Pence Defends Trump ‘Speaking His Mind’ About Federal Judge, Promises ‘All Legal Means’ to Challenge Ruling  —  Vice President Mike Pence defended President Donald Trump's criticism of a federal judge who blocked an executive action temporarily barring immigrants and refugees …

'We'll do better': Trump's White House tries to gain a sense of order amid missteps  —  Soon after President Trump lifted off from the South Lawn of the White House for a long weekend in Florida, the administration's communications and policy teams convened for what some jokingly called their first “staff mixer.”

EXCLUSIVE: House Intelligence, Foreign Affairs Committee Members Compromised By Rogue IT Staff  —  Three brothers who managed office information technology for members of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and other lawmakers were abruptly relieved of their duties on suspicion …

Mitt Romney: No regrets about criticizing Trump, but time to recognize his ‘strong start’  —  PARK CITY — Mitt Romney said Friday he has no regrets about criticizing then candidate Donald Trump in a stinging speech last year but now sees the new president as having “obviously gotten off to a very strong start.”

Republicans face anger over Obamacare repeal during town halls  —  ROSEVILLE, Calif. — Two Republican lawmakers representing reliably conservative districts on opposite ends of the country on Saturday faced down heated questions from Obamacare supporters who flooded town hall events demanding …

PREVIEW: Trump Tells O'Reilly He ‘Respects’ Putin in Super Bowl Interview  —  On Sunday, Bill O'Reilly will hold a special Super Bowl pre-game interview with President Trump at 4 p.m. ET on your local FOX broadcast station.  —  In a special preview, Trump revealed his plans for dealing with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Conway says she misspoke on Iraqi terrorists, calls some critics ‘haters’  —  Kellyanne Conway admits she made a mistake in talking about a Kentucky massacre that never took place.  But that's not all she has to say about it.  —  In an interview airing Sunday on “Media Buzz,” …

8 million people could be deported under Trump's immigration order  —  Migrants from Guatemala receive instructions from a local law enforcement official after they crossed the Rio Grande near McAllen, Texas, in 2014.  (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)

Steve Bannon's Book Club  —  On the day after Christmas, I was walking through Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport when I caught sight of a slightly rumpled man waiting for a flight.  He seemed familiar, the way figures in dreams do.  —  It was, I thought, Stephen K. Bannon …

Schumer's dilemma: Satisfying the base while protecting his minority  —  About every two weeks, Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer keeps an important dinner date with five of his colleagues, and they're not the five most senior members of the Senate or even his closest advisers in his new job.

US government takes animal-welfare data offline  —  The US Department of Agriculture will no longer make lab inspection results and violations publicly available, citing privacy concerns.  —  Rights & Permissions  —  The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) agency charged with ensuring …

China Assails U.S. Pledge to Defend Disputed Islands Controlled by Japan  —  BEIJING — China reacted with strong displeasure on Saturday to a promise by Defense Secretary Jim Mattis that the United States would defend two uninhabited islands in the East China Sea that Japan controls but China also claims as its own.

How protesters plan to get under Trump's skin wherever he goes  —  WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — The Saturday evening march will begin at Trump Plaza, a high-rise apartment building.  President Trump actually hasn't owned the place since 1991.  Fine.  It still has the name.  It's a good place to start.

Trump officials slow-walked court orders on travel ban  —  Hours after a federal judge ordered customs officers to provide lawyers to travelers detained at Dulles airport last Saturday, senior Trump administration officials instructed the guards to give the travelers phone numbers …

Trump's Supreme Court Pick Wary of ‘Politicians With Robes’  —  Judge Neil Gorsuch recalls being blinded by tears in the middle of a ski run after someone rang his cellphone with news of the unexpected death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.  The reaction illustrates not only the depth …

DeVos opposition snowballs into avalanche  —  Adversaries of Betsy DeVos are mounting a furious last-minute bid to sink her nomination for Education secretary, with tactics that include a “tie-breaker telethon” in Alaska, a flood of emails to U.S. senators and celebrity appeals to millions of Twitter followers.