FBI obtained FISA warrant to monitor Trump adviser Carter Page  —  The FBI obtained a secret court order last summer to monitor the communications of an adviser to presidential candidate Donald Trump, part of an investigation into possible links between Russia and the campaign, law enforcement and other U.S. officials said.

Live Results: Republicans Defend House Seat in Kansas Special Election  —  Candidate Party Votes Pct.  —  Dem.  —  28,646  —  Ron Estes  —  Rep.  —  27,105  —  Lib.  —  32% reporting (199 of 620 precincts)  —  Republicans are wary of a close race to fill the seat of the new C …

Melania Trump - An Apology  —  The Mail Online website and the Daily Mail newspaper published an article on 20th August 2016 about Melania Trump which questioned the nature of her work as a professional model, and republished allegations that she provided services beyond simply modelling.

Column United passenger threatened with handcuffs to make room for ‘higher-priority’ traveler  —  Geoff Fearns, an Irvine investment manager, was threatened with being handcuffed when he refused to vacate his first-class seat on a United flight to Los Angeles.  (Valerie Fearns)

Trump won't definitively say he still backs Bannon  —  MORE FROM: … Washington's rumor mill is working overtime on the fate of aide Steve Bannon, who is said to be at the center of the rampant White House in-fighting.  When I asked the President Tuesday afternoon if he still has confidence in Bannon …

CNN Exclusive: Classified docs contradict Nunes surveillance claims, GOP and Dem sources say  — Republican and Democratic lawmakers and aides have so far found no evidence that Obama administration officials did anything unusual or illegal  — Their private assessment contradicts …

Bill O'Reilly Is Going on Vacation.  Will His Show Return?  —  Embattled Fox News host Bill O'Reilly announced tonight that he is taking a vacation.  O'Reilly's decision to go off the air in the midst of a sexual harassment scandal and advertiser boycott arguably has the appearance of a suspension …

Trump Meddling Leaves Ryan's Clout in Doubt After Health Fiasco  —  Speaker was face of health-care bill until Trump stepped in  —  Republicans still making changes to bill and hoping for vote  —  Paul Ryan was the public face of Republican efforts to repeal Obamacare until two weeks ago.

I was wrong about Jeff Sessions  —  An apology for a tweet about the attorney general that has gone viral  —  Full disclosure: The hard-working staff here at Spoiler Alerts does not like Attorney General Jeff Sessions.  Not one little bit.  —  I didn't like him when he was the first Senator to endorse Donald Trump.

Sean Spicer Is the Perfectly Awful Spokesman That Donald Trump Deserves  —  The president often says stupid, impulsive, indefensible things.  Why shouldn't his press secretary do the same?  —  President Donald Trump's decision to launch a missile attack against Syria last week rallied Republicans …

Trump: I want to pass health care before doing tax reform  —  President Donald Trump still wants to pass a health care bill before he turns to tax reform.  —  “We're going to have a phenomenal tax reform, but I have to do health care first,” Trump said, according to an excerpt of an interview …

What Rick Perlstein's Embarrassing New York Times Essay Gets Wrong  —  Perlstein's essay offers a really good insight into how the Times has jettisoned so much credibility in the age of Trump.  —  If you'll forgive the self-indulgence, let me start by sharing a few things …

China Threatens To Bomb North Korea's Nuclear Facilities If It Crosses Beijing's “Bottom Line”  —  With everyone putting down new and/or revised “red lines”, be it on Syria or North Korea, it was now China's turn to reveal its “red” or rather “bottom line”, and in a harshly worded editorial titled …

Tillerson Asks Why U.S. Taxpayers Should Care About Ukraine  —  Offhand remark an unexpected moment as foreign ministers meet  —  Top diplomat still finding footing in protocol-rich meetings  —  With one offhand remark, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson left European diplomats befuddled at a gathering in Italy.

Justice Ginsburg: Sen. Lindsey Graham one of the ‘women of the Senate’  —  Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the late Justice Antonin Scalia were honored Monday by Allegheny College in Pennsylvania.  During a speech she gave at the event, Justice Ginsburg described Senator Lindsey Graham as one of the “women of the Senate.”

Obama fingerprints at DNC?  —  Former President Obama's White House political director is informally providing strategic advice to leaders at the Democratic National Committee (DNC).  —  David Simas, who is now CEO of the Obama Foundation, is close with DNC Chairman Tom Perez …

‘Ban Cars to Stop Terror’ Says Sweden's Best-Selling Newspaper After Stockholm Attack  —  Cars and other vehicles “have turned into deadly weapons”, and should be banished from cities to stop attacks like the one in Stockholm from happening in future, according to Aftonbladet editorialist Eva Franchell.

White House to lift federal hiring freeze  —  The White House will lift President Trump's federal hiring freeze on Wednesday, following fire from critics who said it hampered the government from carrying out core functions.  —  The end of the freeze is part of guidance ordering federal departments …