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 …

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.

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 …

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 …

Fair Shot  —  About a hundred years ago, this was “the richest hill on earth.”  —  The men who owned it were called kings.  —  With their money, they bought politicians; attacked unions, exploited workers, and left us all with a toxic reminder of what happens when our democracy is put up for sale.

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 unloads on Comey, says he broke ‘bright lines that should never be crossed’  —  Rod Rosenstein unloaded on former FBI Director James Comey in remarks to the Greater Baltimore Committee (GBC) on Monday evening, slamming Comey's turn as a “partisan pundit,” reiterating that he deserved to be fired …

Beto O'Rourke Tells Rachel Maddow: ‘I Recognize That I Can Do a Better Job’  —  WASHINGTON — Former Representative Beto O'Rourke said Monday he “can do a better job” of communicating his 2020 campaign message, acknowledging that he must take steps to revive his once-promising presidential bid …

Judge set to rule on Trump's subpoena challenge  —  President Donald Trump's strategy of outright resistance to House subpoenas will face its first test in federal court on Tuesday, setting up a ruling that could boost Democrats' efforts to investigate the president's business dealings.

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 …

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.

Trump Tower Is Now One of NYC's Least-Desirable Luxury Buildings  — Most condo owners who sold since 2016 have recorded a loss  — ‘No one wants in that building,’ says one former owner  —  Trump Tower, once the crown jewel in Donald Trump's property empire, now ranks …

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.

Heidi Heitkamp and Joe Donnelly's Rural Voter Project Tied To “Medicare For All” Opponents  —  A dark money organization designed to help Democrats win rural votes in 2020 is getting support from anti-Medicare for All forces — and pushing their message with a pair of former Democratic senators.

NRA Legal Bills Raise ‘All Sorts of Red Flags’  —  Ollie North claims the NRA faces unfathomably high legal expenses.  Experts say his concerns are serious.  ‘The IRS would definitely be interested in it,’ one tells The Daily Beast.  —  Betsy Woodruff  —  “One hundred thousand dollars a day?

It's clear why Trump likes autocrats.  But why are American conservatives following him?  —  They were not members of the communist party, just sympathizers.  They didn't carry out any murderous policies, just turned the other way when others did.  Known as “fellow travelers,” …

Steve Bannon sought alliance with FBI in 2017 White House meeting  —  Bannon, then Trump's closest adviser, told FBI officials to put their past differences with the White House ‘behind them’  —  Steve Bannon urged two senior FBI officials to put their differences with the White House …

The Navy's probe into sky penis  —  It prompted viral guffaws from some and online outrage from others.  —  There are shot glasses commemorating the event and it birthed memes ahead of the annual Army-Navy game.  —  But the inside story of how an EA-18G Growler jet crew drew a penis across …

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.

Let's put Turkey's EU membership back on track  —  ANKARA — Some 30 years ago, on the occasion of Turkey's formal membership application to the EU, then Prime Minister Turgut Özal likened the process of joining the bloc to “a long and narrow road,” referring to a famous verse by the folk-poet Aşık Veysel.