Only six immigrants in terrorism database stopped by CBP at southern border in first half of 2018  —  The low number contradicts statements by Trump administration officials.  —  U.S. Customs and Border Protection encountered only six immigrants on the U.S-Mexico border in the first half …

A Fake Nude of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Was Debunked By Foot Fetishists  —  Wikifeet foiled an attempt to shame the congresswoman with a fake Instagram post.  —  An image that's being passed off as a nude of congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was debunked as being fake by a foot fetishist on Reddit …

IRS Will Pay Tax Refunds During Government Shutdown, Official Says  —  The Internal Revenue Service will issue refunds to taxpayers even if the U.S. government shutdown extends into the filing season, a decision that may reduce political pressure on Congress and President Donald Trump to reach a deal to re-open the federal government.

Another Black Man Has Died in the Home of Democratic Donor Ed Buck  —  Community leaders were outraged when the L.A. County District Attorney refused to prosecute Buck last year.  Now another young man is dead.  —  The body of another young black man has been found at the West Hollywood apartment …

Democrats pledge to paralyze Senate as shutdown negotiation tactic  —  Senate Democrats are coalescing behind a strategy to block any legislation on the floor that doesn't re-open the federal government — planning to paralyze the Senate as the partial government shutdown enters its third week with no end in sight.

WikiLeaks tells reporters 140 things not to say about Julian Assange  —  LONDON (Reuters) - WikiLeaks on Sunday advised journalists not to report 140 different “false and defamatory” statements about its founder Julian Assange, who has been holed up in the Ecuadorean embassy in London since June 2012.

Judge blasts lawyers for Russian firm charged by Mueller  —  A judge publicly slammed the defense lawyers for a Russian company criminally charged by special counsel Robert Mueller, accusing the firm's attorneys of submitting unprofessional and inappropriate court filings attacking Mueller's office …

Pompeo, in Cairo speech, to rebuke Obama's Mideast vision  —  Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is heading out on what may prove his toughest trip yet, a weeklong swing through the Middle East in which he will give a major speech about America's role in the region and privately reassure Arab allies that the U.S. remains committed to them.

Campaign journalism needs an overhaul.  Here's one radical idea.  —  As the new year dawned, the top editor at the Associated Press — one of the most influential journalists in the country, though hers is not a household name — was making a resolution.  —  “We should all resolve to spend less time …

Beto O'Rourke Plans Solo Road Trip to Meet Democratic Voters Outside Texas  —  Former Rep. Beto O'Rourke is asking aides to create an itinerary for a solo road trip outside Texas where he would ‘pop into places’ such as community colleges, as he considers whether to enter the 2020 Democratic presidential primary.

Arizona GOP committeeman: Kyrsten Sinema elected because of ‘dumb ass people’  —  A prominent Arizona Republican official wrote a Facebook post Saturday that said “dumb ass people” helped U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema get elected.  —  Bruce Ash, a Tucson resident and national GOP committeeman …

Trump Was Never a Great Dealmaker.  The Shutdown Proves It  —  The president loves the idea of a border wall.  Now he's cornered.  —  SHARE THIS ARTICLE  —  Share  —  Tweet  —  Post  —  Email  —  “Deals are my art form.  Other people paint beautifully on canvas or write wonderful poetry.

Mick Mulvaney Has Two Jobs.  He Has Been Discussing Another.  —  Mick Mulvaney, the acting White House chief of staff, as recently as late last year explored the possibility of becoming president of the University of South Carolina, four people familiar with the discussions said.

Democrats Faked Online Push to Outlaw Alcohol in Alabama Race  —  The “Dry Alabama” Facebook page, illustrated with stark images of car wrecks and videos of families ruined by drink, had a blunt message: Alcohol is the devil's work, and the state should ban it entirely.

Woman sentenced to life as teen in killing wins clemency  —  NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A woman who says she was a 16-year-old sex trafficking victim when she killed a man in 2004 was granted clemency Monday by Tennessee's governor and soon will be released from prison.

A $20,243 bike crash: Zuckerberg hospital's aggressive tactics leave patients with big bills  —  I spent a year writing about ER bills.  Zuckerberg San Francisco General has the most surprising billing practices I've seen.  —  On April 3, Nina Dang, 24, found herself in a position …

Trump struggles to replace Mattis as Pentagon chief  —  President Donald Trump is having a tough time hiring a Pentagon chief after the abrupt departure of Defense Secretary Jim Mattis late last month.  —  Jon Kyl, the retired Arizona Republican senator, became the second person …

Top Trump Backer Financed Supreme Court Confirmation Fights Through Shadowy Network  —  Leonard Leo is the top judicial lobbyist in the country and a well-known booster of the president.  But the reach of his influence is just starting to come into focus.  —  A top conservative judicial activist used …

The High Line Has Become a Tunnel Through Glass Towers  —  The High Line was an epiphany when it opened in 2009, a moment suspended between neglect and possibility.  The strips of curated wilderness, the medieval-looking iron railings, the disorienting views, the way the viaduct ducked beneath buildings …

'Come On Down to the Rio Grande Valley.  I'll Show You Around.' Would patrolling with the Border Patrol change your mind about the border?  —  On the outskirts of McAllen, Texas, a few miles north of the Rio Grande, a dun-colored warehouse squats on the corner of West Ursula Avenue and South Ware Road.

How China Flexes Its Political Muscle to Expand Power Overseas  —  A Chinese ‘Belt and Road’ project was planned to help cover debts of Malaysia's troubled 1MDB fund, according to the minutes of secret negotiations.  The new Malaysian leader put the deal on hold

The “skills gap” was a lie  —  New research shows it was the consequence of high unemployment rather than its cause.  —  Five or six years ago, everyone from the US Chamber of Commerce to the Obama White House was talking about a “skills gap.”  —  The theory here was that high unemployment reflected …

Trump Is Grinding the System to a Halt  —  The nation's roughly 15,000 air-traffic controllers don't do exactly what some people might imagine—namely, keep airplanes from completely losing their way or falling out of the sky.  As William Langewiesche memorably described in The Atlantic back in 1997 in …