out of the apartment building to save several other lives, his grieving dad told The Post.  —  “That's his nature,” said Kwabena Mensah …

A second revolution in Iran?  Not yet.  —  Maziar Bahari is a former political prisoner and the editor of iranwire.com.  —  On Thursday, Dec. 28, a group of people gathered in the city of Mashhad and demonstrated against the Iranian government's economic policies.

Republican Attacks on Mueller and F.B.I. Open New Rift in G.O.P.  —  WASHINGTON — A growing campaign by President Trump's most ardent supporters to discredit the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, and the law enforcement agencies assisting his investigation is opening new fissures …

Facebook Says it is Deleting Accounts at the Direction of the U.S. and Israeli Governments  —  In September of last year, we noted that Facebook representatives were meeting with the Israeli Government to determine which Facebook accounts of Palestinians should be deleted on the ground that they constitute “incitement.”

Roseanne Barr threatens to retire in huff over Twitter feuding with liberals  —  Roseanne Barr, who is scheduled to return to TV in late March, announced on Twitter Friday that she's fed up and retiring.  Maybe.  —  " i won't be censored or silence chided or corrected and continue to work.

Gov. Brownback, it's time to resign and let Kansas move on  —  By The Kansas City Star Editorial Board  —  Governor Brownback, it's time to walk away.  —  As a convert to Catholicism — someone who wasn't just born into the faith, but chose it — maybe think of it this way …

Trump is right about the FBI  —  Trump lashes out at top leaders of his own FBI  —  Paul Callan is a CNN legal analyst, a former New York homicide prosecutor and current counsel at the New York law firm of Edelman & Edelman PC, focusing on wrongful conviction and civil rights cases.

Schenectady men charged in Troy killings  —  Blood-covered knife was found at scene  —  TROY — Two Schenectady men were arraigned on several murder charges Saturday morning following the brutal slayings of two women and two children.  —  Justin C. Mann and James W. White are each charged …

Trump Stretches Meaning of Deregulation in Touting Achievements  —  Claims credit for some regulatory actions begun under Obama  —  Deregulatory list ranges from bird feathers to grizzlies  —  One is a federal rule, initiated by former President Barack Obama, that removed Yellowstone's grizzlies from the list of endangered species.

How the ‘feminist’ left let women down in 2017  —  Merriam-Webster has named “feminism” its word of the year.  The popular dictionary defines feminism as “the theory of the political, economic and social equality of the sexes” and the “organized activity on behalf of women's rights and interests.”

Week 32: Trump Binges on Collusion Talk to Ring Out Year  —  In what otherwise would have to be counted as a sleepy week in the annals of the Trump Tower scandal, President Donald Trump gave the press a much-needed news peg by granting New York Times reporter Michael S. Schmidt a 30-minute interview …

Trump travels to golf club for fifth straight day  —  visited his private Florida golf course for the fifth straight day on Saturday, according to a White House pool report.  —  Trump, who is staying at his Mar-a-Lago resort for the holidays, traveled to Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Fla., on Saturday morning.

Democrats think 2018 will be a good year, but are they realistic about their own problems?  —  Thanks mostly to President Trump, Democrats believe they are poised for good things in 2018: the possibility of taking control of the House and gains elsewhere in the midterm elections.