Trump to conservative leaders: If this plan fails, I'll blame Democrats  —  Washington (CNN)In an Oval Office meeting featuring several leaders of conservative groups already lining up against the House Republican plan to repeal and replace Obamacare, President Donald Trump revealed his plan …

Nigel Farage Just Visited The Ecuadorian Embassy In London  —  Asked by BuzzFeed News if he'd been visiting Julian Assange, the former UKIP leader said he couldn't remember what he'd been doing in the building.  —  Nigel Farage visited the Ecuadorian embassy in west London on Thursday …

First on CNN: After lobbying from Trump, Orrin Hatch plans to run again  —  (CNN)Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch, the longest-serving GOP senator, told CNN he is planning to run for re-election next year, abandoning his plans to quit the chamber after four decades of service.

How Many People Are Affected by Obamacare Premium Increases?  (Hint, It's Fewer Than You Think)  —  SCROLL TO START  —  Republicans cite rising insurance premiums as a primary reason for repealing the Affordable Care Act.  But only a narrow slice of the market was actually affected by the increases.

EPA chief Scott Pruitt says carbon dioxide is not a primary contributor to global warming  —  EPA takes aim at CAFE standards: Scott Pruitt  —  Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt said Thursday he does not believe carbon dioxide is a primary contributor to global warming.

‘No Comment,’ Justice Dept. Says, Asked About a Trump Inquiry  —  WASHINGTON — With questions still swirling over President Trump's unsubstantiated claims that he was wiretapped on orders of President Barack Obama, the Justice Department on Thursday declined to confirm statements a day earlier …

Widespread frustration  —  U.S. officials, who spoke only on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the information, said there is widespread frustration among intelligence professionals who have watched in horror as a normally secretive process has been distorted by media leaks …

Roger Stone's Russian Hacking “Hero”  —  Trump loyalist communicated with “Guccifer 2.0,” target of FBI probe  —  In the months before Election Day, a longtime confidante and political consultant for Donald Trump was in contact with the Russian hacking group that U.S. intelligence officials …

Steve Bannon Helped Preserve DACA But Democrats And Activists Aren't Celebrating  —  They're bracing for what's coming: millions of deportations and further crackdowns on both legal and illegal immigration.  —  WASHINGTON — The Trump administration doesn't want to talk about it.

Claims of sex orgies, prostitution and porn videos shake Catholic Church in Italy  —  ROME (RNS) Lurid accusations of priests involved in sex orgies, porn videos and prostitution have emerged from several parishes in Italy recently, sending shock waves all the way to the Vatican and challenging …

Sex Columnist Dan Savage Calls Melania Trump ‘Ugly on the Inside’  —  Savage says first lady gets a pass from some liberals because of her looks, but “is as ugly on the inside as she is pretty on the outside”  —  Author and sex columnist Dan Savage says many liberals are giving first lady Melania …

Burger-flipping robot replaces humans on first day at work  —  A burger-flipping robot has just completed its first day on the job at a restaurant in California, replacing humans at the grill.  —  Flippy has mastered the art of cooking the perfect burger and has just started work at CaliBurger, a fast-food chain.

C.I.A. Scrambles to Contain Damage From WikiLeaks Documents  —  WASHINGTON — The C.I.A. scrambled on Wednesday to assess and contain the damage from the release by WikiLeaks of thousands of documents that cataloged the agency's cyberspying capabilities, temporarily halting work on some projects …

Republican Study Committee backs two Medicaid changes to Obamacare repeal bill  —  The Republican Study Committee is backing two proposed changes to the Obamacare repeal bill that could help win over conservatives to the measure, which has been in a markup before the House Energy and Commerce Committee for nearly 24 hours.

At least five states join up to block revised Trump travel ban  —  At least five states are banding together in a legal drive to block key elements of President Donald Trump's second travel ban.  —  Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson said his office is filing a motion asking …

Union tips off Border Patrol in immigration crackdown  —  Federal agents are not the only ones trying to remove people from the Buffalo area who have entered the country illegally.  —  If Bill Bing, a carpenters union official, discovers workers at local construction projects suspected …

Expect the CBO to estimate large coverage losses from the GOP health care plan  —  Editor's Note:  —  This analysis is part of The Leonard D. Schaeffer Initiative for Innovation in Health Policy, which is a partnership between the Center for Health Policy at Brookings and the USC Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics.

Former Trump aide Flynn says lobbying may have helped Turkey  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, who was fired from his prominent White House job last month, has registered with the Justice Department as a foreign agent for $530,000 worth …