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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

Deval Patrick knew when to call it quits on a presidential bid.  Other politicians take note  —  Running for president is hard.  —  Deciding not to run?  That can be even harder.  —  Over the last year, two-term former Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick has explored the possibility …

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.”

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 …

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” …

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.

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 …

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.

With at least 16 members running, Congress will be another staging ground for 2020 presidential race  —  There's a famous joke in Washington that most Senators look in the mirror and see a future president.  —  That's never really borne out in reality.  The unwieldy cast of GOP presidential …

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.

William Barr is leading attorney general candidate in Trump discussions  —  Former attorney general William P. Barr is President Trump's leading candidate to be nominated to lead the Justice Department — a choice that could be made in coming days as the agency presses forward with a probe …

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.

State GOP chairman warns California is ‘canary in the coal mine’ for national party  —  SAN FRANCISCO — The outgoing chair of the California GOP — the nation's largest state Republican Party — has issued a dire warning that his state represents “the canary in the coal mine” …