The Daily Beast reports: According to two sources who have spoken with the president about this issue in recent days, he has expressed his desire for at least one prominent “leaker” to be conclusively identified and “dealt with,” in order to make an example of him or her. Some Trump allies outside the White House are equally, if not more, …

Reuters reports: U.S. Senate committee voted Wednesday in favor of Gina Haspel, President Donald Trump’s nominee to be CIA director, and she is expected to be confirmed by the full Senate as soon as next week. The Intelligence Committee voted 10-5 behind closed doors to approve the nomination, which was expected after two of its seven Democratic members, Vice Chairman …

Leakity leak leak leak: White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Wednesday said that so-called “leakers” in the West Wing should be fired. During an interview on Fox News, Sanders called it “disgusting” and “disloyal” to reveal internal discussions to the news media and said the White House is “focused intensely” on putting a stop to the practice. “We …

The Hill reports: The Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday morning released the transcripts from a slate of interviews with participants of the now-infamous Trump Tower meeting in June of 2016. Among the transcripts is the panel’s interview of President Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., who accepted the meeting with a woman described as a Russian government lawyer offering political …

The Idaho Statesman reports: Idaho Lt. Gov. Brad Little won Tuesday’s Republican primary to replace Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter, who is retiring after three terms. Little, 64 and Otter’s handpicked successor, defeated a handful of challengers, most prominently Rep. Raul Labrador (R-Idaho) and Boise businessman Tommy Ahlquist. Labrador is the fourth Republican member of Congress to gamble on statewide office …

The New York Post reports: Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross offered up himself and President Trump as prime evidence that there’s no reason to be concerned about the safety of US beef. Ross shot down concerns raised by the Chinese in recent trade talks that American beef was tainted with mad cow disease and hailed Trump’s mental health as proof the …

Yesterday Pat Robertson read a letter from a woman who wanted to know why God allowed her unnamed disease to recur when she had already delivered a prayer of thanks for curing her the first time. According to Robertson, God sent the disease back because she wasn’t “filled with the spirit.” Hemant Mehta provides us with the transcript: Remember Jesus …

CNN Money reports: The top lawyer at Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis stepped down on Wednesday following revelations that the company made payments to President Donald Trump’s personal attorney Michael Cohen. Novartis (NVS) said its general counsel, Felix Ehrat, had decided to retire from his position in the “context of discussions” surrounding the payments to Cohen. Cohen’s company Essential Consultants had …

The Guardian reports: Ecuador bankrolled a multimillion-dollar spy operation to protect and support Julian Assange in its central London embassy, employing an international security company and undercover agents to monitor his visitors, embassy staff and even the British police, according to documents seen by the Guardian. Over more than five years, Ecuador put at least $5m (£3.7m) into a secret …

The Birmingham Herald reports: Patricia Todd, Alabama’s only openly gay state legislator, posted comments on social media Tuesday night suggesting that Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey is gay. Todd, who is not seeking re-election to office this year, posted the comments on Facebook and Twitter. The Ivey campaign denied the accusation. “This is a disgusting lie being pushed by a paid …

CBS Pittsburgh reports: Republican state Rep. Rick Saccone is now zero-for-two in his campaigns for the U.S. House in Pennsylvania this year. Two months after Saccone’s stunning loss in a special election for a House seat west of Pittsburgh, Saccone has conceded in the Republican primary for another seat Tuesday night to state Sen. Guy Reschenthaler. The two runs in …

Two-time Tony winner Nathan Lane has some tips for attending the awards show, where this year he’s nominated for playing Roy Cohn in Angels In America. “I love the Tony Awards. They’re just like the Oscars if the Oscars had a fabulous Queer Eye makeover. I look forward to the afterparty where I get to explain who Roy Cohn was …

Gothamist reports: Today’s severe thunderstorm happened right during the evening commute. The high winds downed trees, causing delays along the 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 lines and prompted the MTA to suspend Metro-North service on the Hudson, Harlem, and New Haven lines. In fact, the MTA even temporarily closed down entrances to Grand Central terminal to prevent overcrowding. …

The Associated Press reports: Patients with gunshot wounds filled wards and hallways in Gaza’s under-equipped and overwhelmed main hospital Tuesday, with dozens still waiting in line for surgery a day after Israeli soldiers shot and killed 59 Palestinians and wounded hundreds in mass protests on the Gaza border. The high casualty toll triggered a diplomatic backlash against Israel and new …

CNN reports: Federal Judge Amy Berman Jackson on Tuesday rejected former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort’s attempt to invalidate the criminal case against him in Washington. Manafort had claimed special counsel Robert Mueller’s appointment order was too broad, and thus his investigation had overstepped its legal authority. But Berman Jackson concluded for several reasons that Mueller’s investigation and prosecution of …

The Associated Press reports: Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan has signed a bill to prohibit health professionals from practicing “gay conversion therapy” on minors, as a growing number of states and municipalities are banning the practice. The Republican governor signed the bill Tuesday. Maryland is the 12th state to enact legislation against the practice of trying to alter a person’s sexual …

Via press release from the Family Research Council: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) today announced the appointment of Family Research Council (FRC) President Tony Perkins to the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) as its newest commissioner, for a two-year term. Mr. Perkins will remain FRC president during his time with USCIRF. Majority Leader McConnell appointed Perkins …

CNBC reports: A jolt of electricity is delivered to a body with bolts attaching its head to its neck. It’s a scene straight out of a horror movie, but it is eerily close to Italian neurosurgeon Sergio Canavero [photo] and Chinese surgeon Xiaoping Ren’s plan to transplant a human head — down to the neck bolts and electricity. Canavero and …

The Telegraph reports: North Korea threatened Wednesday to cancel a much-anticipated and unprecedented summit between its leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump, the South’s Yonhap news agency reported. Pyongyang also cancelled high-level talks due Wednesday with Seoul over the Max Thunder joint military exercises between the US and the South, Yonhap said citing the North’s official news …

Media Matters reports: In anticipation of its annual gala, the anti-abortion group Susan B. Anthony List (SBA List) has been promoting official room blocks for the event at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., and running a contest in which the prize includes a free stay at the property during the gala. On May 14, during the White House …