CNN reports: In a confidential letter to special counsel Robert Mueller in January, President Donald Trump’s legal team acknowledged for the first time that Trump “dictated” the first misleading statement put out about his son’s controversial 2016 meeting with Russians at Trump Tower. “You have received all of the notes, communications and testimony indicating that the President dictated a short …

The New York Times reports: President Trump’s lawyers have for months quietly waged a campaign to keep the special counsel from trying to force him to answer questions in the investigation into whether he obstructed justice, asserting that he cannot be compelled to testify and arguing in a confidential letter that he could not possibly have committed obstruction because he …

Belfast Live reports: Politicians have been urged “to do the right thing” by thousands of people who joined a rally in Belfast this afternoon calling for equal marriage. The march, which was organised by the Love Equality campaign, was led from Writer’s Square by Belfast Lord Mayor Nuala McAllister and Patrick Corrigan, from Amnesty International. Supporters lined the streets as …

Demerara Waves reports: Guyana held its first gay pride parade, with the country’s gay rights activists accusing the three-year old government as well as the opposition of breaking their election campaign promises to outlaw discrimination against vulnerable groups. “We are saying enough of the rhetoric, enough of the promises. It is time to make good on the legislative changes that …

Via Mediaite: “CNN is blaming Donald Trump for ruining the White House sports and fitness day because they say he’s not fit,” he said, before playing edited clips of CNN reporting from the White House about Trump eating only the bottom bun of his cheeseburger and using a golf cart to play golf. “CNN fat-shaming President Trump,” Watters quipped. Then …

Politico reports: President Donald Trump will host an iftar dinner at the White House next week to recognize the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, according to a White House official, a departure from last year’s decision not to host the traditional post-sundown meal. The iftar dinner is scheduled for Wednesday. The White House official declined to provide a list of …

Sky News reports: A champion cheese chaser has smashed the record for the most wins in Gloucestershire’s death-defying cheese rolling race. Chris Anderson, 30, says he now has “nothing to prove” after scooping his 22nd Double Gloucester cheese in 14 years. The professional soldier, who doesn’t even like the taste of Double Gloucester, tumbled down Cooper’s Hill in Brockworth to …

The Hill reports: President Trump on Saturday continued his attacks on the special counsel investigation into possible Russian links to his campaign, questioning in a tweet whether officials from Robert Mueller’s office or the Justice Department had released letters from Trump’s attorneys to the media. It was unclear what exactly prompted Trump’s accusation, though Trump’s attorneys have reportedly been in …

The Texas Tribune reports: U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, on Friday detailed his role in urging President Donald Trump to pardon conservative writer and filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza, saying he raised the issue with Trump while they traveled together last month in Texas. Trump announced Thursday that he was pardoning D’Souza, who pleaded guilty in 2014 to campaign finance fraud, tweeting …

The Tennessean reports: A Texas seminary fired a prominent Southern Baptist leader earlier this week for mishandling allegations from two students who said they were raped. Paige Patterson, who was terminated from his top post at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, told the head of campus security that he wanted to meet alone with a student who told him she was …

The Los Angeles Times reports: California will ban state-funded travel to Oklahoma because of a new law there that lets private agencies deny placement of adopted children with same-sex couples, state Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra announced Friday. Oklahoma is the ninth state to fall under California’s anti-discrimination travel ban, joining Alabama, Mississippi, North Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, Texas, South Dakota and …

CNN reports: What first appeared to be a gesture indicating North Korea might be willing to dismantle its nuclear weapons program appears to have been little more than a propaganda effort for the world’s cameras. No weapons inspectors or nonproliferation experts were invited to witness the detonation, and now initial assessments indicate that the show was essentially a charade. “The …

The Kansas City Star reports: Promising a “fresh start” for state government after months of scandal, Mike Parson was sworn in today as Missouri’s 57th governor. “My pledge to all Missourians is to work hard each and every day to bring honor, integrity, transparency to the Governor’s Office,” Parson said moments after taking the oath of office, later adding: “Now …

Axios reports: Eric Holder, Obama’s former Attorney General, told an audience at a political event in New Hampshire Friday that even if Trump is using his pardon power to send a signal to potential witnesses in the Mueller probe, people who are pardoned can still go before a grand jury.Holder said Trump issuing pardons “will not ultimately thwart the Mueller …

The Washington Post reports: At an island resort off the coast of Singapore, U.S. event planners are working day and night with their North Korean counterparts to set up a summit designed to bring an end to Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program. But a particularly awkward logistical issue remains unresolved, according to two people familiar with the talks. Who’s going to …

“Roseanne will always be my friend but her world came crashing down this week with a series of tweets she put out on Tuesday that were so full of racism, conspiracy theories and personal attacks they were described as abhorrent bordering on presidential. Roseanne has said she has multiple personalities – and unfortunately one of them is quite a racist. …

Trump and Bongino are reacting to a blistering Washington Post op-ed written yesterday by Brennan. An excerpt: The impact of the Trump presidency will be felt for many years to come. Most worrisome is that his use of falsehoods, his mean-spirited and malicious behavior, and his self-absorption will be emulated by many young Americans — indeed, young people globally — …

Just in from the State Department: The United States joins people around the world in celebrating Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Intersex (LGBTI) Pride Month, and reaffirms its commitment to protecting and defending the human rights of all, including LGBTI persons. In many parts of the world, LGBTI individuals and their supporters continue to face violence, arrest, harassment and intimidation …

Playbill reports: As June 1 rolls around, theatre aficionados enthusiastically share an easily searchable video of Leslie Uggams performing Carousel’s “June Is Bustin’ Out All Over” on the Capitol lawn in Washington, D.C. The Tony winner makes her way through the song, but not without adding her own gibberish lyrics. “Well, it poured like crazy the night before, and then …

NBC News reports: MSNBC host Joy Reid apologized on Friday for a blog post published more than a decade ago that included an image of Sen. John McCain’s head photoshopped on top of the body of the Virginia Tech shooter. “While I published my blog, starting in 2005, I wrote thousands of posts in real time on the issues of …