Beto O'Rourke Raised $6.1 Million Online in First 24 Hours of Campaign  —  WASHINGTON — Beto O'Rourke raised more than $6 million online in the first 24 hours after announcing his presidential campaign last week, according to his campaign, outpacing his rivals for the Democratic nomination …

Ta-Nehisi Coates Is an Optimist Now A conversation about race and 2020.  —  In recent days, as Democrats debated the definition of “reparations,” Joe Biden rationalized his opposition to integration, and socialist congresswomen started demanding the rebirth of a nation, inquiring minds wanted to know: What would Ta-Nehisi say?

Saudi Crown Prince's Brutal Drive to Crush Dissenters Began Before Khashoggi  —  WASHINGTON — Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia authorized a secret campaign to silence dissenters — which included the surveillance, kidnapping, detention and torture of Saudi citizens …

Exclusive: 7 U.S. Military Members Identified As Part Of White Nationalist Group  —  Leaked chat logs revealed active military servicemen with ties to the extremist group Identity Evropa.  —  Leaked chat logs have connected seven current members of the U.S. armed forces to a white nationalist group …

Inside Rudy's vanishing act  —  Rudy Giuliani has vanished from your television.  The last time the president's once-ubiquitous attack dog did a major TV appearance was on Sunday, Jan. 20, when he went on NBC's “Meet the Press” and CNN's “State of the Union.”

We must apply our universal values to all nations.  Only then will we achieve peace.  —  Ilhan Omar, a Democrat, represents Minnesota in the U.S. House of Representatives.  —  Since I began my first term in Congress, I have sought to speak openly and honestly about the scale of the issues …

Ben Carson's schedule shows Friday trips to Florida, lunch with My Pillow founder  —  For 5 Fridays out of 31, Carson was off or had no appointments.  For 5 more he left before 2 p.m. to fly to South Florida, where he owns a mansion.  —  WASHINGTON — Ben Carson's daily schedule from 2017 shows …

Trump was the face of the 737 probe  —  Several days after an Ethio­pian Airlines Boeing 737 Max 8 crashed outside Ethio­pia's capital city, the Trump administration's senior air safety official was still defending the plane.  —  Acting Federal Aviation Administration chief Daniel K. Elwell …

Why there may be much less — and much more — to the Mueller report than people expect  —  This piece has been updated.  —  Martin Lederman teaches constitutional law at the Georgetown University Law Center and has twice served in the Office of Legal Counsel at the Justice Department.

Age of victim in prosecution of Jeffrey Epstein, long a source of confusion, eased his obligations to register as a sex offender  —  A federal investigation into alleged sexual misconduct by multimillionaire Jeffrey Epstein had flagged scores of potential underage victims, including the 14-year-old girl who first alerted police.

SC sheriffs fly first class, bully employees and line their pockets with taxpayer money  —  South Carolina sheriffs have embezzled, bribed and dipped into public funds for expensive chauffeurs.  They've driven drunk and bullied other public officials.  They've been accused of leveraging …

Hungary Rolls Out Red Carpet for Obscure Russian Bank, Stoking Spy Fears  —  BUDAPEST — The International Investment Bank, an obscure Russian financial institution with a small-time balance sheet, is an unlikely source of global intrigue.  In more normal times, its plans to open a new headquarters in Budapest would pass unnoticed.

Trade Fight With China Enters Overtime, With Tariffs a Costly Sticking Point  —  WASHINGTON — The United States and China are pushing for a summit meeting in late April to complete a trade deal, while negotiators are still grappling over its terms and how they should be enforced.

‘Middle-Class Joe’ rakes in millions  —  “Middle-Class Joe” Biden has a $2.7 million vacation home.  He charges more than $100,000 per speaking gig and has inked a book deal likely worth seven figures.  —  Since leaving office in 2017, the 76-year-old former vice president has watched …

'I haven't abandoned my principles': Hogan, pondering challenge to Trump, casts himself as a traditional Republican  —  Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan acknowledges that many Republicans nationwide who have heard about his potential presidential ambitions probably view him as a centrist with little hope …

‘Weak’ Lindsey Graham destroyed for staying silent about Trump's ugly attacks on his friend John McCain (Updated)  —  President Donald Trump has spent two days attacking the late Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) but there has not been a peep of defense coming from Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) …

If Biden runs, he should commit to just one term  —  David Gergen has been a White House adviser to four presidents and is a senior political analyst at CNN.  A graduate of Harvard Law School, he is a professor of public service and was the founding director of the Center for Public Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School.