The Stormy Daniels Damage  —  Does Trump want Americans to believe him in a genuine crisis?  —  Most storms pass eventually.  This week Donald Trump tried to ensure that Stormy Daniels doesn't rain down permanent distraction on his Presidency, though at the cost of further damage to his credibility.

Influential outsiders have played a key role in Scott Pruitt's foreign travel … Scott Pruitt's itinerary for a February trip to Israel was remarkable by any standard for an Environmental Protection Agency administrator: A stop at a controversial Jewish settlement in the West Bank.

Why the Justice Department Is Defiant  —  A House subpoena, another missed deadline.  What is the department hiding?  —  The feud that has simmered for months between Congress and the Justice Department erupted this week into a cage match.  That's because the House is homing in on the goods.

Nonfarm payrolls increased by 164,000 in April, vs 192,000 jobs expected  — The unemployment rate fell to 3.9 percent in April, an 18-year low, even as nonfarm payrolls rose by just 164,000, the BLS says.  — Economists surveyed by Reuters had expected payroll growth of 192,000 …

Donald Trump's Pursuit of an Oval Office Meeting with Vladimir Putin  —  Inside the mystery behind the President's surprise invitation to Russia's leader, and his team's struggle to figure out what to do about it.  —  Late on Monday evening, the Secretary of Commerce, Wilbur Ross, started making calls to European allies.

Trump lives out his LBJ fantasy: no chief of staff  —  LBJ withheld the title of chief of staff from his top aides, and President Trump is now living out that fantasy even with John Kelly in the building.  —  As part of his exasperation with being handled, Trump has taken to telling friends that …

Trump Orders Pentagon to Consider Reducing U.S. Forces in South Korea  —  WASHINGTON — President Trump has ordered the Pentagon to prepare options for drawing down American troops in South Korea, just weeks before he holds a landmark meeting with North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-un …

How Greg Abbott Got Played by the Russians During His Jade Helm Freakout  —  Texas Governor Greg Abbott's willingness to pander to the manic extremism broadcast through AM radio airwaves and streamed on the margins of YouTube apparently has him playing right into the hands of Russian disinformation campaigns.

Deputy Consul General Of Israel Allegedly Forced Out Of Uber Ride For Speaking Hebrew On Phone  —  CHICAGO (CBS) - The Deputy Consul General of Israel to the Midwest, Itay Milner, says he was ten minutes into his Uber ride on Lower Wacker Drive Thursday night when he was thrown out by the driver.

2018 Nobel Prize in Literature Postponed Amid Sexual Abuse Scandal  —  STOCKHOLM — The Swedish panel that awards the Nobel Prize in Literature said on Friday that it would take the extraordinary step of not naming a laureate this year — not because of a shortage of deserving writers …

The Iran Deal Is Strategically and Morally Absurd  —  Editor's Note: This article is part of a debate about whether to stay in the Iran deal.  Read the other entries here.  —  It was surely Barack Obama's profound aversion to the use of American military power that so enfeebled …

They Voted for Obama, Then Went for Trump.  Can Democrats Win Them Back?  —  RITTMAN, Ohio — In the daily race that is her life, Sharla Baker does not think about politics very much.  —  She rises early, drives to the gas station to buy coffee, feeds her baby, dresses her two other children …

Then they came for Peppa Pig … Most Americans have never heard of Peppa Pig, the cartoon star of a British television show for preschoolers, which Chinese censors started purging from Internet apps and Chinese social media over the past week.  Americans may not be bothered that an animated pig …

U.S. freezes funding for Syria's “White Helmets”  —  Less than two months ago the State Department hosted members of the White Helmets at Foggy Bottom.  At the time, the humanitarian group was showered with praise for saving lives in Syria.  —  “Our meetings in March were very positive.

We Probed Sexual Misconduct Claims Against Journalist Al Giordano.  Here's What We Found.  —  The reporter and activist denies accusations he sexually harassed three attendees of his School of Authentic Journalism.  —  Veteran journalist and liberal activist Al Giordano sexually harassed …

Listen to ‘The Daily’: The Hunt for the Golden State Killer  —  Paul Holes was on the verge of retirement, having never completed his decades-long mission to catch the Golden State Killer.  Then he had an idea: Upload DNA evidence to a genealogy website.  —  On today's episode:

Mueller requests 70 blank subpoenas in Manafort case  —  is requesting 70 blank subpoenas ahead of the trial of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort  —  Mueller is making the request for the subpoenas in the Alexandria, Va., court where Manafort is facing trial on several charges, including bank fraud.

Democrats: Don't Take the Bait on Impeachment  —  In 2010, as a member of the House Judiciary Committee, I led the effort to impeach a federal judge from New Orleans named Thomas Porteous Jr. He was accused of multiple acts of corruption, some of which preceded his appointment to the federal bench …

It Was 122.4°F This Week in Pakistan, Probably a World Record for April  —  Even in Pakistan, no stranger to blistering heat, the temperature on Monday stood out: 122.4 degrees Fahrenheit.  —  The reading came from Nawabshah, a city of 1.1 million people in southern Pakistan …

Poll: Murphy leads Democratic gubernatorial primary with GOP running mate Jolly  —  MIAMI — Former Rep. and 2016 Senate candidate Patrick Murphy would be tied for second if he jumped into Florida's Democratic primary for governor, according to a new poll that shows he could nudge …

Analysts: Giuliani's media blitz gives investigators new leads, new evidence … Rudolph W. Giuliani's media blitz to convince the public that neither Donald Trump nor his lawyer had violated the law by paying a porn star to keep quiet about an alleged affair might have backfired …

40 Questions Special Counsel Robert Mueller Needs to Answer Now  —  A Republican lawmaker contends the prosecutor has a lot to explain about his present job and prior posts as well  —  A firestorm was ignited earlier this week when The New York Times published a list of 40 questions …

Missouri lawmakers agree to call special session to consider Greitens' impeachment  —  The Missouri General Assembly has taken the historic step of calling itself back into special session to decide whether to impeach Gov. Eric Greitens.  —  According to the petition signed by 138 House members …

An Open Letter to Trump's Evangelical Defenders  —  A Christian's primary purpose is not to defend his own religious liberty.  It's not even to fight abortion — as vital as that task is.  His basic task on this Earth isn't protecting Christian education or preserving the freedom of Christian artists.

Why Are American Troops in the Yemen War?  —  The editorial board represents the opinions of the board, its editor and the publisher.  It is separate from the newsroom and the Op-Ed section.  —  The Pentagon and the Trump administration apparently have misled Americans about growing military involvement …