Mueller gathers evidence that 2017 Seychelles meeting was effort to establish back channel to Kremlin … Special counsel Robert S. Mueller III has gathered evidence that a secret meeting in the Seychelles just before the inauguration of Donald Trump was an effort to establish a back channel between …

Hope Hicks told House Intelligence Committee she was hacked, sources say  —  WASHINGTON — A day before she resigned as White House communications director, Hope Hicks told the House Intelligence Committee last week that one of her email accounts was hacked, according to people who were present …

Trump lawyer Michael Cohen tries to silence adult-film star Stormy Daniels  —  President Donald Trump's lawyer is trying to silence adult-film star Stormy Daniels, obtaining a secret restraining order in a private arbitration proceeding and warning that she will face penalties if she publicly discusses …

Trump to offer temporary tariff exemption for Canada and Mexico … President Trump is planning to offer Canada and Mexico a temporary exemption from new tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, reversing his original insistence that the measures apply to U.S. allies as well as nations like China, administration officials said Wednesday.

Kushner Meets With Mexican President, Underscoring Shift in U.S. Diplomacy  —  MEXICO CITY — Jared Kushner, President Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser, met with Mexico's president on Wednesday, arriving just weeks after a planned meeting between the nations' leaders fell apart …

Several White House staffers terminated or reassigned for security clearance issues: Sources  —  Several White House staffers have been terminated or reassigned for issues related to their security clearances — with at least one individual employed in the Office of the First Lady relieved of duty …

Sinclair's new media-bashing promos rankle local anchors  —  “This is so manipulative.”  —  That's an anchor at a local TV station owned by Sinclair, describing the company's latest mandate, a promotional campaign that sounds like pro-Trump propaganda.  —  Internal documents call …

Poisoned Russian spy Sergei Skripal was close to consultant who was linked to the Trump dossier  —  A security consultant who has worked for the company that compiled the controversial dossier on Donald Trump was close to the Russian double agent poisoned last weekend, it has been claimed.

Two Miramar SWAT officers suspended for heading to Parkland massacre  —  Sun Sentinel  —  When a gunman started shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, two Miramar SWAT team members did what comes naturally: They went to help.  —  Now they've been suspended for it.

Tony Tooke, head of U.S. Forest Service, stepping down amid sexual misconduct allegations  —  The chief of the U.S. Forest Service is stepping down amid allegations of sexual misconduct and an investigation commissioned by the United States Department of Agriculture into his own behavior.

Huffman High School shooting: Courtlin Arrington killed; Birmingham police question injured teen  —  A Huffman High School senior was killed and another injured when gunfire erupted inside a classroom at the east Birmingham school Wednesday afternoon.  —  Killed was a 17-year-old girl …

We're All Fascists Now  —  Christina Hoff Sommers is a self-identified feminist and registered Democrat with a Ph.D. in philosophy and a wicked sense of humor.  She is also a woman who says bad things.  Things like: Men and women are equal, but there are differences between them.

Trump blocks access to puppy mill inspections as Florida weighs dog store legislation  —  Legislation would null local dog sale ordinances as transparency into puppy mills disappears  —  TAMPA — In May of last year, the Tampa Bay Times asked the U.S. Department of Agriculture to provide …

Republicans trash their candidate in Pa. special election  —  Shortly after the new year, Rep. Steve Stivers, the House GOP campaign chief, delivered a stern message to Rick Saccone, the party's special election candidate in Pennsylvania.  —  You need to start pulling your weight …

Blue wave?  Texas Republicans outvoted Democrats in the 2018 primaries — again.  —  Vote counts Tuesday night once again showed how Texas is a red state.  Despite an apparent early rush to the polls for Democrats, Republicans ended up casting more ballots in the 2018 primaries.

Miss Universe in Moscow: How Trump's beauty contest spawned a business deal with Russians and a bond with Putin  —  This is the first of two excerpts adapted from  —  Russian Roulette: The Inside Story of Putin's War on America and the Election of Donald Trump (Twelve Books), by Michael Isikoff …

O'Rourke: Texans Wonder Who Cruz Really Represents Because He Takes NRA Money  —  Democratic Rep. Beto O'Rourke on Wednesday brushed aside the notion that his F rating from the National Rifle Association could hurt his bid for the Senate this year, saying on CNN that Texans wonder who Sen. Ted Cruz …

Women We Overlooked in 167 Years of New York Times Obituaries  —  The poet Sylvia Plath and the novelist Charlotte Brontë.  Ida B. Wells, the anti-lynching activist.  These extraordinary women — and so many others — did not have obituaries in The New York Times.  Until now.

Trump to reportedly dine with key figures in America First Policies, a secretive pro-Trump nonprofit group  — President Donald Trump will reportedly attend a dinner party Wednesday night with officials from the pro-Trump nonprofit America First Policies.  — Guests at the dinner …

Outrage Over Footage of Police Officer Beating a Black Man in North Carolina  —  Body camera video showing a black man being Tasered and beaten during a confrontation with two white police officers who accused him of jaywalking has sent shock waves through the western North Carolina city of Asheville …

Farrakhan and the Left  —  A cozier relationship than you would think.  —  “The powerful Jews are my enemy,” remarked Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan at his organization's annual “Saviours' Day” celebration in Chicago on Sunday.  That was just one of several choice anti-semitic tropes.

Why Won't Women's March Leaders Denounce Louis Farrakhan's Anti-Semitism?  —  Two weeks ago, during a Saviours' Day event to commemorate the life of Nation of Islam founder Master Fard Muhammad, Louis Farrakhan had some things to say about Jews.  The “powerful Jews,” he told …