White House Counsel Has Cooperated Extensively With Mueller's Obstruction Inquiry  —  WASHINGTON — The White House counsel, Donald F. McGahn II, has cooperated extensively in the special counsel investigation, sharing detailed accounts about the episodes at the heart of the inquiry …

Inside the security clearance revolt  —  Several wanted to fiddle with the punctuation, some wanted to add nice things about John Brennan; others thought it would be wiser to pare them back.  —  But in 12 hours, a couple of former CIA senior aides pulled off a first in American history.

The Slippery Slope of Complicity  —  When was the last time centrist talking heads declared, “Donald Trump just became president” (because he bombed someone, or something like that)?  I think it's been more than a year.  At this point, you have to be a truly fanatical practitioner of bothsidesism …

Bill Maher criticizes social media bans: ‘Alex Jones gets to speak’  —  HBO talk-show host Bill Maher spoke out in defense of controversial right-wing host Alex Jones after Jones was suspended from several social media platforms, saying that everyone has a right to free speech.

Sex Abuse Report Lists a Beloved Pastor, and a Pennsylvania Church Reels  —  The Rev. John David Crowley was once adored by his parishioners.  Then came the news that he was among the priests who abused more than 1,000 children.  —  Everything felt normal until the news alert popped up on Cindy Depretis's cellphone Tuesday afternoon.

CBS News pollster reveals why ‘blue wave’ is unlikely  —  Anthony Salvanto was imprisoned in a windowless office on Nov. 8, 2016.  His phone was confiscated; guards escorted him to the bathroom.  And all he had to look at were numbers, numbers and more numbers.  —  It wasn't some sadistic punishment.

Georgia lawmaker says he would have no problem if Trump used n-word in the past  —  (CNN)A Georgia state lawmaker said he would not have an issue if President Donald Trump used the n-word in the past and argued that holding a president accountable for mistakes made before entering office would “set a bad precedent.”

'I'm not going there': As Trump hurls racial invective, most Republicans stay silent  —  The president of the United States had just lobbed another racially charged insult — this time calling his former top African American adviser a “dog” — but Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.) had no interest in talking about it.

ICE Detains Man Driving Pregnant Wife To Hospital To Deliver Baby  —  SAN BERNARDINO (CBSLA) — A newborn is without his father Friday after immigration agents detained the man as he was taking his wife to deliver the baby.  —  “I feel very bad right now,” Maria del Carmen Venegas told CBS2 News …

Alleged Russian Agent Marina Butina Moved to Virginia Jail, Unclear Why … Maria Butina, the Russian national accused of acting as a Kremlin agent in the United States, was abruptly moved from a jail in Washington to a lockup in Alexandria, Virginia, according to her lawyer.

Should you be eating diatomaceous earth, the fossilised remains of tiny marine animals?  —  We're used to influencers pushing out-there ‘superfoods’ (yes, that's in quotation marks because we don't think superfoods are a real thing).  —  Remember the charcoal hype?  Everyone's excitement for goji berries?

Pioneer of modern redistricting dies at 75  —  For more than four decades, when Republicans needed strategic advice drawing political boundaries, the party turned to a small cadre of expert cartographers, trained in the rare art of redistricting.  At the heart of that group was Tom Hofeller.

South Africa farm seizure: Terrified white farmers plot escape as crackdown looms  —  A RECORD number of white South African farmers have put their land up for sale amid fears the ruling party is considering confiscating properties bigger than 25,000 acres.  —  Tensions among the country's …

Netflix's ‘Classless’ Cancellation of Michelle Wolf's ‘The Break’ … Well, that was fast.  On Friday, Netflix quietly pulled the plug on The Break with Michelle Wolf, one of the only “late-night” shows on “television” hosted by a female comedian, just three months after it premiered.

Who Is Winning the War in Afghanistan?  Depends on Which One  —  Rod Nordland has been reporting on Afghanistan's travails since well before the American-led invasion that booted the Taliban from power in 2001.  For the past eight years, he has been a correspondent and then Kabul bureau chief …