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 …

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 …

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 …

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 …

The 9th Circuit's dangerous and unprecedented use of campaign statements to block presidential policy  —  The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit has just upheld a nationwide temporary injunction on President Trump's executive order relating to refugees and visas from certain countries.

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 …

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 …

White House: Cohn-Led Tax Plan Is Real and It's Phenomenal  —  Congressional leaders have been consulted, official says  —  Cohn has said he's focused on tax cuts for low earners  —  Former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. president Gary Cohn is leading the effort to craft President Donald Trump's plan …

Protesters briefly block Education Secretary Betsy DeVos's visit to a D.C. school  —  Education Secretary Betsy DeVos encountered protesters Friday morning outside a D.C. middle school and found her way barred as she tried to enter through a side door, forcing her to retreat into a government vehicle as a man shouted “Shame!”

Protest Erupts in Downtown L.A. Following Reports of Immigration Raids at Homes Across Southern California  —  While immigration advocates say more than 100 people were detained Thursday as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials conducted home raids across three Southern California counties …

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.

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.

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 …

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.

Jared Kushner proves to be a shadow diplomat on U.S.-Mexico talks  —  The scene in the Oval Office was remarkable: the foreign minister of Mexico — the very country that Donald Trump had turned into a campaign-trail piñata — huddled with now-President Trump and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

No, Donald Trump's father didn't create racist ads for a mayoral bid  —  A pair of ads allegedly created by President Trump's father Fred for a 1970s mayoral bid circulated widely on the Internet this week.  They were ads, one titled “Dope Man” and the other “Real New Yorkers,” presenting two depictions of the city during that decade.

Mexican Citizen Sentenced To 8 Years In Prison For Voter Fraud In TX  —  DALLAS (CBS11) - The family of a woman convicted of voter fraud is speaking out after a Tarrant County jury sentenced her to eight years in prison.  —  Prosecutors say the reason officials at the elections department …