7 in 10 Speech-Watchers Say Trump Boosted Optimism  —  (CNN)President Donald Trump's first address to Congress received largely positive reviews from viewers, with 57% who tuned in saying they had a very positive reaction to the speech, according to a new CNN/ORC poll of speech-watchers.

Trump's Speech Was Quiet — And Quietly Radical  —  Reviews of President Trump's first address to Congress on Tuesday night seem to be converging around a single theme: It was Trump at his most subdued.  “Trump Softens Tone in Outlining Goals,” read the lead headline on The New York Times homepage Wednesday morning.

Van Jones on Trump: ‘He became President of the United States in that moment, period’  —  (CNN)Shortly after President Donald Trump addressed a Joint Session of Congress for the first time since taking the oath of office, CNN's Van Jones called one particularly moving moment from the speech …

White House: Conway acted ‘without nefarious motive’ in Ivanka Trump plug  —  White House plugs Ivanka Trump's brand  —  The White House has concluded that Kellyanne Conway, a top adviser to President Trump, was acting “without nefarious motive” when she plugged Ivanka Trump's products in a TV interview …

Trump speech leaves Democrats befuddled, in ruins, with question marks  —  ANALYSIS/OPINION:  —  The president opened by celebrating Black History Month.  Lady Democrats wore white.  —  Donald Trump delivered the most finely crafted speech of his political life Tuesday night …

Senate approves Trump's nominee for Interior  —  Ryan Zinke confirmed as interior secretary  —  (CNN)The Senate voted to confirm Wednesday Montana Rep. Ryan Zinke to lead the Department of the Interior.  —  The vote was 68-31.  —  During his confirmation hearing, the Republican congressman promised …

A profound apology  —  Uber CEO Travis Kalanick sent the following note to all Uber employees Tuesday evening.  —  By now I'm sure you've seen the video where I treated an Uber driver disrespectfully.  To say that I am ashamed is an extreme understatement.

Will Disney's Bob Iger Run for President in 2020?  Hollywood Friends Are Nudging  —  Iger told THR in June that “a lot of people have urged me to seek political office,” and now he's considering the prodding for him to lead the Democratic ticket.  —  Disney CEO Bob Iger already runs the world's most successful media company.

Congressional Republicans Were Desperately Hoping for More Information From Trump.  He Gave Them None.  —  President Donald Trump gave a pretty good speech to a joint session of Congress tonight.  He followed the script, and threw in some unexpected rhetorical flourishes …

Bill Nye's Embarrassing Face-off with Tucker Carlson on Climate Change  —  It didn't end well for the ‘Science Guy.’  —  Climate-change alarmists who have been largely unchallenged by the media over the past decade have finally met their match in Fox News host Tucker Carlson.  And it ain't pretty.

The State of Trump's State Department  —  The flags in the lobby of the State Department stood bathed in sunlight and silence on a recent afternoon.  “It's normally so busy here,” marveled a State Department staffer as we stood watching the emptiness.  “People are usually coming in for meetings …

Jeff Sessions Warns Of An America With ‘Marijuana Sold At Every Corner Grocery Store’  —  “My best view is that we don't need to be legalizing marijuana,” the attorney general said.  —  Attorney General Jeff Sessions is doubling down on his crusade against marijuana legalization.

Generals May Launch New ISIS Raids Without Trump's OK  —  The White House is considering delegating more authority to the Pentagon to greenlight anti-terrorist operations like the SEAL Team 6 raid in Yemen that cost the life of a Navy SEAL, to step up the war on the so-called Islamic State, multiple U.S. officials tell The Daily Beast.

Trump delays signing new travel ban order, officials say  —  President Donald Trump won't sign a revised travel ban on Wednesday as had been anticipated, two senior administration officials confirmed.  —  One of the officials indicated that the delay was due to the busy news cycle …

Fillon refuses to quit French election despite investigation  —  French centre-right presidential candidate Francois Fillon says a judge is placing him under investigation over a fake job scandal - but has vowed to continue his election campaign.  —  For weeks, Mr Fillon has fought allegations …

Arkansas Senate OKs Bids for Marriage, Abortion Amendments  —  The Arkansas Senate has endorsed a long-shot effort to push for amendments to the U.S. constitution effectively banning abortion and gay marriage.  —  LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — The Arkansas Senate on Tuesday endorsed a long-shot effort …

Salesman-in-Chief  —  President Donald Trump basically told Americans last night that he's going to make sure we can have our cake and eat it, too—and by the way it will be a spectacular cake, it won't cost much, and it's going to help us lose a lot of weight.

Trump is performing the role of president, not doing the job  —  He doesn't want to be president, he just wants to play one on TV.  —  The Donald Trump Show is getting stale, old, and, frankly, a little bit boring.  —  President Trump's big speech before Congress on Tuesday night was the epitome of the show.

Supreme Court mainly rules for black voters in Virginia case  —  The Supreme Court is mainly ruling for African-Americans in Virginia who say lawmakers packed 12 legislative districts with black voters to make other districts whiter and more Republican.  —  The justices said Wednesday …

Trump Scapegoats Unauthorized Immigrants for Crime  —  Donald Trump is worried about violence by unauthorized immigrants.  When he spoke before a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night, he invited three relatives of people that unauthorized immigrants had killed to attend as his guests.