How Amy Klobuchar Treats Her Staff  —  Senator Amy Klobuchar was hungry, forkless and losing patience.  —  An aide, joining her on a trip to South Carolina in 2008, had procured a salad for his boss while hauling their bags through an airport terminal.  But once onboard, he delivered the grim news …

Cohen Gave Prosecutors New Information on the Trump Family Business  —  Michael D. Cohen, President Trump's former lawyer and fixer, met last month with federal prosecutors in Manhattan, offering information about possible irregularities within the president's family business and about a donor …

New York Has Prepared Paul Manafort Charges If Trump Pardons Him  — Cy Vance has been investigating ex-Trump aide since 2017  — District Attorney sees way to avoid double jeopardy protection  —  New York state prosecutors have put together a criminal case against Paul Manafort …

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft charged as a ‘john’ in human trafficking/prostitution investigation  —  JUPITER, Fla. — In his Tuesday news conference about a major human trafficking investigation , Martin County Sheriff William Snyder said about 100 men would be arrested.

South Dakota governor says Trump trade wars have ‘devastated’ the state  —  South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem said Friday that President Donald Trump's trade wars have “devastated” her state, and though she agreed that countries like China were not following fair trade practices …

Grand jury is examining whether former interior secretary Ryan Zinke lied to federal investigators  —  Prosecutors have begun presenting evidence to a grand jury in Washington in their probe of whether former interior Secretary Ryan Zinke lied to federal investigators, according to two individuals briefed on the matter.

AP source: Mueller report not expected next week  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — A report from special counsel Robert Mueller about the Russia investigation is not expected to be delivered to the Justice Department next week.  —  That's according to a senior Justice Department official who spoke Friday to The Associated Press.

Audience of One: Why Flattery Works in Trump's Foreign Policy  —  When the commander of U.S. forces in Europe, General Curtis Scaparrotti, met privately with members of Congress at the Munich Security Conference, last weekend, Senator Lindsey Graham finished the meeting with a blunt question.

You Give Apps Sensitive Personal Information.  Then They Tell Facebook.  —  Wall Street Journal testing reveals how the social-media giant collects a wide range of private data from developers; ‘This is a big mess’  —  Millions of smartphone users confess their most intimate secrets to apps …

Democrat predicts House will get Trump's tax returns — but there are a few complications  —  WASHINGTON — House Democrats are planning to ask for a confidential copy of President Trump's tax returns from the IRS, but obtaining them won't be simple or fast, Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., said during an interview on

Trump administration bars clinics that provide abortions or abortion referrals from federal funding  —  Planned Parenthood, which stands to lose $60 million a year, calls on courts, Congress to block the rule.  —  The Trump administration issued a rule Friday barring groups that provide abortions …

George R.R. Martin Isn't the Only Author Who Can't Finish a Beloved Series  —  Robert Caro's new book looks back at his own career, worrying readers who've waited since 2012 for the final volume of his Lyndon Johnson series  —  Two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning author Robert Caro will publish …

R. Kelly charged with sexually abusing 4 victims, at least 3 of them minors  —  Embattled R&B superstar R. Kelly will turn himself in to authorities Friday night and is scheduled to appear in bond court in Chicago Saturday to face charges of 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse.

Jussie Smollett Dropped From Remainder Of 'Empire's Season By Producers  —  One day after Jussie Smollett was arrested on multiple felony charges for the alleged racist and homophobic attack of last month, the producers of Empire have cut the actor from the rest of the show's fifth season

On the campaign trail, Kamala Harris tries on a sequined jacket, and men go nuts  —  Every four years, aspiring presidential nominees leave behind families, jobs and, frequently, their dignity to prove they are worthy of the votes of everyday people.  —  Senators, governors, million- or billionaires …

Colorado woman's $8,000 tax bill leaves her in tears  —  Isadora Bielsky's tax bill this year brought her to tears.  Last year, her family of four's refund topped $3,600.  This year, the Colorado family owed in the thousands.  —  “I plugged it all in and at first I thought oh …

Naming and Shaming the Pro-Trump Elite  —  Charlie Sykes is sitting behind a desk in a sparse, disheveled office—blank walls lined with empty filing cabinets, windows covered with crooked blinds—as he tries to conjure the perfect metaphor for The Bulwark, the anti-Donald Trump conservative news site he recently helped start.

Sex in New York City Parks?  It's Less of a Thing Than It Used to Be  —  A decade ago, New York City police officers handed out hundreds of tickets for “sex in park.”  Last year, they wrote six.  —  In a wild, overrun corner of Fort Tryon Park, a secluded area had become a popular destination …

Trump Job Approval 50% or Higher in 17 States in 2018  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Donald Trump's job approval rating varied widely across the U.S. states in 2018, with 17 states giving him ratings of 50% or higher, and 16 states giving him ratings below 40%.

Former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack will not run for the U.S. Senate against Sen. Joni Ernst in 2020  —  Former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack will not run for the U.S. Senate against Sen. Joni Ernst in 2020.  —  Iowa operative Matt Paul confirmed the decision to the Register on behalf of Vilsack Friday.

Rep. Duncan Hunter gets help with legal expenses from government contractors, others  —  Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Alpine, and his wife and former campaign manager, Margaret appear in this file photograph.  —  Nine donors, including at least two who had already reached political contribution limits …

Netanyahu's Most Cynical Ploy Yet  —  By allying himself with one of Israel's most despicable parties, the prime minister is jeopardizing his legacy.  —  Most Americans have probably never heard of Yifat Ehrlich, or for that matter her former center-right political party in Israel, Bayit Yehudit.

Not the Fun Kind of Feminist  —  How Trump helped make Andrea Dworkin relevant again.  —  For decades now, Andrea Dworkin has existed in the feminist imagination mostly as a negative example, the woman no one wanted to be.  —  An anti-porn, anti-prostitution militant in the feminist sex wars …

Two dead after Venezuelan soldiers open fire on opposition supporters  —  SAN CRISTOBAL, Venezuela — Venezuelan soldiers opened fire on a group of civilians attempting to keep open a segment of the southern border with Brazil for deliveries of humanitarian aid, causing multiple injuries …

The Corruption of the Vatican's Gay Elite Has Been Exposed  —  I spent much of this week reading and trying to absorb the new and devastating book by one Frédéric Martel on the gayness of the hierarchy at the top of the Catholic Church, In the Closet of the Vatican: Power, Homosexuality, Hypocrisy.