Exclusive: CNN obtains secret Trump-Cohen tape  —  (CNN)Presidential candidate Donald Trump is heard on tape discussing with his attorney Michael Cohen how they would buy the rights to a Playboy model's story about an alleged affair Trump had with her years earlier, according to the audio recording …

Spotting CNN on a TV Aboard Air Force One, Trump Rages Against Reality  —  WASHINGTON — On the first couple's recent trip overseas, Melania Trump's television aboard Air Force One was tuned to CNN.  President Trump was not pleased.  —  He raged at his staff for violating a rule …

Exclusive: White House stops announcing calls with foreign leaders  —  Washington (CNN)The White House has suspended the practice of publishing public summaries of President Donald Trump's phone calls with world leaders, two sources with knowledge of the situation tell CNN …

Before her arrest as an alleged Russian agent, Maria Butina's proud defense of her homeland drew notice at American University  —  On a campus full of ambitious students aiming to land influential U.S. government and policy jobs, Maria Butina cut an unusual profile.

Swedish student's dramatic plane protest stops man's deportation ‘to hell’  —  Elin Ersson refused to take her seat on flight at Gothenburg airport until man being sent to Afghanistan was removed  —  Play Video  —  A lone student activist on board a plane at Gothenburg airport has prevented …

Burr breaks with Nunes: ‘Sound reasons’ for judges to approve FISA warrant  —  (CNN)Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr told CNN Tuesday he believed there were “sound reasons” for judges to approve the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act warrant on former Trump campaign …

BREAKING: Ga. lawmaker who used racial slurs in TV show resigns  —  The Georgia lawmaker who exposed himself and yelled racial slurs during an episode of Sacha Baron Cohen's Showtime series is resigning his seat in the state Legislature, according to House Speaker David Ralston's office.

After long dissing Pelosi, O'Connor now says he could vote for her as speaker  —  After saying for months he would not back Nancy Pelosi as the Democrats' leader in the House, congressional candidate Danny O'Connor told a national television audience Tuesday night he would back whichever candidate the Democrats put forth.

Democrat Senators Won't Meet With Kavanaugh  —  Press Secretary Sarah Sanders conducted a briefing yesterday.  It featured the usual anti-Trump hysteria by members of the White House press corps, but I thought the most interesting point to emerge was the one that Sanders began with:

'What You're Seeing... Is Not What's Happening.' People Are Comparing This Trump Quote to George Orwell  —  President Trump drew comparisons to George Orwell's 1984 in an attack on the media during a speech at the Veterans of Foreign Wars national convention Tuesday.

Trump White House cuts Putin support for Trump out of transcript  —  Rachel Maddow shows how the White House transcript and video of the Trump Putin press conference in Helsinki has been edited to remove the question asking Putin if he wanted Trump to win the election, part of a broader campaign …

Without the Russians, Trump wouldn't have won  —  President Trump is willing, under duress, to briefly and begrudgingly admit that Russian “meddling” took place in 2016 before reverting to calling it a “big hoax.”  But he always maintains that the plot against America had no impact …

Amid grumbling, Republicans quietly relieved about Trump's farm aid package  —  Republicans on Tuesday quietly exhaled after President Trump announced $12 billion in subsidies to rescue farm country, fretting that a trade war could bankrupt the agriculture industry and cost the party seats in the midterm elections.

NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist Poll: Americans Don't Think Trump Is Tough Enough On Russia  —  Loading...  Americans don't think President Trump has been tough enough on Russia, according to a new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll conducted after Trump's summit in Helsinki last week with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

‘He asked me if I was American’: New Orleans man allegedly beaten by NOPD officers tells story  —  George Gomez has extensive injuries to his face after New Orleans Police Officers John Galman and Spencer Sutton, who were off-duty, allegedly beat him down the street from the Mid-City Yacht Club …

Two Trump Allies, Seeing Unlimited Opportunity, Instead Drew Scrutiny  —  WASHINGTON — Early one morning in October, Rick Gates, a Washington lobbyist who had been a top official in the Trump campaign, emailed family and friends warning them that he was about to be indicted …

New Zealand to Australia: Get Your Own Flag  —  SYDNEY, Australia — The acting prime minister of New Zealand accused Australia this week of copying his country's 116-year-old flag, and demanded that Australians come up with a new design.  —  “We had a flag that we've had for a long time …

China Said to Quickly Pull Approval for New Facebook Venture  —  SHANGHAI — For Facebook, success in China was brief.  Very brief.  —  For several hours, a Chinese government database showed that Facebook had gained approval to open a subsidiary in the eastern province of Zhejiang.

