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 Cohen ‘represented me’ in Stormy Daniels scandal  —  Donald Trump said Thursday that attorney Michael Cohen “represented me” by cutting a deal with porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016, after the president previously said he didn't know about the “hush money” payment.

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.

Senate committee poised for vote on bill to protect Mueller  —  The Senate Judiciary Committee is poised to vote Thursday on a bill to protect special counsel Robert Mueller's job — legislation that has split Republicans as President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticized Mueller's Russia investigation.

In Bonkers Interview, Trump Threatens to Seize Control of Justice Department  —  While many reporters have described President Trump's aggrieved psychology, his phone call this morning on Fox & Friends gave outsiders unfiltered access to the sorts of rants he routinely imposes upon his staff.

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.

Here's The White House Questionnaire For GOP Candidates Who Want Trump's Backing  —  It asks about immigration, Pakistan and trade.  —  The White House has a few questions for candidates in Republican primaries hoping for President Donald Trump's endorsement.  —  Do you support ending foreign aid to Pakistan?

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.

Our shame: The sins of our past laid bare for all to see  —  We were wrong.  —  On the day when people from across the globe come to our capital city to consider the sordid history of slavery and lynching and try to reconcile the horrors of our past, the Montgomery Advertiser recognizes …

'Maybe I didn't get her so much': President Trump on first lady's birthday  —  President Donald Trump kicked off a raucous interview Thursday morning with a candid admission that he's been too busy handling his daily duties as commander in chief to purchase a special birthday present for first lady Melania Trump.

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 …

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.

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 …

The Pentagon Needs a Better Way to Count Civilian Casualties  —  With the implausibly low number of civilians that the Pentagon admits to killing in Iraq and Syria, the United States government has long been suffering a credibility gap.  Untold before now, there's a fundamental flaw …

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 …

New Yorkers are flocking to this Midwest sanctuary  —  The year was 2012.  A native of Columbus, Ohio's Worthington suburb, Bryan Williamson had studied interior design and learned furniture-making in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, while his NJ-born wife, Catherine, miserably slaved away at a public accounting firm.

I Am Woman, Hear Me Apologize: My Quest To Stop Saying 'I'm Sorry' All The Damn Time  —  I made two New Year's resolutions for 2018:  —  1. Curse more.  —  2. Apologize less.  —  I made the first resolution to help liberate my words I had already decided to wildly split infinitives …

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 …

House sets road rules for FAA bill  —  With help from Brianna Gurciullo, Stephanie Beasley and Tanya Snyder  —  ROAD RULES: After a tense day of back and forth over two provisions in the manager's package for the House's FAA reauthorization (H.R. 4 (115)), the ink is finally dry on the package …

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 …

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.

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.

Special elections have cost the parties more than $48.5 million  —  Major national Republican and Democratic party groups have spent at least $48.5 million on seven special elections since last April, an NBC News analysis of FEC records finds.  —  The lion's share of that spending …