Trump says Germany ‘is captive to Russia’ in fiery opening salvo against NATO  —  BRUSSELS — President Trump unleashed a blistering attack Wednesday on Germany and other NATO allies, wasting no time to take the offensive before a week of high-stakes diplomacy on both sides of the former Cold War divide.

Rosenstein Asks Prosecutors to Help With Kavanaugh Papers in Unusual Request  —  WASHINGTON — Rod J. Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general, has asked federal prosecutors to help review the government documents of Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh, President Trump's Supreme Court nominee …

Judge to Manafort: Don't Worry, the Jail You're Going to Knows How to Handle Terrorists, Traitors and Spies  —  The legal saga of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort took another turn Wednesday as Eastern District of Virginia (EDVA) Judge T.S. Ellis has denied his bid to stay put at the jail he is currently residing at.

Battling Fake Accounts, Twitter to Slash Millions of Followers  —  Twitter will begin removing tens of millions of suspicious accounts from users' followers on Thursday, signaling a major new effort to restore trust on the popular but embattled platform.  —  The reform takes aim at a pervasive form of social media fraud.

Border Protection says NYC mayor crossed border illegally  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and his security detail violated both Mexican and U.S. immigration laws by crossing the border on foot during a visit near El Paso, Texas, U.S. Customs and Border Protection alleges …

Obama Tops Public's List of Best President in Their Lifetime, Followed by Clinton, Reagan  —  Reagan is top choice among Boomers, Silents  —  When asked which president has done the best job in their lifetimes, more Americans name Barack Obama than any other president.

Once partners, ‘Game Change’ authors feuding over their shattered franchise  —  Until their split last year, Mark Halperin and John Heilemann were the golden boys of American political journalism.  Their collaboration led to a best-selling book about the 2008 presidential campaign, “Game Change …

Former Obama Officials Are Riding Out The Trump Years By Cashing In  —  The revolving door takes a spin.  —  The last 18 months have been difficult for former members of the Obama administration.  They've been replaced by a regime, which, in the words of former Domestic Policy Council …

Senate Confirms New Boss For Justice Department Criminal Division  —  The Senate voted 51-48 on Wednesday to confirm Brian Benczkowski as an assistant attorney general at the Justice Department, ending an 18-month delay in which its Criminal Division operated without a permanent leader.

Papa John's founder reportedly used racial slur in conference call  —  A media agency working with Papa John's International Inc. decided to cut ties after the pizza maker's founder and chairman, John Schnatter, allegedly used a racial slur and graphic descriptions of violence against minorities …

Here Is the Column That Business Insider Spiked  —  Defending an actress for being hired to do a job is apparently beyond the pale these days. … Scarlett Johansson is the latest target of the social-justice warrior mob.  The actress is being chastised for, well, acting.

The Professor At The Center Of The Trump-Russia Probe Was A No-Show In Court  —  At a hearing in Palermo, Italy, Joseph Mifsud was described as “a ghost.”  —  Reporting From Palermo, Italy  —  PALERMO, Italy — Joseph Mifsud, the mysterious professor at the center of the Trump-Russia probe, was due in court in Italy on Wednesday.

The elite world of Brett Kavanaugh  —  The Chevy Chase Lounge is a neighborhood joint where bartender Tim Higgins is accustomed to bantering with long-standing patrons, including a middle-aged guy named Brett who likes to pop in for a Budweiser and a burger after coaching his daughters' basketball games.

Pence launches Midwest damage control mission  —  With anxiety rising over Trump's trade policies, the vice president is stumping for endangered incumbents and reassuring big GOP donors.  —  CHICAGO — Vice President Mike Pence begins a campaign swing through the Midwest on Wednesday designed …

Alabama Moves to Ban Sheriffs from Pocketing Jail Food Money  —  Alabama's governor has cut off a gravy train for the state's sheriffs: the unspent money for prisoners' meals that the sheriffs have long been allowed to keep for themselves.  —  The practice, born of a bickered-over ambiguity in a state law …

The only good online fandom left is Dune  —  As corporations take control of nerd culture, science fiction's most esoteric epic remains gloriously untamed.  —  Escapism in the year 2018 is a strange thing.  If you want to refresh a brain beshitted by weeks and months of workaday corruption and brutality …

Can a liberal agenda that sells in the Bronx win over voters in Kansas?  —  PRAIRIE VILLAGE, Kan. — Brent Welder walked into his campaign office to share the good news.  Ever since Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's upset victory in a Democratic House primary in New York, he'd been deluged with calls.

Nabbed at airport, ex-Apple engineer was fleeing with secrets to self-driving cars, FBI says  —  Most new cars come with a range of connected options, from Bluetooth to Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.  Here's how to distinguish among them and how to determine what you need.  Kim Komando, Special for USA TODAY

The Utah Gun Exchange is following the Parkland students around the country to combat their call for more gun laws  —  From Texas to New York to Utah, students continue to hold rallies and town halls calling for new gun regulations after repeated mass shootings.

Pompeo's North Korea meeting went ‘as badly as it could have gone’  —  Kim Jong Un snubbed Mike Pompeo, source says  —  (CNN)It began with great expectations, an eagerly-anticipated meeting with a reclusive leader, and a gift bag that included an Elton John CD.

Renter believes he was racially profiled after being confronted at apartment pool, asked to leave  —  INDIANAPOLIS — A renter who says he was confronted and asked to leave the pool at the apartment complex he lives in believes he was the victim of racial profiling.

Rick Scott and family made $550M in one transaction.  How ‘blind’ is his blind trust?  —  TALLAHASSEE  —  The reason Gov. Rick Scott's net income rose 55 percent in 2017 has to do with electric cars, China partnerships, a company turnaround, and a single transaction that resulted …

Michael Cohen has made ‘a declaration of independence’ from President Trump, lawyer says  —  Michael Cohen's new attorney says his client has made a “declaration of independence” from Donald Trump  —  and no longer would take a bullet for the president in any investigation.

Woman calls cops on black 12-year-old boy delivering newspapers in Ohio neighborhood  —  A fledgling paperboy working alongside his mother in suburban Columbus, Ohio, came face-to-face with a cop after a neighbor thought he was up to no good.  —  The nosy neighbor spied the 12-year-old boy …