Manafort Suspected of Serving as ‘Back Channel’ to Russia, DOJ Says  —  Prosecutors defend Mueller's actions in pursuing Manafort  —  Judge weighing whether Mueller exceeded his authority  —  Special Counsel Robert Mueller's interest in former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort stemmed …

Donald Trump  —  President Trump is a flash-bang grenade thrown into Washington by the forgotten men and women of America.  The fact that his first year as Commander in Chief disoriented and distressed members of the media and political establishment is not a bug but a feature.

Inspector general referred findings on McCabe to U.S. attorney for consideration of criminal charges  —  The Justice Department inspector general referred its finding that former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe repeatedly misled investigators who were examining a media disclosure …

Cohen drops libel suits against BuzzFeed, Fusion GPS  —  Embattled attorney Michael Cohen has dropped a pair of much-touted libel suits against BuzzFeed and the private investigation firm Fusion GPS over publication of the so-called dossier detailing alleged ties between President Donald Trump and Russia.

Rudy Giuliani in Talks to Join Trump's Legal Team … Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani has been in talks to join the President Donald Trump's personal legal team, according to a person familiar with the matter.  No decision is currently final.  —  A slew of foreign policy matters …

Inside Rex Tillerson's Ouster  —  The last days of his brief and chaotic tenure as Secretary of State.  —  Rex Tillerson's team was fighting again.  “So, who's going to go in with him?”  Margaret Peterlin, his chief of staff, was saying.  She looked me up and down with an expression …

CAMERON KASKY, JACLYN CORIN, DAVID HOGG, EMMA GONZÁLEZ AND ALEX WIND  —  America's response to mass shootings has long followed a predictable pattern.  We mourn.  Offer thoughts and prayers.  Speculate about the motives.  And then—even as no developed country endures a homicide rate like ours …

Trump declared he's running again.  Many Republicans aren't ready to back him.  —  Washington (CNN)A wide array of House and Senate Republicans are not yet ready to endorse President Donald Trump's bid for a second term, a reflection of the deep uncertainty on Capitol Hill …

Scott Pruitt's Moroccan calendar draws blanks  —  Newly released calendars for one of the most controversial trips of Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt's tenure were largely blacked out before being shared with ABC News.  —  The 47-hour journey in Morocco …

Professor's tweet about Barbara Bush was ‘beyond free speech,’ Fresno State president says  —  All options are on the table in dealing with the Fresno State professor who called Barbara Bush “an amazing racist” shortly after the former first lady died, university president Joseph Castro said Wednesday.

Upstate NY farmer says ICE officers stormed his farm without a warrant, cuffed him, threw his phone  —  Rome, N.Y. — John Collins was standing outside the milk house at his dairy farm this morning when he heard yelling coming from inside.  He ran in, he says, and saw his worker …

SU suspends Theta Tau fraternity after video of ‘extremely racist’ behavior surfaces  —  The Syracuse University chapter of Theta Tau was suspended Wednesday morning after the university confirmed it was involved in the creation of online videos showing fraternity members engaging in behaviors that were …

Men arrested at Starbucks say they feared for their lives  —  PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Rashon Nelson initially brushed it off when the Starbucks manager told him he couldn't use the restroom because he wasn't a paying customer.  —  He thought nothing of it when he and his business partner …

Palantir Knows Everything About You  —  Peter Thiel's data-mining company is using War on Terror tools to track American citizens.  The scary thing?  Palantir is desperate for new customers.  —  High above the Hudson River in downtown Jersey City, a former U.S. Secret Service agent named …

Heitkamp becomes first Dem to back Pompeo for secretary of State  —  (D-N.D.) said Thursday that she will support President Trump  —  's nomination of CIA Director Mike Pompeo  —  as secretary of State, virtually guaranteeing he will win confirmation.  —  Heitkamp, who faces …

POLL: Arizona Senate Race Heating Up - Blue, not Red  —  Trump favorability underwater by 13-points in the desert  —  The GOP has two U.S. Senate seats at risk this election and Arizona's Senate seat is one of those two.  Democrat front-runner, Kyrsten Sinema, has little to no opposition …

Trumpism Without Trump  —  A little more than six months from now, on November 7, the sun will rise on a political landscape wrecked by President Donald Trump's first midterm election.  Thanks to a map that puts more Democratic than Republican seats at risk, our party will still cling …

Former Trump advisor's father's death in Philadelphia labeled ‘suspicious’: multiple agencies investigate  —  According to sources, the Philadelphia police homicide unit, the Philadelphia district attorney, the Attorney General's office and the health department are all investigating the death …

Smearing Robert Mueller  —  Sean Hannity and others are blaming the special counsel for one of the F.B.I.'s worst scandals.  But there is no evidence to back up their charges.  —  Was Robert Mueller, the special counsel, complicit in one of the worst scandals in the F.B.I.'s history …

Pasta Is Good For You, Say Scientists Funded By Big Pasta  —  Facing pressure from the low-carb movement, Barilla and other companies are funding and promoting research that argues pasta is healthy.  —  The headlines were a fettuccine fanatic's dream.  “Eating Pasta Linked to Weight Loss in New Study …

Exclusive: Facebook to put 1.5 billion users out of reach of new EU privacy law  —  SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - If a new European law restricting what companies can do with people's online data went into effect tomorrow, almost 1.9 billion Facebook Inc users around the world would be protected by it.

