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.

National security adviser Flynn discussed sanctions with Russian ambassador, despite denials, officials say  —  National security adviser Michael Flynn privately discussed U.S. sanctions against Russia with that country's ambassador to the United States during the month before President Trump took office …

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.

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 …

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.

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.

Analysis: Ninth Circuit Would Allow 9/11 Hijacker to Sue to Come to U.S.  —  The judgment of the Ninth Circuit upholding the temporary restraining order (TRO) against President Donald Trump's recent executive order restricting travel from seven terror-prone countries would have allowed …

Taboo Italian Thinker Is Enigma to Many, but Not to Bannon  —  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 …

Americans See US World Standing as Worst in a Decade  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. — Americans believe the world at large sees the U.S. more unfavorably (57%) than favorably (42%), their worst assessment of the country's image in 10 years.  A year ago, Americans' perceptions were more positive than negative.

Mexican foreign minister helped Jared Kushner re-write Trump border wall speech  —  Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray personally made changes to President Donald Trump's speech announcing an executive order calling for the construction of a border wall, according to Mexican officials.

China Hangs Tough.  Trump Folds.  China Ups the Ante.  —  On Thursday night, President Trump told his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, that he accepted the “One China” policy.  The acknowledgement, made during a phone conversation, appears to be a capitulation to Beijing's demands.

Le Pen: French Jews Will Have to Give Up Israeli Citizenship  —  Asked specifically about Jews and Israel, she said: 'Israel isn't an EU member.'  —  In a France ruled by the far-right Marine Le Pen, Jewish citizens will be forced to give up their Israeli citizenship, the Front National party leader said on Thursday.

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 …

Kamala Harris's First Bill: Lawyers for Border Detainees  —  California's newest U.S. Senator, Kamala Harris, revealed her first piece of legislation on Thursday, the Access to Counsel Act, which targets President Donald Trump's travel restriction executive order by providing lawyers …

'I won't condemn Israel, it's been through enough'  —  “I understand Israel very well and I respect Israel. ...  I would like to see peace [between Israel and the Palestinians] and beyond,” U.S. President Donald Trump told Israel Hayom in an exclusive interview Thursday …

Shia LaBeouf — ‘He Will Not Divide Us’ Protest Closed Due to Potential Violence  —  Shia LaBeouf vowed Donald Trump would not divide us, but the museum where he held the protest did — the 24/7 webcam has been shut down.  —  The Museum of the Moving Image in NYC says it turned off …

Time for Tesla to Listen  —  I'm proud to be part of a team that is bringing green cars to the masses.  As a production worker at Tesla's plant in Fremont for the past four years, I believe Tesla is one of the most innovative companies in the world.  We are working hard to build the world's #1 car—not just electric, but overall.

A Gift for Donald Trump  —  If you could give Donald Trump the gift of a single trait to help his presidency, what would it be?  —  My first thought was that prudence was the most important gift one could give him.  Prudence is the ability to govern oneself with the use of reason.