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 …

Special counsel's team hesitant about Mueller testifying publicly, part of hold up securing testimony  —  (CNN)Special counsel Robert Mueller's team has expressed reluctance to him testifying publicly in front of the House Judiciary Committee, according to sources familiar with the matter.

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 …

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.

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 …

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.

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.”

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 …

Vulnerable Democrats split as impeachment pressure mounts  —  Freshman Democrats who delivered the House majority are starting to split under impeachment pressure, as a number of those in competitive districts are now warming to the idea of launching proceedings against President Donald Trump.

Trump Aides Were Involved in Effort to Remove G.O.P. Leader in New York  —  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 …

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.

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.

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.

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 …

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.

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 …

Ilhan Omar: 'There's a Reason That I Got Elected to Be in Congress and It Has Nothing to Do With the Fact That I'm a Refugee'  —  On the first episode of our new podcast, Next Left, we talk to the trailblazing politician about how she went from refugee to US Representative.

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.

Cannes: Sci-Fi Film Poster Features Decapitated Donald Trump Head in MAGA Hat  —  The B-movie-style one-sheet shows a woman holding two decapitated heads, including one that looks like the commander-in-chief wearing his signature campaign headgear.  —  When a photograph of Kathy Griffin holding …

Trump jokingly suggests serving as many as five terms  —  President Trump joked at a campaign rally on Monday that he could serve as many as five terms in the White House.  —  “Now we're going to have a second time,” Trump said in Montoursville, Pa., recounting the details of his surprise election victory in 2016.

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.

GOP Senator Says Trump's Trade War Has Farmers On ‘Verge Of Financial Collapse’  —  Jerry Moran of Kansas urged Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue to find a better response than unreliable government aid.  —  Republican Sen. Jerry Moran of Kansas raised dire concerns over the Trump …

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.]

Amash won't rule out Libertarian challenge to Trump  —  Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.) on Tuesday said he would not rule out a third-party challenge to President Trump in 2020.  —  The Hill asked Amash if he is thinking about leaving the Republican Party to run for president as the Libertarian Party candidate.

What Changed My Mind About Climate Change?  —  Risk management is not a binary choice.  —  I spent the better part of my professional life (1991-2014) working at a libertarian think tank—the Cato Institute—arguing against climate action.  As Cato's director of Natural Resource Studies …

Numbers from New Q Poll  —  Some very interesting numbers in a just released Quinnipiac Poll.  —  Here are numbers that jump out to me.  —  President Trump's numbers are 38% approve, 57% disapprove.  On May 2nd those numbers were 41%-55%.  54% of voters say they would “definitely not vote” for President Trump.

A conservative activist's behind-the-scenes campaign to remake the nation's courts  —  Leonard Leo helped conservative nonprofits raise $250 million from mostly undisclosed donors in recent years to promote conservative judges and causes  —  Leonard Leo stepped onto the stage in a darkened Florida ballroom …

Judge Orders Antifa Activist Yvette Felarca to Pay Judicial Watch Legal Fees for Her ‘Entirely Frivolous’ Lawsuit  —  (Washington, DC) — Judicial Watch announced that a U.S. District Judge in California awarded Judicial Watch $22,000 in legal fees in a case filed by an Antifa organizer …