'I don't want to sit on your lap,' she thought.  But, she alleges, Mark Halperin insisted.  —  Dianna Goldberg was a young researcher at ABC News in 1994 when she asked a colleague, Mark Halperin, for some information about a story.  He readily agreed to help her and asked her to come to his office.

In Hill interviews, top Dems denied knowledge of payments to firm behind Trump dossier  —  (CNN)Hillary Clinton's campaign chairman John Podesta and former Democratic National Committee chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz both privately denied to congressional Russia investigators …

Release of JFK Assassination File Is Delayed as Deadline Looms  —  The U.S. government was in danger Thursday of missing the deadline to release a trove of previously classified records from the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, adding an unexpected twist to a saga already rife with rumors and conspiracies.

The Very Busy, Very Unproductive Life of Leon Wieseltier  —  New Republic literary editor Leon Wieseltier is the egghead boy toy of such glamorous powers as Barbra Streisand, Shirley MacLaine, and Tipper Gore.  But has he abandoned the life of the mind to be the life of the party?

Trump: “Really great advertising” will keep kids off drugs  —  President Trump declared a “nationwide public-health emergency” on the opioid crisis today from the White House.  Although the declaration doesn't open up new funds (which some estimate would exceed $9.3 billion), Trump argued that …

Like a lot of men, I've had a sinking feeling when I see how many friends have posted using the #MeToo tag.  I've also read suggestions on how men can play a role, and sadly I've had several ex-partners who were victims.  One is well-known, but hasn't shared her story (so neither will I).

Selma Blair and Rachel McAdams Share Their Stories of James Toback's Sexual Harassment  —  Both women encountered the director early in their careers.  Both describe remarkably similar experiences of his targeting and humiliation of young actresses.  —  A week after The New York Times …

Lisa Bloom Has ‘Files’ on Rose McGowan's Sexual History: Inside Her Scorched Earth Crusade for Harvey Weinstein … Ronan Farrow was stunned and disgusted early this year when famed feminist lawyer Lisa Bloom phoned him, in the midst of his investigation for NBC News of widespread allegations …

The Republicans Have Developed a Theory of Alt-Collusion to Defend Trump From Mueller  —  Having apparently decided that defending the Trump campaign against charges of collusion with Russian cyberattacks is an impossible task, the Republican Party has decided to go on offense.

APNewsBreak: Georgia election server wiped after suit filed  —  https://apnews.com/877ee1015f1c43f1965f 63538b035d3f  —  Link copied!  —  A computer server crucial to a lawsuit against Georgia election officials was quietly wiped clean by its custodians just after the suit was filed, The Associated Press has learned.

Announcement: RT and Sputnik Advertising  —  Twitter has made the policy decision to off-board advertising from all accounts owned by Russia Today (RT) and Sputnik, effective immediately.  This decision was based on the retrospective work we've been doing around the 2016 U.S. election …

The (Ir)relevance of the Trump “Dossier”  —  Much has been made this week of reports that the Clinton campaign paid for the so-called “dossier” about Trump that was compiled by a former British intelligence agent.  One important point is sometimes lost in the discussion.

John Cornyn betrays himself and his party with embrace of Roy Moore  —  Sen. John Cornyn's endorsement this week of Roy Moore for the U.S. Senate from Alabama is a new low not just for the former jurist and ex-Texas attorney general, but for the party he claims to love.

State Department Scraps Sanctions Office  —  The Trump administration is three weeks late on Russia sanctions.  But it's killed the office that coordinates them.  —  The State Department shuttered an office that oversees sanctions policy, even as the Donald Trump administration faces criticism …

House Republicans just cleared the way for tax reform  — The House passed the Senate's budget resolution by a vote of 216-212.  — Passing the budget resolution allows Republicans to start on the fast track to their tax plan.  — Some GOP members were upset over a key provision.

The Midterms and Mueller  —  By now it's become pretty obvious that while many Republican members of Congress may be privately cheering for Sens. Bob Corker and Jeff Flake, they aren't going to follow their lead and publicly break with the president or their party.  —  Politics is not all that complicated.

Trump Spending $1.75 Million on Presidential Furniture, Redecorations  —  WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump's administration is spending $1.75 million on furniture for the White House and offices tied to it, according to government records.  —  That includes $17,000 for custom rugs …

This is the nightmare scenario for the Children's Health Insurance Program  —  This is the web version of VoxCare, a daily newsletter from Vox on the latest twists and turns in America's health care debate.  Like what you're reading?  Sign up to get VoxCare in your inbox here.

Scott Brown: more complaints surface over behaviour of US ambassador to New Zealand  —  Ambassador said to have been ‘culturally insensitive’ at party in Samoa and is alleged by one woman to have stared at her breasts … It was a balmy 32 degrees when the US ambassador to New Zealand …

‘I hope someone truly shoots you’: online conspiracy theorists harass Vegas victims  —  Those who lived to describe the mass shooting face flood of abuse on social media accusing them of being actors, as hoax claims flourish on YouTube  —  Braden Matejka survived a bullet to the head in the Las Vegas massacre.

10-Year-Old Immigrant Is Detained After Agents Stop Her on Way to Surgery  —  A 10-year-old girl with cerebral palsy has been detained by federal immigration authorities in Texas after she passed through a Border Patrol checkpoint on her way to a hospital to undergo emergency gall bladder surgery.

Trump DOJ settles lawsuits over Tea Party targeting by Obama IRS  —  The Trump administration, after years of litigation, has settled lawsuits with Tea Party and other conservative groups who say they were unfairly targeted by the IRS under the Obama administration.

Sessions threatened to quit over Chinese dissident  —  Attorney General Jeff Sessions went to the mat recently against pro-China officials within the Trump administration to prevent the forcible return of a dissident businessman to China.  —  According to a person familiar with the issue …

Waiter: MLB catcher Bruce Maxwell made up story about service refusal over anthem protest  —  Oakland A's catcher Bruce Maxwell, 26, claimed this week that a waiter in his Alabama hometown of Huntsville refused him service after identifying him as the MLB player who took the knee during …