FBI refused White House request to knock down recent Trump-Russia stories  —  Washington (CNN)The FBI rejected a recent White House request to publicly knock down media reports about communications between Donald Trump's associates and Russians known to US intelligence during the 2016 presidential campaign …

Bannon vows a daily fight for ‘deconstruction of the administrative state’  —  The reclusive mastermind behind President Trump's nationalist ideology and combative tactics made his public debut Thursday, delivering a fiery rebuke of the media and declaring that the new administration …

GOP Obamacare Plan Would Cover Fewer People; Blowback Grows  —  Plan expands access for those who want it, Republicans say  —  ‘Not everybody is going to have health care’: GOP lawmaker  —  Republican lawmakers expect that their Obamacare replacement will result in fewer Americans covered …

State Department writes anti-leak memo, which promptly leaks  —  The State Department legal office prepared a four-page memo for Secretary of State Rex Tillerson warning of the dangers of leaking by State Department employees.  It promptly leaked, to me.  That's only the latest sign …

'It wasn't right,' says Olathe man wounded at Austins while trying to stop shooter  —  Ian Grillot, hiding behind a table, counted the gunshots.  When he thought the gunman was out of bullets, he jumped up to pursue the man.  —  But the man who opened fire inside Austins Bar & Grill …

Trump, Putin, and the New Cold War  —  What lay behind Russia's interference in the 2016 election—and what lies ahead?  —  1. SOFT TARGETS  —  On April 12, 1982, Yuri Andropov, the chairman of the K.G.B., ordered foreign-intelligence operatives to carry out “active measures” …

Weakened Democrats Bow to Voters, Opting for Total War on Trump  —  WASHINGTON — Reduced to their weakest state in a generation, Democratic Party leaders will gather in two cities this weekend to plot strategy and select a new national chairman with the daunting task of rebuilding the party's depleted organization.

GOP congressman: Trump should release tax returns  —  Congress could force release of Trump's taxes  — As a candidate, Trump was the first major-party nominee in decades not to release his tax returns  —  Pace, Florida (CNN)A conservative member of Congress called on President Donald …

Why therapists are having such a hard time talking about Trump  —  Therapists such as Dr. Arlene Drake, who practices in West L.A., say that many of their patients are talking about President Trump, presenting a challenge for a group of professionals who have been trained not to expose their own political beliefs.

Marsha Blackburn claims out of state people infiltrated her town hall — records seem to show she's lying  —  DON'T MISS STORIES.  FOLLOW RAW STORY!  —  In an interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer, Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) said that her recent town hall was overwhelmed by angry people that were not from her district.

Starbucks' brand perception has plummeted since it announced plan to hire refugees  —  Starbucks' brand has taken a beating since the company announced plans to hire 10,000 refugees worldwide in the next five years in response to Donald Trump's executive order intended to prevent refugees from entering the US.

Santa Cruz and federal agents in war of words over whether a gang sweep was really a secret immigration raid  —  Santa Cruz's police chief angrily accused the Department of Homeland Security of conducting a secret immigration sweep.  —  A Northern California raid ostensibly targeting violent …

The New Nationalism in America  —  Decades of intellectual and political activity preceded the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980.  William F. Buckley Jr. founded National Review in 1955.  A little less than a decade later, National Review publisher William Rusher helped orchestrate Barry Goldwater's presidential nomination.

Exclusive: Senior Trump Aide Forged Key Ties To Anti-Semitic Groups In Hungary  —  When photographs recently emerged showing Sebastian Gorka, President Donald Trump's high-profile deputy assistant, wearing a medal associated with the Nazi collaborationist regime that ruled Hungary during World War II …

Yes, Mass Deportations Are Coming.  And We Know Why.  —  There are two main questions about President Donald Trump's recently issued immigration policies.  First, is the administration embarking on a campaign of mass deportations of undocumented immigrants?  Second, if so, why?

Kushner, Ivanka Trump Pushed to Remove Words Critical of Climate Deal From Executive Order  —  Trump plans to issue orders aimed at rolling back Obama climate agenda soon; language critical of Paris accord removed  —  WASHINGTON—At the request of President Donald Trump's son-in-law …

Why La La Land Worked Better Than Anyone Dreamed  —  How value investing, mixed with a contrarian streak, helped Lions Gate beat the blockbuster model.  —  by  —  Brassy love ballads, Technicolor dialogue, and a smattering of soft-shoe-La La Land had all the makings of a blockbuster, in the 1940s at least.

47% of the Country Say Trump Has Violated the Constitution, but Few Support Impeachment  —  PRESIDENT TRUMP'S FAVORABILITY, COMPARED TO OBAMA AND BUSH  —  President Trump's Favorability, Compared to Obama and Bush  —  Americans continue to hold more negative than positive views of President Donald Trump.

French Voters Call On Obama To Run For President To “Give French People Hope”  —  As French voters look set to make a massive swing to the right in their upcoming presidential election (see our notes on the topic here and here), a group of frightened liberal protesters have decided …

Where in the world is Sarah Palin?  Her political star is fading  —  NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — As the Conservative Political Action Conference kicked off just outside of Washington this week, there was one name noticeably missing from the roster of speakers: Sarah Palin.

Ivanka Trump wants to help the wealthy pay their au pairs  —  One of the biggest lingering questions about the Donald Trump presidency is the degree to which his campaign shtick of being a working-class populist was an open fraud.  So far, all signs point towards “completely.”

I Was a Muslim in Trump's White House  —  In 2011, I was hired, straight out of college, to work at the White House and eventually the National Security Council.  My job there was to promote and protect the best of what my country stands for.  I am a hijab-wearing Muslim woman …

My country had its own Trump.  Here's how we beat him.  —  Dalibor Rohac is a research fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.  —  To any fair-minded observer, President Trump's authoritarian instincts, Twitter outbursts and divisive rhetoric should be greatly concerning.

Border Patrol Agents Stop Domestic Travelers at New York Airport  —  A search for a deportation target leads to a demand for travelers' “papers” at JFK  —  Passengers of a domestic Delta flight from San Francisco to New York were told to show their identity documents to uniformed agents …