Inside Trump's snap decision to ban transgender troops  —  After a week sparring with his attorney general and steaming over the Russia investigation consuming his agenda, President Donald Trump was closing in on an important win.  —  House Republicans were planning to pass a spending bill stacked …

White House Aides Think Trump Will Let Sessions Stay, for Now  —  WASHINGTON — For a week, some of President Trump's top aides have tried to talk him down from his public campaign against Attorney General Jeff Sessions.  Not only was it exposing tensions within the administration …

‘Dancing with the Stars’ wants Sean Spicer … Sean Spicer is taking his first steps to transition from the White House briefing room to the bright lights of a TV news studio — but he's also being courted by “Dancing with the Stars,” Page Six has learned.  —  The outgoing press secretary spent …

Steve Bannon Pushing For 44 Percent Marginal Tax Rate On The Very Rich  —  Top White House adviser Steve Bannon is pushing for tax reform to include a new 44 percent top marginal tax rate, hitting people who earn more than $5 million a year, with the revenue paying for tax cuts for the rest …

The ‘Skinny Bill’ Is a Farce.  Here's the Real Reason Republicans Are Doing It.  —  At times, various factions in Congress have called for repealing, replacing, or repairing Obamacare.  Senate Republicans have been unable to agree on which of these ends to pursue, and so instead …

State Department head of diplomatic security resigns  —  The head of the State Department's diplomatic security bureau has resigned and will leave his post on Thursday, leaving the two top positions vacant for the foreseeable future in the bureau in charge of embassy security around the world.

Matt Drudge is firing warning shots at Trump, and that should worry the president  —  Conway: White House staff is tough, but humble  —  Matt Drudge has been in the White House an awful lot these days — “all the time,” as one senior administration official puts it.

Foxconn to announce billions in investments and thousands of jobs for Wisconsin  —  MADISON - Foxconn Technology Group will announce at the White House on Wednesday its plans to build a massive plant in Wisconsin that would employ thousands.  —  The project could reshape the economy …

Gowdy Acted Like Kushner's Lawyer Behind Closed Doors, Democrat Says  —  Gowdy says Democrats ‘ran out of questions’ for Kushner  —  Intelligence panel interviewed Kushner as part of Russia probe  —  Republican Trey Gowdy acted behind closed doors like a lawyer for President Donald Trump's son-in-law …

Republican Sen. Steve Daines to make Democrats vote on single payer  —  Sen. Steve Daines is proposing an amendment to the Republican healthcare bill that would implement a government-run, single-payer insurance system in the U.S.  —  The Montana Republican doesn't support single-payer healthcare.

DOJ: Ex-Manafort Associate Firtash Is Top-Tier Comrade of Russian Mobsters  —  The Department of Justice has identified a former business associate of ex-Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort as an “upper-echelon [associate] of Russian organized crime.”  —  The declaration came in a 115-page filing …

Kansas Gov. Brownback nominated as ambassador at large for religious freedom  —  President Donald Trump has formally nominated Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback to serve as the State Department's ambassador at large for international religious freedom.  —  Brownback has served as Kansas governor since 2011.

Angelina Jolie Solo  —  Photographs by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott.  Styled by Jessica Diehl. … Like most things involving Angelina Jolie, stepping foot into her house is an experience so heightened one wonders if it's for real or the product of careful orchestration.

Kevin Cavanaugh becomes first Democrat to win New Hampshire state Senate special election since 1984  —  BOW, N.H. (AP) — Democrat Kevin Cavanaugh has won the special election for New Hampshire's District 16 state Senate seat.  —  Cavanaugh defeated Republican David Boutin and Libertarian Jason Dubrow on Tuesday.

A Democrat Is Proposing A Constitutional Amendment To Ban Presidents From Pardoning Themselves  —  On Thursday morning, Rep. Al Green will propose a constitutional amendment that would explicitly bar the president from granting himself a pardon.  —  “Nobody wants to see that,” the Texas Democrat told BuzzFeed News.