Rand Paul blocks resolution calling for release of Mueller report  —  Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) blocked a resolution calling for special counsel Robert Mueller's report on the Russia probe be made public, marking the fifth time Republicans have blocked the House-passed measure.

Scoop: Trump expected to name Herman Cain to Federal Reserve board  —  President Trump has told confidants he wants Herman Cain on the Federal Reserve board, but will wait until his background check is completed before making the formal announcement, according to two senior administration officials familiar with the decision.

Trump loyalist Gaetz eyes Senate bid in Alabama  —  Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz, one of President Trump's most devoted loyalists on Capitol Hill who represents the Florida Panhandle, has told GOP colleagues he is considering moving across the state line to run for the Senate in Alabama in 2020, several House lawmakers told The Hill.

Trump backs off threat to close southern border immediately, says he'll give Mexico ‘one-year warning’ on drugs, migrants  —  President Trump on Thursday backed down from his threat to close the southern border immediately, telling reporters at the White House that he is giving Mexico a “one-year warning” before taking action.

‘Dozens’ of Whistle-Blowers Are Secretly Cooperating With House Democrats  —  Tricia Newbold set an important mark when she became the first official currently serving in Donald Trump's White House to take accusations of wrongdoing to Congress—and to put her name publicly behind them.

He bought the fencing coach's house.  Then his son got into Harvard  —  NEEDHAM — It was a modest house by this town's standards, a center-entrance colonial, three bedrooms and a two-car garage on a quarter-acre lot.  The inside hadn't welcomed a renovator in many, many years, and the outside didn't wear its age particularly well.

I've Seen Trump's Tax Returns and You Still Haven't  —  Congress finally tries to force the president to show them the money.  —  Remember back in early 2016 when Donald Trump, who was still regarded as something of a long shot for the presidency, promised he would disclose his tax returns publicly …

You elected them to write new laws.  They're letting corporations do it instead.  —  An investigation by USA TODAY, The Arizona Republic and the Center for Public Integrity  —  Each year, state lawmakers across the U.S. introduce thousands of bills dreamed up and written by corporations, industry groups and think tanks.

Jeff Bezos, in divorce settlement, retains 75 percent of the Amazon stock he held with his now ex-wife MacKenzie  —  MacKenzie Bezos's stake will be worth roughly $36 billion, making her one of the wealthiest women in the world  —  Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and his ex-wife, MacKenzie Bezos …

The Electoral College Was Not a Pro-Slavery Ploy  —  There is a lot wrong with how we choose the president.  But the framers did not put it into the Constitution to protect the South.  —  Mr. Wilentz is the author, most recently, of “No Property in Man: Slavery and Antislavery at the Nation's Founding.”

Trump's Pick for Interior Dept. Continued Lobbying After Officially Vowing to Stop, New Files Indicate  —  WASHINGTON — A previously unreleased invoice indicates that David Bernhardt, President Trump's choice to lead the Interior Department, continued to lobby for a major client several months …

They Had It Coming  —  Sweet Christ, vindication!  —  How long has it been?  Years?  No, decades.  If hope is the thing with feathers, I was a plucked bird.  Long ago, I surrendered myself to the fact that the horrible, horrible private-school parents of Los Angeles would get away with their nastiness forever.

ICE Arrests 280 Workers In Allen In Largest Workplace Immigration Raid In A Decade  —  Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Wednesday arrested 280 employees at a technology repair company in a Dallas suburb on charges of working in the United States illegally.

White Nationalists Adopt Clowns as Their Next Racist Symbol (Yes, Seriously)  —  Online personalities in far-right and white nationalist online circles are attempting to attribute racism and anti-Semitism to an image of cartoon character Pepe the Frog depicted poorly drawn and as a clown …

Vicki Needham, reporter for The Hill, dies  —  Vicki Needham died last week of cancer at the age of 50.  —  Since 2010, Vicki covered financial issues for The Hill, including trade and the economy.  She was a fixture on Capitol Hill, pressing lawmakers and aides on the big story of the day.

Formal and casual White House photos show distance between Trump and increasingly diverse nation … It is a triumphant image: President Trump, smiling and giving a thumbs-up to the camera, flanked backstage at a MAGA rally in Grand Rapids, Mich., by a team of confidants: oldest son Donald Jr. …

Women Candidates Have Fun Hobbies Too, They Just Don't Get to Talk About Them  —  Did you know that Beto O'Rourke was in a punk band named Foss in the 90s and that Pete Buttigieg taught himself to speak Norwegian, basically for fun?  Chances are, you might, because male candidates …

Growing Partisan Divide Over Fairness of the Nation's Tax System  —  Only about a third of Americans approve of 2017 tax law  —  As the April 15 tax deadline approaches, overall public views of the fairness of the nation's tax system have changed only modestly since 2017, before passage of major tax legislation.

Polls: Trump's approval rating among Hispanics approaches 50 percent  —  It's an article of faith among white leftists that President Trump is a racist.  He stands accused of being anti-Black and anti-Hispanic.  —  But how do the alleged recipients of his animus view him?

Assessing Trump's Chances: Forecasting the 2020 Presidential Election  —  KEY POINTS FROM THIS ARTICLE  — The author's “time for change” presidential forecasting model has a successful track record of projecting presidential elections.  In 2016, it showed Donald Trump as a favorite to win the national popular vote.

Liberal Dark Money Group to Receive Private Briefing From House Dem Jerrold Nadler  —  Democracy Alliance holds private gathering at luxury Austin hotel, plots nearly $300 million in new political spending  —  AUSTIN—The largest donors on the left will be given a private briefing …

Malware Arrest Exposes Security Gaps at Trump's Mar-a-Lago Club  —  WASHINGTON — The arrest of a Chinese woman who carried a malware-laced device into Mar-a-Lago, President Trump's Florida resort, has exposed porous security at the private club and escalating tensions between Secret Service agents …

House Expands Domestic Violence Gun Controls in Rebuke to N.R.A.  —  WASHINGTON — The House on Thursday rebuffed a furious lobbying campaign by the National Rifle Association and approved a revamped Violence Against Women Act that would expand law enforcement's ability to restrict gun purchases by convicted domestic abusers.