In Push for 2020 Election Security, Top Official Was Warned: Don't Tell Trump  —  WASHINGTON — In the months before Kirstjen Nielsen was forced to resign, she tried to focus the White House on one of her highest priorities as homeland security secretary: preparing for new and different Russian forms …

‘This is risky’: Trump's thirst for Mueller revenge could land him in trouble  —  Team Trump's bellicose tweets and public statements in the last few days could expose the president to fresh charges of witness intimidation and obstruction of justice.  —  Special counsel Robert Mueller may be done …

Trump complained about his follower count in White House meeting with Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey  —  President Trump on Tuesday met privately with Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, a huddle at the White House between one of the site's most prolific users and an executive who's faced criticism for the way Twitter has handled the president's tweets.

A Giant Bird Killed Its Owner.  Now It Could Be Yours.  —  There will be colorful macaws, lithe lemurs and cackling Kookaburras for sale at an event billed by organizers as “the dispersal of the animal estate of Marvin Hajos.”  But the animal that is likely to get the most attention is the giant bird that killed Mr. Hajos this month.

In a Crowded Field, Pete Buttigieg and Beto O'Rourke Stake Out Similar Turf  —  NASHUA, N.H. — The question was the same: Why should you be the Democratic nominee for president?  —  The answers helped illustrate why Beto O'Rourke is stalling and Pete Buttigieg is surging in the first months of the campaign.

Student slated to attend Western Michigan University beheaded in Saudi Arabia  —  A Saudi Arabian man who was arrested as a teenager as he was getting ready to fly to America to begin his studies at Western Michigan University was beheaded by the government Tuesday, according to a report from an official press agency.

Trump offers alternate argument for citizenship question on 2020 census  —  President Donald Trump wrote online Wednesday that “the American people deserve to know who is in this country,” breaking with the Justice Department in its defense of Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross' efforts to place …

Without evidence, Trump says border incident between U.S. and Mexican soldiers was ‘probably’ a diversion for drug smugglers  —  President Trump shared a theory without evidence on Wednesday that Mexican troops recently drew guns on U.S. soldiers at the border as a diversion for drug smugglers …

Officers at scene of Beto O'Rourke's 1998 DWI crash say they believe he tried to flee  —  Until now, O'Rourke, who denies trying to flee the wreck, was the only person present at the scene of the collision to speak out publicly about what happened that night.

How the Intercept Is Fueling the Democratic Civil War  —  Captain Mark Kelly, the former astronaut, has a picture-perfect political résumé: the Space Shuttle commander and veteran of the U.S. Navy became a gun control advocate after his wife, former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, was shot and suffered a severe brain injury.

William Barr decried ‘hatchet jobs’ on Ken Starr in 1998  —  (CNN)William Barr said in a 1998 interview that he was “disturbed” that Attorney General Janet Reno had not defended independent counsel Ken Starr from “spin control,” “hatchet jobs” and “ad hominem attacks.”

Steve King says he understands how Jesus Christ felt after months of criticism in the House  —  Rep. Steve King addresses recent quotes on white supremacy and western civilization during a town hall event in Iowa  —  U.S. Rep. Steve King said that after facing months of criticism for comments …

Trump camp descends on Pennsylvania as alarms grow over 2020  —  Senior Trump 2020 advisers are headed to Harrisburg on Wednesday to meet with Pennsylvania GOP officials amid mounting concerns about the president's prospects in the critical battleground state.

Lobbyist's crusade to change Title IX in Missouri stems from his son's expulsion  —  After his son was accused and subsequently expelled from Washington University in St. Louis last year through the school's Title IX process, a leading Jefferson City lobbyist launched a campaign to change the law for every campus in the state.

Pipe bomb suspect Cesar Sayoc describes Trump rallies as ‘new found drug’  —  (CNN)The Florida man who pleaded guilty to mailing explosive devices said in a letter to a federal judge that attending a rally for President Donald Trump “became like a new found drug.”

‘Fat Sex Therapist’ compares fitness trainers to Nazis, children's dieting to sexual assault  — A “Fat Sex Therapist” recently gave a talk at St. Olaf College in Minnesota, in which she compared personal trainers to Nazis.  —  “I truly believe that a child cannot consent to being on a diet …

Inside The Grand Jury With Carter Page  —  Carter Page, the only man wiretapped — that we know of — in the Trump-Russia probe describes what it was like in the grand jury with Robert Mueller's prosecutors.  Also, what did the FBI ask in five, count 'em five, interviews?

Democrats Weigh Fines for Trump Officials Who Spurn Subpoenas  — Judiciary Chairman Nadler suggests jail for ignoring demands  — Lawyers say House has power to fine or jail for noncompliance  —  The Trump administration is fighting House Democrats' investigative inquiries at every turn.

Trump's IRS Audit Files Offer ‘Treasure Trove’—If Congress Ever Gets Them  —  Internal documents would let lawmakers understand how tax agency scrutinizes president  —  WASHINGTON—Democrats want six years of President Trump's tax returns, and those should be plenty interesting.

Meet the Other Resistance: The Republican One  —  President Trump is overwhelmingly popular with his base, but a handful of dissident Republicans think they know how to defeat him in a primary contest.  Are they wrong?  —  William F. Weld is not likely to become our 46th president.

Former Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort is now in federal prison  —  Sentenced in two separate cases in March, Manafort is serving 7.5 years for fraud, tax evasion and conspiracy.  —  WASHINGTON — Former Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort is now in federal prison.

House asks judge to halt Trump border wall funding  —  The House of Representatives has asked a federal judge to block President Donald Trump's plan to build a border wall using Defense Department funds.  —  On Tuesday, House lawyers requested that U.S. District Court Judge Trevor McFadden issue …

Mueller fails to detonate for endangered Republicans  —  DENVER — The Mueller report is no “Access Hollywood” tape.  —  While the 2016 bombshell sent Republicans sprinting away from then-candidate Donald Trump, special counsel Robert Mueller's explosive findings that the president …

Straight talk on race becoming a must for white candidates  —  After touring the National Lynching Memorial recently, former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper spoke of the “shame” he felt that some white people “kind of looked the other way during these lynching incidents.”

Minorities, older adults boost Biden atop 2020 Democratic field: Reuters/Ipsos poll  —  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Former Vice President Joe Biden leads all other candidates for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination and draws his strongest levels of support from minorities and older adults …

When Tech Elites Lose Their Religion  —  If they no longer have faith in the digital empire they've created, who will?  —  Remember the “digital divide”?  That's a media-friendly bit of alliteration, going back to the 1990s, used to describe the unequal distribution of digital access.

Navy SEALs Were Warned Against Reporting Their Chief for War Crimes  —  Stabbing a defenseless teenage captive to death.  Picking off a school-age girl and an old man from a sniper's roost.  Indiscriminately spraying neighborhoods with rockets and machine-gun fire.

Elizabeth Warren has the wrong answer to America's student debt problem  —  TRAILING IN the polls, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) is running ahead of the Democratic presidential pack in terms of policy specifics.  We hope other candidates will emulate her willingness to lay out an agenda.

It's time to call out Disney — and anyone else rich off their workers' backs  —  Abigail Disney is the president of Fork Films, founder of Peace is Loud and co-founder of Level Forward.  —  This past weekend, I seem to have struck a nerve with a Twitter thread about wage inequality …