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.

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 …

Migrant children describe neglect at Texas border facility  —  EL PASO, Texas (AP) — A 2-year-old boy locked in detention wants to be held all the time.  A few girls, ages 10 to 15, say they've been doing their best to feed and soothe the clingy toddler who was handed to them by a guard days ago.

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 …

The Note: 2020 race testing Joe Biden at sore spots  —  The candidate least interested in engaging with his rivals is seeing them come at him — from virtually every conceivable direction.  —  With the first debate of the 2020 cycle less than a week away, former Vice President Joe Biden …

Governor sends police after GOP senators who fled Capitol  —  SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Oregon Gov. Kate Brown deployed the state police Thursday to try to round up Republican lawmakers who fled the Capitol to block a vote on a landmark economy-wide climate plan that would be the second of its kind in the nation.

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 …

‘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.

NRA sidelines its top lobbyist, Chris Cox, in latest sign of internal turmoil  —  The National Rifle Association has sidelined its top lobbyist, Chris Cox, after accusing him in court documents of participating in what it called a failed extortion scheme to rid the organization of its top executive.

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.

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.

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.

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.