Barr Assigns U.S. Attorney in Connecticut to Review Origins of Russia Inquiry  —  WASHINGTON — Attorney General William P. Barr has assigned the top federal prosecutor in Connecticut to examine the origins of the Russia investigation, according to two people familiar with the matter …

White House Reviews Military Plans Against Iran, in Echoes of Iraq War  —  WASHINGTON — At a meeting of President Trump's top national security aides last Thursday, Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan presented an updated military plan that envisions sending as many as 120,000 troops …

Before Trump's purge at DHS, top officials challenged plan for mass family arrests  —  In the weeks before they were ousted last month, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and top immigration enforcement official Ronald Vitiello challenged a secret White House plan to arrest thousands …

YouTube's Newest Far-Right, Foul-Mouthed, Red-Pilling Star Is A 14-Year-Old Girl  —  “Soph” has nearly a million followers on the giant video platform.  Its executives only have themselves to blame.  —  What does a 14-year-old girl dressed in a chador have to say on YouTube to amass more than 800,000 followers?

Rosenstein criticizes Jim Comey as ‘partisan pundit,’ defends handling of Mueller probe  —  Former deputy attorney general Rod J. Rosenstein on Monday defended his role in the firing of James B. Comey from the FBI and criticized the bureau's former director as a “partisan pundit” …

Judiciary chairman says Trump Jr. should plead the Fifth to Intelligence panel  —  The head of the Senate Judiciary Committee encouraged Donald Trump Jr. to invoke his right against self-incrimination and refuse to answer questions from the Senate Intelligence Committee if he complies …

What's behind the absurd gamble on women's rights and health  —  Companies halt production in Georgia over abortion law  —  Carliss Chatman is an assistant professor of law at Washington and Lee University School of Law and writes about corporate personhood, corporate governance, and ethics.

Republicans surrender to Trump's China tariffs  —  The GOP is starting to give up on thwarting President Donald Trump's trade agenda.  —  Senate Republicans acknowledge that the president's latest tariff increase on Chinese imports are harming farm state economies, their own constituents and some of Trump's most reliable voters.

WhatsApp voice calls used to inject Israeli spyware on phones  —  A vulnerability in the messaging app WhatsApp has allowed attackers to inject commercial Israeli spyware on to phones, the company and a spyware technology dealer said.  —  WhatsApp, which is used by 1.5bn people worldwide …

Fake history: Rashida Tlaib's grotesque distortion of the making of Israel  —  Everyone's heard of Holocaust denial, but there's a ­related phenomenon, Holocaust distortion, that ­involves taking undue credit for rescuing Jews, claims often made by nations that played a role in the genocide of the Jewish people.

U.S. Rejects Top Palestinian Official Hanan Ashrawi's Visa Request  —  Ashrawi, who in the past met with U.S. presidents and senior officials, says no reason was given for refusal ■ State Department says it does not refuse visas based solely on political views if they are ‘lawful in the United States’

Senior arms control official resigns from State Department  —  A top U.S. arms control official and prominent Iran hawk has resigned from the State Department after serving just over a year in the position, said U.S. officials and congressional aides familiar with the decision.

Trump targets Pell Grant money for NASA's budget boost  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration wants to shift money for Pell Grants for college education to fund new spending, including a $1.6 billion bump for NASA to return American astronauts to the moon by 2024.

Is There a Connection Between Undocumented Immigrants and Crime?  —  It's a widely held perception, but a new analysis finds no evidence to support it.  —  A lot of research has shown that there's no causal connection between immigration and crime in the United States.

Conservatism has become a racket, and Trump is the grifter in chief  —  “Every great cause begins as a movement, becomes a business, and eventually degenerates into a racket.”  -Eric Hoffer  —  You can debate when the conservative movement became a racket — I nominate 1996 …

EXCLUSIVE: Trump comes out against Equality Act  —  With a vote on the Equality Act in the U.S. House expected on Friday, a senior administration official indicated exclusively to the Washington Blade that President Trump opposes the bill.  —  “The Trump administration absolutely opposes discrimination …

‘One of the most important endorsements in America right now’  —  The Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez primary is heating up.  —  For the second time in five days, the star freshman congresswoman is appearing alongside Bernie Sanders at a high-profile event.  Rep. Ro Khanna, co-chairman of Sanders' campaign …

New Haven mosque fire was intentionally set, investigators say … A two-alarm fire that heavily damaged a New Haven mosque over the weekend was arson and a federal criminal investigation is underway, local and state officials said Monday afternoon.  —  “This was intentionally set,” New Haven Fire Chief John Alston said.

Power to the people: DC residents could soon issue parking tickets  —  A new pilot program that's part of an overhaul of transportation safety in D.C. would let some residents issue parking tickets on their own.  —  The Citizen Safety Enforcement Pilot Program is part of a larger “Vision Zero” …

Mayor de Blasio's NYPD vehicle was driving wrong way when it crashed with truck, sparking cover-up  —  Mayor de Blasio's NYPD SUV was cruising the wrong way with lights and sirens blaring when it got into a car crash, sparking a frantic cover-up by his security detail, a new accident report obtained by the Daily News shows.

Wisconsin Republican Party maxed out credit card, racked up $600 in monthly interest as it tried to save Scott Walker  —  MADISON - The state Republican Party fell so far behind financially in recent months that it missed payments to insurers and racked up nearly $600 a month in interest …