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 …

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 …

N.F.L. Teams Will be Fined if Players Kneel During National Anthem  —  N.F.L. players will be allowed to stay in the locker room during the national anthem, but their teams will be fined by the league if they go onto the field and kneel, according to new rules adopted by owners on Wednesday …

Trump can't block Twitter followers, federal judge says  — President Donald Trump cannot block users on his Twitter feed, a federal judge in New York City ruled Wednesday.  — The suit was filed in July 2017 by the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University …

Most Americans don't realize Robert Mueller's investigation has uncovered crimes  —  17 indictments and five guilty pleas so far.  —  A majority of Americans — 59 percent — say in a new survey that Robert Mueller's investigation into Russia and the 2016 campaign has not yet uncovered evidence …

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.”

State Department warns U.S. citizens in China after employee suffers possible sonic attack  —  BEIJING — The U.S. State Department is warning U.S. citizens in China that a government employee reported unusual “sensations of sound and pressure” and was later diagnosed with a mild traumatic brain injury …

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 …

The Risky Business of Speaking for President Trump  —  Flacks in this White House press office are getting enormous exposure — but potentially at a long-term cost to their credibility.  —  It was getting late on a Wednesday, and by 2018 standards the evening's news cycle felt almost serene.

Trump Blames China's Xi Jinping for Sabotaging the Kim Jong Un Summit … President Donald Trump met his South Korean counterpart in the White House on Tuesday, publicly acknowledged his planned summit with Kim Jong Un may never take place, and called out China's ruler for sabotaging the denuclearization process.

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 …

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 …

In an internal memo, the White House considered whether to simply ‘ignore’ federal climate research  —  White House officials last year weighed whether to simply “ignore” climate studies produced by government scientists or to instead develop “a coherent, fact-based message about climate science …

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 …

That Viral “Odyssey” Post About Coachella Was Actually By A 28-Year-Old Man Who Catfished His Way Into The Site  —  Meet the real “Kaycie Allen.”  —  If you were on Twitter on April 22, you might remember this article.  —  “Sorry Not Sorry, My Parents Paid For My Coachella Trip,” …

Prominent donor threatens GOP over DACA  —  CHICAGO — An influential, multi-millionaire GOP donor is threatening to choke off campaign resources to Republican congressmen who haven't engaged in the latest immigration battle in Congress.  —  Former Exelon chairman John Rowe …

Comey Rips Trump's ‘Attacks’ on the FBI: ‘How Will Republicans Explain This to Their Grandchildren?’  —  Former FBI Director James Comey came to the agency's defense this morning as President Trump continues to attack it over the informant used during the election.

5 Key Takeaways From Tuesday's Primaries  —  It was a night for upsets and breakthroughs: In Georgia, a black woman was nominated for governor by a major party for the first time in any state.  In Kentucky, a math teacher defeated a Republican power broker.

S.C. community outraged by photo of county council candidate in blackface  —  BRANTLEY TOMLISON-USER SUBMITTED FACEBOOK.jpg  —  KERSHAW COUNTY, S.C. (WACH) — A candidate for the Kershaw County Council is the talk of the town after a controversial photo began circulating on social media.

The Rising Racial Liberalism of Democratic Voters  —  In response to both the election of Barack Obama in 2008 and the backlash in favor of Donald Trump in 2016, analysts and commentators have focused mostly on racial attitudes on the right.  Both scholarship and journalistic accounts …

Deep in the Desert, Iran Quietly Advances Missile Technology  —  When an explosion nearly razed Iran's long-range missile research facility in 2011 — and killed the military scientist who ran it — many Western intelligence analysts viewed it as devastating to Tehran's technological ambitions.

Exclusive: Israeli minister says U.S. may soon recognize Israel's hold on Golan  —  JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel is pressing the Trump administration to recognize its sovereignty over the occupied Golan Heights, an Israeli cabinet minister said on Wednesday, predicting U.S. assent could come within months.

Mueller moves to prepare Papadopoulos for sentencing  —  In a court filing entered Wednesday, prosecutors representing the special counsel Robert Mueller asked the Court to take the first steps in the sentencing process for former Donald Trump campaign aide George Papadopoulos.

Principal whose daughter was killed at Stoneman Douglas blasts school district  —  April Schentrup, whose daughter Carmen was killed in the Parkland shooting, accused the Broward County school district of lacking empathy, transparency and an ability to accept blame for the tragedy.  —  Sun Sentinel

The new AG itching to take on Trump  —  New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal has jurisdiction over 20 Trump properties and is ready to step into Eric Schneiderman's void.  —  The man aspiring to be the new face of the resistance is a practicing Sikh who likes to call attention to his turban …