‘What do we think about Mick?’:  Trump narrows down chief search  —  It's not clear when John Kelly will leave his post as the president's top aide, but budget head Mick Mulvaney has emerged as a leading contender.  —  President Donald Trump loves to crowdsource staffing advice …

U.S. Airlines Meet Beijing Halfway on Describing Taiwan  —  American, Delta and United update their websites to comply with China's demands on Taiwan  —  SHANGHAI—American Airlines Group Inc., Delta Air Lines Inc. and United Continental Holdings Inc. joined other carriers in bowing …

Scoop: Trump fears Biden 2020, losing Pennsylvania  —  Advisers to President Trump say Joe Biden is the Democrat he most fears running against, and that Pennsylvania is the state he worries most about flipping against him.  —  Trump's calculation is based partly on how weak he sees …

Pickax-Wielding Vandal Smashes President Trump's Hollywood Walk of Fame Star to Pieces  —  Witnesses say a man pulled a pickax from a guitar case and destroyed the star near tourist hot-spot Hollywood and Highland  —  President Donald Trump's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame …

James Gunn should be the last victim of the outrage mob  —  The outrage mob has claimed another scalp.  Before they get another one, let's make them earn it.  —  Disney fired James Gunn, the director of the “Guardians of the Galaxy” movies, after a claque of critics dug up a series of tweets …

The Spy Who Drove Me  —  Last week, as America's top national security experts convened in Aspen, a strangely inquisitive Uber driver showed up, too.  And caused a minor freak-out.  Was the mystery woman some kind of covert agent—or simply a figment of these hyper-paranoid times?

How the Fleece Vest Became the New Corporate Uniform  —  A focus of a snarky Instagram account, the uninspired grey fleece vest is an inescapable presence in cubicles around the country.  So how did this ho-hum uniform overtake the suit as the corporate outfit of choice?

Justice Department: Use ‘illegal aliens,’ not ‘undocumented’  —  Sessions defends Trump on immigration policy  —  Washington (CNN)The Justice Department has instructed US attorneys offices not to use the term “undocumented” immigrants and instead refer to someone illegally in the US as …

I reported alongside soldiers in foxholes.  The president can't take that away.  —  Martha Raddatz is chief global affairs correspondent for ABC News, co-anchor of ABC's “This Week” and author of “The Long Road Home: A Story of War and Family.”  —  Like so many of my colleagues …

Europeans offer Trump 2 options to diffuse trade war  —  On the cusp of a trade war with the European Union, President Donald Trump meets Wednesday with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, who comes armed with options to diffuse the threat of a 20 percent tariff on European cars.

Jeff Sessions Laughs and Echoes ‘Lock Her Up’ Chant With Conservative High Schoolers  —  Attorney General Jeff Sessions repeated the phrase “lock her up” during a speech to conservative high school students on Tuesday, chuckling as the crowd began a chant that Trump supporters used during …

The Big Business of Being Gwyneth Paltrow  —  Inside the growth of Goop — the most controversial brand in the wellness industry.  —  On a Monday morning in November, students at Harvard Business School convened in their classroom to find Gwyneth Paltrow.  She was sitting at one of their desks …

After a fake interview of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez went viral, its maker said it was satire  —  The video traveled quickly after being shared Monday on Facebook, gathering more than 1.5 million views in less than a day.  —  In it, Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, the congressional candidate …

Lucy McBath: Moved to run for Congress by son's fatal shooting, she just won her primary  —  It was the day after Thanksgiving six years ago, and Lucia “Lucy” McBath knew her 17-year-old son Jordan Davis had plans to go shopping with his friends.  —  Then, her phone started ringing.  It was Jordan's father.