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 …

No, the White House didn't intentionally edit a question to Putin out of a video  —  MSNBC's Rachel Maddow led her show Tuesday night with an explosive allegation: The administration of President Trump had intentionally buried a question asked of Russian President Vladimir Putin during last week's news conference in Helsinki.

Melania Trump will watch ‘any channel she wants,’ spokeswoman says  —  (CNN)First lady Melania Trump will watch “any channel she wants,” according to her spokeswoman in an apparent rebuke to the report President Donald Trump was upset to find her Air Force One television tuned into CNN.

Trump pushes 25 percent auto tariff as top advisers scramble to stop him  —  Several of President Trump's senior economic advisers believe he plans to impose a 25 percent tariff on close to $200 billion in foreign-made automobiles later this year, three people briefed on discussions said.

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.

America's Most and Least Popular Governors  —  Gov. Phil Scott's (R-Vermont) approval falls far amid re-election run  —  The popularity of Republican governors in solidly blue Northeastern states has been a thematic mainstay of Morning Consult's quarterly Governor Approval Rankings since their launch in 2016.

Federal judge allows emoluments case against Trump to proceed  —  A federal judge on Wednesday rejected President Trump's latest effort to stop a lawsuit that alleges Trump is violating the Constitution by continuing to do business with foreign governments.  —  The ruling, from U.S. District …

Pickax-Wielding Vandal Smashes President Trump's Hollywood Walk of Fame Star to Pieces  —  Witnesses say a man pulled a pickax from a guitar case and destroyed the star near tourist hot-spot Hollywood and Highland  —  President Donald Trump's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame …

These Emails Show What Happens When The White House Keeps The Pentagon Out Of The Loop  —  “The Pentagon was caught off guard” stories have become a staple of news coverage of the Trump administration.  —  It's no secret that time and time again, officials in the Defense Department …

Twitter is “shadow banning” prominent Republicans like the RNC chair and Trump Jr.'s spokesman  —  Twitter is limiting the visibility of prominent Republicans in search results — a technique known as “shadow banning” — in what it says is a side effect of its attempts to improve the quality of discourse on the platform.

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 …

The Big Business of Being Gwyneth Paltrow  —  Inside the growth of Goop — the most controversial brand in the wellness industry.  —  On a Monday morning in November, students at Harvard Business School convened in their classroom to find Gwyneth Paltrow.  She was sitting at one of their desks …

Republicans Largely Abandon Running on Trump's Tax Cuts … Voters being inundated with television and digital ads in the upcoming Ohio special election would be excused for not having a particularly favorable view of President Trump's signature legislative achievement.

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke's Spokeswoman Once Argued Muslims Can't Be President  —  Faith Vander Voort published the Islamophobic post while working as an intern for GOP Rep. Steve King, who has a long history of pushing white supremacist views.  —  A top spokeswoman for Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke …

YouTube issues a new strike against Alex Jones' channel over hate speech and child endangerment  —  The video site removed four of Jones' videos on Tuesday  —  Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones' YouTube channel received a strike on Tuesday for violating the site's community guidelines, The Verge has learned.

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

Chakrabarti And Folkenflik Will Be New ‘On Point’ Hosts  —  On Point, WBUR's syndicated weekday talk show, will hit the reset button with two new hosts.  —  Meghna Chakrabarti will be the voice and face of the national two-hour morning program Monday through Thursday.  David Folkenflik will host on Fridays.

A Top Democrat Says Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Would Need To Wait Her Turn For Leadership  —  South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn sent a warning shot on Wednesday toward a likely incoming freshman who beat one of Clyburn's fellow members of House leadership in a primary, suggesting she may have a long wait …

No, Dems Aren't Disarrayed, Riven, Imploding, Eating Their Young or Battling for the Soul of the Party  —  OPINION — “Democrats in disarray” is one of those alliterative phrases beloved by pundits and political reporters.  Database searches can trace it back to the Eisenhower administration …

This Former British Spy Exposed the Russian Hackers  —  The Justice Department has charged 12 Russian officials with hacking the DNC.  Matt Tait helped shine a light on their meddling in 2016.  —  On Friday, July 13, the Justice Department charged 12 Russian military intelligence officials …

'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.

Meet the Eastern European Mystery Donors Behind the Trump-Allied Super PAC … A mysterious company that made a huge contribution to a pro-Trump political group this year is run by two Soviet-born businessmen, one of whom was feted at a donor retreat at Mar-a-Lago in March.

An open letter to Mark Zuckerberg: our child died at Sandy Hook - why let Facebook lies hurt us even more?  —  After our son's death, online abuse claiming the attack was a hoax drove us into hiding.  Yet Facebook refuses to take meaningful action  —  Leonard Pozner and Veronique De La Rosa, parents of Noah Pozner

Kemp Victory Puts Contest Into the Lean Republican Column  —  Yesterday's Republican run-off in Georgia's gubernatorial contest is as good an example as there is as to why parties hate run-offs.  They are risky propositions that can produce results that change the trajectory of a general election.

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.

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 …