Trump, Putin and the betrayal of America  —  Donald Trump's press conference with Vladimir Putin this week is likely to go down as one of the signature moments of his presidency.  In an appalling display, the US president refused to endorse the verdict of his own intelligence agencies …

Majority of Americans think Trump mishandling Russia: Reuters/Ipsos poll  —  (Reuters) - More than half of Americans disapprove of the way U.S. President Donald Trump is handling relations with Russia, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted after his controversial summit and joint news conference …

This sad, embarrassing wreck of a man  —  America's child president had a play date with a KGB alumnus, who surely enjoyed providing day care.  It was a useful, because illuminating, event: Now we shall see how many Republicans retain a capacity for embarrassment.

“This Was the Nightmare Scenario”: The West Wing Revolts After Trump Embraces Putin  —  As Trump grappled with his error, Chief of Staff John Kelly went into overdrive to get Trump to walk it back.  —  As he flew home from Helsinki on Air Force One following his disastrous press conference …

The European Union hits Google with a $5 billion fine  —  This is the second multibillion-dollar fine the EU has handed the company in just over a year.  —  The European Union hit Google with a $5 billion fine on Wednesday for breaking antitrust laws by pushing device makers using …

Vote Joe Crowley, for Working Families  —  Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez hurts the party, Congress and even America.  —  Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's surprise primary victory over Rep. Joe Crowley seems likely to hurt Congress, America and the Democratic Party.  It doesn't have to.

The vanishing White House press briefing  —  Commentators slam Trump for summit performance  —  The “daily” White House press briefing is a thing of the past.  —  The White House has only held three on-camera briefings in the past 30 days, according to the administration's own records on WhiteHouse.gov.

After Putin Meeting, Trump Voters Mostly Dig In.  But Cracks Are Showing.  —  Maybe it was the F.B.I.'s fault for unnerving him.  Or maybe the White House staff had left President Trump ill-prepared before his stunning remarks in Helsinki Monday, when he sided with Russia over his own intelligence agencies.

A Stabbing On Samish Island: The Radicalization Of Lane Davis  —  Lane Davis was a far-right, pro-Trump media figure looking for his big break.  Then he stabbed his father to death.  —  Nearly everyone on Samish Island knew Chuck Davis, a bighearted retiree who lived in the handsome gray shingle house …

'Putin's Favorite Congressman' Now Engulfed in NRA Spy Case … Pro-Kremlin GOP Congressman Dana Rohrabacher met with a Putin ally in Russia in August 2015, The Daily Beast has confirmed, matching an account in Monday's blockbuster FBI affidavit against accused Russian spy Maria Butina.

Wave Alert: House Democrats Setting Fundraising Records  —  Republicans are getting beaten badly on the financial front.  It's an ominous sign for their chances of holding a House majority.  —  To understand why House Democrats are still in strong position to retake the majority, simply follow the money.

‘I want him to fix it’: Trump voters sorry now that tariffs are killing their Missouri nail factory  —  MSNBC's Vaughn Hillyard this week visited a nail factory in Missouri that is getting absolutely crushed by President Donald Trump's steel and aluminum tariffs.

Trump Supreme Court pick: I would ‘put the nail’ in ruling upholding independent counsel  —  (CNN)Judge Brett Kavanaugh two years ago expressed his desire to overturn a three-decade-old Supreme Court ruling upholding the constitutionality of an independent counsel, a comment bound …

Exclusive: Trump White House's Intelligence Chief Is Leaving  —  Michael Barry, the senior National Security Council director for intelligence programs, is leaving the White House, according to two government officials.  —  Barry's departure adds to the growing list of vacant senior NSC positions since …

Trump revised one sentence from Helsinki.  Here's everything else he didn't fix.  —  First Read is your briefing from “Meet the Press” and the NBC Political Unit on the day's most important political stories and why they matter.  —  WASHINGTON — If Tuesday was supposed to be a clean-up job …

The Queen's Not-So-Subtle Nod to Barack Obama You May Have Missed During Trump's U.K. Visit  —  Queen Elizabeth has no shortage of fancy brooches, so her choice of shiny accessory while President Donald Trump was visiting her country has raised some eyebrows for its potential hidden meaning.

Cambridge Analytica's Facebook data was accessed from Russia, MP says  —  The now infamous Facebook data set on tens of millions of Americans gathered by a Cambridge University scientist for a firm that went on to worked for Donald Trump's 2016 campaign was accessed from Russia, a British member of parliament tells CNN.

DNC Loses Request to Serve Kushner With Russia Lawsuit by Mail  — ‘Service is not intended to be a game,’ judge says in denial  —  A judge denied the Democratic National Committee's request to use U.S. Postal Service first-class mail to formally let Jared Kushner know he was sued in April …

'It's just not wise': In past year, Trump's company repeatedly paid property taxes late  —  President Trump's company missed deadlines to pay property-tax bills in five states over the past year — and those delays cost the company $61,800 extra in penalties, interest and missed discounts …

Shadow Politics: Meet the Digital Sleuth Exposing Fake News  —  WHEN WE MET in early March, Jonathan Albright was still shrugging off a sleepless weekend.  It was a few weeks after the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School had killed 17 people, most of them teenagers …