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 …

Michael Cohen, in Recorded Phone Call, Walks Back Parts of Guilty Plea  —  Trump's former lawyer, set to go to prison in weeks, told actor Tom Arnold he wasn't guilty of some crimes he pleaded guilty to  —  Michael Cohen has disavowed responsibility for some of the crimes to which he has pleaded guilty …

‘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 …

Top Justice Department Official Will Defy Congress  —  An attorney for John Gore, who heads the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, said to testify Gore must have an attorney present—a condition Democrats have rejected.  —  Betsy Woodruff  —  John Gore, who heads …

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.

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.

McCain family to support Biden in 2020 race in bid to defeat Trump  —  The late Sen. John McCain's family plans to support former Vice President Joe Biden's White House bid, backing the Democrat not only in his party's crowded primary race but also in a general election matchup with President Trump, the Washington Examiner has learned.

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.

Twitter Is Not America  —  Twitter, as it turns out, is not a good model of the world.  —  Hard as that is for the Twitter-addicted to believe, it is true, and a recent Pew Research study presents new evidence about the way that the platform leans.  —  In the United States …

Trump Cannot Appeal an Impeachment Judgment to SCOTUS  —  This is an excerpt from our book, To End A Presidency: The Power of Impeachment.  Here, we explain why the Framers expressly decided against allowing the Supreme Court to play a role in adjudicating impeachments.

Source: Feds Probe Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, First Lady For Property Tax Appeals On Gold Coast Mansion  —  Democratic Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, his wife and his brother-in-law are under federal criminal investigation for a dubious residential property tax appeal that dogged him during …

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.”

Census: Midterm turnout surge fueled by core Dem voters  —  The highest-turnout midterm election in more than a century was driven by a surge of voters who ordinarily sit out those contests, and who disproportionately favor Democratic candidates.  —  While turnout was up across the board …

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.

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.

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.

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.”

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 …

Mad About Bari Weiss: The New York Times Provocateur the Left Loves to Hate  —  The Times op-ed writer is a Trump-loathing theater nerd who studied at a feminist yeshiva and used to date Kate McKinnon.  She also led a controversial protest at Columbia, and popularized the “intellectual dark Web.”

Joni Ernst suggests federal government spied on President Donald Trump for political reasons  —  The redacted version of the Mueller report is now available from the attorney general.  Here are the key takeaways from it.  —  CONNECT  —  U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst on Wednesday suggested …

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.

Biden voted with the NRA when the Senate, and the nation, were very different  —  The 1986 bill allowed firearms to be sold by mail and limited inspections of dealers while allowing them to sell at gun shows.  —  WASHINGTON — After the Sandy Hook school massacre in 2012 …

‘If this is the new normal, I want no part of it’: Citing Trump, Iowa's longest-serving Republican leaves party  —  Iowa's longest-serving Republican legislator, state Rep. Andy McKean, ditched the GOP on Tuesday as he offered a searing renunciation of President Trump, saying …

Want to Make Millions and Pay No Taxes?  Try Real Estate  —  Real estate is a cyclical business.  Markets crash.  Deals sour.  But hard landings are rare for a savvy property mogul, thanks to the U.S. tax code.  —  Take Harry Macklowe, a New York City developer.

Conservative MPs demand clearer ‘road map’ for May's exit  —  But backbenchers opted not to change the rule that prevents her being challenged before December.  —  LONDON — Conservative MPs demanded a “road map” for Theresa May's departure as party leader and prime minister …

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.

Europe Not Feeling Much Pain From Trump Tariffs, Central Bank Says  —  FRANKFURT — President Trump's trade war was supposed to make Europeans feel so much pain they would beg for mercy at the negotiating table.  But it's not working very well, according to a new study by the European Central Bank.

Bernie Sanders Scares a Lot of People, and Quite a Few of Them Are Democrats  —  What happens if he's the nominee in 2020?  —  Mr. Edsall contributes a weekly column from Washington, D.C. on politics, demographics and inequality.  —  In 34 national surveys conducted from October 2018 to early April …

As Durst Murder Case Goes Forward, HBO's Film Will Also Be on Trial  —  To understand why Robert A. Durst, the peculiar real estate scion long suspected in several murders, is now charged with killing his close friend Susan Berman 19 years ago, look no further than the 2015 HBO documentary about his life.

Texas to Execute White Supremacist for 1998 Dragging Death of James Byrd Jr.  —  [For more coverage of race, sign up here to have our Race/Related newsletter delivered weekly to your inbox.]  —  On Wednesday evening around 6 p.m., Louvon Harris will be in Huntsville, Tex., about 70 miles north of Houston, for an appointment.