In wide-open 2020 presidential field, Democrats are road-testing messages — and trying to redefine their party  —  The future of the Democratic Party has been booking late night TV gigs, waking up for morning drive-time radio and showing up at watering holes in rural counties to try out new material.

Lindsey O. Graham blasts White House aide's McCain remark as ‘pretty disgusting thing to say’ … Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) blasted White House officials Saturday for refusing to condemn a vile remark made about the mortality of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), with whom Graham spent several days …

Former Trump campaign aide is helping Russian firm shed sanctions  —  Washington (CNN)A former senior campaign and transition aide to President Donald Trump recently inked a deal to help a Russian oligarch's conglomerate shed sanctions the Trump administration slapped on them last month.

Mueller Indicted A Russian Company That Didn't Even Exist, Court Transcripts Say  —  This week, one of the Russian companies accused by Special Counsel Robert Mueller of funding a conspiracy to meddle in the 2016 U.S. presidential election was revealed in court to not have existed during …

Wife hung fake Picasso after taking real thing amid contentious divorce  —  A woman locked in a contentious divorce with her bond-trader husband took a Picasso off his wall — and replaced it with a forgery she made herself.  —  Sue Gross didn't wait until she and Wall Street titan Bill Gross …

How to be the next Trump  —  Most coverage of President Trump focuses on the negative aspects of his style: the making-it-up-as-he-goes, the lying, the management-by-chaos.  —  Yes, but: The Trump Way does offer future candidates and presidents some valuable lessons in navigating contemporary politics.

This Is How a Newspaper Dies  —  It's with a spasm of profits.  —  For a preview of the newspaper industry's coming death, turn your gaze to Colorado, where the withering and emaciated Denver Post finds itself rolling in profits.  —  The Post's controlling owner, “vulture capitalist” …

Liberals, You're Not as Smart as You Think  —  I know many liberals, and two of them really are my best friends.  Liberals make good movies and television shows.  Their idealism has been an inspiration for me and many others.  Many liberals are very smart.  But they are not as smart, or as persuasive, as they think.

Indonesia church attacks: death toll rises after bombs target Sunday masses  —  Forty people also injured in the blasts in Surabaya, the country's second-largest city  —  At least eleven people have been killed and dozens injured in multiple suicide bombings at three churches in Surabaya …

Senator Grassley appears to be preparing to bust the frame-up of General Flynn  —  Senator Charles Grassley of Iowa, the laconic Midwesterner with a steel trap mind, dropped a bombshell yesterday with a letter (the full letter appears below - pdf here) to Deputy A.G. Rod Rosenstein …

Confusion, calculation and fear keeping DACA recipients from renewing their status while they can … For thousands of young men and women living in the U.S. illegally, a judge's order in January amounted to a reprieve — a chance to renew their legal protections after President Trump's decision …

Donald Trump's Mommy Issues  —  He may not have bonded successfully with his mother and that made him the adult—and the politician—that he is.  —  Donald Trump is easily the most psychoanalyzed president of modern times.  His decision-making style and behavior have been hotly debated by journalists …

Iraq PM Abadi appears ahead in poll, Sadr strong: sources  —  BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's list appears to be leading in Iraq's parliamentary election, followed by influential Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's alliance, an election commission source and a security official told Reuters on Sunday.

Europe's antitrust cop, Margrethe Vestager, has Facebook and Google in her crosshairs  —  BRUSSELS — Margrethe Vestager is an avid Twitter user who likes to post photos of flowers and cityscapes from her native Denmark.  —  Her account is also a means of tracking her travels …

Salem Media's Effort to Purge Anti-Trump Conservatives Tells You How the Business Really Works  —  Since the very beginning of Donald Trump's takeover of the “conservative” movement, I have been writing about the perfect storm of factors which has caused the “conservative” media to help facilitate this coup.

How California Could Bust Up the Two-Party System  —  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.  —  California's Republican Party is in crisis.  Voters are leaving it in droves …

Two dead in Paris knife attack  —  One person has been killed and five wounded in a knife attack in Paris, French police say.  —  They say the attacker - who has not been identified - was shot dead by police.  Two of the injured are in a serious condition.  —  The incident happened in the Opera district of central Paris.

A Surge of Women Candidates, but Crowded Primaries and Tough Races Await  —  These are the 476 female House candidates this year.  —  ARDMORE, Pa. — Just as the women's marches and #MeToo helped define 2017, the surging numbers of female candidates have defined the midterm races now underway.

When Spies Hack Journalism  —  WASHINGTON — For decades, leakers of confidential information to the press were a genus that included many species: the government worker infuriated by wrongdoing, the ideologue pushing a particular line, the politico out to savage an opponent.

Dinner diplomacy: Netanyahu's unusual run-in with UAE envoy  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Officially, their governments don't speak.  The United Arab Emirates doesn't even formally recognize that Israel exists.  —  But an impromptu bit of dinner diplomacy between Israel's prime minister …

Democrats, rights advocates are close to losing the battle over torture  —  WASHINGTON — Crying and pleading, he told them he couldn't recall the answer to their question.  —  But the CIA interrogators believed that Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, then 37, was lying.

Clashing Views on Iran Reflect a New Balance of Power in the Cabinet  —  WASHINGTON — Five days before President Trump pulled out of what he called the “horrible” Iran nuclear deal, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told diplomats from Britain, France and Germany that he believed the pact could still be saved.

Dems worry Trump will win over economy  —  Democrats are growing worried that the strong economy, and President Trump  —  's messaging about his economic stewardship, will help Republicans in this year's midterm elections and have an even greater impact in 2020.

Greitens' fateful affair began during crossroads of his military life  —  In February 2015, former Navy SEAL Eric Greitens signed a four-year commitment to return to active reserve status.  Two months later, he told the Navy he was backing out of it.  —  What happened in between …

Donald Trump Jr. gave daughter a puppy for her birthday  —  Donald Trump Jr. presented daughter Kai with a very special gift ahead of her eleventh birthday, sharing photos to Instagram of the family's newest addition: a puppy.  —  “Kai got her birthday present a day early and boy is she cute.