Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh piled up credit card debt by purchasing Nationals tickets, White House says  —  Supreme Court nominee Brett M. Kavanaugh incurred tens of thousands of dollars of credit card debt buying baseball tickets over the past decade and at times reported liabilities …

When Trump attacked Germany in Brussels, his aides pursed their lips and glanced away  —  President Trump kicked off his trip to Europe with a biting critique of the United States' longtime allies, declaring at a breakfast meeting that Germany “is captive to Russia.”

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.

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.

Wife of top Trump aide had radio show where she said women in military should expect sexual harassment  —  (CNN)Darla Shine, the wife of new White House deputy chief of staff for communications Bill Shine, hosted a radio show in the late 2000s where she once mocked victims of sexual harassment …

Beto O'Rourke to report huge $10.4 million fundraising haul in second quarter of 2018  —  Beto O'Rourke, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, says he raised a stunning $10.4 million in the second quarter of 2018. … Beto O'Rourke, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Texas …

Vern Buchanan bought yacht after voting for House version of GOP tax bill  —  A recently filed financial disclosure shows U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan celebrated passing the House version of the Republican tax bill in quite the lavish way.  —  According to the disclosure, Buchanan spent between $1 million …

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.

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 …

‘You call the police’: Man who took Tom Reed sign charged after GPS tracks him down  —  A leader of a group that regularly protests against U.S. Rep. Tom Reed has been charged with petit larceny after being accused of stealing campaign signs.  —  Following the disappearance of campaign signs …

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 …

In major abortion ruling, Kavanaugh offers clues of how he might handle divisive issue on the Supreme Court  —  Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh has only one major abortion ruling in his 12 years on the federal bench, but that forceful opinion will define the coming debate on what his elevation …

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 …

House GOP appropriators block funding for gun violence research  —  House Republican appropriators Wednesday rejected a proposal to designate millions of dollars for the CDC for gun violence research, voting 32-20 to keep the language out of a fiscal 2019 spending bill.

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 …

Walmart's Newly Patented Technology For Eavesdropping On Workers Presents Privacy Concerns  —  “The sound sensors can capture audio data based on interactions between the employee and the guests, interactions between the guests, and sounds resulting from movement and/or actions of the employees and/or guests.”

German Wobbliness on Russia Is Real  —  And it long predates Trump.  —  The latest NATO summit got underway in Brussels this week, and President Trump brought all of his signature rhetorical subtlety to the Belgian capital.  Off the bat at a meeting Wednesday with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg …

Trump administration separated a 3-year-old from his father who crossed the border legally  —  ELOY, Arizona — Two days after asking for asylum at the bridge connecting Reynosa, Mexico, with McAllen, Texas, Jose was sitting in a freezing-cold holding room with his 3-year-old son, when immigration officials came in.

Tickets for Sean Spicer book launch party going for up to $1,000  —  Sean Spicer's book is hitting shelves later this month, and those who want to attend the opening launch party should be prepared to shell out some money.  —  Organizers are selling tickets for the former White House press …

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.

Alabama Moves to Limit Sheriffs From Pocketing Jail Food Money  —  Alabama's governor has begun to 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 …

‘Ranting and raving’: The time Kavanaugh knocked Chris Ruddy  —  Records from Kenneth Starr's office suggest Kavanaugh didn't think much of Ruddy, who has become one of Trump's top surrogates.  —  Two decades ago, as Brett Kavanaugh labored on independent counsel Ken Starr's team …

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 …

Kushner's Firm Deepens Ties to Those With Business in Washington  —  Eighteen months into Jared Kushner's White House tenure, his family's real estate firm is deepening its financial relationships with institutions and individuals that have a lot riding on decisions made by the federal government.

VP Pence tears into McCaskill, shrugs off disruptions at KC event  —  Vice President Mike Pence repeatedly tore into U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill at a raucous event Wednesday in Kansas City that highlighted both the stark political division in the country and the role the region will have in deciding …