The standoff between Trump and Sessions escalates … The public standoff between the White House and the nation's senior law enforcement official took another strange turn Tuesday as President Trump escalated his verbal attacks on Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who was urged by fellow conservatives to stand his ground.

Senate Votes Down Broad Obamacare Repeal  —  WASHINGTON — The Senate voted narrowly on Tuesday to begin debate on a bill to repeal major provisions of the Affordable Care Act, but hours later, Republican leaders suffered a setback when their most comprehensive plan to replace President Barack …

Russia Warns of ‘Painful’ Response If Trump Backs U.S. Sanctions  —  U.S. measures leave no room for better relations, Ryabkov says  —  Russia readying economic, political retaliation, senator says  —  Russia threatened to retaliate against new sanctions passed by the U.S. House of Representatives …

To America, It Looks Like Chaos.  For Trump, It's Just Tuesday.  —  It started Monday morning with Donald Trump calling his own attorney general “beleaguered.”  It continued with an Air Force One flight to West Virginia and a rambling, partisan speech to thousands of hollering Boy Scouts.

U.S. energy secretary duped into fake interview with Russian comedians  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry optimistically discussed expanding American coal exports to Ukraine and other energy matters during a lengthy phone call this month with a Russian prankster who Perry thought was Ukraine's prime minister.

Transcript: Donald Trump's Interview With The Wall Street Journal  —  Wall Street Journal editors and reporters interviewed President Donald Trump on Tuesday at the White House.  The 45-minute interview took place in the Oval Office.  Here are excerpts from the conversation.

Sec. of State Tillerson ‘taking a little time off’ but not resigning  —  1.6k Shares  —  Rex Tillerson has no plans to resign as Secretary of State and is “just taking a little time off,” State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said Tuesday amid reports Tillerson was considering stepping down.

Trump Finds Reason for the U.S. to Remain in Afghanistan: Minerals  —  WASHINGTON — President Trump, searching for a reason to keep the United States in Afghanistan after 16 years of war, has latched on to a prospect that tantalized previous administrations: Afghanistan's vast mineral wealth …

Many Republicans Doubt Clinton Won Popular Vote  —  A plurality of Republicans say President Donald Trump received more of the popular vote in 2016 than his Democratic rival, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.  —  According to a new Morning Consult/POLITICO poll …

Why the Rust Belt just gave Donald Trump a hero's welcome  —  Donald and Melania Trump in Youngstown, Ohio.  —  MORE FROM: … YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO — This town was on fire.  —  By 1 in the afternoon on Tuesday every main thoroughfare in downtown Youngstown was filled with happy people heading towards the Covelli Centre.

Senators on hot mic: Trump is ‘crazy,’ 'I'm worried'  —  At the end of a Senate subcommittee hearing on Tuesday morning, Chairman Susan Collins (R-Maine) didn't switch off her microphone.  Apparently speaking to Sen. Jack Reed (R.I.), the ranking Democrat of the committee …

Wasserman Schultz aide arrested trying to leave the country  —  Imran Awan, a House staffer at the center of a criminal investigation potentially impacting dozens of Democratic lawmakers, has been arrested on bank fraud and is prevented from leaving the country while the charges are pending.

Newly declassified memos detail extent of improper Obama-era NSA spying  —  The National Security Agency and Federal Bureau of Investigation violated specific civil liberty protections during the Obama years by improperly searching and disseminating raw intelligence on Americans or failing …

U.S. Muslims Concerned About Their Place in Society, but Continue to Believe in the American Dream  —  Findings from Pew Research Center's 2017 survey of U.S. Muslims  —  The early days of Donald Trump's presidency have been an anxious time for many Muslim Americans, according to a new Pew Research Center survey.