A mysterious payment to Paul Manafort's lawyer reveals a hidden chapter of Trump's 2016 presidential campaign  — Recent court filings are shedding new light on a mysterious $125,000 payment to lawyers for Paul Manafort, paid by a firm that has not been identified until now.

Iowa Poll: Not even in the race, Joe Biden leads herd of Democrats; Bernie Sanders close behind  —  Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders lead the pack among likely Iowa caucusgoers, according to a new Iowa Poll in March 2019.  Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris, Beto O'Rourke, Amy Klobuchar and Cory Booker also chart.

Town by town, local journalism is dying in plain sight  —  WAYNESVILLE, Mo. (AP) — Five minutes late, Darrell Todd Maurina sweeps into a meeting room and plugs in his laptop computer.  He places a Wi-Fi hotspot on the table and turns on a digital recorder.

National security adviser John Bolton says Trump is ‘as clear as clear can be’ on elimination of ISIS  —  White House national security adviser John Bolton told “This Week” Co-Anchor Martha Raddatz Sunday that President Donald Trump is “as clear as can be” when discussing the defeat of the Islamic State.

Footage Contradicts U.S. Claim That Maduro Burned Aid Convoy  —  CÚCUTA, Colombia — The narrative seemed to fit Venezuela's authoritarian rule: Security forces, on the order of President Nicolás Maduro, had torched a convoy of humanitarian aid as millions in his country were suffering from illness and hunger.

Ocasio-Cortez, at SXSW, blasts FDR, Reagan and capitalism, says political moderates are ‘meh’  —  U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez slammed political moderates at the South by Southwest Conference & Festivals in Austin, Texas, calling their views “misplaced” as she defended her progressive politics in a room full of supporters.

The Real Horror of the Anti-Vaxxers  —  This isn't just a public health crisis.  It's a public sanity one.  —  How many studies do you have to throw at the vaccine hysterics before they quit?  How much of a scientific consensus, how many unimpeachable experts and how exquisitely rational an argument must you present?

Netanyahu to Rotem Sela: Israel is not a country of all its citizens  —  The prime minister responded to an Instagram post from Israeli actress Rotem Sela, who said the government must stop delegitimizing its Arab citizens.  —  Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that Israel …

House Republican explains decision to vote against anti-hate resolution  —  Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.) in an interview airing Sunday explained his decision to vote against a House resolution this week broadly condemning bigotry.  —  Zeldin, who is Jewish, said he thought the measure …

Adam Schiff: Erik Prince did not disclose 2016 Trump Tower meeting during testimony  —  House Intelligence chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said on NBC's Meet the Press Sunday that Erik Prince was lying when he claimed last week that he testified about a 2016 meeting he had with foreign nationals at Trump Tower.

Anne Frank center compares Jews fleeing Nazis to Islamic State terrorists  —  Colonel Richard Kemp, who was a former Commander of Operation Fingal in Afghanistan, wrote on Twitter: “A terrible insult by @BS_AnneFrank.  They should delete this disgraceful tweet.”

How Not to Lose to Donald Trump  —  Few could have predicted President Trump would be this good at surrendering the political advantage of a strong economy.  Not only is he now underwater in the three states that pushed him to victory in 2016—he's now unexpectedly vulnerable in places like Texas, Florida, and Ohio as well.

Castro Hits Sanders: He Wants to Write a ‘Big Check’ for Everything But Reparations  —  Democratic presidential candidate Julian Castro criticized his fellow opponent Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) during a Sunday interview on CNN's State of the Union.  —  Castro was asked by CNN anchor Jake Tapper …

Exclusive poll: Young Americans are embracing socialism  —  Generation Z has a more positive view of the word “socialism” than previous generations, and — along with Millennials — are more likely to embrace socialistic policies and principles than past generations, according to a new Harris Poll given exclusively to Axios.

Ethiopian Airlines Crash Kills at Least 150; 2nd Brand-New Boeing to Go Down in Months  —  ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — An Ethiopian Airlines flight carrying more than 150 people crashed early Sunday shortly after departing from the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, en route to Nairobi, Kenya, the airline said, killing everyone onboard.

A Tight and Tangled ‘Collusion’ Web  —  Most people reading this will know Sir Walter Scott's famous couplet (from the narrative poem Marmion): … Less well known, but undeservedly so, is the excellent completing couplet by J. R. Pope, published under the sly title “A Word of Encouragement”:

The Pros and Cons of Impeaching Trump  —  Real and reasonable arguments among congressional Democrats—and, indeed, among the public—range from the practical to the procedural.  —  The announcement last week that Representative Jerrold Nadler, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee …

Jeff Zucker Says Trump Attempted To Block AT&T Merger, Continues To Call Out “State-Run” Fox News - SXSW  —  With people crying “fake news” every minute and shifts and scandals hovering over WarnerMedia, Jeff Zucker had a lot say when he took the stage for a conversation with Vanity Fair's Joe Pompeo at SXSW.

Trump's legacy: conservative judges who will dominate US law for decades  —  Republicans have confirmed 89 Trump-nominated judges, far in excess of appointments under Obama and Bush  —  Many Americans watching the turmoil in US institutions and political norms are yearning for the day when Donald Trump is no longer president.