Ohio race just got closer after county finds hundreds of uncounted votes  —  A special election in Ohio's 12th Congressional District was too close to call early Tuesday.  It could produce an automatic recount for Democrat Danny O'Connor and Republican Troy Balderson, who was backed by President Donald Trump.

Secret recording shows GOP's Nunes saying Rosenstein impeachment would delay Supreme Court pick  —  “Do you want them [the Senate] to drop everything and not confirm the Supreme Court justice?”  Rep. Devin Nunes said at a recent fundraiser.  —  Hard-line conservative Republicans …

Omarosa Secretly Recorded Trump and Played the Audio to Others, Sources Say … Michael Cohen, Donald Trump's former personal attorney and fixer, isn't the only one with secretly recorded audio of the president.  —  Multiple sources with direct knowledge of the situation tell The Daily Beast …

Rudy's Mueller demand: No questions on Flynn, Comey  —  With his constant commentating and public negotiating, Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani is setting up unmeetable expectations for special counsel Robert Mueller — a kind of insurance policy with the president's base.

Tribune Terminates $3.9 Billion Sinclair Merger, Sues Broadcast Rival  —  FCC Chairman Ajit Pai had concerns about Sinclair's submissions and sent it to an administrative-law judge, a blow to the merger's approval chances  —  Tribune Media Co. TRCO .99% terminated its merger agreement …

Hope Hicks getting sucked back into Trump's orbit  —  Hope Hicks had no intention of traveling on Air Force One when she arrived at President Donald Trump's Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club to hang out with White House friends including Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump.

Prosecutor: Man at N.M. compound trained kids for school shooting  —  AMALIA, N.M. (AP) — The father of a missing Georgia boy was training children at a New Mexico compound to commit school shootings, prosecutors said in court documents obtained Wednesday, as authorities waited to learn …

Social Media Giants Shouldn't Be Arbiters Of Appropriate Speech  —  Not every defense of free expression is predicated on the Constitution.  Sometimes it's about the principle.

Bill Nelson: The Russians have penetrated some Florida voter registration systems  —  Nelson amplified concerns about the 2018 midterms.  —  Russian operatives have “penetrated” some of Florida's election systems ahead of the 2018 midterms, Sen. Bill Nelson said Wednesday, adding new urgency about hacking.

Kobach refuses to recuse himself from election recount  —  Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, who holds a razor-thin lead over incumbent Jeff Colyer in Kansas' Republican gubernatorial primary dubbed too close to call, said Wednesday that he will not recuse himself from a recount process.

Regardless of Trial, New Britain Is Keeping ‘Paul Manafort Drive’  —  New Britain has no plans to change the name of Paul Manafort Drive, according to city officials.  It is named after a former mayor, Paul Manafort, whose son, also named Paul, is making national headlines in his tax fraud trial this week.

The Whole Republican Party Seems to Be Going to Jail Now  —  The entire Trump era has been a festering pit of barely disguised ongoing corruption.  But the whole sordid era has not had a 24-hour period quite like the orgy of criminality which we have just experienced.  The events of the last day alone include:

Emails show 2016 links among Steele, Ohr, Simpson — with Russian oligarch in background  —  Emails in 2016 between former British spy Christopher Steele and Justice Department official Bruce Ohr suggest Steele was deeply concerned about the legal status of a Putin-linked Russian oligarch …

GOP Rep's Arrest Gets 7x The Coverage of Entire Scandal for Democrat  —  If you're a politician with “D” at the end of your name, it grants you certain privileges from an all too friendly press.  They go easy on you in interviews, give you the benefit of the doubt, and if you're ever charged …

Dozens dead after school bus carrying children hit by airstrike  —  (CNN)Dozens of children, most believed to be under the age of 10, have been killed after a Saudi-led coalition airstrike hit a school bus in northern Yemen Thursday.  —  The bus was hit as it was driving through a market …

Why the Left Is So Afraid of Jordan Peterson  —  Two years ago, I walked downstairs and saw one of my teenage sons watching a strange YouTube video on the television.  —  “What is that?”  I asked.  —  He turned to me earnestly and explained, “It's a psychology professor at the University of Toronto talking about Canadian law.”

Media boost security as Trump ramps up ‘enemy’ rhetoric  —  TV networks are employing security guards at the president's high-octane rallies.  —  Notebooks, mics, cameras, hairspray — those are all things TV reporters are used to having with them at political rallies.

A Tale of Two Cultures  —  Colombia is a functioning republic with a bright future.  Venezuela, its neighbor, is a nightmare.  What accounts for the difference?  —  A generation ago, Jared Diamond argued in his bestselling book Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies …

Don Lemon: Trump told me I couldn't be a fair reporter because I'm black  —  Don Lemon, a black CNN anchor, has accused President Trump of telling him in 2011 that Lemon's race made him incapable of unbiased reporting.  —  Lemon made the claim as he attempted to explain how a years-long feud between …