Issa retiring from Congress  —  (R-Calif.) will not seek reelection this year, he announced on Wednesday, increasing Democrats' chances of flipping his swing district in their favor.  —  Issa barely won reelection in 2016 by just over half a percentage point in a San Diego-area district …

55 minutes at the table: Trump tries to negotiate and prove stability  —  He acted the part, listening intently and guiding the conversation with the control of a firm but open-minded executive.  He spoke the part, offering a mix of jesting bon mots and high-minded appeals for bipartisanship.

Oprah vs. The Donald, and The Winner Is...  TV personality Oprah Winfrey is the likely winner over President Trump if the 2020 election were held today, but there are a lot of undecideds.  —  The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 48% of Likely U.S. Voters …

GOP negotiators say Trump aide Stephen Miller is standing in the way of an immigration deal  —  WASHINGTON  —  Here's one thing even Republicans negotiating an immigration deal agree on: Trump aide Stephen Miller is hurting their chances of getting anything done.

Exclusive: Wahlberg got $1.5M for ‘All the Money’ reshoot, Williams paid less than $1,000  —  Mark Wahlberg was paid $1.5 million for reshooting his scenes in All the Money in the World, three people familiar with the situation but not authorized to speak publicly about it tell USA TODAY …

U.S. Senator Ben Cardin Releases Report Detailing Two Decades of Putin's Attacks on Democracy, Calling for Policy Changes to Counter Kremlin Threat Ahead of 2018, 2020 Elections  —  U.S. Remains Vulnerable to Russian Interference without Unequivocal Presidential Leadership, Learning Lessons from European Democracies

WBUR Poll: Baker's Popularity Continues To Soar, While Trump's Continues To Slump 04:58  —  Play  —  Gov. Charlie Baker continues to enjoy the kind of approval ratings that most politicians can only dream of.  —  That's according to a new WBUR poll (topline results, crosstabs) …

Tonya Harding Would Like Her Apology Now  —  In the movie, “I, Tonya,” the disgraced figure skater looks back on the 1994 Nancy Kerrigan scandal and her struggles to tell her side of the story.  —  BATTLE GROUND, Wash. — Tonya Harding's name isn't Tonya Harding anymore.

POLL: Joe Arpaio in dead heat with Martha McSally in GOP race for U.S. Senate seat in Arizona  —  abc15.com staff, wire reports  —  PHOENIX - A Tuesday poll from ABC15/OHPI shows Joe Arpaio skyrocketing to the top of the Republican Primary for U.S. Senate in Arizona.

I'm Proud We Published the Trump-Russia Dossier  —  Exactly one year ago BuzzFeed published what's now known simply as “the dossier”: a set of reports put together by a former British intelligence officer named Christopher Steele during the 2016 presidential campaign.

South Korea's Moon says Trump deserves ‘big’ credit for North Korea talks  —  SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korean President Moon Jae-in credited U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday for helping to spark the first inter-Korean talks in more than two years, and warned that Pyongyang would face stronger sanctions if provocations continued.

Trump Administration Waives Punishment For Convicted Banks, Including Deutsche — Which Trump Owes Millions  —  The Trump administration has waived part of the punishment for five megabanks whose affiliates were convicted and fined for manipulating global interest rates.

Trump Administration Says New Drilling Won't Be Allowed Off Florida Coast  —  Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke says he made decision after meeting with Republican Gov. Rick Scott  —  WASHINGTON—The Trump administration told Florida's governor it won't consider new oil and gas drilling off the state's coast …

North Carolina Congressional Map Ruled Unconstitutionally Gerrymandered  —  A panel of federal judges struck down North Carolina's congressional map on Tuesday, declaring it unconstitutionally gerrymandered and demanding that the Republican-controlled General Assembly redraw district lines before this year's midterm elections.

Serena Williams on Motherhood, Marriage, and Making Her Comeback  —  On a moist South Florida morning at the end of a relentless hurricane season, their wedding only a week away, Serena Williams and Alexis Ohanian are seated side by side at their long kitchen table discussing the Marshmallow Test.

Trump's inner circle escapes televised grillings on Russia  —  Among the most memorable quotes from a new tell-all book about the Trump White House is Steve Bannon's prediction that President Donald Trump's oldest son would be hauled before Congress and grilled on live television about his contacts with Russians.

Michael Douglas Gets Out Front Of Potential Harassment Story To Preemptively Deny Sordid Accusation  —  Groundbreaking journalism that exposed decades old accusations of sexual harassment and sexual assault beginning with Harvey Weinstein has ended the careers of a growing list of powerful Hollywood men.

Are Democrats' Senate Chances In 2018 Overrated?  —  After Democrat Doug Jones won a stunning victory in Alabama's special election for the U.S. Senate last month, lots of smart people whose work I read and follow, such as The New York Times's Nate Cohn, declared that the battle for Senate control in 2018 was a “toss-up.”

J.D. Vance Is Now Seriously Considering Running For Senate In Ohio  —  J.D. Vance is now seriously considering a US Senate campaign in Ohio and discussing the prospect with Republicans in Washington, following overtures from party donors and leaders who believe he would be their best candidate.

Scoop: Jared's policy push on prison reform  —  President Trump tomorrow will hold a listening session on prison reform, after six months of quiet exploration of the issue by senior adviser Jared Kushner (who turns 37 today).  —  Why it matters: The White House sees this as a conservative issue …

Kansas City lawyer explores independent bid for U.S. Senate  —  A Kansas City lawyer could shake up one of the most competitive Senate races in the country as he seriously considers running as a centrist independent against U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill and her eventual Republican challenger.