Flynn told Mueller people tied to Trump and Congress tried to obstruct probe  —  The communications could have affected “his willingness to cooperate,” special counsel Robert Mueller wrote in court filings.  —  Former national security adviser Michael Flynn told investigators that people linked …

Trump Tells Pentagon Chief He Does Not Want War With Iran  —  WASHINGTON — President Trump has told his acting defense secretary, Patrick Shanahan, that he does not want to go to war with Iran, according to several administration officials, in a message to his hawkish aides …

Frustrated House Democrats Pin Their Hopes on Mueller  —  WASHINGTON — House Democrats, frustrated by President Trump's efforts to stonewall their investigations and eager to stoke public anger about the president's behavior, are pinning their diminishing hopes on Robert S. Mueller III.

Post-Roe America Won't Be Like Pre-Roe America.  It Will Be Worse.  —  The new abortion bans are harsher than the old ones.  —  This week, Alabama's governor signed legislation banning most abortions without exceptions for rape or incest, with sentences of up to 99 years in prison for abortion providers.

Ukraine Prosecutor Says No Evidence of Wrongdoing by Bidens  — Hunter Biden, Burisma not targets, despite Giuliani's pleas  — Long-running investigation said to focus on another Ukrainian  —  Ukraine's prosecutor general said in an interview that he had no evidence of wrongdoing …

Trump reports making at least $434 million in 2018  —  (CNN)President Donald Trump made at least $434 million in 2018, according to his annual financial disclosure released Thursday by the White House.  —  That includes $40.8 million from his Trump International Hotel in Washington, DC, just blocks from the White House.

Republicans' Messaging on Abortion Puts Democrats on the Defensive  —  WASHINGTON — With grisly claims that Democrats promote “birth day abortions” and are “the party of death,” the Republican Party and its conservative allies have aggressively reset the terms of one of the country's …

I.M. Pei, Master Architect Whose Buildings Dazzled the World, Dies at 102  —  I. M. Pei, who began his long career designing buildings for a New York real estate developer and ended it as one of the most revered architects in the world, died early Thursday at his home in Manhattan.  He was 102.

Alabama's antiabortion governor urges respect for life, will oversee a 7th execution  —  When Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signed that state's obnoxious new bill criminalizing abortion Wednesday afternoon, she offered a little toast to victory on Twitter.  —  Or maybe we should call it a partial victory …

Bill de Blasio's 2020 presidential run a bad idea for ‘unmitigated disaster’ mayor, Scaramucci says  —  New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, the latest 2020 Democratic presidential contender, is an “unmitigated disaster” of a leader and his constituents by and large are unhappy with him …

We asked ambassadors where they eat when they're homesick.  We did not expect Taco Bell and Ikea.  —  In our stateless capital, everyone handles the hunger of homesickness differently.  Most of us have our take-me-home go-tos, whether we're transplants from Texas or Thailand, Ohio or Oman.

Trump Administration Revokes $929 Million for California High-Speed Rail  —  Transportation Department follows through on threat after state scaled back plans for troubled project  —  The Trump administration carried out its threat to cancel nearly $1 billion in funding …

Flynn Case Update LORDY HE HAD TAPE(s)  —  As many of you may know earlier today I asked Claude to “tease out” the following Flynn Update.  For the record and should you be inclined...  I've written 39+ entries about:  —  Flynn, Flynn Intel Group, Marshall Plan, Mark Lamber, Cohen, EDVA …

‘Not a Big Deal,’ Police Commander Said as Eric Garner Died  —  The revelation provoked gasps at the disciplinary hearing for the officer who applied a chokehold to Mr. Garner, who died after exclaiming, “I can't breathe.”  —  A police commander in Staten Island received text messages …

Donald Trump trip to Ireland in doubt amid venue disagreement  —  White House indicates US president may visit Scotland after questions raised over Doonbeg use  —  Disagreement over the location of a possible meeting between US president Donald Trump and Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has thrown …

Steele Identified Russian Dossier Sources, Notes Reveal  — Christopher Steele told a State Department official a former Russian spy chief and a top Kremlin adviser were involved in an operation to collect compromising information on Donald Trump.  — The State Department official's notes …

The Night The Lights Went Out  —  Or dare I say... given away?  I am the least reliable narrator when it comes to the story of my brain exploding.  This is because, from the time right before I suffered a freakish brain hemorrhage last year to the time I regained full consciousness roughly two weeks later, I remember nothing.

Mueller Testimony to Congress Stalled by Executive-Privilege Claim  —  Special Counsel Robert Mueller's appearance before a House panel has been stalled partly due to discussions on whether the White House's assertion of executive privilege would limit his testimony, according to people familiar with the matter.

Trump Plans To Invoke Insurrection Act To Boot Illegal Immigrants  —  President Donald Trump is planning on using the Insurrection Act to remove illegal immigrants from the United States, The Daily Caller has learned.  —  According to multiple senior administration officials …

Trump wants his border barrier to be painted black with spikes.  He has other ideas, too.  —  The barrier that President Trump wants to build along the Mexico border will be a steel bollard fence, not a concrete wall as he long promised, and the president is fine with that.

Panhandle county that backed Trump among Russian hacking victims  —  TALLAHASSEE — Russian hackers breached a county elections department in the Florida Panhandle where voters turned out heavily for President Donald Trump in 2018, according to a report confirmed by POLITICO.

SAT to Give Students ‘Adversity Score’ to Capture Social and Economic Background  —  New score comes as college admissions decisions are under scrutiny  —  The College Board plans to assign an adversity score to every student who takes the SAT to try to capture their social and economic background …

Trump's plan to take over Fourth of July celebration opposed by D.C. mayor  —  D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) said she opposes President Trump's plan to put himself at the center of a redesigned Fourth of July celebration in the nation's capital, expressing concerns about what could be major …

HUD's Ben Carson broke law with furniture order, GAO says  —  Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson broke the law when he failed to report an order for a $31,561 dining room table set for his office as well as the installation of an $8,000 dishwasher in the office kitchen …