White House officials concerned about being exposed by Mueller report  —  Some of the dozen-plus officials interviewed by Mueller are concerned about president's “wrath” if they are seen as a source of damaging information in Thursday's report.  —  WASHINGTON — Some of the more than one dozen current …

‘Stop Sanders’ Democrats Are Agonizing Over His Momentum  —  WASHINGTON — When Leah Daughtry, a former Democratic Party official, addressed a closed-door gathering of about 100 wealthy liberal donors in San Francisco last month, all it took was a review of the 2020 primary rules to throw a scare in them.

New Jeffrey Epstein accuser goes public; defamation lawsuit targets Dershowitz  —  A new victim has gone public in the Jeffrey Epstein case, filing a sworn affidavit in federal court in New York Tuesday, saying that she was sexually assaulted and her then-15-year-old sister molested by Epstein …

How the far right spread politically convenient lies about the Notre Dame fire  —  The news out of Paris was not actually about a conflict between the West and Islam.  But why let facts stop you?  —  As a conflagration spread through the ancient timbers of Notre Dame Cathedral's attic on Monday …

Mark Zuckerberg leveraged Facebook user data to fight rivals and help friends, leaked documents show  —  Facebook's leaders seriously discussed selling access to user data — and privacy was an afterthought.  —  Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg oversaw plans to consolidate the social network's power …

Poll: Roy Moore leading Alabama GOP field  —  Former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore leads the field of potential Republicans vying for the chance to challenge Sen. Doug Jones (D), a year and a half after Moore lost what was supposed to be an easy election in a deep-red state.

The Daily 202: Tax returns show 2020 candidates gave to charity, but not a ton  —  THE BIG IDEA: Former congressman Beto O'Rourke (D-Tex.) released 10 years of tax returns last night.  He and his wife reported $1,166 of charitable giving from a total income of $370,412 in 2017, the most recent year for which they released a return.

Gina Haspel Relies on Spy Skills to Connect With Trump.  He Doesn't Always Listen.  —  WASHINGTON — Gina Haspel was trying to brief President Trump early in her tenure as the C.I.A. director, but he appeared distracted.  Houseflies buzzing around the Oval Office were drawing his attention, and ire.

15 Months of Fresh Hell Inside Facebook  —  Scandals.  Backstabbing.  Resignations.  Record profits.  Time Bombs.  In early 2018, Mark Zuckerberg set out to fix Facebook.  Here's how that turned out.  —  THE STREETS OF Davos, Switzerland, were iced over on the night of January 25 …

Not a Single Human Being Donated to Embattled Rep. Chris Collins' Campaign  —  The congressman raised just $5,000 during the first quarter of 2019 as he deals with insider trading charges.  —  Not a single human being donated to Rep. Chris Collins' (R-N.Y.) reelection campaign in the first three months of 2019.

Mick Mulvaney's Master Class in Destroying a Bureaucracy From Within  —  The C.F.P.B. was created to protect Americans from predatory lenders after the financial crisis.  President Trump's new chief of staff took it apart on his way to White House.  —  One rainy afternoon early in February 2018 …

James Murdoch set to invest $1bn in media companies  —  James Murdoch is set to invest about $1bn from the proceeds of the sale of his stake in 21st Century Fox to assemble a new portfolio of media companies that could include a liberal-leaning news outlet, according to people close to the billionaire investor.

How the Kavanaugh Hearings Changed American Men and Women  —  Around five or six hundred traumatic public events ago — which is to say last fall — Republicans declared Democrats would live to regret that they pushed for women accusing now-Justice Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault or misconduct to be heard.

Deripaska claims ‘filthy lies’ were behind US sanctions  —  Oleg Deripaska has vowed to disprove the “filthy lies” he says were used to justify his blacklisting by the US, stepping up a fight with Washington that will intensify scrutiny of the Trump administration's approach to Russia.

