Judge voids Paul Manafort plea deal, says he ‘intentionally’ lied to the FBI, special counsel and grand jury  —  Washington (CNN)Paul Manafort, President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman, lied to special counsel Robert Mueller, a federal judge ruled Wednesday.

Trump's DHS Guts Task Forces Protecting Elections From Foreign Meddling  —  “It's very curious why the leadership has not committed resources to prepare for the 2020 election,” one DHS official tells The Daily Beast.  —  Two teams of federal officials assembled to fight foreign election interference …

Trump Puts Best Face on Border Deal, as Aides Try to Assuage an Angry Right  —  WASHINGTON — In pursuit of a wall, President Trump ran into one.  A single-minded drive to force Congress to finance his signature campaign promise has left Mr. Trump right back where he started …

Daughter and son-in-law of AG nominee leaving the Justice Department  —  Washington (CNN)The Barr family business is breaking up.  —  As William Barr, President Donald Trump's attorney general nominee, awaits a Senate vote to confirm his move to the top of the Justice Department …

House Votes to Halt Aid for Saudi Arabia's War in Yemen  —  WASHINGTON — The House voted on Wednesday to end American military assistance for Saudi Arabia's war in Yemen, a defiant and rare move to curtail presidential war powers that underscored anger with President Trump's unflagging support …

‘He was in his face’: Trump fumes over abortion, courts evangelicals  —  The night before last week's National Prayer Breakfast, President Donald Trump was hosting religious leaders and lawmakers for dinner at the White House when he spotted Democratic Senator Chris Coons — and pounced.

Ryan Adams Dangled Success.  Women Say They Paid a Price.  —  Several women say Adams offered to jumpstart their music careers, then pursued them sexually and in some cases retaliated when they spurned him.  He denies the claims.  —  For nearly two decades, Ryan Adams …

US says ex-intel official defected to Iran, revealed secrets  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — A former U.S. Air Force counterintelligence specialist who defected to Iran has been charged with revealing classified information to the Tehran government, including the code name and secret mission of a Pentagon program.

‘That is a ridiculous question’: Rep. Ilhan Omar's tense clash with Trump's Venezuela envoy  —  Omar attacked Elliott Abrams for abuses that U.S.-backed forces committed in Central America in the 1980s — and showed she isn't going anywhere.  —  Freshman Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) …

Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh eyewitness accounts of the incident involving Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Publisher John Robinson Block  —  After much careful consideration, the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh has decided to release some of the eyewitness accounts of the incident involving Pittsburgh …

Kansas lawmakers sponsor bill calling same-sex marriages ‘parody’  —  The House chamber at the Statehouse in Topeka  —  A handful of Kansas lawmakers are backing a bill that labels same-sex marriages “parody marriages” and seeks to stop the state from recognizing them.

‘Whistleblower’ seeks protection after sounding alarm over White House security clearances  —  Tricia Newbold says her supervisor “repeatedly mishandled security files and has approved unwarranted security clearances.”  —  Specialist in White House security clearance office suspended without pay

Jill Abramson Plagiarized My Writing.  So I Interviewed Her About It  —  When journalist Jake Malooley talked to the former New York Times executive editor, she admitted only to minor mistakes — but her responses were revealing  —  Last Wednesday, I was on assignment at a high school basketball game …

Michael Avenatti accused of hiding millions of dollars from bankruptcy court  —  Michael Avenatti hid millions of dollars from the court overseeing his law firm's bankruptcy and used much of the money for personal compensation, a former partner alleges in new court records.

Debunking Roger Stone's anti-CNN conspiracy theory  —  New York (CNN Business)Roger Stone, it seems, wants people to be talking about CNN, instead of his alleged crimes and his connections to President Trump.  —  Stone continues to promote a completely bogus narrative about the circumstances of his arrest.

Israel Says It Wants ‘War with Iran’ and Is Meeting with Arab Countries to ‘Advance’ It  —  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has expressed his desire to go to war with Iran, and said he was meeting with dozens of foreign envoys, including those from the Arab world, in order to push the initiative forward.

Rep. Adam Kinzinger deployed to active duty on southern border  —  Washington (CNN)Rep. Adam Kinzinger is being deployed to the southern border with an Air Force National Guard Unit, according to a statement by his communications director.  —  “Earlier this week, Congressman Kinzinger …

Trump campaign zeroes in on 3 Democratic 2020 foes  —  The president's campaign is collecting opposition research on Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker.  Trump himself has his eye on Joe Biden.  —  Donald Trump's political advisers are homing in on three declared Democratic candidates …

Has Trump wrecked our sex life?  “Post-Trump Sex Disorder” is real, says sex therapist  —  “Big Mean Sexy Daddy”?  Salon turns to Dr. Susan Block for answers to questions you didn't want to ask  —  Donald Trump has made America's mental health crisis much worse.

Bill Would Make Online Access to Federal Court Records Free  —  ATLANTA (CN) — House lawmakers introduced a bipartisan bill Wednesday that would remove online paywalls and make federal court records free to the public.  —  PACER, as the Public Access to Court Electronic Records system is otherwise known …

Lyndon LaRouche, Cult Figure Who Ran for President 8 Times, Dies at 96  —  Lyndon LaRouche, the quixotic, apocalyptic leader of a cultlike political organization who ran for president eight times, once from a prison cell, died on Tuesday.  He was 96.  —  His death was announced on the website of his organization, La Rouche/Pac.

Kamala Harris Was Accused of Lying About Listening to Tupac and Snoop Dogg.  The Truth Is More Complicated.  —  It began as a lighthearted moment.  Senator Kamala Harris, the California Democrat and former prosecutor who announced her presidential candidacy last month …