Donald Trump Played Central Role in Hush Payoffs to Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal  —  Federal prosecutors have gathered evidence of the president's participation in deals to buy the silence of a former adult-film actress and an ex-Playboy model.  The deals have led Trump's former lawyer …

FBI Is Investigating Florida Company Where Whitaker Was Advisory-Board Member  —  Active case is being handled by FBI Miami office; acting attorney general oversees FBI  —  The Federal Bureau of Investigation is conducting a criminal investigation of a Florida company accused of scamming millions …

Trump's authoritarian response to Florida shenanigans hints at worse to come  —  In the run-up to Election Day in 2016, Donald Trump repeatedly and flatly declared that the outcome of the election would be legitimate only if he won.  The claim, stripped down to its essence …

Inside Kris Kobach's losing Kansas campaign: ‘Check logic and reason at the door’  —  Kris Kobach blamed money.  He blamed history.  He didn't blame himself for losing a race for governor in a state where Republicans outnumber Democrats nearly 2 to 1.  —  “Obviously, if we'd had more money …

We Thought We Knew Faith, Until We Didn't The making of a white-nationalist poster girl.  —  Long before Faith Goldy became a poster girl for white nationalism, she was one of the most popular students at our all-girls private school in Toronto, Havergal College.

Trump administration to end refueling for Saudi coalition aircraft in Yemen  —  The Trump administration is ending the practice of refueling Saudi coalition aircraft, halting the most tangible and controversial aspect of U.S. support for the kingdom's three-year war in Yemen, people familiar with the situation said.

Zinke is the Cabinet official most vulnerable to Democratic probe, White House fears  —  White House officials have identified Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke as the Cabinet member most vulnerable to a congressional probe under a Democratic majority in January, putting the colorful secretary closer …

Why Aren't Democrats More Excited About the 2018 Results  —  For a party that had a great night on Tuesday, Democrats aren't really acting like it.  Yes, they lost at least three Senate incumbents, but given the exposure they were up against, this is not such a bad result.

Democrats Plan to Pursue Most Aggressive Gun-Control Legislation in Decades  —  Focus spurred by an incoming class of lawmakers with ‘F’ NRA ratings who campaigned on the issue  —  WASHINGTON—Democrats say they will pass the most aggressive gun-control legislation in decades when they become …

Trump Threatens to Retaliate Against Reporters Who Don't Show ‘Respect’  —  President Trump said on Friday that he might revoke the credentials of additional White House reporters if they do not “treat the White House with respect,” lobbing another threat at the news media two days …

Trump is telling people he wants to replace Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross by the end of the year  — President Donald Trump is telling people he wants to replace Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross by the end of the year, according to three sources familiar with the matter.

Tensions rising between Mueller, Manafort over level of cooperation: Sources  —  Talks between Special Counsel Robert Mueller and former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort have grown increasingly tense over Manafort's apparent lack of cooperation with the investigation, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.

Leak: Axios Editor Concedes Problems With HBO ‘S**tshow’ But Assures Staff That Haters Are Just Jealous  —  “They hate ya cause they ain't ya,” one employee wrote.  —  Their weekly staff meeting had become a crisis debriefing, and Axios employees were wondering where things had gone wrong.

Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom names former Clinton advisor his chief of staff … Moving swiftly to fill the highest-ranking member of his nascent administration, Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom tapped Ann O'Leary, a longtime policy advisor to Hillary Clinton, to serve as his chief of staff and a leader of the transition team this fall.

A Vox Co-Founder Got Doxed on Twitter by a Hate-Spewing Incel, and Twitter Allowed It  —  If verified users with huge followings can't get Twitter to enforce its safety rules, what hope does everyone else have?  — It Took Me Less Than an Hour to Find Illegal Animal Products at a Chinese Traditional Medicine Market

'We Can't Stop Brexit'  —  Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn believes that politics have left young people behind.  In an interview with DER SPIEGEL, he speaks about Brexit, the crisis of social democracy in Europe and the uphill battle to unite his party.  —  The man upon whom the hopes …

America's Fever Is Still Rising  —  Tuesday, if you step back, was an ordinary election in an extraordinary time.  The swing against the president's party in the first midterm election was not far off the historical range.  The average loss for the president's party in the House two years into a first term over the last century is 29.

Scott Walker Tried To Get Me Fired.  Now He's Out Of A Job.  —  In the fall of 2011, I was an unemployed recent journalism school graduate in a country still clawing its way back from recession.  At a family reunion, my grandma pulled out a piece of paper with a list of signatures …

Exit polling gives Golden an edge in 2nd District ranked-choice count.  See each candidate's road to victory.  —  AUGUSTA, Maine — Assistant Maine House Majority Leader Jared Golden is favored to beat U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin in a ranked-choice voting count that could decide the tight race …

Trump says Macron's “EU army” plan is “insulting”  —  On his way to Paris, President Trump tweeted his dissatisfaction with French President Emmanuel Macron's suggestion that Europe should build its own military defense against the U.S., China and Russia, calling the idea “very insulting” …