Bernie's Fox News Town Hall Was a Ratings Smash.  More Dems May Follow Him There.  —  At least three Democratic presidential campaigns have indicated interest in participating in a Fox News town hall or have begun discussions about doing one.  —  Gideon Resnick

House Republicans Are Upset Democrats Are Investigating Voter Suppression Allegations  —  The Republicans accused the Democratic lawmakers of meddling in state election issues.  —  House Democrats overstepped their authority by asking state officials for information as part of an inquiry …

Republicans reject Democratic attempts to tighten vaccine laws  —  Most Republicans are rejecting Democrat-led state bills to tighten childhood immunization laws in the midst of the worst measles outbreak in two decades, alarming public health experts who fear the nation could become as divided …

Pete Buttigieg Was An Effective Mayor — With A Gaping Blind Spot  —  South Bend residents describe a technocratic leader who struggled to see beyond spreadsheets.  —  Like many residents of South Bend, Indiana, Laura Jensen has known Pete Buttigieg for years.

GOP congressman warns fellow Republicans: Be careful messing with Ocasio-Cortez  —  A Kentucky Republican congressman is warning his colleagues that if they mess with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, they could be inviting trouble.  —  “A lot of Republicans are making a mistake picking on her,” said Rep. James Comer.

Pete Buttigieg, Barack Obama, and the psychology of liberalism  —  Buttigieg is going for the “hope and change” voters.  —  There was a word missing from the speech Pete Buttigieg gave in South Bend, Indiana, announcing his presidential campaign.  It's a word you heard twice in Bernie Sanders's …

Behind the Obama administration's shady plan to spy on the Trump campaign  —  In Senate testimony last week, Attorney General William Barr used the word “spying” to refer to the Obama administration, um, spying on the Trump campaign.  Of course, fainting spells ensued, with the media-Democrat complex in meltdown.

Adam Schiff Says ‘Individual 1’ Donald Trump Should Be Prosecuted—And He's Not Giving Up  —  Adam Schiff was angry.  It was late March, and Attorney General William Barr had just released his summary of the special counsel's Russiagate report, deflating many Democrats' hopes for impeachment.

‘Fear Is a Very Powerful Force’: How the White House Whistleblower Exposed a National Security Scandal  —  When Donald Trump and his advisers arrived at the White House for their first real day of work on January 21, 2017, they inherited over 1,800 civil service employees who have more-or-less permanent jobs …

Woman who assaulted Kellyanne Conway skates  —  Prosecutors in Montgomery County, Maryland — the bastion of leftism and Trump hatred I call home — have dismissed charges against the woman who assaulted Kellyanne Conway in a restaurant where Conway was celebrating her birthday.

Trump's Trade War With China Doesn't Look Like a Win  —  Prevailing against a fast-growing country run by autocrats isn't so easy.  —  In March 2018, President Donald Trump uttered his famous declaration that “trade wars are good and easy to win.”  A little more than a year later …

How to Cover 2020: Assume Nothing and Beware of Twitter  —  CHICAGO — Journalists have no idea how the 2020 election will play out.  And that's a good thing.  —  Some of the country's top political journalists came together last week for a gathering convened by the strategist David Axelrod …

Biggest U.S. Health Insurer Wades Right Into ‘Medicare for All’ Fight  — UnitedHealth shares reverse early gains, are down 4.2 percent  — Company reported earnings that beat estimates earlier Tuesday  —  The U.S.'s biggest health insurer sharply criticized the “Medicare for All” …

Unaware he had measles, a man traveled from N.Y. to Michigan, infecting 39 people  —  ‘Patient Zero’ offers a cautionary tale about how speedily one of the most infectious pathogens on the planet can spread  —  Last month, a traveler raising money for charity in Brooklyn's ultra-Orthodox …

Trump Gets Trade Setback With WTO Ruling That May Foil U.S. Strategy  — WTO's first ruling on national security will stand uncontested  — Ukraine says decision may help curb unjustified protectionism  —  The debate over whether the World Trade Organization has the authority to rule …

Is Trump a Russian Agent?:  Explaining Terms of Art and Examining the Facts  —  A number of commentators and critics have labeled President Trump an Agent of the Russian Federation.  It is often not clear if they mean that he is unwittingly adopting Russian propaganda …

When Slaveowners Got Reparations  —  Lincoln signed a bill in 1862 that paid up to $300 for every enslaved person freed.  —  Dr. Hunter, a professor of American history and African-American studies, specializes in the 19th and 20th centuries.  —  On April 16, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed …

Male scientists are often cast as lone geniuses.  Here's what happened when a woman was.  —  The sexist backlash against the woman involved with the black hole image, explained.  —  Just after the Event Horizon Telescope project announced last week that its astronomers had managed to capture …