Televangelist Pat Robertson: Alabama's abortion ban is ‘extreme’ and has ‘gone too far’  —  Longtime televangelist Pat Robertson decried Alabama's new abortion ban as “extreme,” saying on his show on Wednesday that the state legislature has “gone too far.”  —  Alabama's law …

White House will not sign on to Christchurch call to stamp out online extremism amid free speech concerns  —  The White House will not sign an international call to combat online extremism brokered between French and New Zealand officials and top social media companies, amid U.S. concerns …

No ‘do-over’ on Mueller probe, White House lawyer tells House panel, saying demands for records, staff testimony will be refused  —  The letter rejects the committee's standing to investigate President Trump for possible obstruction of justice.  — Carol D. Leonnig, Josh Dawsey -  · - 1 hour ago -

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio to announce presidential bid  —  Bill de Blasio is not exactly popular back home, but he has a record of progressive accomplishments that allies think will resonate with Democratic voters.  —  WASHINGTON — New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio will declare …

Scoop: Kamala Harris/Fox News  —  Scoop: Sen. Kamala Harris Will Not Appear On Fox News For A Town Hall  —  Presidential candidate and California Sen. Kamala Harris will not appear on Fox News for a moderated town hall, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

Trump, frustrated by advisers, is not convinced the time is right to attack Iran  —  The Trump administration has been on high alert in response to what military and intelligence officials have deemed specific and credible threats from Iran against U.S. personnel in the Middle East.

Barr asks Pelosi at event: ‘Did you bring your handcuffs?’  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General William Barr tried out a little contempt humor on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, with interesting results.  —  The setting was the National Peace Officers Memorial Day service Wednesday at the U.S. Capitol.

Howard Schultz delays decision on 2020, Biden the factor  —  Billionaire businessman and former Starbucks chief executive Howard Schultz has delayed his decision on whether to run for president as an independent as he assesses the possibility of former Vice President Joe Biden capturing …

Trump's prized Doral resort is in steep decline, according to company documents, showing his business problems are mounting  —  Late last year, in a Miami conference room, a consultant for President Trump's company said business at his prized 643-room Doral resort was in sharp decline.

The Trump Admin Is Scrubbing Obamacare From Government Sites  —  PRESIDENT TRUMP HAS never been coy about his desire to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.  While that pledge has faced setbacks in Congress, his administration has managed to gut Obamacare by other means, like cutting financial support.

“You Have to Have a Plan to Deal with Them”: How the Media Fell Out of Love with Beto O'Rourke  —  Parsing the the factors (privilege, intersectionality, more press scrutiny, strategic miscalculation, multiple opponents, Vanity Fair) that contributed to O'Rourke's early-season swoon.

Trump Immigration Plan Emphasizes Immigrants' Skills Over Family Ties  —  WASHINGTON — President Trump will unveil on Thursday a plan to overhaul parts of the nation's immigration system that would impose new security measures at the border and significantly increase the educational …

John Bolton, Far Worse Than You Realize  —  Looking at the escalating (US-created) crisis with Iran, one thing I realize is that a lot of people do not quite know who John Bolton is.  They assume - rightly - that anyone in the Trump orbit must be either a moral weakling, a crazy person or someone with one foot out the door.

Administration wants to reimburse Taliban's travel expenses  —  The Trump administration asked Congress earlier this year for funds to reimburse Afghanistan's Taliban for expenses the insurgent group incurs attending peace talks, according to a spokesman for the chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense.

Trump signs order to protect U.S. networks from foreign espionage, a move that appears to target China  —  Amid a deepening trade war with China, President Trump on Wednesday declared a “national emergency” to protect U.S. communications networks in a move that gives the federal government broad powers …

Harvard Betrays a Law Professor — and Itself  —  Misguided students believe that defending Harvey Weinstein makes Ronald Sullivan unfit to be their dean.  Apparently the university agrees.  —  Professor Kennedy teaches law at Harvard.  —  I have been a professor at Harvard University for 34 years.

Ignoring Trump's Orders, Hoping He'll Forget  —  On March 29, during a weekend jaunt to Mar-a-Lago, Donald Trump announced a major policy decision that surprised top-ranking officials in several government agencies.  The United States was cutting off aid to Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador, the president said.

Key Democrat to help Lipinski—despite primary threat  —  U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, a fellow Illinoisan and head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, is slated to star at a fundraiser for the Southwest Side congressman.  —  By On Politics  —  As Southwest Side congressman Dan …

Intuit CEO in Internal Video: Hiding Free TurboTax Was In “Best Interest of Taxpayers”  —  ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom based in New York.  Sign up for ProPublica's Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox as soon as they are published.

Why Arizona Is Emerging as Top 2020 Battleground  —  If Democrats avoid the progressive temptation, they'll have a chance to turn the GOP-friendly state blue in next year's elections.  —  If there's one development that threatens to disrupt the best laid plans of Republicans …

Jeff Sessions's Grave Conflict of Interest  —  Last year, in March 2018, then Attorney General Jeff Sessions enlisted his subordinates to lie on his behalf that he did not know he was under federal investigation when he fired then Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe—an investigation initiated …

Texas used money from the Help America Vote Act to help pay for its botched voter citizenship review  —  The expenditure appears to comply with the federal law, but Democratic lawmakers say it flies in the face of the act's initial purpose to improve elections and voter access.