Trump Approves Strikes on Iran, but Then Abruptly Pulls Back  —  WASHINGTON — President Trump approved military strikes against Iran in retaliation for downing an American surveillance drone, but pulled back from launching them on Thursday night after a day of escalating tensions.

Lawyers: 250 children held in bad conditions at Texas border  —  EL PASO, Texas (AP) — A traumatic and dangerous situation is unfolding for some 250 infants, children and teens locked up for up to 27 days without adequate food, water and sanitation, according to a legal team that interviewed dozens …

Hicks told House panel Trump is serious about foreign help in elections  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Hope Hicks, once a close aide to President Donald Trump, told the House Judiciary Committee that Trump was serious in saying there was nothing wrong in accepting derogatory information …

Some White House Reporters Are Throwing Sarah Huckabee Sanders A Goodbye Party  —  White House correspondents and some Trump staffers plan to send Sanders off with “farewell drinks” next week.  —  Sarah Huckabee Sanders and the reporters who cover the White House haven't always had the smoothest relationship.

Laura Ingraham Dismisses Reparations: 'No Do-Overs...We Won, You Lost, That's That'  —  “As Trump always says, 'you don't get do-overs,' she declared. ”  No do-overs, that's it.  Fox News star Laura Ingraham waded into the ongoing debate over reparations for descendants of slaves during …

Oregon Republican senator threatens state troopers, warns them to ‘come heavily armed’  —  Tensions were already smoldering in the Oregon Senate Wednesday, when Sen. Brian Boquist, R-Dallas, poured gasoline on the situation, suggesting he would shoot and potentially kill any state trooper sent …

Tensions ripple through Biden campaign as his past working relationship with a segregationist senator comes to the forefront  —  Joe Biden was a freshman senator, the youngest member of the august body, when he reached out to an older colleague for help on one of his early legislative proposals …

Trump downplays Iran tensions after drone shot down  —  Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump downplayed the dramatic escalation in tensions with Iran Thursday, after the downing of a US drone near the Persian Gulf sparked fears that tensions with Tehran could spill over into confrontation.

Medic testifies that he, not Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher, was responsible for ISIS fighter's death  —  A medic testifying in the trial of Navy SEAL Edward Gallagher - who is accused of killing an injured ISIS prisoner of war in Iraq - shocked trial observers when he testified Thursday that he …

N.R.A. Suspends Second-in-Command, Implicating Him in Coup Attempt  —  The palace intrigue at the National Rifle Association deepened on Thursday as the gun group suspended its second-in-command and top lobbyist, accusing him of complicity in the recent failed coup against its chief executive, Wayne LaPierre.

‘This place has enough creepy old men’: GOP vows to crush Roy Moore  —  Republicans are promising to do everything they can to obliterate Roy Moore in the Alabama Senate primary.  —  A push is underway to get President Donald Trump involved in derailing Moore.

Appeals court says Trump family planning restrictions can take effect  —  A federal appeals court this morning said the Trump administration's family planning rules can take effect nationwide while several lawsuits play out, delivering a major blow to Planned Parenthood and states challenging the overhaul.

Roger Stone violated gag order with social media posts, prosecutors say  —  Washington (CNN)Federal prosecutors in a new court filing Thursday allege that longtime Donald Trump associate Roger Stone has violated his gag order in his criminal case with recent social media posts.

Trump Administration Argues Detained Migrant Children Don't Need Toothbrushes, Soap  —  The Trump administration went to court this week to argue that migrant children detained at the United States-Mexico border do not require basic hygiene products like soap and toothbrushes in order to be in held in “safe and sanitary” conditions.

Forget the polls, rampaging Trump's going to win easily in 2020 unless Democrat ostriches drag their heads out of the sand and wake up to reality  —  The polls don't look good for Donald Trump.  —  I mean, by any normal yardstick, the President is heading for a defeat in the 2020 election.

Sources: Rays to explore playing in Montreal  —  The Tampa Bay Rays received permission from Major League Baseball's executive council to explore a plan in which they would play early-season home games in the Tampa Bay area and the remainder of the year in Montreal, sources familiar with the situation told ESPN.

A gay first lady?  Yes, we've already had one, and here are her love letters.  —  In the summer of 1910, Evangeline Simpson Whipple told the caretaker of her home not to move anything in her absence.  The wealthy widow was going on a trip, but would be back soon, she said.  —  She never returned.

This is a real slide from an Air Force brief on the real threat of incels  —  At least one Air Force base is on the lookout for a sinister new threat: angry men who can't get laid.  —  Personnel at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland were recently treated to a threat brief regarding an …

Trump is bringing a Ferris wheel back to the White House  —  President Donald Trump is bringing a Ferris wheel back to the White House.  —  The carnival attraction will be among the featured offerings at the administration's second congressional picnic on the South Lawn of the White House on Friday evening …

Mural of George Washington that ‘traumatizes students’ to be covered up  —  There's plans in the works to cover a mural of George Washington from the halls of George Washington High School in San Francisco due to complaints that it's offensive and demeaning to Native Americans and African Americans.

Marco Rubio's humiliating transformation into a Trump fan-boy is complete  —  I should be inured to it by now, but it still hurt — it was still soul-crushing — to see Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) beaming in the audience as President Trump kicked off his reelection campaign with an Orlando rally on Tuesday.