Conservatives mount a whisper campaign smearing Khashoggi in defense of Trump  —  Hard-line Republicans and conservative commentators are mounting a dark whisper campaign against Jamal Khashoggi that is designed to protect President Trump from criticism of his handling of the dissident …

How Do You Solve a Problem Like Hillary?  —  She's not going away—and Democrats aren't sure what to do about it.  —  In recent months, some reporters who cover the Trump White House have received phone calls from the last person they would expect: Hillary Clinton.

Kelly, Bolton Get in Profane Shouting Match Outside the Oval Office  —  President Donald Trump's chief of staff and his national security adviser engaged in a profanity-laced argument outside the Oval Office on Thursday, according to three people familiar with the episode.

Haley breaks with Trump: ‘In America, our political opponents are not evil’  —  Outgoing U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley insisted Thursday night that “in America, our political opponents are not evil,” a shark rhetorical break from her boss, President Donald Trump …

A President Who Believes He Is Entitled to His Own Facts  —  WASHINGTON — He accepts less-than-credible denials from autocratic heads of state about nefarious acts.  He disputes the existence of man-made climate change and insists that photographic evidence of the crowd at his inauguration is fake, part of a media plot to harm him.

Fake intern who recorded McCaskill campaign had access to voter info, campaign says  —  A conservative activist with Project Veritas posed as an intern with U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill's campaign and had access to voter information, according to a stack of documents McCaskill's lawyer delivered …

I pulled a 1,500-year-old sword out of a lake  —  People are saying I am the queen of Sweden because of the legend of King Arthur  —  Every summer, my parents, my six-year-old brother and I go to stay in a cabin by a lake called Vidöstern in Tånnö in southern Sweden, not far from where we live.

Mueller report PSA: Prepare for disappointment  —  And be forewarned that the special counsel's findings may never be made public.  —  President Donald Trump's critics have spent the past 17 months anticipating what some expect will be among the most thrilling events of their lives …

Justice Dept. Rank-and-File Tell of Discontent Over Sessions's Approach  —  WASHINGTON — During his 20 months in office, Attorney General Jeff Sessions has swept in perhaps the most dramatic political shift in memory at the Justice Department, from the civil rights-centered agenda of the Obama era …

Trump administration does about-face on announcement that top HUD aide would lead Interior watchdog  —  Interior Department officials said Thursday that they did not approve the hiring of a political appointee as the agency's acting watchdog, calling the announcement of her move by Housing …

Burlington police chief reacts to Madelyn Ellen Linsenmeir obituary: ‘I have a problem’  —  Burlington police Chief Brandon del Pozo posted this to his Facebook account on Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2018.  —  I have a problem with this obituary.  —  Born here in Burlington, Madelyn was the 30-year old mother of a toddler.

Vladimir Putin uses speech to herald end of US hegemony  —  Russian president Vladimir Putin shrugged off worsening relations with the west and talked up Moscow's burgeoning diplomatic friendships in Asia and the Middle East, as he hailed the end of a US-dominated unipolar world.

PolitiFact is forced to retract a story claiming Claire McCaskill didn't say what she definitely said  —  At some point, we may have to consider the possibility that certain media fact-checkers are not so dispassionate and free from partisan biases as they'd like us to believe.

Republicans are short on policy wins so they are trying to fire up Trump's base with extreme attack ads  — With Election Day just two weeks away, GOP candidates seek to alarm a conservative base disproportionately composed of older, less-educated whites in small towns and rural areas.

HBO's ‘Veep’ gag and new Joe Donnelly political ad are basically the same  —  Dwight Adams, dwight.adams@indystar.com  —  Many Hoosiers who saw the latest Joe Donnelly ad entitled “Axe” may have viewed it and thought, “well, there's a fella who likes to chop his own wood!”

What does Trump's ascendance mean about America?  —  It is a sign of the times — the kind involving the seven-horned beast, and the rain of fire, and the end of days — that recent news has been dominated by Kanye, Stormy and the misogynist boor who is president of the United States.

Ex-teacher pleads guilty to sex with 14-year-old student … A former middle school teacher in Florida pleaded guilty to having sex with a 14-year-student in her car and in a barn — and is now facing up to 10 years in prison.  —  Stephanie Peterson, 27, who previously taught …

Italian government splits over budget  —  Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte calls Cabinet meeting to try and smooth things over.  —  ROME — The Italian government isn't just at loggerheads with Brussels, it's also at war with itself.  —  Economic Development Minister Luigi Di Maio …

Twitter has a huge Louis Farrakhan problem  —  Apparently, saying Jews are termites isn't offensive.  At least, not offensive enough for Twitter to ban Louis Farrakhan for it.  —  The Nation of Islam leader's history of blatant anti-Semitism goes back decades.

Facebook hires Nick Clegg as head of global affairs  —  Facebook has hired Nick Clegg, the former UK deputy prime minister, to head its global affairs and communications team as it faces escalating problems over data protection and the threat of greater government regulation.