Inside the frantic decision to open a Trump obstruction probe before Mueller got the job  —  Washington (CNN)In the hectic eight days after President Donald Trump fired FBI Director James Comey, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and top FBI officials viewed Trump as a leader who needed to be reined in …

North Carolina Republican Owes $34,310 for Disputed Absentee Ballot and Turnout Work, Records Show  —  LUMBERTON, N.C. — The congressional campaign of Mark Harris disclosed late Thursday night that it owed more than $34,000 in connection with an absentee ballot and voter turnout operation …

Rex Tillerson makes rare public appearance in Houston  —  Russia interfered with the 2016 U.S. elections, former Secretary of State and Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson said during a Thursday evening visit to Houston.  —  Making his first public appearance in nearly nine months …

Trump to Pick Nauert to Replace Haley as UN Ambassador, Sources Say  — Nauert has been State Department spokeswoman, Fox News anchor  — Maintaining North Korea sanctions, defending Israel key jobs  —  President Donald Trump has decided to nominate State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert …

White House chief of staff John Kelly expected to resign soon  —  Washington (CNN)John Kelly is expected to resign as White House chief of staff in the coming days, two sources familiar with the situation unfolding in the West Wing tell CNN.  —  Seventeen months in, Kelly and President Donald Trump …

Democrats speeding up their 2020 campaign launches  —  NEW YORK (AP) — Democrats are hitting fast forward.  —  The first major presidential campaign announcements could come before year's end.  The Democratic National Committee plans to announce a debate framework by then featuring 15 to 20 candidates.

Making President Trump's Bed: A Housekeeper Without Papers  —  At the president's New Jersey golf course, an undocumented immigrant has worked as a maid since 2013.  She said she never imagined she “would see such important people close up.”  —  BEDMINSTER, N.J. — During more than five years …

Kevin Hart Refuses to Apologize, Despite Academy Ultimatum, for Past Anti-Gay Comments  —  It appears the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences may be looking for a new host for the upcoming Oscars ceremony very soon.  —  In a new Instagram video, Kevin Hart, who was tapped to emcee …

Trump is not capable  —  Weekday nights Fox News Channel star, Tucker Carlson, can be found merrily berating hapless guests, grilling liberal pundits, and defending America's working and middle classes.  Puckish and pugilistic, the 49-year-old insists the Washington elites among whom he grew up despise America's “normal people.”

Only the Best Candidates for Federal Courts  —  We should stop bringing candidates with questionable track records on race before the full Senate for a vote.  —  Over the past two years the Senate has confirmed a record number of judicial nominees.  I have proudly voted for more than 99% of them …

Missouri Secretary of State begins investigation into Josh Hawley  —  Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft has launched an investigation into a complaint that Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley used public resources in his successful bid for the U.S. Senate.

CNN's New York offices evacuated due to bomb threat  —  (CNN)CNN's New York offices and studios have been evacuated due to a phoned bomb threat, the company said.  —  Several fire alarm bells rang inside CNN's New York newsroom, signaling an evacuation shortly after 10:30 p.m.

Reporters At Bloomberg News Are Worried About Michael Bloomberg's Potential Presidential Run  —  Reporters at Bloomberg News are on edge after their boss announced that if he chooses to run for president in 2020 — a decision he will have to finalize relatively soon — it could mean the end of the news outlet's political coverage.

Michigan G.O.P. Starts Limiting Power of Incoming Democratic Leaders  —  LANSING, Mich. — Michigan Republicans, following the tactics of conservative lawmakers in Wisconsin, moved on Thursday to start limiting the power of the incoming Democratic secretary of state and set the stage …

Transcript: NPR's Interview National Security Adviser John Bolton  —  In an interview with NPR's Steve Inskeep, National Security Adviser John Bolton talks about the arrest of Meng Wanzhou, scion of a Chinese telecommunications giant, natural security threats posed by China and a second summit with North Korea.

At ‘60 Minutes,’ Independence Led to Trouble, Investigators Say  —  For decades, “60 Minutes” has reigned at the top of television news, bringing in hundreds of journalistic awards, not to mention weekly ratings for CBS that are the envy of the industry.  The success has allowed “60 Minutes” …

Isabel Wilkerson on Michelle Obama's ‘Becoming’ and the Great Migration  —  The former first lady's long-awaited new memoir recounts with insight, candor and wit her family's trajectory from the Jim Crow South to Chicago's South Side and her own improbable journey from there to the White House.

Documents Point to Illegal Campaign Coordination Between Trump and the NRA  —  The National Rifle Association spent $30 million to help elect Donald Trump—more than any other independent conservative group.  Most of that sum went toward television advertising, but a political message loses …

Former NATO Commander Told Pompeo to ‘Muddle Along’ in Afghanistan  —  Stanley McChrystal, the former commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan, admitted during a recent speaking appearance that he had recently advised Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to “muddle along” in Afghanistan due to a lack of viable strategic alternatives.

U.S. Tax Dollars Help to Starve Children  —  The famine in Yemen could become the worst the world has seen in a generation.  —  ADEN, Yemen  —  He is an eight-year-old boy who is starving and has limbs like sticks, but Yaqoob Walid doesn't cry or complain.

Beto O'Rourke's bid against Ted Cruz ended up raising record $80M, a sum sure to stoke 2020 buzz  —  WASHINGTON — Rep. Beto O'Rourke ended up raising an astonishing $80.1 million in his failed bid to unseat Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, putting an exclamation point on the El Paso Democrat's record-setting Senate fundraising haul.