Sanctions Flap Erupts Into Open Conflict Between Haley and White House  —  WASHINGTON — President Trump was watching television on Sunday when he saw Nikki R. Haley, his ambassador to the United Nations, announce that he would impose fresh sanctions on Russia.

Barbara Bush, Wife of 41st President and Mother of 43rd, Dies at 92  —  Barbara Bush, Wife of 41st President, Dies  —  Mrs. Bush avoided controversial issues while in the White House and became known for her straight talk, lack of pretension and self-deprecating humor.  She was 92.

Hannity's rising role in Trump's world: ‘He basically has a desk in the place’  —  The phone calls between President Trump and Sean Hannity come early in the morning or late at night, after the Fox News host goes off the air.  They discuss ideas for Hannity's show, Trump's frustration …

Tammie Jo Shults, Southwest Pilot: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know  —  Tammie Jo Shults is the pilot who bravely flew Southwest Flight 1380 to safety after part of its left engine ripped off, damaging a window and nearly sucking a woman out of the plane.  The flight was en route to Dallas Love airport …

Mattis Wanted Congressional Approval Before Striking Syria.  He Was Overruled.  —  WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Jim Mattis urged President Trump to get congressional approval before the United States launched airstrikes against Syria last week, but was overruled by Mr. Trump …

GOP alarmed by tax law's falling poll numbers, privately blame Trump  —  President Trump is undermining voter support for the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act with erratic messaging after it was gaining popularity, alarming Republicans counting on the law to save the party's vulnerable House majority.

Surprised by Neil Gorsuch's ruling?  You weren't paying attention.  —  According to many on the Left, Neil Gorsuch can do no right.  Not only did he take a Supreme Court seat that rightfully belonged to Merrick Garland, but he's an anti-little-guy grinch who can't stop waxing historical …

Stormy Daniels' Penthouse Reveal: Plans to Donate $130K to Planned Parenthood in Trump and Cohen's Names … In addition to her 60 Minutes sit-down with Anderson Cooper and appearance on The View this morning, Stormy Daniels will grace the cover of Penthouse magazine.

A flaw-by-flaw guide to Facebook's new GDPR privacy changes  —  “Just click accept, ignore those settings”  —  Facebook is about to start pushing European users to speed through giving consent for its new GDPR privacy law compliance changes.  It will ask people to review how Facebook applies data …

CIA Director Pompeo met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un over Easter weekend … CIA Director Mike Pompeo made a top-secret visit to North Korea over Easter weekend as an envoy for President Trump to meet with that country's leader, Kim Jong Un, according to two people with direct knowledge of the trip.

Mike Pence's “Art of the Deal”  —  What was most surprising about President Trump's irritation with Vice President Mike Pence's pick for national security adviser is how rarely the two men betray any friction.  —  Why it matters: No one inside the White House has navigated Trump and the watch …

The Hill says goodbye to 50 Most Beautiful  —  After nearly 15 years, The Hill is bidding a beautiful bye-bye to its annual 50 Most Beautiful list.  —  While it's had a remarkably gorgeous run, The Hill team feels the time has come for 50 Most Beautiful to be added to that big, beautiful list in the sky.

Student activist David Hogg calls for boycott of Vanguard and BlackRock over gunmaker ownership  — David Hogg led a successful advertiser boycott of Fox television's Laura Ingraham's show last month after Ingraham publicly mocked his college acceptances.  — BlackRock and Vanguard …

Trump's trade rep spends $1M on new furniture, blames Obama  —  WASHINGTON — President Trump's trade representative is spending nearly $1 million on new furniture — and blaming the Obama administration.  —  US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer spent more than $917,000 to furnish …

Comey: ‘The Republican Party has left me and many others’  —  Former FBI Director James Comey was a registered Republican for most of his life, but now he believes “the Republican Party has left me and many others.”  —  “I just think they've lost their way and I can't be associated with it …

Why There Is No ‘Liberal Tea Party’  —  Mr. Grossmann hosts the podcast Political Research Digest.  Mr. Hopkins blogs about politics at Honest Graft.  —  In October 2015, John Boehner was driven from office by right-wing members of his own caucus.  His successor, Paul Ryan …

Handful of House Republicans mobilize to protect Mueller  —  A small band of House Republicans has suddenly backed a bill to prevent President Donald Trump from unilaterally firing special counsel Robert Mueller — giving some bipartisan life to a measure that has largely been shunned by GOP leaders.

Freedom Caucus seeks to make McCarthy pay to become speaker  —  The Freedom Caucus is prepared to exact a price from Kevin McCarthy if he wants to be the next speaker of the House — three years after foiling his first bid for the job.  —  A POLITICO survey of about 20 of the conservative …

Trump, Cohen and Attorney-Client Privilege  —  The protection has limits, but is it worth testing them over a possible campaign-finance offense?  —  Who'd have dreamed that with all the horrors committed by Bashar Assad, Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un, the small change of American political discourse …

Tennessee lawmakers punish Memphis for removing statues  —  NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Republican-dominated House in Tennessee voted Tuesday to punish the city of Memphis for removing Confederate monuments by taking $250,000 away from the city that would have been used for a bicentennial celebration next year.

Former Florida Rep. Alan Grayson says he's making another run for Congress  —  His campaign raised just more than $192,000 in the first quarter of 2018, but former U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson, a progressive Democrat, has yet to decide on where in the state he'll make another run for Congress.

Four U.S. senators seek details on unusual cellular surveillance in D.C. area  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Four U.S. senators on Wednesday urged the U.S. Homeland Security Department (DHS) to disclose additional information about unusual cellular surveillance activity that has been detected around the nation's capital.

Here's Why Congressman Blake Farenthold Resigned So Abruptly  —  He was about to get some bad news.  —  WASHINGTON It's been a mystery why former Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-Texas) abruptly resigned earlier this month.  —  But HuffPost has new details on what happened.

Putin Still Wants Deal With Trump, Even After Sanctions, Syria Attack  —  Russian president orders officials to curb anti-U.S. rhetoric  —  Lawmakers pull draft law that would have penalized U.S. firms  —  After U.S. sanctions crippled an entire Russian industry and air strikes …