AP: National Enquirer's safe held damaging Trump stories  —  NEW YORK (AP) — The National Enquirer kept a safe containing documents on hush money payments and other damaging stories it killed as part of its cozy relationship with Donald Trump leading up to 2016 presidential election …

Trump sought his lawyers' advice weeks ago on possibility of pardoning Manafort but they counseled against it, Giuliani says  —  President Trump sought his lawyers' advice several weeks ago on the possibility of pardoning Manafort, Trump attorney Rudolph W. Giuliani said Thursday.

The Conspiracy Memo Aimed at Obama Aides that Circulated in the Trump White House  —  The 2017 document, titled the “Echo Chamber,” accused former Obama officials of undermining the incoming Administration.  —  In early 2017, some of Donald Trump's advisers concluded that they faced …

Manhattan D.A. Eyes Criminal Charges Against Trump Organization  —  The Manhattan district attorney's office is considering pursuing criminal charges against the Trump Organization and two senior company officials in connection with Michael D. Cohen's hush money payment to an adult film actress …

Key Republicans Give Trump a Path to Fire Sessions After the Election  — Sessions defends his performance in advancing Trump's agenda  — A new attorney general could take control of the Mueller probe  —  Two key Republican senators signaled to President Donald Trump …

White House blocks bill that would protect elections  —  WASHINGTON — A bill that would have significantly bolstered the nation's defenses against electoral interference has been held up in the  —  Senate at the behest of the White House, which opposed the proposed legislation, according to congressional sources.

Why Trump's supporters won't care about Cohen and Manafort's convictions  —  ZANESVILLE, OH — Last week, a woman in her mid-40s who lives in a tidy suburban enclave just outside of Columbus, Ohio, summed up her continued support for President Donald Trump despite his morals …

Inside the progressive movement roiling the Democratic Party  —  Frustrated by a string of defeats at the polls, a progressive wing of the Democratic Party pushes a populist platform across the country.  Amid wins and losses, the movement aims to reshape a party in flux.

Mike Pompeo faces a moment of truth on North Korea  —  Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is making a bold and risky push to reinvigorate a diplomatic effort with North Korea that is struggling to make progress amid increasingly belligerent rhetoric from Pyongyang.

BREAKING: Elections consultant fired over proposal to close Georgia precincts  —  The elections consultant who proposed closing most voting locations in a majority African-American rural Georgia county has been fired ahead of a vote Friday on consolidating precincts.

Reality Winner, who pleaded guilty to leaking secret U.S. report, gets 63-month sentence  —  AUGUSTA, Ga. — A former government contractor who pleaded guilty to mailing a classified U.S. report to a news organization was sentenced to more than five years Thursday as part of a deal with prosecutors …

Mollie Tibbetts' Suspected Murderer Is an ‘All-American Boy’ with No Prior Record, Defense Argues  —  accused of murdering 20-year-old college sophomore  —  Mollie Tibbetts made his first appearance at the Poweshiek County Courthouse in Iowa on Wednesday.  —  At the hearing …

Florida candidate says alien abduction doesn't define her  —  MIAMI (AP) — U.S. House candidate Bettina Rodriguez Aguilera has a long list of accomplishments to bolster her campaign in Florida.  But she is perhaps best known for claiming that she was abducted by space aliens as a child.

Manafort juror Paula Duncan: Manafort is guilty, but Mueller probe is a witch hunt  —  Paula Duncan tells NBC News the evidence against Paul Manafort was overwhelming, but she still wants Robert Mueller to wrap up his investigation.  —  WASHINGTON — Paula Duncan didn't wear her red …

Mom Investigated by Cops, Children's Services for Letting 8-Year-Old Walk Dog Alone  —  It was a walk to remember — or forget.  —  Earlier this month, 8-year-old Dorothy Widen took her family dog Marshmallow for a walk around the block near her family's suburban Chicago home.

Poll: Pennsylvanians give low marks to Trump and tariffs  —  Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf and Democratic Sen. Bob Casey both hold double-digit leads over lesser-known opponents in new NBC News/Marist poll.  —  WASHINGTON — Pennsylvania, a state that helped put President Donald Trump in the White House …

‘Dangerous and poisoned’: Critics blast Trump for endorsing white nationalist conspiracy theory on South Africa  —  President Trump's promotion of a white nationalist conspiracy theory involving South Africa prompted fierce backlash there Thursday and fresh criticism in the United States …

THE EMBARRASSINGLY TIMID TRUMP OPPOSITION  —  One of my favorite questions for Republican Trump enablers is to ask them to name just one of the president's personal character traits that they'd want their children to share.  It tends to elicit deep sighs and deflections, or absurd-on-the-face delusions—he's a good father!

Russian trolls pushed divisive content over vaccines, researchers say  —  The study highlights how social media-based propaganda efforts from Russia were not solely focused on the 2016 election and now include public health issues.  —  Russian trolls weren't just trying to cause division in U.S. politics.

Senate passes giant spending package in hopes of averting shutdown  —  The Senate on Thursday overwhelmingly passed an $857 billion spending package that Republican leaders are counting on to convince President Donald Trump to back down from threats of a government shutdown in September.

Scoop: Trump won't endorse criminal justice bill before midterms  —  President Trump has stymied a plan to push prison and sentencing reform before the midterms, according to an administration source with direct knowledge.  In a White House meeting on Thursday afternoon …

Amazon's ‘ambassador’ workers assure Twitter: we can go to the toilet any time  —  Army of fulfillment center employees jump to company's defense online when it faces a barrage of bad press  —  Anxious consumers worried about the welfare of Amazon's thousands of warehouse employees …

Trump Wants to Ban Flipping Because He Is Almost Literally a Mob Boss  —  Last November, a person close to the Trump administration speaking to the Washington Post invoked a chilling metaphor.  “This investigation is a classic Gambino-style roll-up,” the source said.