AP: National Enquirer's safe held damaging Trump stories  —  NEW YORK (AP) — The National Enquirer kept a safe containing documents on hush money payments and other damaging stories it killed as part of its cozy relationship with Donald Trump leading up to 2016 presidential election …

Manhattan D.A. Eyes Criminal Charges Against Trump Organization  —  The Manhattan district attorney's office is considering pursuing criminal charges against the Trump Organization and two senior company officials in connection with Michael D. Cohen's hush money payment to an adult film actress …

Trump sought his lawyers' advice weeks ago on possibility of pardoning Manafort but they counseled against it, Giuliani says  —  President Trump sought his lawyers' advice several weeks ago on the possibility of pardoning Manafort, Trump attorney Rudolph W. Giuliani said Thursday.

The Conspiracy Memo Aimed at Obama Aides that Circulated in the Trump White House  —  The 2017 document, titled the “Echo Chamber,” accused former Obama officials of undermining the incoming Administration.  —  In early 2017, some of Donald Trump's advisers concluded that they faced …

Key Republicans Give Trump a Path to Fire Sessions After the Election  — Sessions defends his performance in advancing Trump's agenda  — A new attorney general could take control of the Mueller probe  —  Two key Republican senators signaled to President Donald Trump …

White House blocks bill that would protect elections  —  WASHINGTON — A bill that would have significantly bolstered the nation's defenses against electoral interference has been held up in the  —  Senate at the behest of the White House, which opposed the proposed legislation, according to congressional sources.

How Russian bots used Mollie Tibbetts' death to distract from Michael Cohen and Paul Manafort  —  A network of Russian-linked Twitter accounts are sharing thousands of divisive tweets about Mollie Tibbetts' death  —  A network of Russian-linked Twitter accounts have been disseminating divisive content …

Kavanaugh's confirmation must wait  —  Tom Nichols is a professor at the Naval War College and a former Republican aide in the U.S. Senate.  —  There is no way Republicans will halt their march toward Brett M. Kavanaugh's confirmation as an associate justice of the Supreme Court.

Facebook censored my column — and I still can't find out why  —  At 7:55 a.m. Thursday morning, I posted a story I had written for The New York Post on both Facebook and Twitter.  It was a reported piece on how people who voted for President Trump were feeling after both former Trump campaign …

Inside the progressive movement roiling the Democratic Party  —  Frustrated by a string of defeats at the polls, a progressive wing of the Democratic Party pushes a populist platform across the country.  Amid wins and losses, the movement aims to reshape a party in flux.

BREAKING: Elections consultant fired over proposal to close Georgia precincts  —  The elections consultant who proposed closing most voting locations in a majority African-American rural Georgia county has been fired ahead of a vote Friday on consolidating precincts.

Tech Companies Are Gathering For A Secret Meeting To Prepare A 2018 Election Strategy  —  Representatives from a host of the biggest US tech companies, including Facebook and Twitter, have scheduled a private meeting for Friday to share their tactics in preparation for the 2018 midterm elections.

Florida candidate says alien abduction doesn't define her  —  MIAMI (AP) — U.S. House candidate Bettina Rodriguez Aguilera has a long list of accomplishments to bolster her campaign in Florida.  But she is perhaps best known for claiming that she was abducted by space aliens as a child.

Mike Pompeo faces a moment of truth on North Korea  —  Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is making a bold and risky push to reinvigorate a diplomatic effort with North Korea that is struggling to make progress amid increasingly belligerent rhetoric from Pyongyang.

Mom Investigated by Cops, Children's Services for Letting 8-Year-Old Walk Dog Alone  —  It was a walk to remember — or forget.  —  Earlier this month, 8-year-old Dorothy Widen took her family dog Marshmallow for a walk around the block near her family's suburban Chicago home.

‘Dangerous and poisoned’: Critics blast Trump for endorsing white nationalist conspiracy theory on South Africa  —  President Trump's promotion of a white nationalist conspiracy theory involving South Africa prompted fierce backlash there Thursday and fresh criticism in the United States …

Poll: Pennsylvanians give low marks to Trump and tariffs  —  Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf and Democratic Sen. Bob Casey both hold double-digit leads over lesser-known opponents in new NBC News/Marist poll.  —  WASHINGTON — Pennsylvania, a state that helped put President Donald Trump in the White House …

Russian trolls pushed divisive content over vaccines, researchers say  —  The study highlights how social media-based propaganda efforts from Russia were not solely focused on the 2016 election and now include public health issues.  —  Russian trolls weren't just trying to cause division in U.S. politics.

Who Is Julia Salazar?  Brooklyn State Senate Candidate's Complex Personal History and Views  —  It's impossible to walk around New York state Sen. Martin Dilan's north Brooklyn district without seeing his 27-year-old opponent peering out from the storefronts on Knickerbocker Avenue …

Reality Winner, who pleaded guilty to leaking secret U.S. report, gets 63-month sentence  —  AUGUSTA, Ga. — A former government contractor who pleaded guilty to mailing a classified U.S. report to a news organization was sentenced to more than five years Thursday as part of a deal with prosecutors …

Orman repels bid by Democrats to strike his name off November ballot  —  Tim Carpenter TimVCarpenter  —  A challenge of the Kansas secretary of state's decision to allow independent candidate Greg Orman on the November ballot led Thursday to seven hours of laborious examination by a state board …

THE EMBARRASSINGLY TIMID TRUMP OPPOSITION  —  One of my favorite questions for Republican Trump enablers is to ask them to name just one of the president's personal character traits that they'd want their children to share.  It tends to elicit deep sighs and deflections, or absurd-on-the-face delusions—he's a good father!

Manafort juror Paula Duncan: Manafort is guilty, but Mueller probe is a witch hunt  —  Paula Duncan tells NBC News the evidence against Paul Manafort was overwhelming, but she still wants Robert Mueller to wrap up his investigation.  —  WASHINGTON — Paula Duncan didn't wear her red …