Flynn told Mueller people tied to Trump and Congress tried to obstruct probe  —  The communications could have affected “his willingness to cooperate,” special counsel Robert Mueller wrote in court filings.  —  Former national security adviser Michael Flynn told investigators that people linked …

Trump Tells Pentagon Chief He Does Not Want War With Iran  —  WASHINGTON — President Trump has told his acting defense secretary, Patrick Shanahan, that he does not want to go to war with Iran, according to several administration officials, in a message to his hawkish aides …

Trump reports making at least $434 million in 2018  —  (CNN)President Donald Trump made at least $434 million in 2018, according to his annual financial disclosure released Thursday by the White House.  —  That includes $40.8 million from his Trump International Hotel in Washington, DC, just blocks from the White House.

Ukraine Prosecutor Says No Evidence of Wrongdoing by Bidens  — Hunter Biden, Burisma not targets, despite Giuliani's pleas  — Long-running investigation said to focus on another Ukrainian  —  Ukraine's prosecutor general said in an interview that he had no evidence of wrongdoing …

Republicans' Messaging on Abortion Puts Democrats on the Defensive  —  WASHINGTON — With grisly claims that Democrats promote “birth day abortions” and are “the party of death,” the Republican Party and its conservative allies have aggressively reset the terms of one of the country's …

Alabama's antiabortion governor urges respect for life, will oversee a 7th execution  —  When Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signed that state's obnoxious new bill criminalizing abortion Wednesday afternoon, she offered a little toast to victory on Twitter.  —  Or maybe we should call it a partial victory …

Schiff: House Intel to consider ‘enforcement action’ against Barr  —  House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff announced on Thursday that the panel will consider an “enforcement action” against Attorney General William Barr for defying the chairman's subpoena for special counsel …

I.M. Pei, Master Architect Whose Buildings Dazzled the World, Dies at 102  —  I. M. Pei, who began his long career designing buildings for a New York real estate developer and ended it as one of the most revered architects in the world, died early Thursday at his home in Manhattan.  He was 102.

EPA watchdog suggests agency recover $124,000 in Pruitt's ‘excessive’ travel expenses  —  The Environmental Protection Agency should consider recovering nearly $124,000 in improper travel expenses by former EPA chief Scott Pruitt, the agency's inspector general recommended Thursday.

Democrats are badly blowing it against Trump.  A brutal new TV ad shows how.  —  Nancy Pelosi has succeeded in stifling impeachment talk.  The Post reports that the House Speaker privately told Democrats to stick to policy and forget about an impeachment inquiry, and not a single Democrat uttered a word in protest.

We asked ambassadors where they eat when they're homesick.  We did not expect Taco Bell and Ikea.  —  In our stateless capital, everyone handles the hunger of homesickness differently.  Most of us have our take-me-home go-tos, whether we're transplants from Texas or Thailand, Ohio or Oman.

Trump wants his border barrier to be painted black with spikes.  He has other ideas, too.  —  The barrier that President Trump wants to build along the Mexico border will be a steel bollard fence, not a concrete wall as he long promised, and the president is fine with that.

Flynn Case Update LORDY HE HAD TAPE(s)  —  As many of you may know earlier today I asked Claude to “tease out” the following Flynn Update.  For the record and should you be inclined...  I've written 39+ entries about:  —  Flynn, Flynn Intel Group, Marshall Plan, Mark Lamber, Cohen, EDVA …

SAT to Give Students ‘Adversity Score’ to Capture Social and Economic Background  —  New score comes as college admissions decisions are under scrutiny  —  The College Board plans to assign an adversity score to every student who takes the SAT to try to capture their social and economic background …

Trump Plans To Invoke Insurrection Act To Boot Illegal Immigrants  —  President Donald Trump is planning on using the Insurrection Act to remove illegal immigrants from the United States, The Daily Caller has learned.  —  According to multiple senior administration officials …

Company owned by Brazilian crooks received $62 million in Trump bailout cash meant for struggling U.S. farmers  —  The Trump administration has forked over more than $62 million — taxpayer cash that was supposed to be earmarked for struggling American farmers — to a massive meatpacking company owned …

You can tell which side is running scared on abortion bans  —  You can tell which side of the aisle is optimistic about the politics of the abortion bans in Alabama, Georgia, Missouri and elsewhere.  When asked about the Alabama ban, Sen. Martha McSally (R-Ariz.) (who lost her race for Senate …

MSNBC's Ali Velshi Shuts Down Hugh Hewitt: 'Hugh, Just Stop, For Heaven's Sake!'  —  MSNBC host Ali Velshi tussled with conservative commentator Hugh Hewitt Thursday afternoon over escalating tensions between the Trump administration and Iran.  —  “I believe the most important aspect …

‘Not a Big Deal,’ Police Commander Said as Eric Garner Died  —  The revelation provoked gasps at the disciplinary hearing for the officer who applied a chokehold to Mr. Garner, who died after exclaiming “I can't breathe.”  —  A police commander reacted with seemingly little concern …

Trump's tariffs are equivalent to one of the largest tax increases in decades  —  KEY POINTS  — The combined $72 billion in revenue from all the president's tariffs ranks as one of the biggest tax increases since 1993, according to CNBC analysis of data from the Treasury Department.

Nellie Ohr deleted emails sent from husband's DOJ account  —  Nellie Ohr, the wife of Justice Department official Bruce Ohr, told her husband she was deleting emails sent from his government account.  —  The revelation comes as both Ohrs remain under intense scrutiny for their ties to Fusion GPS …

What Actually Happens When a Country Bans Abortion  —  Romania under Ceausescu created a dystopian horror of overcrowded, filthy orphanages, and thousands died from back-alley abortions.  —  As lawmakers in Alabama this week passed a bill that would outlaw abortion in the U.S. state entirely …

Working People First |  Bill de Blasio 2020  —  When we put working families first in New York City, the city got stronger.  That can happen for our country, too.  Learn about my candidacy for president of the United States of America to put working families first.

Actually, ‘sharia law’ is kinda fine with first-trimester abortion  —  This week, Alabama moved forward in implementing the nation's strictest abortion ban.  A favorite line of attack from the Left is to claim the religious right is imposing sharia law.