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 …

Florida human trafficking: Billionaire equity firm owner John Childs wanted on prostitution charge in Vero Beach  —  Billionaire equity firm owner John Childs is one of several men accused of soliciting prostitution in connection with a Florida spa tied to an international human trafficking ring, police said Thursday.

Even if Mueller's probe concludes soon, things are far from over  —  Predictions for when special counsel Robert S. Mueller III will deliver his much-anticipated report to the attorney general have yo-yoed between days and weeks.  —  Two things are more definitive: In January …

YouTube Just Demonetized Anti-Vax Channels  —  YouTube on Friday said it would prevent channels that promote anti-vax content from running advertising, saying explicitly that such videos fall under its policy prohibiting the monetization of videos with “dangerous and harmful” content.

Judge tosses North Carolina mandatory voter ID amendment citing gerrymandering  —  A judge in North Carolina on Friday tossed out the state's constitutional amendment requiring a voter ID, citing prevalent gerrymandering in the state's General Assembly.  —  Wake County Superior Court Judge …

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.

Average tax refund down 17 percent, IRS reports  —  The average tax refund issued so far this year is down by 17 percent, the IRS said, a steep decline that promises more headaches for Republican lawmakers.  —  The agency released data late Friday showing refunds are down for the third consecutive week …

Trump's Trade Chief Lectures His Boss and Gets an Earful in Return  — Lighthizer tries to shape debate on key element in China talks  — Trump rejects Lighthizer case for memorandums of understanding  —  An exasperated Robert Lighthizer, the U.S. trade representative …

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 …

Trump announces nomination of Kelly Knight Craft to be ambassador to United Nations  —  President Trump announced Friday evening that he will nominate Kelly Knight Craft, the U.S. ambassador to Canada and a major Republican donor, to be the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

Dems call on Trump to fire Acosta  —  Three House Democrats are collecting signatures for a letter calling on President Trump to demand the resignation of Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta.  —  The push comes a day after a federal judge ruled that Acosta and other federal prosecutors acted illegally …

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

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 …

The Mueller joke  —  I would like to say some things about the apparently imminent conclusion of Robert Mueller's special counsel investigation, but first let me tell you a joke.  —  One day Johnny asked his teacher, Mrs. Williamson, to be excused from class.

2020 Democrats' progressive gamble is about to get real  —  Democrats' embrace of sweeping progressive ideas like Medicare for All and the Green New Deal is about to get its first reality check on Capitol Hill — as both parties make huge bets about which message will sway voters in 2020.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's call for a ‘living wage’ starts in her office  —  Claudia Pagon Marchena, like so many Hill staffers, moonlighted at a Washington, D.C., eatery to pay her rent until she took a job with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.  She celebrated her last day at her coffee shop job that same week.

Why the U.K. Condemned Facebook for Fuelling Fake News  —  If there remained any doubt that Facebook's business practices intentionally compromise users' privacy and recklessly undermine democratic norms, it was put to rest on Monday, when the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee …

Gallup: Liberals outnumber conservatives in only 6 states, down from 9  —  The number of states where liberals outnumber conservatives has dropped more than 30 percent, with just six now in that category: Massachusetts, Hawaii, Vermont, Washington, New York, and New Hampshire.

Strategy Isn't Everything  —  Sean Trende, one of my favorite analysts, has an interesting thread expressing his consternation at the folks at the Bulwark and what they are up to. … I understand what Trende is getting at, and he certainly makes some plausible points about how ugly things will be for a while.

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 …

The $15 Minimum Wage Doesn't Just Improve Lives.  It Saves Them.  —  A living wage is an antidepressant.  It is a sleep aid.  A diet.  A stress reliever.  It is a contraceptive, preventing teenage pregnancy.  It prevents premature death.  It shields children from neglect.