Trump's Taiwan phone call was long planned, say people who were involved  —  Donald Trump's protocol-breaking telephone call with Taiwan's leader was an intentionally provocative move that establishes the incoming president as a break with the past, according to interviews with people involved in the planning.

Army will not grant easement for Dakota Access Pipeline crossing  —  Army POC: Moira Kelley (703) 614-3992, moira.l.kelley.civ@mail.mil  —  The Department of the Army will not approve an easement that would allow the proposed Dakota Access Pipeline to cross under Lake Oahe in North Dakota …

D.C. Police detain suspect with an assault rifle at Comet Ping Pong restaurant  —  D.C. Police responding Sunday to a report of a gunman at a popular pizza restaurant in Northwest Washington detained a man armed with an assault rifle, according to a police spokeswoman.

Judge orders Mich. presidential recount to begin Monday  —  Detroit — A federal judge has ordered Michigan election officials to begin a massive hand recount of 4.8 million ballots cast in the presidential election at noon Monday.  —  U.S. District Judge Mark Goldsmith issued a ruling …

Trying to imitate Trump's victory, Italy's Beppe Grillo could help throw Europe into crisis  —  When Beppe Grillo started to make headlines at the leader of Italy's biggest protest party more than six years ago, it was hard to avoid the puns.  A comedian turned politician, Grillo was laughed at and branded a “clown.”

Trump's Threat to the Constitution  —  WASHINGTON — On July 7, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, Donald J. Trump, met privately with House Republicans near the Capitol.  I was present as chief policy director of the House Republican Conference.

Trump Chooses Ben Carson to Lead HUD  —  Ben Carson, who took Donald J. Trump on a tour of blighted neighborhoods in Detroit during the presidential campaign, including his boyhood home, has been chosen by Mr. Trump to oversee one of the government's main efforts to lift American cities …

4 quit after Oklahoma veteran with maggots in wound dies  —  The Oklahoma veterans center in Talihina.  —  TALIHINA, Okla. - Four staff members have resigned from a southeastern Oklahoma veterans facility rather than face the possibility of getting fired, after a resident was found to have maggots in a wound.

GOP wagers Americans don't care about Trump's conflicts  —  Republicans see the same ethically challenged complications lurking in Donald Trump's business portfolio that Democrats are squawking about.  They just think Americans don't care about these entanglements anymore.

Democrats to give Trump Cabinet picks the Garland treatment  —  Senate Democrats are preparing to put Donald Trump's Cabinet picks through a grinding confirmation process, weighing delay tactics that could eat up weeks of the Senate calendar and hamper his first 100 days in office.

Dancing with insanity  —  One-hundred and thirty-four House Democrats collectively lost their minds last week.  —  That is how many of Nancy Pelosi's colleagues it took to vote her back into power despite having lost her third consecutive chance at winning back the majority from the Republicans.

A fitting end: Castro's hearse breaks down  —  The vehicle carrying Fidel Castro's remains during his funeral parade broke down yesterday.  Soldiers had to push it through the streets.  —  How symbolic!  What could be more fitting, given the broken down nature of the antique Cuban state produced by Castro?