Trump lawyer ‘paid by Ukraine’ to arrange White House talks  —  Donald Trump's personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, received a secret payment of at least $400,000 to fix talks between the Ukrainian president and President Trump, according to sources in Kiev close to those involved.

Jared Kushner Gets Security Clearance, Ending Swirl of Questions Over Delay  —  WASHINGTON — Jared Kushner, President Trump's son-in-law and adviser, has been granted his permanent security clearance, a person briefed on the matter said on Wednesday, ending a period of uncertainty …

A yacht, cocaine, prostitutes: Winery partly owned by Nunes sued after fundraiser event  —  In 2015, Alene Anase was asked by her employer Alpha Omega Winery to serve guests as part of a charity cruise on the San Francisco Bay.  —  But what she expected to be a routine shift serving wine turned …

Jets chairman Christopher Johnson says he'll pay anthem-related league fines for his players  —  Christopher Johnson says his Jets players can take a knee or perform another type of protest without fear of repercussion from the team.  —  ATLANTA — Despite the NFL's approval of a revised policy …

North Korea Threatens to Call Off Summit, Calls Pence a ‘Political Dummy’  —  Trump-Kim Jong Un summit planned for June 12 in Singapore  —  North Korea's senior envoy for U.S. affairs renewed a threat to call off a planned summit with President Donald Trump and warned that Pyongyang could …

We Sat Down With the ‘Arrested Development’ Cast.  It Got Raw.  —  We Talked to the ‘Arrested Development’ Cast.  It Got Raw.  —  In a wide-ranging conversation about the new season, cast members got emotional as they discussed accusations of sexual misconduct against Jeffrey Tambor.

Trump blocking Twitter critics is unconstitutional, court decides  —  It is unconstitutional for public officials, including the president, to block Twitter followers who criticize them, a court ruled today in a legal dispute over President Trump's account.  —  Twitter's “interactive space” creates a public forum

Exclusive: FBI Seizes Control of Russian Botnet … FBI agents armed with a court order have seized control of a key server in the Kremlin's global botnet of 500,000 hacked routers, The Daily Beast has learned.  The move positions the bureau to build a comprehensive list of victims of the attack …

In reversal, Giuliani now says Trump should do interview with Mueller team  —  President Trump's lawyer Rudolph W. Giuliani switched gears Wednesday, saying that he would prefer the president grant an interview to special counsel Robert S. Mueller III's office and that a decision would be made within “the next couple weeks.”

Trump's FBI Spy Theory Is Completely Insane  —  In the face of widening evidence of Trump campaign culpability in the Russia investigation, Republicans have churned through a frequently mutating series of conspiracy theories to defend him.  The latest, and possibly final, such theory …

Mueller moves to sentence Papadopoulos, signaling key step  —  The filing moves towards a sentencing for former Trump campaign foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos.  —  A court filing Wednesday from special counsel Robert Mueller's office may be a signal that his investigation …

The Conversations We Need to Have  —  With every dispiriting headline and each passing day, the full scale of the Trump administration's corruption and lawlessness is coming into a less forgiving view.  And yet it is now becoming obvious that many Americans have ceased to see what is going …

Garrett in turmoil, might quit Congress  —  Rep. Tom Garrett (R-Va.) has abruptly parted ways with his chief of staff and is considering not seeking reelection in November, according to three people familiar with the matter.  —  Garrett, a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus …

Senator Jeff Flake to Harvard Law Grads: Trump ‘Debased’ Presidency … In highly charged and notably ominous terms, Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) on Wednesday laid bare his fears about the damage Donald Trump was inflicting on the office he holds, and called out his fellow Republicans for lacking the spine to fight to it.

Trump Administration Weighs New Tariffs on Imported Vehicles  —  White House has discussed plans for such tariffs with industry officials  —  WASHINGTON—The Trump administration is considering a plan that would impose new tariffs on imported vehicles on national-security grounds …

NASA head Jim Bridenstine, once doubtful, confirms he believes humans are the leading cause of climate change  —  NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, who previously questioned whether humans are primarily responsible for climate change, left no doubt Wednesday that his position has changed.

Grassley rips Strzok-Page redactions amid mystery text: Obama ‘White House is running this’  —  A top Senate Republican is challenging the Justice Department over extensive redactions made in files showing text messages between anti-Trump FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page.

America's Version of Capitalism Is Incompatible With Democracy  —  American democracy is unwell; on this much, President Trump's detractors can agree.  —  But when they turn to the tasks of identifying our republic's symptoms, naming its illness, and writing a prescription, different factions of …

Exclusive: U.S. Government Can't Get Controversial Kaspersky Lab Software Off Its Networks … Federal agencies are so far unable to comply with a law banning Kaspersky Lab software from U.S. government networks by October, The Daily Beast has learned.  Multiple divisions of the U.S. government …

Families of Sandy Hook victims, FBI agent file defamation lawsuit against right-wing radio host Alex Jones  —  Six families of victims killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting, as well as an FBI agent who responded to the scene, filed a defamation lawsuit today …

Would you wear this muzzle around the office for private calling?  —  A new accessory called Bloxvox muffles your phone conversations in an open office.  Just don't share it.  —  Enlarge Image  —  Back in January of 2017 I discovered a product at CES called HushMe that I described as …

Conservative Bill Kristol brings his never-Trump message to New Hampshire  —  MANCHESTER, New Hampshire - Conservative columnist Bill Kristol isn't sure if a 2020 Republican primary challenge against President Donald Trump would be successful, but he argues that “it would be important to have one, I think, just to force the debate.”

Trump is inflicting long-term damage on the U.S.-Israel alliance  —  By Max Boot Columnist May 23 at 4:06 PM Email the author Follow MaxBoot  —  I supported President Trump's decision to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem because that has always been Israel's capital, and I wasn't worried …

Richard Spencer: The Alt-Right Is Not Pro-Free Speech  —  Richard Spencer, one of the leading figures in the white supremacist alt-right movement, told his podcast co-host that the alt-right didn't actually believe in free speech and that the alt-right only claimed to advocate for it for “radically pragmatic” reasons.

EPA again blocks journalists from attending summit: 'They ain't doing the CNN stuff'  —  Journalists blocked from EPA event  —  The Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday barred journalists for the second consecutive day from attending a national summit focused on water contaminants …