F.B.I. Official Wrote Secret Memo Fearing Trump Got a Cover Story for Comey Firing  —  WASHINGTON — The former acting F.B.I. director, Andrew G. McCabe, wrote a confidential memo last spring recounting a conversation that offered significant behind-the-scenes details on the firing …

How Trump's Election Shook Obama: ‘What if We Were Wrong?’  —  WASHINGTON — Riding in a motorcade in Lima, Peru, shortly after the 2016 election, President Barack Obama was struggling to understand Donald J. Trump's victory.  —  “What if we were wrong?” he asked aides riding with him in the armored presidential limousine.

Mitt Romney reveals his 2016 presidential vote  —  SALT LAKE CITY — Mitt Romney revealed Wednesday who he voted for in the 2016 presidential election.  —  His wife, Ann Romney.  —  “I wrote in the name of a person who I admire deeply, who I think would be an excellent president,” …

Prosecutors in Michael Cohen case piecing together shredded documents from raid  —  Federal prosecutors sorting through materials seized from Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's personal attorney, said Wednesday they needed more time to piece together the contents of a shredder taken in an FBI raid.

Trump ‘spygate’ offensive loses steam  —  Legal experts and Trump critics say the defections have exposed cracks in the president's narrative.  —  President Donald Trump's claim that the FBI embedded a spy in his campaign for political purposes began to crumble Wednesday after a prominent Republican …

Email snafu reveals White House outreach to Obama and Clinton alumni  —  Recipients of a blast email were asked to ‘amplify’ Trump's policy on Iran — baffling some who have sharply disagreed with the president in public.  —  President Donald Trump is better known for speaking directly to his base than trying to win over his critics.

Joy Reid Promoted An Infamous 9/11 Conspiracy Documentary On Her Old Blog  —  The MSNBC host, who has recently come under fire for claiming her blog was hacked, encouraged her readers to watch “Loose Change.”  —  MSNBC host Joy Reid encouraged readers of her now-defunct blog to watch …

Roseanne Barr says she may fight ABC firing, retweets claim Michelle Obama was behind ouster  —  Roseanne Barr made it clear on Wednesday she's considering fighting ABC's move to cancel her revival after her racist tweet — and the comic even pushed an accusation that former first lady Michelle Obama was behind her ouster.

What Happened to Jill Stein's Recount Millions? … Shortly after the 2016 election, Jill Stein raised more than $7 million from shell-shocked liberals eager to pursue a swing-state recount.  Nearly two years later, the U.S. Green Party's last candidate for president is still spending that money.

Bolton Installs Anti-Muslim Wingnut As NSC Chief of Staff  —  When Donald Trump first took office, his national security adviser was a man who believed that the Florida Democratic Party was working to impose Sharia law on the Sunshine State — and that America's southern border was lined …

Charlie Kirk Is Working on a Book With Donald Trump Jr. … Donald Trump Jr. and conservative firebrand Charlie Kirk are taking their right-wing bro-fest to the next level.  —  Last week, Page Six reported that Trump Jr. was “sniffing around” for a book deal to major publishers.

Trump plans to impose metal tariffs on closest U.S. allies  —  President Trump plans to announce as soon asThursday the imposition of sweeping tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Canada, Mexico and the European Union, three people familiar with the plan said.

California Republicans hit rock bottom  —  New figures show the once-proud state GOP has been relegated to third-party status.  —  SAN FRANCISCO — The state that spawned the “Reagan Revolution” and Richard M. Nixon just experienced a watershed moment — the California Republican Party was officially relegated to third-party status.

Kim Kardashian meets with Trump to discuss prison reform … It was the commander and cheeks!  —  Kim Kardashian strutted into the Oval Office on Wednesday for a sit-down with President Donald Trump to discuss criminal justice issues — including an imprisoned drug offender she discovered on Twitter.

Being Jeff Sessions  —  Think of the job that you dreamed you could have when you grew up.  Think of going through your whole life — and in an extraordinary twist of fate and luck and with a smart move — and, finally, that job will be the capstone to your career.

Harvey Weinstein Indicted On Multiple Rape & Sex Crime Charges By Grand Jury  —  Hours after Harvey Weinstein's lawyer said the producer would not testify before a grand jury, the same panel has now indicted the disgraced Oscar winner on two sets of rape charges and a sex crime charge.

‘I Will Never Roll on Donald Trump,’ Promises Definitely Innocent Adviser Roger Stone  —  Roger Stone, a longtime confidante to Donald Trump, appeared on the Alex Jones show to ask listeners to fund his legal defense.  Stone's associates have been questioned by Robert Mueller's investigators …

Exhaustive investigation reveals little evidence of possible voter fraud in NH  —  Secretary of state office, attorney general's office present data to state Ballot Law Commission  —  HIDE TRANSCRIPT SHOW TRANSCRIPT  —  CONCORD, N.H. —  An exhaustive review by state election officials …

Arkady Babchenko: ‘Murdered’ Russian journalist is alive  —  Russian journalist Arkady Babchenko, widely reported to have been assassinated in Kiev on Tuesday, has turned up alive at a press conference.  —  In an extraordinary development, the high-profile critic of the Kremlin appeared live on Ukrainian TV.

Jury Leaves $4 to Family of Man Killed by Sheriff's Deputy, Along With Many Questions  —  For more than four years, questions swirled about the shooting death of Gregory Vaughn Hill Jr. at his home in Fort Pierce, Fla. After all, there were only three witnesses to how the entire episode unfolded …

Dear Ex-Friends in #TheResistance  —  Hey, what's up.  Long time no talk.  —  I think the last civil conversations we had occurred just days before November 8, 2016.  You were supremely confident Hillary Clinton would win the presidential election; you voted for her with glee.

Pictures From an Interrogation: Drawings by Abu Zubaydah  —  Sketches by the terror suspect, who has been held in CIA captivity since 2002, have been released under the Freedom of Information Act.  They are published here for the first time.  —  The CIA spent years trying to probe the mind of Abu Zubaydah …

Trump remaking federal policy on women's reproductive health  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Step by methodical step, the Trump administration is remaking government policy on reproductive health — moving to limit access to birth control and abortion and bolstering abstinence-only sex education.

Democrats struggle with midterm message on impeachment  —  A senior Senate Democrat warned on Wednesday that Americans would soon grow “tired of” the Trump-Russia scandal, tamping down the impeachment fever spreading through his party's base.  —  Sen. Mark Warner, a Virginia moderate …

Chuck Schumer Is Not Cutting It  —  I'm not sure there's a better possible illustration of “not up to the challenges of the political moment” than Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer standing outside a Washington filling station demanding that President Trump lower gas prices.

House Republicans may lose their majority by backing Trump's wall, dissing Dreamers  —  According to campaign ad data from Kantar Media, Republican House candidates for 2018 are openly flaunting hardline stances on immigration policy.  Deirdre Shesgreen reports.

The Hidden Costs of Losing Your City's Newspaper  —  When local newspapers shut their doors, communities lose out.  People and their stories can't find coverage.  Politicos take liberties when it's nobody's job to hold them accountable.  What the public doesn't know winds up hurting them.

Big Banks to Get Reprieve from Volcker Rule  —  Big banks are getting a big reprieve from a post-crisis rule aimed at curbing risky behavior on Wall Street.  —  Federal bank regulators on Wednesday unveiled a sweeping plan to soften the Volcker Rule, opening the door for banks to resume …