Exclusive: CNN obtains secret Trump-Cohen tape  —  (CNN)Presidential candidate Donald Trump is heard on tape discussing with his attorney Michael Cohen how they would buy the rights to a Playboy model's story about an alleged affair Trump had with her years earlier, according to the audio recording …

Spotting CNN on a TV Aboard Air Force One, Trump Rages Against Reality  —  WASHINGTON — On the first couple's recent trip overseas, Melania Trump's television aboard Air Force One was tuned to CNN.  President Trump was not pleased.  —  He raged at his staff for violating a rule …

Exclusive: White House stops announcing calls with foreign leaders  —  Washington (CNN)The White House has suspended the practice of publishing public summaries of President Donald Trump's phone calls with world leaders, two sources with knowledge of the situation tell CNN …

Amid grumbling, Republicans quietly relieved about Trump's farm aid package  —  Republicans on Tuesday quietly exhaled after President Trump announced $12 billion in subsidies to rescue farm country, fretting that a trade war could bankrupt the agriculture industry and cost the party seats in the midterm elections.

Swedish student's dramatic plane protest stops man's deportation ‘to hell’  —  Elin Ersson refused to take her seat on flight at Gothenburg airport until man being sent to Afghanistan was removed  —  Play Video  —  A lone student activist on board a plane at Gothenburg airport has prevented …

Burr breaks with Nunes: ‘Sound reasons’ for judges to approve FISA warrant  —  (CNN)Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr told CNN Tuesday he believed there were “sound reasons” for judges to approve the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act warrant on former Trump campaign …

Without the Russians, Trump wouldn't have won  —  President Trump is willing, under duress, to briefly and begrudgingly admit that Russian “meddling” took place in 2016 before reverting to calling it a “big hoax.”  But he always maintains that the plot against America had no impact …

BREAKING: Ga. lawmaker who used racial slurs in TV show resigns  —  The Georgia lawmaker who exposed himself and yelled racial slurs during an episode of Sacha Baron Cohen's Showtime series is resigning his seat in the state Legislature, according to House Speaker David Ralston's office.

Before her arrest as an alleged Russian agent, Maria Butina's proud defense of her homeland drew notice at American University  —  On a campus full of ambitious students aiming to land influential U.S. government and policy jobs, Maria Butina cut an unusual profile.

Two Trump Allies, Seeing Unlimited Opportunity, Instead Drew Scrutiny  —  WASHINGTON — Early one morning in October, Rick Gates, a Washington lobbyist who had been a top official in the Trump campaign, emailed family and friends warning them that he was about to be indicted …

NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist Poll: Americans Don't Think Trump Is Tough Enough On Russia  —  Loading...  Americans don't think President Trump has been tough enough on Russia, according to a new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll conducted after Trump's summit in Helsinki last week with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

After long dissing Pelosi, O'Connor now says he could vote for her as speaker  —  After saying for months he would not back Nancy Pelosi as the Democrats' leader in the House, congressional candidate Danny O'Connor told a national television audience Tuesday night he would back whichever candidate the Democrats put forth.

Colbert says Trump closing in on ‘dictatorship’ with security-clearance threats  —  Stephen Colbert took on “brazen” President Donald Trump Tuesday after he threatened to revoke the security clearances of former intelligence officials who've criticized him.  —  “Every day, just like that …

New Emails Show Push by Trump Officials to Add Citizenship Question to Census  —  WASHINGTON — Government emails disclosed in a federal lawsuit show that within months of taking office, the Trump administration began discussing the need to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census …

The Spy Who Drove Me  —  Last week, as America's top national security experts convened in Aspen, a strangely inquisitive Uber driver showed up, too.  And caused a minor freak-out.  Was the mystery woman some kind of covert agent—or simply a figment of these hyper-paranoid times?

Toronto shooting rampage: New details emerge about gunman Faisal Hussain  —  TORONTO — Canadian investigators were digging Tuesday into the life of the 29-year-old man who opened fire on restaurants and cafes in a popular Toronto neighborhood, seeking to explain what prompted the rampage …

Europeans offer Trump 2 options to diffuse trade war  —  On the cusp of a trade war with the European Union, President Donald Trump meets Wednesday with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, who comes armed with options to diffuse the threat of a 20 percent tariff on European cars.

