Watchdog files ethics complaint against House Intel staff over alleged leak

According to The New York Times , the leaders of the Senate Intelligence Committee believe Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee leaked a text message exchange between Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, the Senate panel's top Democrat, and Adam Waldman, a lawyer representing a Russian oligarch, to Fox News in February. The incident raises questions about whether the partisan infighting that has slowed the House probe is suddenly impacting Senate investigators, as well.

Strzok, Page and the FBI texting scandal explained

Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian influence in the 2016 presidential election has been clouded by revelations that two former members of his team sent negative text messages about President Trump. In the messages, Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, who were romantically involved, bash Trump and discuss concerns about being too tough on Hillary Clinton during an investigation into the use of her private email server.

Trump announces steel tariffs, stokes trade war fears

President Donald Trump announced on Thursday he would impose hefty tariffs on imported steel and aluminum to protect U.S. producers, risking retaliation from major trade partners like China, Europe and neighboring Canada. Trump said the duties, 25 percent on steel imports and 10 percent on aluminum, would be formally announced next week, although White House officials later said some details still needed to be ironed out.

Polish official: Germany owes Poland $850 billion for WWII

A Polish law that criminalizes accusing the ... . Flowers are placed at the memorial to Janusz Korczak who died in the gas chamber of the Treblinka Nazi German death camp in 1942 together with the children of the Jewish orphanage that he ran in the Warsaw Ghetto, at the J... .

Trump hopes top court will rein in judges who block policies

The Trump administration is looking for ways to deal with a recurring frustration: individual federal judges who have put the brakes on one major administration policy after another. The administration is telling the Supreme Court in a case about President Donald Trump's travel ban that judges are increasingly using what are called nationwide injunctions to stop "a federal policy everywhere."

Congress’ immigration push sputters as guns grab attention

It's taken just two weeks for Washington's immigration battle to fade from blistering to back-burner. Lawmakers now seem likely to do little or nothing this election year on an effort that's been eclipsed by Congress' new focus on guns, bloodied by Senate defeats and relegated to B-level urgency by a Supreme Court ruling.

Italy election: prospects high for more political tension

Italy's soon-to-end election campaign reads muc... . The League party's candidate premier, Matteo Salvini, shakes hands with sympathizers during an electoral meeting in view of March 4 Italy's general elections, in Rome, Thursday, March 1, 2018.

Twitter CEO asks for help on ‘civility’; YouTube stumbles

Democratic House Majority Leader KC... An effort by Colorado Democrats to expel one of their own over sexual misconduct allegations appeared set to fail Friday amid Republican objections to how the complaints have been handled. Republicans object to how... An effort by Colorado Democrats to expel one of their own over sexual misconduct allegations appeared set to fail Friday amid Republican objections to how the complaints have been handled.

What federal law(s) should North Dakota ignore?

Empowered state and municipal politicians in various parts of the country are at it again - asserting that their governments will not comply with federal law nor adequately cooperate with federal officials charged with enforcing U.S. law. cities are elevating local pols' own feelings and values - in this case, support for open borders and the welcoming - even inviting - of illegal aliens to their communities above national law.

California gas tax boost is key to funding Trump’s infrastructure plan

Strong ironies are playing out as California's 14 Republican members of Congress support President Trump's announced $1.5 trillion infrastructure plan at the same time they all back a planned ballot initiative to repeal the state's new gasoline and diesel fuel tax increase. No state needs more work on its infrastructure than this one, where more than 1,300 bridges of various sizes and shapes require seismic retrofitting and potholes are common on every type of road from country lanes to major urban freeways.

Justice Department hasn’t decided whether to participate in opioid litigation

As U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions promised, the Justice Department on Thursday evening filed a "statement of interest" in the swath of lawsuits being heard in Cleveland that accuse drug manufacturers and distributors of heavily contributing to the nation's opioid epidemic. But instead of a display of force and support for the local and state governments that allege the drug companies caused the addiction problems, the Justice Department asked U.S. District Judge Dan Polster for 30 days to decide whether it wants to intervene.

Judge permanently bars Indiana from blocking Syrian refugees

A federal judge has permanently barred Indiana from trying to prevent Syrian refugees from resettling in the state under an order Vice President Mike Pence championed as governor. U.S. District Judge Tanya Walton Pratt approved a judgment Tuesday permanently enjoining Indiana from withholding authorized payments to Indianapolis-based Exodus Refugee Immigration, which resettles refugees in the state.

Russian social media also targeted U.S. energy industry, congressional report says

More than four percent of all tweets from Russian President Vladimir Putin's online propaganda outfit charged with engaging in "information warfare" against the U.S. political system were about energy, according to a new congressional report. Released Thursday by the House Science Committee , the report details efforts by the Kremlin's Internet Research Agency since 2015 to distort online discourse about U.S. energy markets, pipeline development, fracking and climate change.