2016 is looking like the new normal … If you wanted to predict the results of Tuesday's gubernatorial elections in Virginia and New Jersey, you would have been wise to ignore the flurry of polls and campaign events.  You would have paid no heed to the conventional wisdom that Republican Kim Guadagno …

Flynn worries about son in special counsel probe  —  Washington (CNN)Former White House national security adviser Michael Flynn has expressed concern about the potential legal exposure of his son, Michael Flynn Jr., who, like his father, is under scrutiny by special counsel Robert Mueller …

Trump to Chinese leaders: I don't blame you for taking advantage of us  —  On Thursday morning (local time) in Beijing, President Trump repeated something he has told rallies across the U.S.: China is taking advantage of us, and I don't blame them for it.  —  Trump made remarks to that effect …

Gary Cohn: Trickle-down is good for the economy  — Gary Cohn says, “I don't believe that we've set out to create a tax cut for the wealthy.  If someone's getting a tax cut, I'm not upset that they're getting a tax cut.”  —  Gary Cohn, 57, was in some ways an unlikely choice for Donald Trump's White House.

Academic at heart of Clinton ‘dirt’ claim vanishes, leaving trail of questions  —  Poll: Americans concerned about Russia probe  —  (CNN)Joseph Mifsud, the Maltese academic suspected of being a link between the Trump campaign and Russian officials, was once a regular on the foreign policy circuit, attending conferences the world over.

Rand Paul's neighbors rip media ‘landscaping dispute’ reports  —  The Bowling Green, Ky. neighbor who allegedly sucker attack Sen. Rand Paul last weekend, causing six broken ribs, was aggressively anti-Trump and anti-GOP in his social media, calling for the impeachment of the president …

GOP election drubbing scrambles tax reform outlook  —  Top Republicans in Congress had an urgent message to lawmakers after the party's drubbing in Tuesday's elections: Pass tax reform or we're toast in 2018.  —  “I think it simply means we've got to deliver,” Speaker Paul Ryan said Wednesday.

InfoWars Has Republished More Than 1,000 Articles From RT Without Permission  —  The conspiracy site also copied content from many other mainstream publications.  —  Over the past three years, conspiracy site InfoWars has copied more than 1,000 articles produced by Russian state-sponsored broadcaster RT …

HIV Charlie Sheen Raped 13-Year-Old Corey Haim — Shocking Claim  —  Dying child star named monster who assaulted him on ‘Lucas’ film set!  —  HIV-infected Charlie Sheen is finally being unmasked by The National ENQUIRER as a twisted child molester — the ruthless adult rapist …

Palm Springs City Council now entirely queer after election of transgender, bisexual women  —  The Palm Springs, Calif., City Council is entirely LGBT or queer after two new members were elected to the council Tuesday.  —  Lisa Middleton made history Tuesday as the first openly transgender candidate elected …

More layoffs planned at Carrier plant Trump promised to save  —  Carrier Corp., the HVAC manufacturer that had planned to move its operations to Mexico before President Trump staged a much-heralded intervention, said Tuesday it is gearing up for yet another round of layoffs.

Could Alabama Be Next?  —  Jeronimo Nisa /The Decatur Daily via AP  —  Candidate Doug Jones chats with constituents before a Democratic Senate candidate forum at the Princess Theatre in Decatur, Alabama  —  The hill country of northern Alabama holds one of the keys to next month's special election …

‘Canary in the coal mine’: Republicans fear Democratic wins mean more losses to come  —  Virginia republican gubernatorial candidate Ed Gillespie pauses in his concession speech Tuesday night in Richmond, Va. (Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post)  —  A wave of Democratic victories ignited …

After Night of Drinking, F.B.I. Supervisor Wakes to Find a Woman Stole His Gun  —  WASHINGTON — An F.B.I. counterterrorism supervisor is under internal investigation after a woman stole his gun following a night of heavy drinking in a North Carolina hotel, according to documents and government officials.

Shocker: Kevin Spacey Dropped From ‘All The Money In The World;’ J Paul Getty Role Recast With Christopher Plummer  —  EXCLUSIVE: In an unprecedented bold move, director Ridley Scott, along with Imperative Entertainment's Dan Friedkin and Bradley Thomas have decided to remove Kevin Spacey …

US regulators demand CNN sale to approve AT&T-Time Warner deal … AT&T has been told by the US Department of Justice that it needs to sell CNN, Time Warner's cable news channel, to get its $84.5bn acquisition of the media company approved, according to three people with direct knowledge of the negotiations.

Twitter Verifies Charlottesville Rally Boss Jason Kessler, Who Called Slain Protester's Death ‘Payback Time’ … On Tuesday, Twitter gave its preferred status, a verified check mark, to Jason Kessler, the creator of the white supremacist Charlottesville rally in August that left one dead.

The New Washington Drama: Treasury Secretary Versus Treasury Secretary  —  WASHINGTON — It is an unwritten rule that if a former Treasury secretary has nothing nice to say about one of his successors he does not say anything at all.  But in the nation's capital these days, the rules of political comity are meant to be broken.

The Promising Crisis in Saudi Arabia  —  Purging rivals is often a bad sign.  But in this case it may show an impatience to reform.  —  We've seen this before.  A rising leader arrests his political rivals on corruption charges to clear his path to power.  Usually this kind of thing doesn't work out well for U.S. interests.

Heather Unruh says Kevin Spacey sexually assaulted her son  —  Fighting back tears, former Channel 5 anchor Heather Unruh told reporters on Wednesday that actor Kevin Spacey sexually assaulted her teenage son during an encounter last year at a Nantucket bar.

Is the National Anthem Racist?  —  There are several possible answers to this question:  —  1) Of course, because everything is racist.  —  2) It's anyone's guess.  The word “racist” has no meaning.  —  3) Don't be stupid.  —  “Yes” isn't really on the list.