US investigators corroborate some aspects of the Russia dossier  —  Washington (CNN)For the first time, US investigators say they have corroborated some of the communications detailed in a 35-page dossier compiled by a former British intelligence agent, multiple current and former US law enforcement and intelligence officials tell CNN.

Trump vexed by challenges, scale of government  —  Being president is harder than Donald Trump thought, according to aides and allies who say that he's growing increasingly frustrated with the challenges of running the massive federal bureaucracy.  —  In interviews, nearly two dozen people who've spent …

White House Rewriting Trump's Controversial Travel Ban Order: Sources  —  Donald Trump learning how things work 21:41  —  Still regrouping from a federal appeals court's refusal to reinstate President Trump's controversial ban of nationals from seven predominantly Muslim countries …

Americans Now Evenly Divided on Impeaching Trump  —  PPP's new national poll finds that Donald Trump's popularity as President has declined precipitously just over the last two weeks.  On our first poll of his Presidency voters were evenly divided on Trump, with 44% approving of him and 44% also disapproving.

Day After Flynn Bombshell, Trump Calls On Only Murdoch Outlets At Press Conference  —  Following a bombshell report that National Security Adviser Michael Flynn may have violated the Logan Act, President Donald Trump called on reporters only from outlets owned by Rupert Murdoch …

Federal agents conduct sweeping immigration enforcement raids in at least 6 states  —  U.S. immigration authorities launched a series of raids, traffic stops and checkpoints in at least half a dozen states across the country on Thursday and Friday, sweeping up an unknown number of undocumented immigrants …

First on CNN: Trump nixes Elliott Abrams for State Department job  —  (CNN)CNN has learned that Elliott Abrams will not get the number two position at the State Department, according to Republican sources.  —  President Donald Trump met with Abrams and the sources said that the meeting went …

Anger erupts at Republican town halls  —  Murfreesboro, Tennessee (CNN)More than seven years after angry anti-Obamacare town halls erupted across the country, raw emotions are boiling over again — this time, as the Republican Party under President Donald Trump gears up to dismantle Barack Obama's legacy.

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos physically blocked by protesters from entering D.C. school  —  Education Secretary Betsy DeVos was physically blocked by protesters from entering Jefferson Academy in SW, D.C. Friday morning.  This was her first visit to a public school.

The Madness of King Donald  —  I guess I should start by saying this is not a blog.  Nor is it what one might call a column.  It's an experiment of sorts to see if there's something in between those two.  Most Fridays, from now on, I'll be writing in this space about, among other things …

Trump has some awkward exchanges with the Japanese prime minister  —  President Donald Trump's grin-and-grip with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in the Oval Office on Friday came off more like a power play between world leaders — and ended with an exaggerated eye roll from Abe.

UNDER FIRE, CONWAY MAINTAINS SUPPORT OF THE PRESIDENT  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Kellyanne Conway, the high-profile White House counselor, has come under fire from Democratic and Republican lawmakers, fact checkers and the media.  But she's so far maintained the support of her boss, President Donald Trump.

Conflict Over Trump Forces Out an Opinion Editor at The Wall Street Journal  —  The Wall Street Journal's editorial features editor has left the paper following tensions over the section drifting in a pro-Donald Trump direction.  —  News of the departure of Mark Lasswell …

Readout of the President's Call with President Xi Jinping of China  —  President Donald J. Trump and President Xi Jinping of China had a lengthy telephone conversation on Thursday evening.  The two leaders discussed numerous topics and President Trump agreed, at the request of President Xi, to honor our “one China” policy.

Hundreds of thousands rally in Iran against Trump, chant ‘Death to America’: TV  —  Hundreds of thousands of Iranians rallied on Friday to swear allegiance to their clerical leaders and reject U.S. President Donald Trump's warning that he had put the Islamic Republic “on notice”, state TV reported.

Katy Perry gets political: Listen to her new song ‘Chained to the Rhythm’  —  Pop Music Critic  —  You know America's in a troubling spot when even Katy Perry is singing about the illusion of freedom.  —  That's the subject of “Chained to the Rhythm,” the once-carefree pop star's new single …

How to Read (and How Not to Read) Today's 9th Circuit Opinion  —  Today's 9th Circuit decision is a bit less of a big deal than it will play in the press tomorrow; it will play big both because of the high stakes of the current litigation and because of some rhetorical excess in the opinion itself.

Sidney Blumenthal taken in by Fred Trump campaign ads that appear to be fake  —  A pair of racially charged videos that purport to be campaign ads created for Donald Trump's father in 1969 appear to be well-produced hoaxes, according to a POLITICO review of YouTube records and those of the group that posted them.

Steve Bannon Cited Italian Thinker Who Inspired Fascists  —  ROME — Those trying to divine the roots of Stephen K. Bannon's dark and at times apocalyptic worldview have repeatedly combed over a speech that Mr. Bannon, President Trump's ideological guru, made in 2014 to a Vatican conference …