John Brennan's Choice to Confront Trump  —  Just before noon on January 20, 2017, John Brennan, the outgoing C.I.A. director, drove to the home of a former colleague to watch Donald Trump take the oath of office.  President Obama's most trusted intelligence advisers had come together …

Brett Kavanaugh memo detailed explicit questions for Clinton  —  Brett Kavanaugh wrote in a strikingly explicit 1998 memo that he was “strongly opposed” to giving then-President Bill Clinton any “break” in the independent counsel's questioning about his sexual relationship with intern Monica Lewinsky …

Team Trump still isn't telling the truth about that 2016 Trump Tower meeting  —  First Read is your briefing from “Meet the Press” and the NBC Political Unit on the day's most important political stories and why they matter.  —  WASHINGTON — For all the attention to Rudy Giuliani's …

Asia Argento, Who Accused Weinstein, Made Deal With Her Own Accuser  —  The Italian actress and director Asia Argento was among the first women in the movie business to publicly accuse the producer Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault.  She became a leading figure in the #MeToo movement.

AP sources: Prosecutors preparing charges against Cohen  —  NEW YORK (AP) — Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer, could be charged before the end of the month with bank fraud in his dealings with the taxi industry and with committing other financial crimes …

A leading Republican urges reform for Medicare and Social Security as deficits balloon after the GOP's tax cut  —  Rep. Steve Stivers , R-Ohio, has the toughest job in politics right now: trying to stop a Democratic “blue wave” at the polls this fall.  Stivers, chairman of the National …

America's Invisible Pot Addicts  —  The proliferation of retail boutiques in California did not really bother him, Evan told me, but the billboards did.  Advertisements for delivery, advertisements promoting the substance for relaxation, for fun, for health.  “Shop.  It's legal.”

Politico Takes Heat for Blaming Roy Cohn's Death by AIDS on His ‘Decadent Homosexual Lifestyle’  —  “I don't understand how Politico had enough [gall] to publish this very homophobic/HIV stigmatizing piece,” one commenter writes  —  Politico came in for a storm of criticism after a senior staff writer …

The Media Keeps Giving Trump the Benefit of the Doubt on Collusion  —  Throughout the Russia scandal, President Trump has acted flamboyantly guilty, most recently by comparing himself implicitly with Richard Nixon during Watergate, and dismissing informants as “rats.”

Why Even a Blue Wave Could Have Limited Gains  —  The divergent geography of 2018 means we will really have two midterm elections, and one favors Republicans.  —  Mr. Wasserman is the House editor at The Cook Political Report.  —  The proper way to view the 2018 midterms might not be as one event …

Court rejects Kentucky governor's Medicaid lawsuit  —  Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin cannot sue the Kentuckians who are trying to stop him from adding work requirements to the state's Medicaid program, a federal court said today.  —  The big picture: Bevin's latest loss is not a surprise.

South Africa begins seizing white-owned farms  —  SOUTH Africa has targeted the first two farms for unilateral seizure after the owners refused an offer of one-tenth of the land's value.  —  Silent slaughter - Farm attacks in South Africa1:54  —  A record 400 farmers attacked in 2017, between one or two murdered a week.

First lady Melania Trump warns of ‘destructive and harmful’ side of social media  —  As her husband continued to rip into his adversaries on Twitter, first lady Melania Trump on Monday warned that social media can be used in a “destructive and harmful” manner during remarks at a conference on preventing cyberbullying.

Papadopoulos Told Feds He Received $10,000 From Foreign National He Believed Was A Spy  — Special Counsel Robert Mueller revealed that George Papadopoulos received a $10,000 cash payment from a man that the former Trump aide believed was a spy.  — The pair were in contact last year about an energy consulting agreement.

Top Democrats Seek Information on Bolton's Security Clearance After Revelation That He Worked With Russian Citizen Now Exposed as Spy  —  “We are writing regarding recent reports that National Security Advisor John Bolton, in his former capacity as a top official with the National Rifle Association …

Here Are the Lobbying Emails Cuomo Fought Hard to Keep Secret  —  ALBANY — In January 2016, as Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo was preparing his annual State of the State address, some high-placed state officials knew they had a problem.  —  A pair of business executives — partners in multimillion-dollar …

Republicans slam Jason Isbell, Ben Folds as ‘the unhinged left’ ahead of Phil Bredesen rally  —  Phil Bredesen and Marsha Blackburn are the leading candidates to replace Bob Corker in the U.S. Senate Michael Schwab/USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee  —  The political arm of U.S. Senate Republicans …

Pope Francis: Letter to the People of God (full text)  —  Pope Francis has responded to new reports of clerical sexual abuse and the ecclesial cover-up of abuse.  In an impassioned letter addressed to the whole People of God, he calls on the Church to be close to victims in solidarity …

Chelsea Clinton says she has not ruled out running for office  —  Daughter of Bill and Hillary says a move into politics in future is a ‘definite maybe’  —  Chelsea Clinton has said she has not ruled out running for office one day, describing a move into politics as a “definite no now” but a “definite maybe” in the future.

Exclusive: Pentagon raises alarm about sharp drop in Iraqi refugees coming to U.S.  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Military officials are sounding the alarm inside the Trump administration about the sharp drop in admission to the United States of Iraqi refugees who have helped American troops in battle …

Sweeney: We have the votes to pass marijuana bills  —  TRENTON — The state Legislature has yet to produce a pair of bills to legalize recreational marijuana and expand the state's medical cannabis program, but Senate President Steve Sweeney says he has the votes lined up to pass both measures by the end of September.

Trump Complains to Donors in the Hamptons About Powell's Rate Hikes  — President laments interest rate increases at GOP fundraiser  — Federal Reserve has raised rates five times in Trump's term  —  President Donald Trump said he expected Jerome Powell to be a cheap-money Fed chairman …

NYT Fact Check: Bret Stephens  —  Re: Column on whether or not America is “great”  —  After a number of reader complaints about inaccuracies in your previous columns, I've been asked by the Department of Corrections to get in touch with you regarding your latest piece.