$30,000 rumor?  Tabloid paid for, spiked, salacious Trump tip  —  NEW YORK (AP) — Eight months before the company that owns the National Enquirer paid $150,000 to a former Playboy Playmate who claimed she'd had an affair with Donald Trump, the tabloid's parent made a $30,000 payment …

Exclusive: Inside the GOP plan to discredit Comey  —  Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump's allies are preparing an extensive campaign to fight back against James Comey's publicity tour, trying to undermine the credibility of the former FBI director by reviving the blistering Democratic criticism …

Bannon pitches White House on plan to cripple Mueller probe and protect Trump … Stephen K. Bannon, who was ousted as White House chief strategist last summer but has remained in touch with some members of President Trump's circle, is pitching a plan to West Wing aides and congressional allies …

Woman: Sexual encounter with Greitens was not consensual.  Lawmakers find her credible  —  When she tried to leave, sobbing after a non-consensual sexual encounter, she says the man who would be governor physically stopped her.  —  What happened next, she testified under oath …

Scott Pruitt's Idea to Update an E.P.A. Keepsake: Less E.P.A., More Pruitt  —  When Scott Pruitt wanted to refashion the Environmental Protection Agency's “challenge coin” — a type of souvenir medallion with military origins that has become a status symbol among civilians …

DON BACKS DOWN Donald Trump back-pedals on Syria saying he ‘never said WHEN an attack would take place’  —  The US President backed away from his claim that Assad's major ally Russia should ‘get ready’ for American ‘smart missiles’  —  DONALD Trump has performed an extraordinary climb …

Raid on Trump's Lawyer Sought Records on ‘Access Hollywood’ Tape  —  The F.B.I. agents who raided the office and hotel of President Trump's lawyer, Michael D. Cohen, were seeking details on his relationship with the Trump campaign and his efforts to suppress negative information about Mr. Trump …

Pompeo failed to disclose Chinese business connection  —  WASHINGTON  —  CIA Director Mike Pompeo failed to disclose last year that he owned a Kansas business that imported oilfield equipment from a company owned by the Chinese government.  —  That omission, on the questionnaire Pompeo …

Firing Rosenstein would cross a red line for the rule of law  —  Source: Trump considering firing Rosenstein  —  Fred Wertheimer is the founder and president of Democracy 21, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that seeks to promote government accountability and integrity.

I Downloaded the Information That Facebook Has on Me.  Yikes.  —  When I downloaded a copy of my Facebook data last week, I didn't expect to see much.  My profile is sparse, I rarely post anything on the site, and I seldom click on ads.  (I'm what some call a Facebook “lurker.")

Women are lining up to date Rudy Giuliani  —  The about-to-be-consciously uncoupled Rudy Giuliani is coming off to Upper East Side sex kittens like catnip.  They're purring at him.  Sidling — if not actually front-ling — in his direction.  —  It seems power is the ultimate aphrodisiac.

Holocaust Is Fading From Memory, Survey Finds  —  For seven decades, “never forget” has been a rallying cry of the Holocaust remembrance movement.  —  But a survey released Thursday, on Holocaust Remembrance Day, found that many adults lack basic knowledge of what happened …

NRA finally admits taking money from 23 Russian-linked sources  —  ‘Oh, you meant THOSE Russians?’  — The NRA, apparently.  —  The NRA has admitted in a newly released document that it accepted money from at least 23 Russian sources.  That's 22 more than it acknowledged just two weeks ago …

Members of Congress can't possibly regulate Facebook.  They don't understand it. … The senators and the Facebook founder spoke different languages, and there was no simultaneous translation.  —  Born long before the digital era took hold, the mostly gray-haired members of the Senate Judiciary …

Single mom of five goes viral with inspiring law school graduation photo  —  Ieshia Champs has wanted to be a lawyer since she was 7 years old.  In her teenage years, however, the odds began stacking up against her and it appeared that her dream might be permanently out of reach.