New York Charges Paul Manafort With 16 Crimes.  If He's Convicted, Trump Can't Pardon Him.  —  [What you need to know to start the day: Get New York Today in your inbox.]  —  Paul J. Manafort, President Trump's former campaign chairman, has been charged in New York with mortgage fraud …

Exclusive: Lawyer said Michael Cohen could ‘sleep well tonight’ after speaking to Rudy Giuliani  —  Washington (CNN)An attorney who said he was speaking with President Donald Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani reassured Michael Cohen in an April 2018 email that Cohen could “sleep well tonight” …

Riding around with Beto O'Rourke as he comes to grips with a presidential run.  —  It's nine P.M. on a Thursday night and Beto O'Rourke is trying to manage a couple of life-altering and possibly world-historical political events while also driving his family home from a Mexican restaurant.

Twitter reveals big changes to conversations and new camera features  —  The changes are meant to make good on the company's promise to promote “healthy conversation.”  —  Twitter is teasing some of the biggest changes to its social media service since it first launched in 2006 …

Boeing 737 Max Flights Banned by U.S. After Other Countries Ground Planes  —  President Trump announced on Wednesday that the United States was grounding Boeing's 737 Max aircraft, reversing an earlier decision by American regulators to keep the jets flying after a second deadly crash in Ethiopia.

Trump May Have an Unlikely Re-election Ally  —  The Democratic Party's crowded field and messy rules could lead to months of infighting and an ugly convention.  —  Mr. Wasserman is the House editor at The Cook Political Report.  —  Donald Trump's low approval ratings have attracted a crush …

Sen. Elizabeth Warren says she has ‘zero’ sympathy for parents caught in college admissions scam  — Sen. Elizabeth Warren told MSNBC that she has “zero” sympathy for the dozens of parents charged in what the Justice Department says is the biggest college admissions scandal it's ever prosecuted.

Inside the Shadowy, Totally Legal World of High-Priced College Consultants  —  For prices up to $1.5 million, parents can buy a five-year, full-service package of college admissions consulting from a company in New York City called Ivy Coach.  —  The service begins as early as eighth grade …

Fox News Contributor Salaries Revealed In Financial Disclosures  —  At least 10 members of the Trump administration have served as on-air contributors for the network.  —  Across cable news, the salaries paid to on-air contributors remain shrouded in mystery, ranging by network and by market demand for the contributor's expertise.

Exclusive: Excerpt from “Kushner Inc” details Comey firing  —  Here's a sneak peek for Axios readers at “Kushner, Inc.,” by investigative reporter Vicky Ward, out next Tuesday from St. Martin's Press:

The Astonishing Hypocrisy of Media Matters  —  If there's one thing we can absolutely count on in our post-ethical partisan era, it's that for every scandal, there is, in short order, a similar — sometimes astoundingly similar — scandal on the other side.  Sometimes, the comparisons …

Bipartisanship in 2020?  Not so fast, some Democrats say  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — When John Hickenlooper announced his Democratic presidential campaign, he vowed to sit down with the Senate's top Republican if he wins in 2020 — the kind of milquetoast pitch for bipartisanship that White House hopefuls have made for generations.

Jacob Wohl Faked Death Threats Against Himself  —  One came from a phony account the wingnut provocateur created and ran just before he was banned from Twitter. … Right-wing personality Jacob Wohl appears to have faked death threats against himself.  —  Wohl and fellow provocateur Laura Loomer went …

I Learned in College That Admission Has Always Been for Sale  —  The bribery scandal is no more abhorrent than the completely legal industry that helps many wealthy kids get into the schools of their dreams.  —  Ms. Stauffer is a writer.  —  Shortly after my freshman year of college …

Georgetown Rich Kid ‘Gloated’ After Allegedly Cheating SATs  —  Isabelle Henriquez is one of the only students accused of willingly participating in the fraud—and now her degree may be in jeopardy.  —  Scott Bixby  —  According to her LinkedIn page, Isabelle Henriquez is “a rapid learner” …

GOP megadonor Mercer family donated to nonprofit conservative group that focuses on historic values of ‘English-speaking peoples’  — The Republican megadonor family led by billionaire Robert and daughter Rebekah Mercer once donated to the Anglosphere Society, a group of conservative activists that promotes …

Lynch Testimony Reveals Bias and Intent For Failing To Give Trump Defensive Briefing  —  President Donald Trump's campaign was never given a defensive briefing by the FBI, despite mounting concerns that Russians were allegedly trying to penetrate the campaign during the 2016 presidential election.

Rudy Giuliani and wife Judith Nathan ripped by judge for making divorce trial ‘unpleasant’  —  It's getting ugly.  —  A Manhattan divorce judge said Wednesday that former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and his estranged wife Judith Nathan are headed toward a bitter matrimonial trial.

It's time to retire the ‘neocon’ label  —  Years pass, administrations change, the fortunes of the Nationals wax and wane (mainly wane), but one intellectual fad never seems to go out of style in Washington: rooting out the influence of the dread “neoconservatives.”

Whitaker ‘did not deny’ talking to Trump about Cohen, personnel at SDNY, top Democrat says  —  The top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee said Wednesday that former acting attorney general Matthew G. Whitaker “did not deny” that President Trump “called him to discuss the case” …

You Have to Pay the Right Person  —  Also SSG and pattern matching.  —  Matt Levine is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering finance.  He was an editor of Dealbreaker, an investment banker at Goldman Sachs, a mergers and acquisitions lawyer at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz …

Lee, fifth GOP senator, to vote against Trump's border declaration  —  GOP Sen. Mike Lee (Utah) says he will vote for a resolution disapproving of President Trump's national emergency declaration on the southern border, becoming the fifth Senate Republican to announce his support for the measure.