House GOP health care peacemaking deteriorates  —  There was an effort yesterday to get House GOP conservatives — the House Freedom Caucus and Republican Study Committee — to meet with GOP moderates — the Tuesday Group — to talk about a path forward after last week's failed health care effort.

FBI Director James Comey tried to reveal Russian tampering months before election  —  U.S. JAMES COMEY FBI RUSSIA 2016 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION  —  FBI Director James Comey attempted to go public as early as the summer of 2016 with information on Russia's campaign to influence …

Trump Russia dossier key claim ‘verified’  —  The BBC has learned that US officials “verified” a key claim in a report about Kremlin involvement in Donald Trump's election - that a Russian diplomat in Washington was in fact a spy.  —  So far, no single piece of evidence has been made public proving …

What George W. Bush Really Thought of Donald Trump's Inauguration  —  The inauguration of Donald Trump was a surreal experience for pretty much everyone who witnessed it, whether or not they were at the event and regardless of who they supported in the election.

Lawmakers vote Thursday on deal to repeal HB2  —  RALEIGH  —  North Carolina lawmakers could repeal House Bill 2 on Thursday under a deal struck late Wednesday night by Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper and Republican legislative leaders.  —  Senate leader Phil Berger announced the deal shortly …

EU could BREAK UP the US: Juncker in jaw-dropping threat to Trump over support for Brexit  —  EUROPEAN Union boss Jean-Claude Juncker this afternoon issued a jaw-dropping threat to the United States, saying he could campaign to break up the country in revenge for Donald Trump's supportive comments about Brexit.

McCaskill warns Democratic donors of pitfalls of blocking Trump nominee for high court  —  Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri warned Democratic donors that blocking President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee could have dire consequences, according to audio obtained by The Star.

U.S. War Footprint Grows in Middle East, With No Endgame in Sight  —  BEIRUT, Lebanon — The United States launched more airstrikes in Yemen this month than during all of last year.  In Syria, it has airlifted local forces to front-line positions and has been accused of killing civilians in airstrikes.

House votes to restrict EPA's use of science  —  The House voted Wednesday to restrict the kind of scientific studies and data that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) can use to justify new regulations.  —  The Honest and Open New EPA Science Treatment Act, or HONEST Act, passed 228-194.

Watch real climate scientist shoot down climate “skeptic” at GOP's sham “science” hearing  —  Donald Trump's presidency continues to be a disaster for the environment.  The Energy Department's Climate Office banned use of the phrase “climate change,” and Trump recently signed an executive order …

Creating a National Precinct Map … In January 2011, I sent an email to the Washington State Democratic Party asking about precinct results from the 2008 presidential caucus race.  State party chairman Jaxon Ravens replied simply with the question, “Why would you want them?”

Trump Administration Signals It Would Seek Mostly Modest Changes to Nafta  —  One change would be in government-procurement section of deal that could open up door for ‘Buy American’ policies  —  WASHINGTON—The Trump administration is signaling to Congress it would seek mostly modest changes …

Trump, Ryan Both Hit Record Low Approval  —  PPP's newest national poll finds Donald Trump's approval rating falling to its lowest level yet in our polling.  Only 40% of voters approve of the job he's doing, to 53% who disapprove.  —  Health Care:  —  The upshot of last week's health care debate …

Why Trump's unpopularity is historically unique  —  President Trump is not the first president to see his approval rating drop to 35 percent, as it did in Gallup's most recent tracking poll.  —  But he is the first president on record to go that low without it owing to one of three things: war, Watergate or economic strife.

Dems on offense in gubernatorial races  —  After Republicans won big in successive election cycles to take control of more governorships than at almost any other time in the party's history, the GOP now finds itself defending a huge number of seats in critical swing states in 2018.

Annals of the CBP (Good Times Edition)  —  That was fascinating.  As a coda to our family vacation, when we came through customs at JFK last night we learned that (actually it took some time to learn what was going on) Daniel, our eight year old son, had been flagged as a person of interest …

State Department Terrorist Designations of El Shafee Elsheikh, Anjem Choudary, Sami Bouras, Shane Dominic Crawford, and Mark John Taylor  —  Media Note  —  Office of the Spokesperson  —  Washington, DC  —  The Department of State has designated El Shafee Elsheikh, Anjem Choudary …

Seattle sues Trump administration over threat to ‘sanctuary’ cities  —  The city of Seattle sued U.S. President Donald Trump's administration on Wednesday over its executive order seeking to withhold federal funds from “sanctuary cities,” arguing it amounted to unconstitutional federal coercion.

Paul Ryan on Russia probe, health care bill “growing pain”  —  Despite mounting calls for House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes to recuse himself from the investigation into the Trump campaign's ties to Russia, House Speaker Paul Ryan has thus far stood by the chairman.