Trump's lawyer pitched himself as a fixer to Novartis and got paid $1.2 million  —  T  —  he curious relationship between one of the world's biggest drug makers and President Trump's personal lawyer began early last year when Michael Cohen, a longtime fixer for the president …

New York Times slams AWOL Pompeo, then learns he was rescuing Americans  —  As the New York Times was bashing Mike Pompeo for being missing in action while President Trump tore up the Iran nuclear deal, it turned out the secretary of state was busy rescuing three Americans who have been held captive in North Korea.

CNN poll: Democrats' 2018 advantage is nearly gone  —  CNN Poll: Trump approval holding steady  —  Washington (CNN)The generic congressional ballot has continued to tighten, according to a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS, with the Democrats' edge over Republicans within the poll's margin of sampling error for the first time this cycle.

Town & Country Magazine Uninvited Monica Lewinsky From An Event Because Of Bill Clinton  —  Lewinsky seemingly referred to the situation in a tweet Wednesday.  —  Town & Country magazine disinvited Monica Lewinsky from its annual philanthropic summit on Wednesday because Bill Clinton was attending, HuffPost has learned.

Colbert Goes Off on Trump Over Iran Nuclear Deal: ‘You Literally Just Backed Out of an American Promise’ (Video)  —  Host was not having Trump's excuses on Tuesday's episode of “The Late Show”  —  Tuesday was a fairly routine day for the Trump administration, and when I say that I mean …

‘She Should Have Fought Back.  Other People Did’: Inside Gina Haspel's Black Site … Ahead of her Senate reckoning, Gina Haspel's defenders in U.S. intelligence circles have adopted the fallback position that she'll be a check on Donald Trump as his CIA director.

Special Counsel Mueller's Team Questioned Blackwater Founder Erik Prince … Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team has spoken with Blackwater founder Erik Prince, two sources familiar with the matter tell The Daily Beast.  It was not immediately clear what questions Mueller's team …

Trump makes it explicit: Negative coverage of him is fake coverage … A generous interpretation of President Trump's views on “fake” news is that he believes that media outlets are overly quick to be critical of his decisions and his administration.  In other words, he applies an overly broad term …

Top takeaways from the first big primary of 2018  —  Republicans can exhale now.  —  Convicted coal magnate Don Blankenship's surprise third-place finish in Tuesday's West Virginia GOP Senate primary sidestepped yet another debacle for the party after consecutive meltdowns in special elections in Alabama and Pennsylvania.

House Democrats obtain new documents from estate of GOP operative in Russia inquiry  —  Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee have received new materials from the estate of Peter Smith, a GOP operative who reportedly led a campaign to obtain missing Hillary Clinton emails …

Is Krystal Ball's PAC a fresh approach or a get-rich scheme?  —  A new Democratic group — one with support from Democratic congressmen and three of the biggest names in the tech industry — is testing the boundary between a new approach to politics and a self-enriching scam.

Hours into his new job, Trump's ambassador to Germany offends his hosts … BERLIN — For the past year, German officials have been urging their U.S. counterparts to send a new ambassador to Berlin.  But after finally receiving one, many may be having second thoughts.

There is no Plan B on Iran  —  The Trump administration has no Plan B on Iran beyond “not Plan A.”  —  In American foreign policy circles, the worst insult one can lob at someone is to call them naive in their thinking.  International relations is a cold, hard business …

Mormon Church breaks all ties with Boy Scouts, ending 100-year relationship … The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said Tuesday it will sever all ties with the Boy Scouts of America, ending a century-old tradition deeply ingrained in the religious life of Mormon boys.

Mr. Drumpf, Your Newest Nightmare Is A Website Called ResistanceHole  —  Hey, Drumpf (a.k.a. President Donald Trump), don't get too cozy in the White House, because there is a new website that wants to kill you.  It's called ResistanceHole, and it's your new worst nightmare.

I Will Do Anything to End Homelessness Except Build More Homes  —  Homelessness in America has reached crisis levels and I am determined to do everything in my power to fix the problem as long as it doesn't involve changing zoning laws or my ability to drive alone to work or, well, changing anything, really.

Philippe Reines and the pornography of our political hatred … The profound strangeness of the Trump era in American politics has driven people in public life to a lot of unusual behavior.  Evangelical Christians are contorting themselves to accommodate the reality of Stormy Daniels …

Black student reported to YPD for napping in dormitory common room  —  Yale Police officers on Monday evening interrogated a black graduate student, Lolade Siyonbola GRD '19, for more than 15 minutes, after a white graduate student reported Siyonbola to the police for sleeping in the HGS common room.

Mulvaney Demotes Unit That Polices Student Loans in Consumer Bureau Reshuffle  —  Mick Mulvaney, the interim director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, will move the agency's student loan investigation division into the bureau's consumer information unit, a shift that career officials fear …

Moderate Republicans Move Forward on Immigration  —  What you should know about discharge petitions and the ‘Queen of the Hill’ rule.  —  Moderate Republicans and Democrats moved forward on a plan to force a vote on a number of immigration proposals on Wednesday after months of inaction …

Schneiderman Hires Lawyer Known for Criminal Fraud, Assault Cases  —  The former AG has retained Isabelle Kirshner, a prominent New York defense attorney whose law firm, Clayman & Rosenberg, has often represented lawyers in criminal cases.  —  In the wake of the physical abuse allegations …

NYC lunch spots are killing off the chopped salad  —  That staple of New York City lunch hour, the chopped salad, has been, well, chopped.  —  Just Salad, with 20 Manhattan locations, is the latest chain to do away with chopped-on-demand greens.  You'll just have to chew.

Coal Collapsing Faster Under Trump; Wind, Solar, Gas All Benefit  —  Contributor From Chicago, I write about green technology, energy, environment.  Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. … More coal plants are now projected to retire more quickly than experts thought …