Televangelist Pat Robertson: Alabama's abortion ban is ‘extreme’ and has ‘gone too far’  —  Longtime televangelist Pat Robertson decried Alabama's new abortion ban as “extreme,” saying on his show on Wednesday that the state legislature has “gone too far.”  —  Alabama's law …

Trump, frustrated by advisers, is not convinced the time is right to attack Iran  —  The Trump administration has been on high alert in response to what military and intelligence officials have deemed specific and credible threats from Iran against U.S. personnel in the Middle East.

White House will not sign on to Christchurch call to stamp out online extremism amid free speech concerns  —  The White House will not sign an international call to combat online extremism brokered between French and New Zealand officials and top social media companies, amid U.S. concerns …

Trump pardons billionaire friend Conrad Black, who wrote a book about him  —  President Trump gave a full pardon to a longtime friend who last year authored a glowing book about Trump's successes.  —  Conrad Black was convicted in 2007 on fraud charges, including alleged embezzlement, and obstruction of justice.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio to announce presidential bid  —  Bill de Blasio is not exactly popular back home, but he has a record of progressive accomplishments that allies think will resonate with Democratic voters.  —  WASHINGTON — New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio will declare …

No ‘do-over’ on Mueller probe, White House lawyer tells House panel, saying demands for records, staff testimony will be refused  —  The letter rejects the committee's standing to investigate President Trump for possible obstruction of justice.  — Carol D. Leonnig, Josh Dawsey -  · - 1 hour ago -

Scoop: Kamala Harris/Fox News  —  Scoop: Sen. Kamala Harris Will Not Appear On Fox News For A Town Hall  —  Presidential candidate and California Sen. Kamala Harris will not appear on Fox News for a moderated town hall, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

Barr asks Pelosi at event: ‘Did you bring your handcuffs?’  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General William Barr tried out a little contempt humor on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, with interesting results.  —  The setting was the National Peace Officers Memorial Day service Wednesday at the U.S. Capitol.

Kasich adviser will lobby against potential Russia sanctions  —  John Weaver, the top strategist for John Kasich's presidential campaign in 2016, has registered as a foreign agent and plans to lobby against potential sanctions on Russia.  —  Weaver signed a contract last month to lobby …

Top FBI officials were ‘quite worried’ Comey would appear to be blackmailing Trump  —  Senior FBI officials were concerned then director James Comey would appear to be blackmailing then President-elect Trump - using tactics notoriously associated with J.Edgar Hoover - when he attended a fateful Jan. 6 …

“You Have to Have a Plan to Deal with Them”: How the Media Fell Out of Love with Beto O'Rourke  —  Parsing the the factors (privilege, intersectionality, more press scrutiny, strategic miscalculation, multiple opponents, Vanity Fair) that contributed to O'Rourke's early-season swoon.

A Full Presidential Pardon  —  The two counts for which I have just received a presidential pardon, and of which I was “convicted” in 2011, after the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously vacated them, only to have a self-serving appellate judge reinstate them, were for wire fraud and obstruction of justice.

Intuit CEO in Internal Video: Hiding Free TurboTax Was In “Best Interest of Taxpayers”  —  ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom based in New York.  Sign up for ProPublica's Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox as soon as they are published.

The Met Will Turn Down Sackler Money Amid Fury Over the Opioid Crisis  —  The Metropolitan Museum of Art said on Wednesday that it would stop accepting gifts from members of the Sackler family linked to the maker of OxyContin, severing ties between one of the world's most prestigious museums …

'Didn't want to wait'  —  Nine Central American migrants faced dire peril when their makeshift rafts capsized in the rain-swollen Rio Grande.  Border Patrol agents were their only hope.  —  Nine Central American migrants faced dire peril when their makeshift rafts capsized in the rain-swollen Rio Grande.

The Trump Admin Is Scrubbing Obamacare From Government Sites  —  PRESIDENT TRUMP HAS never been coy about his desire to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.  While that pledge has faced setbacks in Congress, his administration has managed to gut Obamacare by other means, like cutting financial support.

Key Democrat to help Lipinski—despite primary threat  —  U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, a fellow Illinoisan and head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, is slated to star at a fundraiser for the Southwest Side congressman.  —  By On Politics  —  As Southwest Side congressman Dan …

Cruz warns ‘Space Force’ needed to prevent space pirates  —  Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said this week that it was important to fund President Trump's proposed “Space Force” in order to prevent possible space pirates.  —  “Since the ancient Greeks first put to sea, nations have recognized …

John Bolton, Far Worse Than You Realize  —  Looking at the escalating (US-created) crisis with Iran, one thing I realize is that a lot of people do not quite know who John Bolton is.  They assume - rightly - that anyone in the Trump orbit must be either a moral weakling, a crazy person or someone with one foot out the door.

Jeff Sessions's Grave Conflict of Interest  —  Last year, in March 2018, then Attorney General Jeff Sessions enlisted his subordinates to lie on his behalf that he did not know he was under federal investigation when he fired then Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe—an investigation initiated …

CREW Requests Ron DeSantis NDA on Election Interference  —  Florida Governor Ron DeSantis reportedly met with the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security following the revelation in the Mueller Report “that ‘at least one’ Florida county had its election information accessed by Russian hackers in 2016.”

The Forward's “Both Sides” Approach Has Failed  —  THE FORWARD is a treasured institution in Jewish media.  Founded in 1897 as a Yiddish language socialist newspaper, in its English incarnation it has at times sought to speak for the entire Jewish community.

Behind Twitter's Plan To Get People To Stop Yelling At One Another  —  SAN FRANCISCO — In March, Twitter cofounder Biz Stone tweeted a screenshot of an iPhone homescreen along with a message: “Notice our new prototype? ...  It's called ‘twttr.’ The bird flew away from the app icon representing: Simplicity.

The Zogby Poll®: Trump's job approval tops 50%; A majority of Millennials approve of Trump; Nearly half of Generation Z voters approve of Trump; Trump is winning back Hispanic, Independent, college educated and urban voters … A new Zogby Poll® of 852 likely voters nationwide in the U.S. …

How the Republicans Built a Presidency Above the Law for Donald Trump  —  Yesterday, attorneys for President Trump made an astonishing argument in federal court.  Congress had no right to look at Trump's tax returns, they argued, because it had no right to investigate or even expose matters relating …

Texas used money from the Help America Vote Act to help pay for its botched voter citizenship review  —  The expenditure appears to comply with the federal law, but Democratic lawmakers say it flies in the face of the act's initial purpose to improve elections and voter access.

Why Arizona Is Emerging as Top 2020 Battleground  —  If Democrats avoid the progressive temptation, they'll have a chance to turn the GOP-friendly state blue in next year's elections.  —  If there's one development that threatens to disrupt the best laid plans of Republicans …

Trump signs order to protect U.S. networks from foreign espionage, a move that appears to target China  —  Amid a deepening trade war with China, President Trump on Wednesday declared a “national emergency” to protect U.S. communications networks in a move that gives the federal government broad powers …