White House preparing for McMaster exit as early as next month  —  WASHINGTON — The White House is preparing to replace H.R. McMaster as national security adviser as early as next month in a move orchestrated by chief of staff John Kelly and Defense Secretary James Mattis, according to five people familiar with the discussions.

Senate Intelligence Leaders Say House G.O.P. Leaked a Senator's Texts  —  WASHINGTON — The Senate Intelligence Committee has concluded that Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee were behind the leak of private text messages between the Senate panel's top Democrat and a Russian-connected lawyer …

Exclusive: FBI counterintel investigating Ivanka Trump business deal  —  (CNN)US counterintelligence officials are scrutinizing one of Ivanka Trump's international business deals, according to two sources familiar with the matter.  —  The FBI has been looking into the negotiations …

Mueller eyes charges against Russians who stole, spread Democrats' emails  —  WASHINGTON — Special Counsel Robert Mueller is assembling a case for criminal charges against Russians who carried out the hacking and leaking of private information designed to hurt Democrats in the 2016 election …

Justice Dept. Report Is Expected to Criticize Andrew McCabe Over Media Disclosures  —  WASHINGTON — A Justice Department review is expected to criticize the former F.B.I. deputy director, Andrew G. McCabe, for authorizing the disclosure of information about a continuing investigation to journalists …

Voters vow to elect a Congress that stands up to Trump, poll shows  —  WASHINGTON — Americans are mad, and that is putting Republicans at risk.  —  A new USA TODAY/Suffolk University Poll finds voters looking toward the midterm elections are overwhelmingly unhappy with the country's direction …

Exclusive: Secret Documents From Russia's Election Trolls Leak … The Kremlin-backed troll farm at the center of Russia's interference in the 2016 U.S. election has quietly suffered a catastrophic security breach, The Daily Beast has confirmed, in a leak that spilled new details of its operations onto obscure corners of the internet.

See HUD's $31,000 mahogany dining set  —  Washington (CNN)A $31,000 dining set the Department of Housing and Urban Development purchased, which raised eyebrows when first reported Tuesday, includes a table, sideboard, breakfront — all in mahogany — and 10 mahogany chairs with a blue velvet finish …

Georgia Republicans honor their threat to punish Delta for cutting ties with NRA … In a show of political strength, Georgia lawmakers on Thursday overwhelmingly approved a bill that was stripped of an earlier provision granting Delta Air Lines a lucrative tax break.

Longtime Fox News exec who wrote controversial Olympics column out at network  —  Fox News exec slams Olympic committee's focus on diversity  —  John Moody, the longtime Fox News executive who wrote a controversial column about the US Olympic committee last month, is no longer with Fox News …

‘March For Our Lives’ gun-control rally bumped from Mall by ‘talent show’ … A planned rally against mass shootings can't be held on the Mall later this month because it conflicts with what's described in a National Park Service permit application as a “talent show.”

Putin boasts military might with animation of Florida nuke strike  —  (CNN)Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday used a concept video of unlimited range nuclear warheads apparently raining down on Florida — President Donald Trump's home away from home — to tout his country's new firepower.

Depth Of Russian Politician's Cultivation Of NRA Ties Revealed  —  A prominent Kremlin-linked Russian politician has methodically cultivated ties with leaders of the National Rifle Association, and documented efforts in real time over six years to leverage those connections and gain access deeper into American politics, NPR has learned.

Trump Plans Tariffs on Steel and Aluminum and Markets Slump  —  WASHINGTON — President Trump said on Thursday that he will impose stiff tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum, thwarting some of his top pro-trade advisers and rattling stock markets as the prospect of a global trade fight loomed.

Mike Huckabee resigns from CMA Foundation board following controversy  —  Mike Huckabee and TBN president Matthew Crouch talk about the new show in Nashville  —  Less than one day after his appointment was announced, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee has resigned from the CMA Foundation board of directors …

U.S. Ambassador to Mexico to Quit Amid Tense Relations Under Trump  —  MEXICO CITY — The United States ambassador to Mexico plans to resign from her post in May, according to a memo circulated on Thursday to embassy staff, the latest in a string of senior diplomatic departures from the region …

Rick Gates tells judge he's canceling trip due to threat invoking Russian mafia  —  Ex-Trump campaign aide Rick Gates pleads guilty  —  Washington (CNN)Former Trump campaign deputy Rick Gates told a federal court Thursday afternoon that he and his wife believe it's “not prudent” …

The Strike Is On  —  “We're not going back to work until there's solid proof that our demands are going to be met,” a teacher unionist on strike in West Virginia tells Jacobin.  —  Paris Marx  —  Interview by  —  Schools are still closed today in West Virginia.

Questions linger about how Melania Trump, a Slovenian model, scored ‘the Einstein visa’  —  In 2000, Melania Knauss, a Slovenian model dating Donald Trump, began petitioning the government for the right to permanently reside in the United States under a program reserved for people with “extraordinary ability.”