A Secret Mission, a Code Name and Anxiety: Inside the Early Days of the F.B.I.'s Trump Investigation  —  WASHINGTON — Within hours of opening an investigation into the Trump campaign's ties to Russia in the summer of 2016, the F.B.I. dispatched a pair of agents to London on a mission …

Did Democrats Just Have Their First Tea Party Moment Of The 2018 Primaries?  —  The Democratic Party woke up this morning with a clear signal from Tuesday's primary elections: The #Resistance means business.  The more progressive candidate won in Democratic primaries around the country.

Trump Discloses Payment to Cohen in Financial Report  —  President Trump's financial disclosure, released on Wednesday, revealed for the first time that he paid more than $100,000 to his personal attorney, Michael D. Cohen, as reimbursement for payments to a “third-party.”

Sderot homes hit with heavy machine gun fire from Gaza, army says  —  No injuries after gunmen in Strip target military aircraft and hit homes in city with errant rounds; IDF shells Hamas post in Gaza  —  The Times of Israel is liveblogging Wednesday's events as they unfold.

Putting ‘White House’ on the resume is less of a boost  —  WASHINGTON — Listing a White House gig on your resume used to be considered a sparkling credential, reflecting a stint at the apex of the country's political power.  —  But as with so many other things about Donald Trump's …

Dixon High School shooting: Former student shot, wounded after bringing gun  —  DIXON - A 19-year-old former Dixon High student is in custody with a non-life-threatening gunshot wound to the shoulder after bringing a gun to the school this morning.  —  The man shot at school resource officer Mark Dallas …

Porn Star Lawyer Interviewed 147 Times in 10 Weeks  —  In the past ten weeks, lawyer Michael Avenatti, who is representing porn star Stormy Daniels in her lawsuits against President Trump, has been interviewed a staggering 147 times on broadcast and cable news shows.

The 9.9 Percent Is the New American Aristocracy  —  1.  —  The Aristocracy Is Dead ...  For about a week every year in my childhood, I was a member of one of America's fading aristocracies.  Sometimes around Christmas, more often on the Fourth of July, my family would take up residence …

The Democratic Party Has an ‘MSNBC Problem’  —  “The Democrats need to stop obsessing about Trump and Russia, and start talking about the bread-and-butter issues that matter to ordinary people.”  Since Donald Trump took office, that sentiment has been a refrain for the party's leading critics on both the left and right.

Tillerson warns of ethical crisis among U.S. leaders in speech  —  Former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Wednesday appeared to offer an implicit rebuke of his old boss, as he warned of a “growing crisis in ethics and integrity” during a commencement address at the Virginia Military Institute.

Gov. Kay Ivey on gay accusations: 'It's false.  It's wrong'  —  A little more than 12 hours after a state legislator suggested she was gay, Gov. Kay Ivey again issued a strong denial on Wednesday morning.  —  “There's absolutely no truth to it,” Ivey said.  “It's false.  It's wrong.”

Democrats Flip a Pennsylvania Seat, Making 41 Since Trump's Inauguration … Democrats flipped another seat in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives on Tuesday night, bringing the total number of state legislative flips to 41 since Donald Trump's inauguration.

“Pence Is Not Stupid”: As Trump Sinks, G.O.P. Insiders See a Shadow Campaign Taking Shape  —  Could Pence's ambition make him the president's next mortal enemy?  Or will his well-oiled political operation allay Trump's concerns—at least for now?  —  “There is no shadow campaign,” …

It's not just Amazon: Apple quietly explores Northern Virginia campus for 20,000 jobs  —  Apple has quietly explored the idea of opening a campus for 20,000 employees in Northern Virginia, further advancing the possibility that the Washington area could evolve into an East Coast outpost for Silicon Valley.

Shady Marketplaces Selling Fake Facebook Profiles Operate In Plain Sight  —  Thirty minutes and a little bitcoin can buy you an army of believable Facebook users.  —  Audrey Mitchell is a 23-year-old New York City transplant from London.  She's an aspiring model working at KFC.

Democrats are about to have to pay up  —  Before the ink was dry on our new tax bill, outraged blue states were screaming about the cap on the deductibility of state and local taxes.  Their governments were also frantically seeking ways around it, and small wonder.