‘Utterly horrifying’: ex-Facebook insider says covert data harvesting was routine  —  Sandy Parakilas says numerous companies deployed these techniques - likely affecting hundreds of millions of users - and that Facebook looked the other way … Hundreds of millions of Facebook users …

Ex-Playboy Model Sues to Break Silence on Trump  —  A former Playboy model who claimed she had an affair with Donald J. Trump sued on Tuesday to be released from a 2016 legal agreement requiring her silence, becoming the second woman this month to challenge Trump allies' efforts during …

Trump legal team seeks to add star GOP attorney Theodore B. Olson … President Trump's legal team has reached out to Theodore B. Olson, one of the country's most high-profile and seasoned litigators, to join forces amid mounting challenges in the probe of Russian interference in the 2016 election …

2 Students, Gunman Injured in Shooting at St. Mary's Co. High School  —  “This is the realization of your worst nightmare — that, in a school, that our children could be attacked,” Sheriff Tim Cameron said  —  A student pulled a gun out and shot two other students at a high school …

Christine Quinn bashes ‘unqualified lesbian’ Cynthia Nixon  —  Former City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, an openly-gay supporter of Gov. Cuomo, called Cynthia Nixon an “unqualified lesbian” a day after the actress announced she's going to challenge the governor in a primary.

GOP fears another potential electoral disaster  —  National Republicans — on the heels of the Roy Moore and Rick Saccone debacles — worry they're staring down their latest potential midterm election fiasco: coal baron and recent federal prisoner Don Blankenship.

Ben Carson Defends Purchase of $31,000 Dining Set at Congressional Hearing  —  WASHINGTON — Ben Carson, the secretary of housing and urban development, told a House committee on Tuesday he failed to adhere to a $5,000 federal spending cap for the purchase of a $31,000 lavish mahogany dining room set …

Package believed to be bound for Austin explodes at Texas FedEx facility, police say … A package believed to be bound for Austin exploded at a Texas FedEx facility early Tuesday, law enforcement officials said, opening another potential front in investigations into of a series of blasts …

The Right Is Worse Than the Left on Free Speech.  So What?  —  Mari Uyehara has a column arguing that too many columns have been written about free speech on campus.  Uyehara does not endorse the kinds of repressive actions that these columns decry (no-platforming is “a terrible technique …

A family affair: Susan Pompeo's active role raising debate within the CIA  —  Washington (CNN)Susan Pompeo, wife of Central Intelligence Agency chief Mike Pompeo, has taken on an unusually active role for a CIA spouse in agency affairs since he started the job in January 2017 …

Trump wants to meet Putin in “not too distant future”  —  In an Oval Office meeting with Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman Tuesday, President Trump said he wants to meet Vladimir Putin in the “not too distant future” to discuss the “arms race” and North Korea, reports the AP.

Insiders See Democratic House Gains of 30-45 seats  —  Seven and a half months before the midterm elections, the combination of attitudinal and behavioral evidence leads to a single conclusion: The Democrats are very likely to win control of the House in November.

One Morning in Baghdad  —  One morning in October 2003, I was shaken out of bed by an explosion.  I was in Baghdad, leading a platoon of Army Rangers as part of a special operations task force that was hunting down the famous “deck of cards”—the last of the Ba'ath Regime loyalists, and Saddam himself.

Former ‘Apprentice’ contestant can sue Trump for defamation  —  President Trump must face a defamation suit filed by former “Apprentice” contestant Summer Zervos — as a Manhattan Supreme Court judge denied him immunity through his job as the nation's commander-in-chief.

STATEMENT BY SASC CHAIRMAN JOHN McCAIN ON PRESIDENT TRUMP CONGRATULATING VLADIMIR PUTIN  —  Washington, D.C. ­- U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ), Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, released the following statement today on President Trump congratulating Vladimir Putin on his “election” victory:

Ex-French president Sarkozy held on Gadhafi claims  —  PARIS (AP) — In the latest judicial setback for the former French president, Nicolas Sarkozy was placed in custody on Tuesday as part of an investigation that he received millions of euros in illegal campaign financing from the regime of the late Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.

Lobbyist says he was nearly killed by man he hired to investigate Seth Rich's death … As conspiracy theories swirled around the murder of Democratic National Committee staffer Seth Rich, lobbyist Jack Burkman took the unusual step of launching his own private investigation.

Africa is on the verge of forming the largest free trade area since the World Trade Organization  — African leaders are poised to sign a deal that would unite the 55 member countries of the African Union in tariff-free trade across the continent.  — According to the African Union …