Tantalizing Testimony From a Top Trump Aide Sets Off a Search for Proof  —  WASHINGTON — The White House official had a startling assertion: He thought he had received an email in the first half of 2016 alerting the Trump campaign that Russia had damaging information about Hillary Clinton.

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.

(LEAD) N. Korea cancels high-level talks with S. Korea over military drill … North Korea said Wednesday it is canceling high-level talks with South Korea planned for later in the day due to ongoing military exercises between the South and the United States.

Trump team ready to ‘pressure’ Mueller at probe's one-year mark  —  In an interview, Trump's lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, even cited James Comey's mid-2016 exoneration of Hillary Clinton as a model for the Russia special counsel.  —  President Donald Trump's attorney has an unlikely new role model …

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 …

Justice Department and F.B.I. Are Investigating Cambridge Analytica  —  WASHINGTON — The Justice Department and the F.B.I. are investigating Cambridge Analytica, the now-defunct political data firm, and have sought to question former employees and banks that handled its business …

Novartis Top Lawyer Departs Over Cohen Payments  —  Felix Ehrat was a co-signatory of the agreement to hire Trump's personal lawyer for $100,000 a month  —  ZURICH—A top executive at Swiss drugmaker Novartis AG NVS -1.12% is stepping down as the global fallout widens from the recent disclosure …

The Birth of a 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 …

“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,” …

Tom Wolfe, Author of ‘The Right Stuff’ and ‘Bonfire of the Vanities,’ Dies  —  Tom Wolfe, an innovative journalist and novelist whose technicolor, wildly punctuated prose brought to life the worlds of California surfers, car customizers, astronauts and Manhattan's moneyed status-seekers in works like …

The Newest Star Of The Trump Movement Ran A Trump-Bashing Publication — Less Than Two Years Ago  —  A rising star on the right, Owens was CEO of a site that compared Trump to Hitler and speculated that he has a small penis.  —  Even by the whiplash-inducing standards of Trumpworld, Candace Owens' rise has been fast.

Iran's Soleimani holds talks about future Iraqi cabinet  —  BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iranian Major General Qassem Soleimani is holding talks with politicians in Baghdad to promote the formation of a new Iraqi cabinet which would have Iran's approval, two people familiar with the political process underway in Iraq said on Wednesday.

Gay Alabama lawmaker suggests governor is lesbian; Ivey calls it ‘disgusting lie’  —  Patricia Todd, Alabama's only openly gay state legislator, posted comments on social media Tuesday night suggesting that Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey is gay.  —  Todd, who is not seeking re-election to office this year …

Why Democrats can't win the ‘respect’ of Trump voters … In the endless search for the magic key that Democrats can use to unlock the hearts of white people who vote Republican, the hot new candidate is “respect.”  If only they cast off their snooty liberal elitism and show respect to people …

The World Wants Air-Conditioning.  That Could Warm the World.  —  More than crickets and fireflies, more than baseball and cookouts, perhaps nothing signals the arrival of summer in the United States like the soft familiar whir of air-conditioning.  —  But there is growing concern …

ABC boss defends Roseanne joke about black and Asian families  —  ABC says Roseanne will edge away from politics as it goes into next season.  —  While on a conference call with reporters, ABC entertainment president Channing Dungey was asked if she felt that stories about Roseanne Barr's politics …

The rise of the pro-Trump media machine  —  Pro-Trump media is spreading across the U.S., disseminating Trumpian rhetoric about fake news and mainstream media bias through every medium.  —  The big picture, from Rodney Benson, chair of NYU's Department of Media, Culture, and Communication …

Metro will stay open later for Caps-Lightning Games 3 and 4 — thanks partly to ... Qatar? … Metro announced early Monday morning that it will extend service by one hour Tuesday night to accommodate fans attending Game 3 of the Stanley Cup playoffs' Eastern Conference finals between the Capitals and Tampa Bay Lightning.

Trump's pointless Mideast provocation  —  The Trump administration has exported its politics of provocation to the last place that needs it, the Middle East.  The all too predictable immediate result has been carnage.  The long-term consequences are likely to be worse.

This is what a death spiral looks like … This is what the start of a death spiral looks like.  —  Three states have announced preliminary 2019 premium-rate requests for Obamacare individual-market policies, and the numbers don't look good.  —  In Virginia, the first state out of the gate …