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 …

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 …

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 …

Exclusive polls: Big warning signs for Senate Democrats  —  Five Senate Democrats would lose to a Republican candidate if the election were held today and three have approval ratings under 50%, according to new Axios/SurveyMonkey polls.  —  Keep reading  —  352 WORDS

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 …

Russian Trolls Tried to Torpedo Mitt Romney's Shot at Secretary of State  —  Online campaign targeted the ex-GOP nominee as Donald Trump considered him in late 2016  —  Weeks after Donald Trump was elected president, Russia-backed online “trolls” flooded social media to try to block Mitt Romney …

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 …

A team asked Derrius Guice if he likes men  —  The calendar says 2018.  Some NFL locker rooms remain trapped in 1960.  —  Running back Derrius Guice said in a Wednesday night appearance on SiriusXM NFL Radio that a team asked him at the Scouting Combine if he likes men.

Tiff over tariffs: Gary Cohn gets a hero's sendoff from the media  —  The mainstream media are heartsick over the departure of Gary Cohn.  —  As the president's chief economic adviser heads for the exits, the framing of most stories—not to mention the continuation of the “chaos” narrative …

House 2018: 26 Ratings Changes, All in Favor of Democrats  —  PA-18 special now a Toss-up; Democratic incumbents in strong position; and what about Paul Ryan?  —  KEY POINTS FROM THIS ARTICLE  — With less than a week to go, the PA-18 special election moves from Leans Republican to Toss-up.

Now we know why defense attorneys quit the USS Cole case.  They found a microphone.  —  Lawyers for the alleged USS Cole bombing mastermind quit the capital case after discovering a microphone in their special client meeting room and were denied the opportunity to either talk about or investigate it, the Miami Herald has learned.

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.

Why a white town paid for a class called ‘Hispanics 101’ … BRANSON, Mo. — In a ballroom with antlers on the wall and hoof prints on the carpet, diversity coach Miguel Joey Aviles asked whether anyone knew how to merengue.  —  “Lord have mercy,” he said, counting hands.  “Only two?”

Trump Tweet on China Trade Understates U.S. Demand — by $99 Billion  —  President asked Beijing to cut U.S. trade deficit with China by $1 billion—less than 0.3% of the countries' annual trade gap  —  BEIJING—President Donald Trump tweeted Wednesday that Washington had asked Beijing …

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.

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 …

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 …

Eleven nations - but not U.S. - to sign Trans-Pacific trade deal  —  SANTIAGO (Reuters) - Eleven countries are expected to sign a landmark Asia-Pacific trade agreement in Santiago on Thursday as an antidote to the increasingly protectionist bent of the United States, which pulled out of the pact last year.

Democrats Sing the Texas Blues  —  This week's primaries shattered the dream of turning the Lone Star State purple.  —  Tuesday's Texas primaries were supposed to show “rising Democratic enthusiasm,” in the words of National Public Radio's Jessica Taylor, following reports that more Democrats …

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 …

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 …

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.

‘The Big Lebowski’ is 20.  We reached out to the critics who panned it to see what they think now. … It's too easy to spill ink waxing about the ways in which Coen brothers' “The Big Lebowski” has embedded itself in our culture.  —  The film, which was released 20 years ago this week …