Senate panel will vote on bill to protect Mueller despite McConnell's opposition  —  WASHINGTON — Despite opposition from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley confirmed Thursday that his committee will vote next week on a bill to protect special counsel Robert Mueller …

The Democrats' Gentrification Problem  —  The nation's largest cities and metropolitan areas — home to a majority of Democratic voters — are at the forefront of the party's most vexing racial, ethnic and class conflicts.  —  Last week, in an essay for CityLab, Richard Florida …

‘He knows how to read a room really, really well’: How White House physician Ronny L. Jackson became Trump's nominee to lead VA … As a White House physician under three presidents, Ronny L. Jackson often went to extra lengths to win over the officials he was on hand to assist.

Canadian who posted drug smuggling trip on Instagram sentenced to prison  —  (CNN)One of the two Canadian women who documented a lavish cruise trip to Australia on Instagram as a front for smuggling cocaine has been sentenced to at least four and a half years in prison.

Judge rules against Trump administration in teen pregnancy prevention case  —  A federal judge in D.C. ruled Thursday that the Trump administration's cuts to the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program were unlawful.  —  Last summer, the administration notified 81 organizations …

Why Stormy Daniels Poses a Problem for Democrats  —  It was telling that as Tax Day arrived this week, the media's focus was riveted not on the massive tax overhaul that President Trump recently signed into law, but on James Comey, Stormy Daniels, and Michael Cohen.

Sexual Harassment Was Rampant at Coachella 2018  —  Trigger Warning: This article contains multiple stories describing sexual assault.  —  The annual Coachella music festival always promises a few things for my social media feeds: selfies in front of a ferris wheel, an array of photogenic …

Madeleine Albright has ascended from historic diplomat to Yas Queen feminist icon … Hidden behind a red curtain, two Ricolas clutched in her hand, she heard her accomplishments read aloud again: college professor, best-selling author, Presidential Medal of Freedom winner - and the nation's 64th secretary of state.

No place in the NFL for cheerleaders in 2018  —  Correction/clarification: An earlier version of this story misidentified one of the teams that does not have cheerleaders.  Pittsburgh Steelers are one of the six teams without them.  —  The Houston Texans aren't even bothering with the pretense.

Why Should Progressives Force Big Cities to Become Even Bigger?  —  Jonathan Chait wrote a piece yesterday titled “The Urban Housing Crisis Is a Test for Progressive Politics”: … I feel the need to push back.  Chait is right that development is primarily a local issue …

If We Had a Liberal Media We Wouldn't Have Had a Paul Ryan  —  Farewell, Paul Ryan, you smirking fraud.  Thank you for fucking off back to Wisconsin, to be with your family, at least until you accept one of the consulting or shadow lobbying jobs you are already being offered …

Back to full list  —  ROBERT MUELLER  —  Robert S. Mueller III doesn't seek deferments.  After a classmate died in Vietnam, this well-to-do Princeton athlete traded his lacrosse stick for a military rifle and volunteered for war.  He returned with a Bronze Star, a Purple Heart and a gunshot wound.

Leaders worldwide are falling for a ‘deadly illusion’  —  ALTHOUGH HIS audience was the European Parliament, French President Emmanuel Macron articulated truths on Tuesday that resonate for the entire globe.  Nationalism and authoritarianism are on the march.  Democracy as an ideal and in practice seems under siege.

Russia Accidentally Sabotages Its Internet … Last Friday, a Russian court ruled against the encrypted messaging app Telegram for refusing to grant Russian authorities access to its chats.  Telegram argued that it was technically unable to do this, as the chats are encrypted on users' devices.

L.A. Fitness fires 3 workers after black men get kicked out of N.J. gym  —  L.A. Fitness has fired a manager and two employees at a New Jersey gym where two black men were kicked out Monday night in an incident captured on video and shared on social media, according to a salesman there.

Sarah Palin is now an Instagram influencer  —  The following article is adapted from COVER/LINE, a free newsletter about politics and pop culture.  You can subscribe here.  —  Washington (CNN)Former Republican vice presidential nominee and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin shared a photo of a …