Exclusive: AT&T CEO says Cohen payments ‘big mistake,’ chief lobbyist retiring  —  (Reuters) - Hiring President Donald Trump's personal attorney, Michael Cohen, was a “big mistake,” AT&T Inc (T.N) Chief Executive Officer Randall Stephenson said in an employee memo, reviewed by Reuters, that went out Friday morning.

Homeland Security Secretary Was Close to Resigning After Trump Berated Her  —  WASHINGTON — Kirstjen Nielsen, the homeland security secretary, told colleagues she was close to resigning after President Trump berated her on Wednesday in front of the entire cabinet for what he said was her failure …

White House official mocked ‘dying’ McCain at internal meeting  —  A White House official mocked Sen. John McCain  —  's brain cancer diagnosis at an internal meeting on Thursday, a day after the Arizona Republican announced his opposition to President Trump  —  's nominee for CIA director, Gina Haspel.

Dear Conservative Media: Do Some More Damn Reporting … The American political left has something that their counterparts on the right do not.  —  It's not a particular point of view, or a thing that is particular to a point of view.  It is more foundational than that.

The smear that killed the ‘reset’  —  Putin needed an American enemy.  He picked me.  —  From the beginning of the Obama administration, we knew we wanted to reboot our relationship with Moscow.  I coordinated Russia policy from the National Security Council, and Russia …

My journey to North Korea with the secretary of state … The State Department normally craves elaborate planning and procedures for everything.  Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's 13-hour visit to North Korea had little of that.  —  I had a view of the improvisational quality of his trip because …

How the Online Left Fuels the Right  —  I think I know what it feels like to be “red-pilled,” the alt-right's preferred metaphor for losing one's faith in received assumptions and turning toward ideas that once seemed dangerous.  —  For me, it happened over several visits to the West Bank.

Maggie Haberman and the Toxic Swamp  —  On this week's episode of my podcast, I Have to Ask, I spoke to Maggie Haberman, a White House correspondent for the New York Times and an analyst at CNN.  She previously worked at the New York Post and Politico, has been at the Times since 2015 …

They mock vegans and eat 4lb of steak a day: meet ‘carnivore dieters’  —  For the last 18 months, Shawn Baker has eaten around 4lb of steak every day.  —  “I've got two rib-eye steaks waiting for me when I get off this call,” said the trained orthopaedic surgeon from Orange County, California.

About That FBI ‘Source’  —  Did the bureau engage in outright spying against the 2016 Trump campaign?  —  The Department of Justice lost its latest battle with Congress Thursday when it allowed House Intelligence Committee members to view classified documents about a top-secret intelligence source …

The Price of Getting Inside Trump's Head  —  Michael Cohen has profited from it, but we're all Trumpologists now.  —  On Easter Sunday, Chris Christie, the former New Jersey governor, was holding forth in the green room at ABC News in New York before going on the air.

Trump to Drop Call for Medicare to Negotiate Lower Drug Prices  —  WASHINGTON — President Trump will lay out on Friday a broad strategy to reduce prescription drug prices, but in a break from one of his most popular campaign promises, he will not call for Medicare to negotiate lower prices …

Donald Trump's Lizard Wisdom  —  We're all educated by our peers, and, over the years, a good portion of Donald Trump's peers have been thugs.  Operating in the New York construction world meant dealing with S&A Concrete, co-owned by “Fat Tony” Salerno of the Genovese crime family …

Blankenship wants to ‘make sure’ Morrisey doesn't win Senate bid  —  Ex-coal CEO Don Blankenship, who lost the GOP primary bid in West Virginia this week, is actively plotting how to undercut state Attorney General Patrick Morrisey's Senate candidacy.  —  Greg Thomas, an adviser …

Florida Insider Poll: Doubts about Bill Nelson beating Rick Scott grow  —  Among more than 200 experts and veterans of Florida politics surveyed in the latest Tampa Bay Times Florida Insider Poll, nearly six in 10 this week said they expect Florida's Republican governor to unseat the three-term Democratic Senator.

Trump Was Told of Schneiderman Women Years Ago, Lawyer Says  — Lawyer asks judge seal Michael Cohen records to protect women  — New York Post journalist said to take allegations to Trump  —  Donald Trump's personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, was informed about allegations of sexual misconduct …

Loyalty, unease in Trump's Midwest  —  Voters gave Trump a chance.  Some remain all in.  Others have grown weary of the chaos.  —  After eight years of displeasure with the presidency of Barack Obama and faced with a choice between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, Dennis Schminke of Austin …

Top White House official in charge of pandemic response exits abruptly … The top White House official responsible for leading the U.S. response in the event of a deadly pandemic has left the administration, and the global health security team he oversaw has been disbanded under a reorganization …

Lawmakers weigh Plan B to protect Mueller's work  —  WASHINGTON — If Congress can't protect special counsel Robert Mueller's job, perhaps it can protect his work.  —  That's the thinking among several lawmakers on Capitol Hill, who are discussing ways to safeguard the special counsel's investigation …

Documents Reveal How Russian Official Courted Conservatives In U.S. Since 2009  —  Kremlin-linked Russian politician Alexander Torshin traveled frequently between Moscow and various destinations in the United States to build relationships with figures on the American right starting as early as 2009 …

Fox & Friends' Hegseth Trashes NY Times For Not Covering ISIS Capture Story First Reported by NY Times  —  Fox & Friends host Pete Hegseth had some fun mocking his favorite punching bad on Friday morning: The New York Times, which he proudly calls the “Failing New York Times,” a genius witticism he borrowed from Trump.

Man With Gun Reported at High School in Palmdale, One in Custody  —  One person is in custody after deputies responded to a Palmdale high school Friday morning following a report of a man with a gun on campus.  —  The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department confirmed deputies responded …

Who Is Anna Wintour Asking Us to Forgive in Her Editor's Letter?  —  Anna Wintour is our Fashion Pope, the infallible ruler of Vogue, fashion's Vatican.  Both because of her reputation — which is the stuff of pop-culture legend — and the reality of her power, she's not someone anyone in the industry dares cross.

There's No Good Excuse For The Racist Impact Of Michigan's Medicaid Proposal  —  The plan's architects say they didn't mean to disadvantage black cities, but they had easy ways not to.  —  Michigan Republicans are pushing a new, Donald Trump-inspired bill that would require Medicaid recipients …