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.

Trump to ban transgender people from all military service  —  President Trump on Wednesday said he would ban transgender people from any military service.  —  Trump made the announcement, which would represent a major shift in military policy, on Twitter.  He said he had made the decision …

GOP senators must do whatever it takes to get to 50 votes on Obamacare repeal, says HHS secretary  — Do whatever “gets us to 50 votes so that we can move forward on a health-care reform legislation,” Tom Price says.  — A plan to repeal and replace Obamacare by Senate Republicans failed …

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 …

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.

Wasserman Schultz staffer arrested trying to leave the country  —  A House IT aide working for Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (Fla.), the former Democratic National Committee chairwoman, was arrested this week on bank fraud charges while trying to leave the country.

Mr. President, Please Be Quiet  —  Once again, Donald Trump has tweeted himself into the center of the day's news.  He does this almost every morning — even, perhaps especially, when he has nothing new to say.  Upon seeing today's efforts, I sighed and muttered “there goes Wednesday.”

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.

Tillerson takes time off as State Dept. refuses to say he is happy in his role  —  Sources: Tillerson thinking about early exit  —  STORY HIGHLIGHTS  — Nauert dodged a question about Tillerson's feelings over the White House's involvement in foreign policy decisions

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 …

Why the Scariest Nuclear Threat May Be Coming from Inside the White House  —  Donald Trump's secretary of energy, Rick Perry, once campaigned to abolish the $30 billion agency that he now runs, which oversees everything from our nuclear arsenal to the electrical grid.  The department's budget is now on the chopping block.