Ohio Special Election Results: 12th Congressional District  —  CandidatePartyVotesPct.  —  Dem.  —  14,211  —  Rep.  —  6,114  —  Green  —  20,481 votes, <1% reporting (0 of 591 precincts)  —  What to watch: Voters in Ohio's 12th District are choosing a replacement for Representative Pat Tiberi …

Top Trump Campaign Aides Are Portrayed as Corrupt at Manafort Trial  —  ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The trial of Paul Manafort turned into a referendum on the character of two of President Trump's top campaign aides on Tuesday, as prosecutors cast Mr. Manafort as the architect of a sprawling swindle …

CEOs Who Cut White House Ties After Charlottesville Just Dined With Trump  —  President Trump is having dinner Tuesday night with five CEOs who distanced themselves from the White House after last year's white supremacist Charlottesville rally.  CNBC reports that the companies that are attending …

The Shadow Rulers of the VA  —  Last February, shortly after Peter O'Rourke became chief of staff for the Department of Veterans Affairs, he received an email from Bruce Moskowitz with his input on a new mental health initiative for the VA. “Received,” O'Rourke replied.

Missouri Primary Election Results  —  What to watch: Senator Claire McCaskill is believed to be one of the most vulnerable Democrats in the Senate because of her low approval rating and Mr. Trump's victory in Missouri by 18 percentage points.  Six years ago, she managed to win re-election largely …

St. Louis Voters Oust Prosecutor Who Didn't Bring Charges In Cop Killing Of Michael Brown  —  In a remarkable win for reformers, Wesley Bell, a city council member in Ferguson, Missouri, upset Robert McCulloch in Tuesday's Democratic primary.  —  Wesley Bell, who cast himself as a reformer committed …

POLITICO Playbook: Republicans' dueling political pictures  —  DRIVING THE DAY  —  GOOD MORNING from COLUMBUS, OHIO.  —  HOUSE REPUBLICANS, who appear to be the narrow winners of last night's special election here, face a conflicting political picture.  Here's the picture many of them want to see …

How a senior DOJ official helped Dem researchers on Trump-Russia case  —  Hundreds of pages of previously unreported emails and memos provide the clearest evidence yet that a research firm, hired by Hillary Clinton  —  's campaign and the Democratic National Committee (DNC) …

'It's Fantastic!'  Trump Warms to Rosenstein  —  Nearly fired by the president, the No. 2 Justice official—the man in charge of the Mueller probe—builds a rapport  —  Before President Trump headed to meet Vladimir Putin last month, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein requested a meeting in the Oval Office.

New Poll: 43% of Republicans Want to Give Trump the Power to Shut Down Media … Freedom of the press may be guaranteed in the Constitution.  But a plurality of Republicans want to give President Trump the authority to close down certain news outlets, according to a new public opinion survey conducted Ipsos …

Three Cheers for David French  —  I am very grateful for David French's essay in the Times today, because it cuts the Gordian knot of my own thinking about Alex Jones.  —  David writes: … David's alternative: Use the standards already enshrined in law and custom, specifically prohibitions against libel and slander.

Leaked document: Putin lobbied Trump on arms control  —  A list of issues he shared with Trump in Helsinki suggests Russia wants to continue traditional nuclear talks with the U.S. — but doesn't answer all questions about their meeting.  —  Vladimir Putin presented President Donald Trump …

Key red-state Democrat sides with Trump on wall funding  —  'I'm fine with providing him some more,' Indiana's Joe Donnelly said of the president's funding request.  —  INDIANAPOLIS — One of the most vulnerable Democratic senators said he supports giving President Donald Trump billions …

War Without End  —  The Pentagon's failed campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan left a generation of soldiers with little to fight for but one another.  —  Second Platoon did not hide its dark mood as its soldiers waded across the Korengal River in the bright light of afternoon.

A sports reporter took a new job.  Now his former newspaper is suing over a Twitter account.  —  The Roanoke Times spells it out right in its handbook: Employees who have been issued “Company-owned information assets, keys or other access items must return them to the Company upon termination of employment …

Colyer, Kobach wait as Republican governor's race hinges on Johnson County results  —  TOPEKA  —  As dawn approached, Gov. Jeff Colyer and Secretary of State Kris Kobach remained effectively tied in the Kansas Republican race for governor early Wednesday.  —  Sen. Laura Kelly easily won the Democratic contest Tuesday night.

Lindsey Graham Quips That Trump Brought Up Mueller and Russia ‘About 20 Times’  —  Sen. Lindsey Graham said Monday night that he has told President Donald Trump that ending the special counsel investigation of Robert S. Mueller III would undermine GOP chances in November.

Why Trump's GOP fears this midterm election  — Midterm elections have always given voice to Americans' discontent with incumbent presidents, which means the opposition party almost invariably gains ground.  — Strategists in both parties now consider Democrats likely to gain the 23 seats …

Escape from Dannemora costs New Yorkers twice: First the search, then the TV series  —  ALBANY — The prison escape in 2015 at the Clinton Correctional Facility in northern New York cost taxpayers at least $23 million in overtime for the three-week manhunt.  —  Now, New Yorkers will pay for the television series.

New York City Launches Voter Registration Drive in Jails  —  Casting a ballot will be easier for eligible inmates under a new program announced by Mayor de Blasio  —  New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio laid out a new voter registration drive in the city's correctional facilities.

Trump's New Strategy to Demonize Immigrants  —  Donald Trump's antipathy to immigrants has been a defining feature of his rise to power and his presidency.  He's focused much of that ire, personally and in his policies, on undocumented immigrants.  But there are signs he wants to target documented immigrants, too.

Why Chicago PD can't get more residents to identify gun violence suspects  —  CHICAGO — Earlier this year, Romell Young got into a fist fight on the street near his home on the city's West Side, pummeling a man in a brawl that was spurred by an argument he can't even remember.