Senate Intelligence Leaders Say House G.O.P. Leaked a Senator's Texts  —  WASHINGTON — The Senate Intelligence Committee has concluded that Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee were behind the leak of private text messages between the Senate panel's top Democrat and a Russian-connected lawyer …

White House preparing for McMaster exit as early as next month  —  WASHINGTON — The White House is preparing to replace H.R. McMaster as national security adviser as early as next month in a move orchestrated by chief of staff John Kelly and Defense Secretary James Mattis, according to five people familiar with the discussions.

Exclusive: FBI counterintel investigating Ivanka Trump business deal  —  (CNN)US counterintelligence officials are scrutinizing one of Ivanka Trump's international business deals, according to two sources familiar with the matter.  —  The FBI has been looking into the negotiations …

Mueller eyes charges against Russians who stole, spread Democrats' emails  —  WASHINGTON — Special Counsel Robert Mueller is assembling a case for criminal charges against Russians who carried out the hacking and leaking of private information designed to hurt Democrats in the 2016 election …

Voters vow to elect a Congress that stands up to Trump, poll shows  —  WASHINGTON — Americans are mad, and that is putting Republicans at risk.  —  A new USA TODAY/Suffolk University Poll finds voters looking toward the midterm elections are overwhelmingly unhappy with the country's direction …

Justice Dept. Report Is Expected to Criticize Andrew McCabe Over Media Disclosures  —  WASHINGTON — A Justice Department review is expected to criticize the former F.B.I. deputy director, Andrew G. McCabe, for authorizing the disclosure of information about a continuing investigation to journalists …

U.S. Ambassador to Mexico to Quit Amid Tense Relations Under Trump  —  MEXICO CITY — The United States ambassador to Mexico plans to resign from her post in May, according to a memo circulated on Thursday to embassy staff, the latest in a string of senior diplomatic departures from the region …

See HUD's $31,000 mahogany dining set  —  Washington (CNN)A $31,000 dining set the Department of Housing and Urban Development purchased, which raised eyebrows when first reported Tuesday, includes a table, sideboard, breakfront — all in mahogany — and 10 mahogany chairs with a blue velvet finish …

‘March For Our Lives’ gun-control rally bumped from Mall by ‘talent show’ … A planned rally against mass shootings can't be held on the Mall later this month because it conflicts with what's described in a National Park Service permit application as a “talent show.”

Trump Plans Tariffs on Steel and Aluminum and Markets Slump  —  WASHINGTON — President Trump said on Thursday that he will impose stiff tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum, thwarting some of his top pro-trade advisers and rattling stock markets as the prospect of a global trade fight loomed.

Longtime Fox News exec who wrote controversial Olympics column out at network  —  Fox News exec slams Olympic committee's focus on diversity  —  John Moody, the longtime Fox News executive who wrote a controversial column about the US Olympic committee last month, is no longer with Fox News …

Questions linger about how Melania Trump, a Slovenian model, scored ‘the Einstein visa’  —  In 2000, Melania Knauss, a Slovenian model dating Donald Trump, began petitioning the government for the right to permanently reside in the United States under a program reserved for people with “extraordinary ability.”

Putin threatens US arms race with new missiles declaration  —  President says Russia has new line of nuclear-capable weapons that can breach US defences … Vladimir Putin has announced that Russia has developed and is testing a new line of strategic, nuclear-capable weapons that would be able …

Mike Huckabee resigns from CMA Foundation board following controversy  —  Mike Huckabee and TBN president Matthew Crouch talk about the new show in Nashville  —  Less than one day after his appointment was announced, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee has resigned from the CMA Foundation board of directors …

Georgia Passes Bill That Stings Delta Over N.R.A. Position  —  ATLANTA — Georgia lawmakers approved a bill on Thursday that stripped out a tax break proposal highly coveted by Delta Air Lines — the most stinging punishment that America's pro-gun forces have leveled so far …

Rick Gates tells judge he's canceling trip due to threat invoking Russian mafia  —  Ex-Trump campaign aide Rick Gates pleads guilty  —  Washington (CNN)Former Trump campaign deputy Rick Gates told a federal court Thursday afternoon that he and his wife believe it's “not prudent” …

Dark money group America First Policies is running a pro-Trump polling operation.  Here is an inside look at its secretive work  — America First Policies, a nonprofit group with close ties to President Donald Trump, has hired Trump's pollsters to conduct a wide range of political polling and research.

French far-right leader Marine Le Pen charged over IS photos  —  PARIS (AP) — French prosecutors filed preliminary charges Thursday against far-right leader Marine Le Pen for tweeting brutal images of Islamic State violence, in a new blow to a woman long seen as the face of Europe's anti-immigrant populism.

Robert Kraft's much younger girlfriend secretly had a baby  —  There was speculation about Patriots owner Bob Kraft after his much younger girlfriend Ricki Noel Lander secretly had a baby — but he's confirmed that the child is not his.  —  Billionaire Kraft, who has four adult sons …

Dow sheds 550 points after Trump says steel and aluminum tariffs coming next week  — The Dow Jones industrial average traded more than 500 points lower after rising more than 150 points earlier in the day.  — The U.S. will set tariffs of 25 percent for steel and 10 percent for aluminum, the president said.

Meet The ‘Experts’ Kobach Is Using To Defend His Voter Fraud Claims In Court  —  Next week, Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach will go to federal court to defend a voting restriction that he has for years tried to implement in his state.  —  To help Kobach make his case …

There Sure Were A Bunch Of White Nationalists At CPAC, Huh?  —  Richard Spencer wasn't allowed inside, but a bunch of other racists, conspiracy theorists and extremists were.  —  The annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) always attracts its fair share of racists …