The Catastrophic Performance of Bill Barr  —  I was willing to give Bill Barr a chance.  Consider me burned.  —  When Barr was nominated, I wrote a cautious piece for this magazine declining to give him “a character reference” and acknowledging “legitimate reasons to be concerned about …

F.B.I. Sent Investigator Posing as Assistant to Meet With Trump Aide in 2016  —  WASHINGTON — The conversation at a London bar in September 2016 took a strange turn when the woman sitting across from George Papadopoulos, a Trump campaign adviser, asked a direct question: Was the Trump campaign working with Russia?

Facebook bans far-right leaders including Louis Farrakhan, Alex Jones, Milo Yiannopoulos for being “dangerous”  —  The bans are a sign that the social network is more aggressively enforcing its hate speech policies under pressure from civil rights groups.  —  Facebook said on Thursday …

Bernie Sanders personally spearheaded campaign strategy to take on Joe Biden  —  Sanders: Dems must campaign on policy issues, not attacks  —  (CNN)The decision by Bernie Sanders' campaign to immediately engage with Joe Biden — in a series of public remarks, tweets and emails to supporters …

Baltimore Mayor Pugh resigns after month on leave amid investigation into her business deals  —  Pictures of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh through the years  —  Baltimore Mayor Catherine E. Pugh resigned Thursday, apologizing for the harm she has caused to the city's image and the mayor's office amid …

Stephen Moore Withdraws as Trump's Federal Reserve Board Pick After Anti-Women Remarks Unearthed  —  The former Trump campaign advisor's views on women and other subjects sparked criticism from lawmakers, including Republicans.  —  Stephen Moore withdrew himself from consideration to sit …

Someone Did Get to Look at Trump's Tax Returns: Deutsche Bankers  — A trip to Weisselberg's office but no photocopies allowed  — Ivanka served as point person and suggested personal guarantee  —  Donald Trump doesn't want anyone to see his tax returns.  Not the public.  Not Congress.

Mayor Pete Buttigieg's Unlikely, Untested, Unprecedented Presidential Campaign  —  As Pete Buttigieg addressed supporters off a back porch in Marshalltown, Iowa, the Devil was whispering his name.  “Pete,” the Devil hissed into a microphone.  “You're sooo smart, Pete.”

Authorities: Alleged Russian spy whale is refusing to leave and seeking Norwegians' devotion  —  BERLIN — An alleged Russian spy whale is refusing to leave a Norwegian port city, in what appears to be a high-profile defection after a week of global attention on the unnamed beluga.

Exclusive: Foreign government leases at Trump World Tower stir more emoluments concerns  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department allowed at least seven foreign governments to rent luxury condominiums in New York's Trump World Tower in 2017 without approval from Congress …

U.S. Military Intervention in Venezuela ‘Possible’ as Turmoil Continues  —  The U.S. secretary of state Mike Pompeo has said military intervention in Venezuela “is possible,” to support opposition leader Juan Guaidó's attempts at an uprising against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's government.

Surviving a stroke  —  CNN National Security Analyst Michael Hayden, a retired four-star US Air Force general, formerly headed the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency.  His daughter-in-law, Jessica Powley Hayden, helped him to focus his thoughts and put them on paper.

Beto O'Rourke Blew It  —  Reacting to losing to Ted Cruz by running for president is like failing to land a role in a community theater production and deciding to take your talents to Broadway.  —  Margaret Carlson  —  BEAST INSIDE  —  Beto O'Rourke has flamed out.  It's not just me saying it.

CBS News Sets New A.M. Lineup: Gayle King, Anthony Mason, Tony Dokoupil  —  CBS News is moving to a new trio for “CBS This Morning.”  —  Gayle King is expected to remain at the program, and will be flanked by Anthony Mason and Tony Dokoupil, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Health insurance deductibles soar, leaving Americans with unaffordable bills … Soaring deductibles and medical bills are pushing millions of American families to the breaking point, fueling an affordability crisis that is pulling in middle-class households with health insurance as well as the poor and uninsured.