White House and Justice Dept. Officials Discussed Mueller Report Before Release  —  WASHINGTON — Robert S. Mueller III's findings will be public on Thursday, but some of them will not be news to President Trump.  —  Justice Department officials have had numerous conversations …

APNewsBreak: Ivanka Trump says she passed on World Bank job  —  ABIDJIAN, Ivory Coast (AP) — White House senior adviser Ivanka Trump says her father asked her if she was interested in taking the job of World Bank chief but she passed on it.  —  In an Associated Press interview …

Secrecy, Self-Dealing, and Greed at the N.R.A.  —  The organization's leadership is focussed on external threats, but the real crisis may be internal.  —  This winter, members of the National Rifle Association—elk hunters in Montana, skeet shooters in upstate New York …

Kentucky Republicans Worried Inviting AOC to Meet with Coal Miners Might Backfire  —  Ocasio-Cortez actually said yes to their invite, and now they're waffling.  —  Last month, a clip of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez went predictably viral after she forcefully responded to one of her colleagues …

Why the Media Dumped Beto for Mayor Pete  —  Burning with the velocity of a prairie fire on a gusty Indiana day, Pete Buttigieg scorched the airwaves, seared the podcasts, and charred the press this week as he ignited his presidential campaign, temporarily torching his Democratic competition in the process.

AP sources: Ex-Virginia Gov. McAuliffe to rule out 2020 run  —  RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe won't run for president in 2020, according to two people familiar with calls he made Wednesday to allies.  —  McAuliffe had flirted with a Democratic presidential run for months …

Sol Pais Dead: Massive Colorado Manhunt Over  —  CLEAR CREEK COUNTY, Colo. (CBS4) - The statewide manhunt for Sol Pais is over in Colorado.  She is dead from possible self-inflicted wounds, according to a law enforcement source at a command post in Clear Creek County.

Florida Prosecutors Say They'll Release Videos of Robert Kraft at Day Spa  —  WHAT TO KNOW  —  Prosecutors said in court documents Wednesday that they are planning to release video of New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft at a Florida day spa.  —  Kraft's lawyers argued in court last week …

Pete Buttigieg Stuns Campaign Crowd By Speaking To Manufacturing Robots In Fluent Binary  —  DES MOINES, IA—Revealing that he taught himself the language after developing an interest in computer science and artificial intelligence, Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg stunned …

Middlebury College Cancels Conservative Philosopher's Lecture on Totalitarianism  —  Middlebury College has canceled a campus speech by conservative Polish Catholic philosopher Ryszard Legutko in response to planned protests by liberal activists.  —  A professor of philosophy …

Trump administration announces new measures against Cuba  —  The Trump administration is reimposing limits on the amount of money Cuban Americans can send to relatives on the island and ordering new restrictions on U.S. citizen, nonfamily travel to Cuba, national security adviser John Bolton said Wednesday.

Facebook says it ‘unintentionally uploaded’ 1.5 million people's email contacts without their consent  — Facebook says that it ‘unintentionally uploaded’ the e-mail contacts of 1.5 million new Facebook users since May 2016.  — The revelation comes after a security researcher noticed …

Trump's Tax Time Troubles  —  Most say Congress should get full Mueller report  —  West Long Branch, NJ - President Donald Trump's job rating has taken a slight dip as the country awaits the release of the Mueller report according to the latest Monmouth University Poll.

Christine Blasey Ford  —  Her story, spoken while holding back tears, shook Washington and the country.  Her courage, in the face of those who wished to silence her, galvanized Americans.  And her unfathomable sacrifice, out of a sense of civic duty, shined a spotlight on the way we treat survivors of sexual violence.

Architects And Historians Wonder: Maybe The New Notre Dame Should Be Less “Overburdened” With Christian Meaning  —  I don't share Michael Brendan Dougherty's faith but I do share his impulse in reading this Rolling Stone piece: “I promise right now.  If you try to rebuild it as a ‘secular’ Notre Dame …

Herman Cain Says He Won't Withdraw From Consideration for Fed Board  —  Former restaurant executive and presidential candidate remains committed to taking the job and has resigned from board of a Pro-Trump PAC  —  STOCKBRIDGE, Ga.—Herman Cain said Wednesday he has no intention of withdrawing …

Naval Academy to ban transgender students starting in fall 2020  —  The U.S. Naval Academy will ban people who are transgender from attending the school, beginning with the 2020 school year.  —  The Defense Department confirmed the policy change to the Capital Gazette newspaper on Monday.

MAYOR DE BLASIO VIOLATED ETHICS RULES IN SEEKING DONATIONS DESPITE WARNINGS, PROBE FINDS  —  Mayor Bill de Blasio violated conflict of interest rules after being warned repeatedly not to solicit donations from individuals actively seeking tax breaks, deed transfers and other favors from his administration …

Mnuchin Plans to Hire Fox's Monica Crowley as Spokeswoman, Sources Say  —  Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin plans to hire Fox News commentator Monica Crowley as his top spokeswoman, according to people familiar with the matter, as he seeks to tout the GOP's tax cuts and navigate Democrats' demands for the president's tax returns.

The Kiss  —  Holy crap, they kissed.  —  I was absentmindedly scrolling through my Instagram live stories a few weeks ago.  That rote escape from the garbage that awaits on the rest of the phone: Baby Pic.  Thirst Trap.  Celeb Live Vid.  Another Baby.  Beach Scene.

An Interview with Norman Podhoretz  —  This interview appears in the forthcoming Spring 2019 issue of the Claremont Review of Books.  —  CRB: Let's start by talking about Donald Trump and you.  In the first sentence of the first chapter of your book Making It, recently republished …

Trump Is Not Attacking Ilhan Omar But All Muslims and Minorities  —  Congressional Democrats, reports the New York Times, find Ilhan Omar a “complicated figure to defend.”  Their exhaustion is understandable; tamping down outrage at various Omar statements seems to account for the better part of their job these days.

Doctors in five states charged with prescribing pain killers for cash, sex  —  Dozens of medical professionals in five states were charged Wednesday with participating in the illegal prescribing of more than 32 million pain pills, including doctors who prosecutors said traded sex for prescriptions …

‘Partly Alive’: Scientists Revive Cells in Brains From Dead Pigs  —  In research that upends assumptions about brain death, researchers brought some cells back to life — or something like it.  —  In a study that raises profound questions about the line between life and death …