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 …

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 …

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.

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 …

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 …

GOP Rep. Jason Lewis once mocked women who felt traumatized by unwanted touching  —  GOP rep. defends prior comments on ‘slut’ women  —  (CNN)Republican Rep. Jason Lewis once mocked women who were traumatized by unwanted sexual advances, including those inappropriately kissed …

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 …

Fentanyl smuggled from China is killing thousands of Americans  —  The Zheng drug trafficking organization was hardly clandestine.  The Shanghai-based network sold synthetic narcotics, including deadly fentanyl, on websites posted in 35 languages, from Arabic and English to Icelandic and Uzbek.

Jim Renacci issues statement from lawyer alleging Sherrod Brown made ‘unwanted, sudden’ advance against unnamed woman in late 1980s  —  CLEVELAND, Ohio — Rep. Jim Renacci's Senate campaign issued a news release late Thursday that he said depicted an unnamed woman's story of an …

Georgia Is Using Amateur Handwriting Analysis to Disenfranchise Minority Voters  —  The scourge of “signature mismatch” laws strikes again.  —  Say you live in Georgia.  You're eager to vote in this year's election—a tight race between Democrat Stacey Abrams and Republican Trump acolyte Brian Kemp …

Kamala Harris and other prominent Democrats want to repeal Trump's tax cuts and replace them with cash payouts for the poor and working class  — With midterm elections 2½ weeks away and the 2020 presidential race around the corner, prominent Democrats are embracing an ambitious idea …

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.

Getting a jump: Absentee voting in Virginia soars three weeks ahead of election  —  The number of voters in Virginia who have cast early ballots ahead of the November elections is dramatically up compared with last year, suggesting an electorate that is energized by several hotly contested races …

For a Change, Democrats Seem Set to Equal or Exceed Republicans in Turnout  —  Polls show enthusiasm surging in many mostly white suburban districts, but less so among young and nonwhite voters.  —  A wide range of evidence indicates that Democratic voters are poised to vote in numbers unseen …

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!”

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.

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.

A week after Hurricane Michael, rural residents feel stranded  —  ALFORD, Fla. — Lillian Chance couldn't leave her street for days until a neighbor chopped away the fallen trees that blocked her pothole-filled path.  She was unable to get inside her trailer until an old friend sliced off branches of the cedar that had collapsed on it.

AP-NORC Poll: Just 1 in 4 thinks Kavanaugh told entire truth  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Just 1 in 4 people thinks Brett Kavanaugh was completely honest when as a Supreme Court nominee he gave sworn testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee last month, with Republicans and Democrats holding …

Karlie Kloss Is Married!  Supermodel Weds Joshua Kushner in Custom Dior Gown  —  Three months after announcing their engagement, Karlie Kloss and Joshua Kushner have officially tied the knot!  —  A rep for the supermodel, 26, confirms to PEOPLE the couple wed on Thursday evening.