Scott running for Senate in epic showdown with Nelson  —  TALLAHASSEE — Florida Gov. Rick Scott made his long-awaited Senate candidacy official Monday, setting up an epic battle against incumbent Democrat Bill Nelson and testing the limits of whether a close alliance with President Donald Trump …

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak says he's left Facebook over data collection  —  SAN FRANCISCO — Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak told USA TODAY he's leaving Facebook out of growing concern for the carelessness with which Facebook and other Internet companies treat the private information of users.

Cynthia Nixon Wants to Legalize It  —  What would you say is harder: appearing in two concurrent Broadway shows when you were a full-time college student, or running for governor of New York State when most people know you only from “Sex and the City”?  I think that running for office …

In Letter to E.P.A., Top Ethics Officer Questions Pruitt's Actions  —  WASHINGTON — The federal government's top ethics official has taken the unusual step of sending a letter to the Environmental Protecting Agency questioning a series of actions by Administrator Scott Pruitt and asking the agency to take …

Israel blamed for missile strike in Syria; 14 reported dead  —  BEIRUT (AP) — Russia and the Syrian military blamed Israel for a pre-dawn missile attack Monday on a major air base in central Syria, saying Israeli fighter jets launched the missiles from Lebanon's air space.

Tammy Duckworth gives birth to girl: First senator to have baby while in office  —  WASHINGTON — Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., on Monday gave birth to a daughter, Maile Pearl Bowlsbey, becoming the first sitting senator to have a baby while in office.  —  Duckworth, who turned 50 on March 12 …

Trump family hotel business asked Panama president for help  —  PANAMA CITY (AP) — Lawyers representing U.S. President Donald Trump's family hotel business appealed to Panama's president for help days before an emergency arbitrator declined to reinstate the Trump management team to a luxury waterfront hotel.

White House has no plan for countering Comey  —  Former FBI Director James Comey is about to return to the national spotlight with the release of his memoir next week — but the White House is doing little to prepare for the onslaught, according to two officials.

To hell with it: Trump increasingly weary of staff advice  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — The speech was written.  A cast of relatable Americans with emotional stories was standing by to reinforce the message.  But President Donald Trump was in no mood to play along.

The Sam Harris debate  —  Ezra and Sam Harris debate race, IQ, identity politics, and much more.  —  There's a lot of backstory to this podcast, which is covered in more detail in this piece.  —  The short version is that Sam Harris, host of the Waking Up podcast, and I have been going back and forth …

The Silence: The Legacy of Childhood Trauma  —  “I never got any help, any kind of therapy.  I never told anyone.”  —  X—  Last week I returned to Amherst.  It's been years since I was there, the time we met.  I was hoping that you'd show up again; I even looked for you, but you didn't appear.

Russian Stocks Take Worst Hit Since Crimea on Sanctions, Syria  —  Ruble falls most globally; stocks drop most since 2014  —  Analysts warn other companies could be next for penalties  —  Russian stocks headed for their biggest drop in four years and the ruble slumped the most in the world …

Cardi B's Money Moves  —  The rapper responsible for last year's most unexpected hit emerged from a singular New York City story of strip clubs, gangs, and below-board basement butt injections.  Navigating new fame and a new record, Invasion of Privacy, Cardi B is fighting to stay true …

Facebook Launches New Initiative to Help Scholars Assess Social Media's Impact on Elections  —  By Elliot Schrage, Vice President of Communications and Public Policy, and David Ginsberg, Director of Research  —  Today, Facebook is announcing a new initiative to help provide independent …

Univision Forces Out Gizmodo CEO as Company Weighs Deep Cuts … Gizmodo Media Group's top executive is exiting the company—a sign that parent Univision plans to get more directly involved with its flagship digital media property as it weighs deep cuts.  —  The Daily Beast has learned …

Bots in the Twittersphere  —  The role of so-called social media “bots” - automated accounts capable of posting content or interacting with other users with no direct human involvement - has been the subject of much scrutiny and attention in recent years.  These accounts can play a valuable part …

'They Didn't Have To Kill Him': The Death of Lance Corporal Brian Easley  —  This article was published in collaboration with the editorial team at Longreads.  —  The thing that everyone remembered about the man in the light gray sweatshirt was how composed he was, how polite and respectful.

Kremlin aide: Russia's centuries-long romance with West over  —  MOSCOW (AP) — President Vladimir Putin's adviser says Russia has abandoned its centuries-long aspirations of integrating into the West and is bracing for a new era of “geopolitical loneliness.”

How the Assad Regime Tracked and Killed Marie Colvin for Reporting on War Crimes in Syria  —  It is a horrifying artifact of our digital era: a jumpy 18-minute-and-49-second cellphone video of a Skype call.  Glimpses of an Arabic-language keyboard and laptop screen can be seen as the audio plays through tinny speakers.

On the cusp of 112, a whirlwind tour for World War II's oldest veteran … Richard Overton, the grandson of a slave, worked in a furniture store and as a courier for decades until he finally retired when he was 85.  That was more than 25 years ago.  —  Now, Overton — the country's oldest …

Sarah Palin Would Run For Office Again ‘In A Heartbeat’  —  Former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, who ran with Sen. John McCain's (R-AZ) in 2008, said Sunday she would fun for office “again in a heartbeat.”  —  Palin was asked about her 2008 bid by Fox News host Mark Levin during his show …

MSNBC's Joy Reid: What If Trump Refuses To Be Arrested By Federal Marshals?  —  Sunday on her weekend morning program, MSNBC's Joy Reid seriously discussed a situation where President Trump refused a subpoena and would have to be arrested and put in jail until he testified before a grand jury.

Trump Has Lost the Confidence of Investors  —  Equities, bonds and the dollar are showing anything but trust in the president's stewardship.  —  President Donald Trump likes to equate the rally in stocks since the November 2016 elections with confidence in him and his policies.

Pardon offers?  Trump Russia interference violates Constitution and his oath  —  In the Russia probe, Trump already has violated constitutional limits on interference for self-interest.  Pardon offers would be another flagrant example.  —  Political interference in a law enforcement matter …

NY lets doctor practice despite history of using drugs, stealing blood in other state  —  SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Dr. Richard Wessel drank wine on a Friday night in 1999 before implanting a pacemaker in a patient at a North Carolina hospital.  —  When asked for a blood sample to determine his blood alcohol level …

Judge again denies bail for Manafort  —  A judge handling one of the criminal cases against Paul Manafort has again denied bail to the former Trump campaign chairman, but this time the court gave Manafort what could amount to a financial road map to securing his release.

Trump vs Putin?  Time to Be ‘Scared’  —  In an early morning tweet exactly one year and 77 days into his presidency, Donald Trump on Sunday finally criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin by name.  —  It took a chemical weapons attack in Syria by Putin's ally ("Animal Assad," …

Trump's top national security spokesman to leave White House  —  National Security Council spokesman Michael Anton said Sunday that he plans to leave the White House — a move that will leave President Donald Trump without one of the earliest and sharpest defenders of his “America First” foreign policy.

On the Shameful Abrogation of Kevin Williamson's Inalienable Right to Troll the Specific Audience of His Choice  —  You will be unsurprised to learn that Conor “Forget it College Sophomores, Trigger Warnings and Safe Spaces Are For Well-Compensated Pundits” Friedersdorf has a column arguing …

Interior Official Compared Parkland Students To Nazis, Promoted Conspiracies  —  A high-ranking official at the Interior Department's Bureau of Reclamation has repeatedly shared conspiracy theories on his personal Facebook page, a review by TPM found, including posts calling the students …