Pro-Confederate Birther Introduced Maria Butina's Handler to NRA Chief … The first American to introduce two of the major players at the heart of a shocking Russian spy scandal has such deep ties to Moscow that he has doubted Barack Obama's American citizenship in the course of demonstrating his affinity for Vladimir Putin.

Russia fever is distracting the United States from the China threat  —  ASPEN, Colo. - The nation's top intelligence officials publicly declared last week that China is seeking to supplant the United States as the dominant world power and represents the number one economic and national security threat.

I reported alongside soldiers in foxholes.  The president can't take that away.  —  Martha Raddatz is chief global affairs correspondent for ABC News, co-anchor of ABC's “This Week” and author of “The Long Road Home: A Story of War and Family.”  —  Like so many of my colleagues …

Femen co-founder Oksana Shachko found dead in Paris flat  —  Suicide note found next to body of 31-year-old feminist activist, say Femen members  —  Oksana Shachko, one of the founders of the Femen feminist protest movement, has been found dead in her Paris apartment, the group has said.

‘What do we think about Mick?’:  Trump narrows down chief search  —  It's not clear when John Kelly will leave his post as the president's top aide, but budget head Mick Mulvaney has emerged as a leading contender.  —  President Donald Trump loves to crowdsource staffing advice …

After a fake interview of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez went viral, its maker said it was satire  —  The video traveled quickly after being shared Monday on Facebook, gathering more than 1.5 million views in less than a day.  —  In it, Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, the congressional candidate …

Jeff Sessions Laughs and Echoes ‘Lock Her Up’ Chant With Conservative High Schoolers  —  Attorney General Jeff Sessions repeated the phrase “lock her up” during a speech to conservative high school students on Tuesday, chuckling as the crowd began a chant that Trump supporters used during …

Democrat Senators Won't Meet With Kavanaugh  —  Press Secretary Sarah Sanders conducted a briefing yesterday.  It featured the usual anti-Trump hysteria by members of the White House press corps, but I thought the most interesting point to emerge was the one that Sanders began with:

Farewell For Now  —  In which I bid farewell to Tesla analysis at Seeking Alpha.  —  And explain why I am departing.  —  A victory for Elon Musk?  Perhaps.  Of a dubious sort.  —  Yesterday, July 23, I decided to cease writing about Tesla (TSLA) here at the Seeking Alpha web site.

'What You're Seeing... Is Not What's Happening.' People Are Comparing This Trump Quote to George Orwell  —  President Trump drew comparisons to George Orwell's 1984 in an attack on the media during a speech at the Veterans of Foreign Wars national convention Tuesday.

Lucy McBath: Moved to run for Congress by son's fatal shooting, she just won her primary  —  It was the day after Thanksgiving six years ago, and Lucia “Lucy” McBath knew her 17-year-old son Jordan Davis had plans to go shopping with his friends.  —  Then, her phone started ringing.  It was Jordan's father.

Scoop: Trump fears Biden 2020, losing Pennsylvania  —  Advisers to President Trump say Joe Biden is the Democrat he most fears running against, and that Pennsylvania is the state he worries most about flipping against him.  —  Trump's calculation is based partly on how weak he sees …

Vindication for Carter Page  —  Carter Page's nightmare began exactly two years ago this week.  —  On July 26, 2016, a reporter with the Wall Street Journal sent him a text, asking the then-Trump campaign advisor about his ties to Russia, including alleged meetings with Kremlin officials …

Real Mass Hysteria, American Style  —  My friend Dennis Prager writes, “You and I are living through the greatest mass hysteria in American history.  For many Americans, the McCarthy era held that dubious distinction, but what is happening now is incomparably worse.”

Facebook's top lawyer is leaving as the company still grapples with election aftermath and a federal investigation  —  General Counsel Colin Stretch is leaving at the end of the year.  —  Colin Stretch, Facebook's top lawyer and the man who led Facebook's investigation into Russian election …

How the Fleece Vest Became the New Corporate Uniform  —  A focus of a snarky Instagram account, the uninspired grey fleece vest is an inescapable presence in cubicles around the country.  So how did this ho-hum uniform overtake the suit as the corporate outfit of choice?

As Gillibrand Pushes Left, Her Economic Agenda Tilts to Populism  —  WASHINGTON — Standing before a crowd of a thousand union members and progressive activists last month at a conference here that served as a 2020 audition for aspiring Democrats, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand was asked …