How Many People Are Affected by Obamacare Premium Increases?  (Hint, It's Fewer Than You Think)  —  SCROLL TO START  —  Republicans cite rising insurance premiums as a primary reason for repealing the Affordable Care Act.  But only a narrow slice of the market was actually affected by the increases.

Nigel Farage Just Visited The Ecuadorian Embassy In London  —  Asked by BuzzFeed News if he'd been visiting Julian Assange, the former UKIP leader said he couldn't remember what he'd been doing in the building.  —  Nigel Farage visited the Ecuadorian embassy in west London on Thursday …

EPA chief Scott Pruitt says carbon dioxide is not a primary contributor to global warming  —  EPA takes aim at CAFE standards: Scott Pruitt  —  Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt said Thursday he does not believe carbon dioxide is a primary contributor to global warming.

Hot story: Miami lawyer's pants erupt in flames during arson trial in court  —  A Miami defense lawyer's pants burst into flames Wednesday afternoon as he began his closing arguments in front of a jury — in an arson case.  —  Stephen Gutierrez, who was arguing that his client's car spontaneously combusted …

The Note: Trump in ‘sell mode’ on health care  —  The big story: Enter Donald Trump — charmer, negotiator, dealmaker.  He's been away for a while, obscured in a haze of tweets and rhetorical missiles, wrapped up in a blustery tone that exhibited little interest in legislative blather.

Burger-flipping robot replaces humans on first day at work  —  A burger-flipping robot has just completed its first day on the job at a restaurant in California, replacing humans at the grill.  —  Flippy has mastered the art of cooking the perfect burger and has just started work at CaliBurger, a fast-food chain.

Roger Stone's Russian Hacking “Hero”  —  Trump loyalist communicated with “Guccifer 2.0,” target of FBI probe  —  In the months before Election Day, a longtime confidante and political consultant for Donald Trump was in contact with the Russian hacking group that U.S. intelligence officials …

McConnell on Mexico paying for Trump's wall: ‘Uh, no’ … (R-Ky.) is dismissing President Trump's claim that Mexico will pay for a southern border wall.  —  “Uh, no,” McConnell said during a Playbook Live interview when asked about Trump's belief that he could get the country to cover the cost.

Trump to conservative leaders: If this plan fails, I'll blame Democrats  —  Washington (CNN)In an Oval Office meeting featuring several leaders of conservative groups already lining up against the House Republican plan to repeal and replace Obamacare, President Donald Trump revealed his plan …

Why the Russia Story Is a Minefield for Democrats and the Media  —  Russia scandals have bloodied the Trump administration.  But it carries dangers for those reporting it  —  Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper appeared on Meet the Press this past weekend to discuss the Trump-Russia scandal.

Meet the Hundreds of Officials Trump Has Quietly Installed Across the Government  —  A Trump campaign aide who argues that Democrats committed “ethnic cleansing” in a plot to “liquidate” the white working class.  A former reality show contestant whose study of societal collapse inspired …

Hi, GOP: You Are Terrible and Obamacare Jr. Stinks  —  When Paul Ryan and his congressional clown car of alleged conservatives surprised us by just sort of dropping Obamacare Jr. on us, I wasn't surprised to see them trip all over their Guccis during the utterly inept roll out.

How Trump Undermines Intelligence Gathering  —  The relationship between a new president and the intelligence agencies that serve him can be difficult in the best of times.  But it's hard to imagine a more turbulent transition than the current one, which has been marred by assertions …

Fox Is Said to Settle With Former Contributor Over Sexual Assault Claims  —  Last summer, as it wrapped up multiple settlements after the Roger Ailes sexual harassment scandal, Fox News and its parent company, 21st Century Fox, were trying hard to end the ugliest chapter in its 20-year history.

Former Trump aide Flynn says lobbying may have helped Turkey  —  President Donald Trump's former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, who was fired from his prominent White House job last month, has registered with the Justice Department as a foreign agent for $530,000 worth of lobbying work …

The Republican health-care bill threatens Trump's voters  —  “To the victor belong the spoils,” candidate Donald Trump reminded 2016 voters.  But the House Republican health bill turns that old maxim on its head.  —  Instead of broadly rewarding Trump's backers, the House bill hands huge benefits …

‘Superstar Firms’ May Have Shrunk Workers' Share of Income  —  For much of the last century it seemed that the slice of the total economic pie going to workers was — like the speed of light — constant.  No matter what the economy's makeup, labor could collectively depend on taking home roughly …

IRS has 7,000 unreleased documents related to conservative and Tea Party targeting  —  The IRS has told a federal court that they've recently identified almost 7,000 more documents that could contain information on how the agency targeted the tax-exempt applications of Tea Party organizations …

Earthquake on the beach: Scientists think a 7.4 temblor could reach from L.A. to San Diego  —  A long crack splits the sidewalk in Huntington Beach, on top of the Newport-Inglewood fault.  (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)  —  The discovery of missing links between earthquake faults shows …

Man impersonating Bieber online charged with over 900 child sex offences  —  Media note - there will be no media conference or interviews on this matter for operational reasons.  —  Police are asking Justin Bieber fans and their parents to be extra vigilant when using the internet after a man …

C.I.A. Scrambles to Contain Damage From WikiLeaks Documents  —  WASHINGTON — The C.I.A. scrambled on Wednesday to assess and contain the damage from the release by WikiLeaks of thousands of documents that cataloged the agency's cyberspying capabilities, temporarily halting work on some projects …

Jeff Sessions Likely Met Russian Ambassador A Third Time  —  The attorney general initially denied any contact with the Russians, then later admitted to just two meetings.  —  Attorney General Jeff Sessions was forced to amend prior testimony to Congress this week, acknowledging that contrary …

The White House is scrutinizing job candidates' old social media posts for criticism of Trump  —  As President Trump continues to build out his administration, many of his officials are having trouble filling vacancies in their departments because of questions about the loyalty of the people …

Authorities looked into Manafort protégé  —  U.S. and Ukrainian authorities have expressed interest in the activities of a Kiev-based operative with suspected ties to Russian intelligence who consulted regularly with Paul Manafort last year while Manafort was running Donald Trump's presidential campaign.