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.

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.

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 …

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 …

Cohen Would Turn Against President if Charged, Counselor Warned Trump  —  Former prosecutor Jay Goldberg says he cautioned president that his personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, could be compelled to cooperate with prosecutors  —  One of President Donald Trump's longtime legal advisers …

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 …

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.

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

Prosecutor: Evidence shows Prince thought he was taking Vicodin, not fentanyl  —  MINNEAPOLIS — The prosecutor in the Minnesota county where Prince died said evidence shows Prince — who died from an accidental fentanyl overdose — thought he was taking Vicodin, not fentanyl.

Scott Pruitt  —  The Environmental Protection Agency has been instrumental in improving our nation's air, land and water quality.  From the inaugural Clean Air Act of 1970 to the Brownfields Program and Great Lakes cleanup, the EPA has established antipollution standards …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.

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.

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.

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.

No Sign of ‘Trump Bump’ In National Enquirer Publisher's Finances  —  Tabloid owner American Media's debt has mushroomed while newsstand sales of its print publications are shrinking  —  The National Enquirer's parent company, American Media Inc., has said the tabloid's plentiful …

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 …

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.

Trump Judicial Nominee Appears to Have Called Undocumented Immigrants “Maggots”  —  Next week, the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold hearings on the nomination of Michael Truncale, whom Donald Trump selected to sit on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.

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.

Across Midwest, Farmers Warn of G.O.P. Losses Over Trump's Trade Policy  —  China's proposed tariffs on soybeans would hit hard in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, North Dakota and other states with highly competitive House and Senate races.  —  CASSELTON, N.D. — Here in the largest soybean-producing county …

Illinois governor's race rattled by new candidate  —  CHICAGO — A Republican state senator launched a third party bid for governor Thursday in what could be a death knell for Illinois GOP Gov. Bruce Rauner's reelection bid.  —  State Sen. Sam McCann is running as what he called an …

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.

Underestimate Trump's Reelection Odds at Your Own Peril  —  This is part two of a back-and-forth between Crystal Ball Managing Editor Kyle Kondik and veteran reporter and presidential historian Paul Brandus assessing President Trump's reelection odds in 2020.  See the piece from Brandus here.

Power Briefing: Senate Dems' outside group raises eye-popping $22 million in first quarter  —  PLAYBOOK SCOOP ... MASSIVE QUARTER for SENATE MAJORITY PAC ... The top Senate Democratic super PAC raised $22,236,533 in the first quarter of 2018, and they have $26 million on hand.

Nazi Links of Hans Asperger, Autism Research Pioneer, Prompt Consternation  —  A new study has shed more light on the revelations that Hans Asperger, the Austrian pediatrician for whom a form of autism is named, had collaborated with the Nazis and actively assisted in the killing of disabled children.