The Definitive Story Of How Trump's Team Worked The Trump Moscow Deal During The Campaign  —  On the day of the third Republican presidential debate, Trump personally signed the letter of intent.  —  All through the hot summer campaign of 2016, as Donald Trump and his aides dismissed talk …

Mueller's office files unredacted memo outlining scope of Russia probe: filing  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Special Counsel Robert Mueller's office notified a federal court in Virginia on Thursday it had filed under seal an unredacted memorandum that is expected to shed light on the scope …

Responding to Leaks, White House Limits Number of Staff in Daily Meeting  —  WASHINGTON — The White House communications office has canceled a large daily morning meeting in response to the leak of a joke about Senator John McCain being close to death that a staff member made at one of those meetings …

Kushners Near Deal With Qatar-Linked Company for Troubled Tower  —  The company controlled by the family of the White House adviser Jared Kushner is close to receiving a bailout of its financially troubled flagship building by a company with ties to the government of Qatar, according to executives briefed on the deal.

Racist lawyer runs scared from cameras outside home  —  The Midtown lawyer who was caught on video hurling racist comments at Spanish-speaking restaurant workers refused to comment outside his home Thursday while shielding himself from reporters.  —  Aaron Schlossberg, 42 …

On a Willful Lie from the Press  —  This claim is omnipresent on social media and beyond: … Peruse Twitter or Facebook right now, and you'll see this line everywhere — and not solely in the feeds of left-leaning journalists or from admitted critics of the president.

Republican lawmaker: Rocks tumbling into ocean causing sea level rise  —  The Earth is not warming.  The White Cliffs of Dover are tumbling into the sea and causing sea levels to rise.  Global warming is helping grow the Antarctic ice sheet.  —  Those are some of the skeptical assertions echoed …

Senate Confirms Haspel to Lead C.I.A. Despite Torture Concerns  —  WASHINGTON — The Senate confirmed Gina Haspel on Thursday to be the first woman to lead the Central Intelligence Agency, elevating a career clandestine officer to its directorship despite bipartisan misgivings about her role …

Republicans are betting it all on aging white Trump voters … THE MORNING PLUM:  —  In certain ways, the battle over the “dreamers” perfectly captures what has become of the Trump-era GOP.  House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) has dramatically promised that President Trump and Republicans …

Bad Liars  —  ICE claimed a Dreamer was “gang-affiliated” and tried to deport him.  A federal judge ruled that ICE was lying.  —  On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Ricardo S. Martinez shot down the federal government's efforts to strip Daniel Ramirez Medina of his DACA status.

10 Key Takeaways From The New York Times' Error-Ridden Defense Of FBI Spying On Trump Campaign  —  It's reasonable to assume that much of the new information in the New York Times report relates to leakers' fears about information that will be coming out in the inspector general report.

China buys record amount of Russian soybeans after canceling US orders over Trump threats  —  China has purchased record amounts of soybeans from Russia in recent months amid trade tensions with the U.S., Bloomberg reported.  —  The world's biggest soybean importer, China has nearly tripled …

Air Force A-10s called in to hold off Taliban attack on major Afghan city … Air Force A-10 Warthogs are over Farah city, Afghanistan, in an attempt to prevent the city's fall to Taliban forces during the first major assault against a provincial capital since the Taliban began their annual fighting season.

Rudy Giuliani just watered down Trump's Russia collusion denial — again  —  This is now at least the seventh time the goal posts have been moved — all in one direction.

How Mueller's First Year Compares To Watergate, Iran-Contra And Whitewater  —  It's a big day for Robert Mueller and his team: One year ago today, Mueller was appointed to lead the special counsel investigation into possible ties between the 2016 Trump campaign and Russian officials.

EXCLUSIVE: Cambridge Prof With CIA, MI6 Ties Met With Trump Adviser During Campaign, Beyond  —  Days after Carter Page's high-profile trip to Moscow in July 2016, the Trump campaign adviser had his first encounter with Stefan Halper, a University of Cambridge professor with CIA and MI6 contacts.

The Life Of One Of America's Bloodiest Hitmen  —  “True Evil has a face you know and a voice you trust.”  —  “Look, Jose,” the cop said to the genial grandfather sitting across the desk.  “The fact is, you're being charged with murder.”  —  Tim McWhorter, the chief investigator …

Las Vegas shooter Stephen Paddock claimed Americans needed to wake up to government plot to seize guns  —  A man who met Stephen Paddock less than a month before the Las Vegas massacre said the mass shooter ranted about a government plot to confiscate guns and called for the American public …

13 Inconvenient Truths About What Has Been Happening in Gaza  —  The cacophony that accompanies every upsurge in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can make it seem impossible for outsiders to sort out the facts.  Recent events in Gaza are no exception.  The shrillest voices on each side …

It's Not a Liberal Fantasy to Ask if Trump Committed Treason … Under the Constitution an individual commits treason if the nation is at war and the person provides aid and comfort to the enemy.  This is an impeachable offense, committed by word or deed.  It's one that individuals need …

The Lesson of Eric Greitens, and the Navy SEALs Who Tried to Warn Us  —  The charges facing the embattled governor of Missouri have stunned voters, but in the tight-knit Naval Special Warfare community, Greitens has been a divisive figure for years.  —  The Missouri legislature is scheduled …

Don't Fear the Return of Pleated Pants  —  They've come back to stay.  Here's how to wear them.  —  LISTEN TO ARTICLE  —  Post to Twitter  —  Send as an Email  —  When Saturdays NYC hit the menswear scene in 2009, it arrived like a zephyr on a sweltering beach: effortlessly cool printed tee-shirts …

Arizona Men Charged In Manhattan Federal Court With $23 Million Fraud And Money Laundering Scheme In Connection With Purported Fundraising For Numerous Scam Political Action Committees  —  Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and William F. Sweeney Jr. …

Poll: Just 13 percent of Americans consider Trump honest and trustworthy  —  Only thirteen percent of Americans said they would consider President Trump  —  to be honest and trustworthy, according to a new Survey Monkey tracking poll.  —  Trump's honesty and trustworthiness score …

McConnell warns control of the Senate is ‘absolutely’ in play in midterm elections  —  Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) warned Thursday that control of the Senate is “absolutely” in play in the midterm elections, identifying the nine battleground states he believes will decide the outcome in November.