Rex Tillerson Secretly Meets With House Foreign Affairs Committee to Talk Trump  —  The former Secretary of State is talking with lawmakers at the same time virtually everyone else who worked for the president is defying Congress.  —  Former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was spotted entering …

Confidential draft IRS memo says tax returns must be given to Congress unless president invokes executive privilege  —  A confidential Internal Revenue Service legal memo says tax returns must be given to Congress unless the president takes the rare step of asserting executive privilege …

Release Detail  —  May 21, 2019 - Good Feelings On Economy Don't Help Trump, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; Biden Is Only Contender With Positive Score  —  The nation's economy is “excellent,” 22 percent of American voters say in a Quinnipiac University National Poll today, the highest “excellent” rating for the economy.

Appeals court refuses to stay Mueller grand jury subpoena for Roger Stone associate Andrew Miller  —  A federal appeals court Tuesday refused to block a grand jury subpoena for testimony by Roger Stone associate Andrew Miller in an investigation launched by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III …

How San Francisco broke America's heart  —  SAN FRANCISCO — A Tuesday afternoon in the Mission District of America's tech wonderland.  —  Michael Feno stands outside Lucca Ravioli, his beloved pasta emporium on Valencia, a vestige of old San Francisco, puffing on a cigar while posing for pictures, his customers in tears.

Despite national security concerns, GOP leader McCarthy blocked bipartisan bid to limit China's role in U.S. transit  —  House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) blocked a bipartisan attempt to limit Chinese companies from contracting with U.S. transit systems, a move that benefited …

U.S. Officials Work to Convince Divided Congress of Iran Threat  —  WASHINGTON — Top American national security officials sought to convince a divided Congress on Tuesday about the seriousness of new threats from Iran as they defended intelligence that has prompted military deployments aimed at deterring attacks by Tehran.

Majority of Americans don't want Roe v. Wade overturned, CBS News poll finds  —  Two-thirds of Americans want Roe v. Wade left in place, and most who hold that view would be disappointed or angry if the ruling were to be overturned someday, a new CBS News poll finds.

Trump Administration Could Blacklist Chinese Surveillance Technology Firm  —  WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is considering limits to a Chinese video surveillance giant's ability to buy American technology, people familiar with the matter said, the latest attempt to counter Beijing's global economic ambitions.

First on CNN: Justice Department willing to hand over counterintelligence if Schiff backs off ‘enforcement action’  —  (CNN)The Justice Department is trying to stave off an “enforcement action” against Attorney General William Barr this week, making a rare offer to have the House Intelligence …

Trump Supported Changing New York G.O.P. Leader  —  For months, President Trump's political advisers have been working to remake state Republican parties to cement their control ahead of the 2020 election.  —  But Mr. Trump had a vested interest in helping dictate the leadership and direction of one state party in particular.

Albany Closes a Loophole for Trump Pardons.  Next Up: His Taxes.  —  The Legislature is poised to pass a bill that would allow three congressional committees to seek the release of President Trump's state tax returns.  —  [What you need to know to start the day: Get New York Today in your inbox.]

Why aren't Trump and Republicans pilloried for failing to ‘reach out’?  —  The presidential campaign has begun, which means that Democrats are being asked again and again why they aren't doing more to “reach out” to Republicans.  But there's something important missing from this discussion …

New Transcripts Say That Trump Crafted Michael Cohen's Lies More Closely Than Was Previously Known  —  Gathered in the Oval Office in May 2017, President Donald Trump and two of his lawyers, Michael Cohen and Jay Sekulow, huddled to shape Cohen's impending testimony before Congress.

Ben Carson confuses a real-estate term and a cookie  —  Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson tussled awkwardly with freshman Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.) at a hearing on Tuesday over HUD real estate owned — or REO — homes, at one point asking if she was referring to an “Oreo.”

Trump Expected to Pick Ken Cuccinelli for Immigration Policy Role  —  President Trump is expected to name Kenneth T. Cuccinelli II, a former attorney general of Virginia and an immigration hard-liner, as his choice to coordinate the administration's immigration policies, a White House official confirmed on Tuesday.

New York lawmakers pass bill aimed at weakening Trump's pardon power  —  The measure, which creates a narrow exception to the state's double jeopardy law, now goes to Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo's desk.  —  New York state lawmakers passed a measure Tuesday that would allow prosecutors …

Senate employee dies after altercation outside restaurant in Navy Yard  —  A longtime Senate employee and popular youth baseball coach on Capitol Hill has died after an altercation outside his favorite restaurant and steps from his home near Nationals Park, according to his family and D.C. police.

Former Marine Commandant tells Trump that pardoning troops accused of war crimes ‘relinquishes the moral high ground’  —  Former Marine Commandant Gen. Charles Krulak has issued a statement urging President Donald Trump and members of Congress to oppose pardons for those accused or convicted …

Pregnancy Kills.  Abortion Saves Lives.  —  Every pregnancy poses a “serious health risk” to the mother.  —  Dr. Hern is a physician and epidemiologist who specializes in late-abortion services.  —  Pregnancy is a life-threatening condition.  Women die from being pregnant.

It's Time to Hold American Elites Accountable for Their Abuses  —  Normally, a scandal centered on how rich parents used bribes to win their children's admittance into elite colleges wouldn't play so heavily in the national news.  No one much cared when Donald Trump promised large donations as his children enrolled at Penn.

Austria's far-right Freedom Party ministers all resign amid scandal  —  All ministers from Austria's far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ) are resigning, throwing the government into chaos.  —  The Freedom Party's leader Heinz-Christian Strache, who was also vice-chancellor, was forced to resign at the weekend after a video sting.

Legal Fees Mount for Republican Party, Trump Campaign  —  Filings show RNC spent $2.2 million in April for lawyers' work  —  WASHINGTON—The Republican National Committee spent about $2.2 million last month on legal fees, new financial filings show, boosting the overall tab for lawyers paid by the party …

Parents are poisoning their children with bleach to ‘cure’ autism.  These moms are trying to stop it.  —  Private Facebook groups urge parents to poison autistic kids with chlorine dioxide to “cure” them.  These moms are going undercover to fight back.  —  When they aren't working …

Christopher Steele's nugget of fool's gold was easily disproven — but FBI didn't blink an eye  —  Of all the wild tales that Christopher Steele spun about Russia-Trump collusion during a visit to the State Department shortly before the 2016 election, only one was deemed worth forwarding to his FBI handlers.

Avenatti Says He Expects Indictment in New York Within 48 Hours  —  Michael Avenatti, the lawyer who became famous representing adult film actress Stormy Daniels against President Donald Trump, said on Twitter he expects to be indicted in New York within 48 hours.