White House Withdraws Jackson Nomination for V.A. Chief Amid Criticism  —  WASHINGTON — The White House withdrew the nomination of Dr. Ronny L. Jackson, the White House physician, to lead the Veterans Affairs Department on Thursday after lawmakers went public with a torrent of accusations leveled …

Trump says Comey ‘guilty of crimes,’ warns DOJ he won't ‘stay away’ forever  —  President Trump, in a fiery exclusive interview with “Fox & Friends,” blasted former FBI Director James Comey on Thursday morning as a “liar and a leaker” who is “guilty of crimes” — while issuing a stern warning …

Michael Cohen to Take Fifth Amendment in Stormy Daniels Lawsuit  —  Michael D. Cohen, President Trump's longtime personal lawyer, will invoke his Fifth Amendment right in a lawsuit filed against the president by Stephanie Clifford, the pornographic film star better known as Stormy Daniels.

Secretly Taped Audio Reveals Democratic Leadership Pressuring Progressive to Leave Race  —  Steny Hoyer, the No. 2 Democrat in the House of Representatives, has for years been a prolific campaigner on behalf of current and potential members of Congress.  It was no surprise, then …

Trump's biggest problem might be the competency question  —  First Read is your briefing from Meet the Press and the NBC Political Unit on the day's most important political stories and why they matter  —  WASHINGTON — This morning, President Trump's pick to head the Department …

Kevin Williamson: The punishment I favor for abortion  —  Kevin D. Williamson is a Texas-based writer.  —  As a libertarian, I fully accept the motto that what a woman chooses to do with her own body is her business.  As someone who can count, I believe that abortion involves two bodies.

Pruitt fears White House undermining him ahead of hearings  —  Republicans wants answers from EPA chief  —  Washington (CNN)Embattled Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt believes members of the administration are actively trying to get rid of him, two sources with knowledge of the situation tell CNN.

Kanye West Doesn't Care About Black People  —  Last year Panama Jackson, a man who, in the 14 years that we've known each other, has become one of my best friends, published a piece about his mother's support of Donald Trump, and revealed how that ruined his relationship with her.

The Center For American Progress Staff Was Shocked After Neera Tanden Named The Anonymous Harassment Victim In An All-Staff Meeting  —  The meeting comes after BuzzFeed News reported on allegations of sexual harassment and retaliation against those who reported at the progressive organization.

Raising the Ceiling, but Not the Floor, on Potential Democratic House Gains  —  Playing field widens even as odds of turnover don't change  —  KEY POINTS FROM THIS ARTICLE  — The number of potentially vulnerable Republican seats is growing, and we're adding an extra 10 GOP-held seats to the Likely Republican column this week.

Unpacking the Other Clinton-Linked Russia Dossier  —  A copy of the little-publicized second dossier in the Trump-Russia affair, acquired by RealClearInvestigations, raises new questions about the origins of the Trump investigation, particularly about the role of Clinton partisans and the extent …

Arizona's only black legislators chastised after race talk  —  PHOENIX (AP) — The only two black members of the Arizona Legislature were formally chastised for speaking out against a Republican lawmaker's published column, which included a racial slur and they say derided black activists …

Bush 41, Trump, and American Decline  —  George H.W. Bush once vomited on the prime minister of Japan.  It was a mortifying but innocent incident, the result of a nasty stomach bug.  Donald Trump has spent the last couple of days effectively doing likewise on France's Emmanuel Macron.

Tina Brown wants no part of Charlie Rose's #MeToo redemption series  —  Disgraced CBS anchor Charlie Rose is being slated to star in a show where he'll interview other high-profile men who have also been toppled by #MeToo scandals.  —  The move was revealed by editor, writer and women's advocate Tina Brown …

Is ‘Guilty Until Proven Innocent’ the New Standard?  —  Too many Trump critics have abandoned all pretense of respecting due process.  —  The absurd ruling by District Judge John Bates in the DACA case — which means that what is lawlessly imposed by executive order may not be lawfully rescinded …

Exclusive poll: GOP Senate seats threatened in Arizona, Nevada  —  Data: SurveyMonkey poll conducted April 2-23, 2018.  Poll Methodology; Note: “No answer” responses not shown; Chart: Axios Visuals  —  Democrats have a real shot at winning two of the three Senate seats where Republicans …

Hit-and-Run Fatalities Soar as More People Bike to Work  —  Report finds close to 70% of fatalities are cyclists or pedestrians  —  Hit-and-run crash deaths are rising nationwide, and pedestrians and bicyclists account for close to 70% of the victims, according to a new report …

U.S. weekly jobless claims fall to lowest level since 1969  —  WASHINGTON, (Reuters) - New applications for U.S. unemployment benefits dropped to their lowest level in more than 48 years last week, suggesting that March's slowdown in job growth was probably temporary.

Why Does Trump Treat Immigrant Kids Cruelly?  Because He Can  —  A lifetime ago, Anne Frank's family applied for visas to the United States to escape Hitler, but we rejected the Franks and other desperate Jewish refugees.  We thought: This is Europe's problem, not ours, and we don't want to be overrun by “those people.”

Meet the New Boss.  Actually Quite Different From the Old Boss.  —  In the end, the wheelers and dealers faded away, trying to get what they could under cover of darkness.  Their loss of stature was abrupt.  Only those willing to soldier on as subordinates remained, ceding authority to their leader, President Trump.

Joy Reid's Lawyer: FBI Now Investigating Alleged ‘Hack’  —  MSNBC weekend host Joy Reid's lawyer claimed Wednesday evening that the FBI has opened a probe into her claim that her old blog was hacked to make her appear homophobic.  “We have received confirmation the FBI has opened an investigation …