Trump questions US intelligence as governing challenges loom

His inauguration less than three weeks away, President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday raised new doubts about the nation's intelligence community, tweeting fresh criticism at the same officials who will help inform his most sensitive decisions once he takes office. Trump charged on Twitter without evidence that the timing of an upcoming intelligence briefing on Russian interference in the 2016 election had been delayed.

Activists arrested protesting Trump’s Attorney General pick

Police in Alabama have arrested six African-American civil rights activists staging a sit-in at Senator Jeff Sessions' office to protest his nomination for US Attorney General, criticizing his record on voting rights and race relations. Members of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People had vowed to occupy Sessions' Mobile, Alabama office until the conservative Republican lawmaker either withdrew as a candidate or they were arrested.

Police end NAACP sit-in against attorney general nominee

The national president of the NAACP and five others were arrested after staging a sit-in Tuesday at the Alabama office of Sen. Jeff Sessions, the nominee for U.S. attorney general, the civil rights group said. The organization held the demonstration to protest Sessions' nomination by President-elect Donald Trump, criticizing Sessions' record and views on civil rights, immigration, criminal justice reform, and voting rights enforcement.

Six NAACP protesters arrested for occupying Jeff Sessions’ office

Six NAACP demonstrators were arrested after occupying the Mobile office of Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, calling for him to turn down his controversial nomination to become the next U.S. Attorney General. More than a dozen protesters entered the office around 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, Benard Simelton, president of the Alabama State Conference of the NAACP, told the Daily News from Sessions' office.

GOP retreats on gutting ethics office

The new GOP era in Washington got off to a messy start Tuesday as House Republicans, under pressure from President-elect Donald Trump, abruptly dropped plans to gut an independent congressional ethics board. The dizzying about-face came as lawmakers convened for the first day of the 115th Congress, an occasion normally reserved for pomp and ceremony under the Capitol Dome.

Trump talks tough on trade, Dems, business listen

President-electTrump's message that he intends to get tough on trade and companies that ship American jobs overseas seems to be getting through to two constituencies: Democrats and the business community. Employers are following in the footsteps of Carrier, the HVAC company that announced it wouldn't be moving 1,000 Indiana jobs to Mexico after all after the president-elect and Vice President-elect Mike Pence reached out with some carrots and sticks to entice them.

Area’s new congressmen get sworn in

Associated Press Rep. Jim Banks, R-3rd, joined by his wife, Amanda, and their three daughters, is sworn in Tuesday as a member of the House of Representatives by Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., during a ceremonial swearing-in on Capitol Hill in Washington.

Bill and Hillary Clinton to attend Trump inauguration

Several NAACP protesters led by their national president were escorted away in handcuffs by police after staging a sit-in Tuesday at the Alabama office of Sen. Jeff Sessions, the nominee for U.S. attorney general,... Several NAACP protesters led by their national president were escorted away in handcuffs by police after staging a sit-in Tuesday at the Alabama office of Sen. Jeff Sessions, the nominee for U.S. attorney general, the... President-elect Donald Trump says Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel should ask for federal help if he isn't able to bring down a homicide count that soared last year to 762 - the most killings in nearly two decades... President-elect Donald Trump says Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel should ask for federal help if he isn't able to bring down a homicide count that soared last year to 762 - the most killings in nearly two decades and more... Cleveland officials searching ... (more)

Democrats, seeking credit for House ethics reversal, watch it go to Trump

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-California, arrives for the opening of the 115th Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 3, 2017. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-California, arrives for the opening of the 115th Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 3, 2017.

Congress opens with a Republican stumble, showing battles ahead between Trump and GOP

The new Congress opened with a stumble Tuesday after the Republican majority's plan for gutting an independent ethics office drew a firestorm of criticism - including tweets of displeasure from President-elect Donald Trump - that forced lawmakers to reverse course in a sign of battles to come. The messy debut of what was supposed to be a celebratory start on Capitol Hill foreshadowed roadblocks ahead as House Speaker Paul D. Ryan tries to lead his often willful GOP majority while maneuvering unexpected outbursts from the party's new leader in the White House .

The Latest: Police end sit-in over attorney general nominee

" The Latest on the NAACP demonstration to protest nomination of Sen. Jeff Sessions as attorney general : Video broadcast on an NAACP social media site shows police officers have handcuffed and led off several protesters after the group staged a sit-in at an Alabama office of Sen. Jeff Sessions, the nominee for U.S. attorney general. NAACP President Cornell William Brooks, who took part in the protest, said the group held the demonstration to oppose Sessions' nomination as attorney general.

Congressional panel demands answers on ricin at Anniston’s CDP

A congressional committee that oversees the Federal Emergency Management Agency in December wrote the agency's director demanding answers about the mistaken use of a deadly toxin at the Center for Domestic Preparedness in Anniston. In that Dec. 23 letter, a copy of which was forwarded to The Star on Tuesday, bipartisan committee leaders ask FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate to respond to several questions about the agency's handling and knowledge of the problem that resulted in almost 9,600 civilian firefighters, nurses and emergency medical personnel being exposed to the deadly toxin.

How the House GOP Ethics Fight Boiled Over

Pent-up frustration with the Office of Congressional Ethics led to a revolt against GOP leaders, followed by a hasty retreat in the face of public pressure. House Republicans voted Monday night to gut Congress's independent ethics watchdog, but by Tuesday afternoon it was House Republicans who were left gutted, caving to an extraordinary amount of public pressure and reversing their decision.

Editorial, Jan. 4, 2017: When @realDonaldTrump tweets, the swamp drains

Despite the hue and cry over President-elect Donald J. Trump and his use of social media to make pronouncements that might be, or might not be, new public policy, DJT's use of 140 characters or less is getting the kind of attention that customary and longwinded political orations rarely attract. “With all that Congress has to work on, do they really have to make the weakening of the Independent Ethics Watchdog, as unfair as it may be, their number one act and priority ...” - @realDonaldTrump.

Tammy Duckworth sworn-in as new US senator for Illinois

Vice President Joe Biden has sworn in Tammy Duckworth as Illinois' new U.S. senator at a ceremony in Washington. Duckworth's press secretary, Sean Savett, says U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois escorted Duckworth to the Tuesday afternoon ceremony.

Grassley Sworn in to New U.S. Senate Term

Committee chairman Senator Chuck Grassley arrives for a hearing with Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Sarah Saldana before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill December 2, 2015 in Washington, DC. AFP PHOTO/BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI / AFP / BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI Grassley anticipates one of his first orders of business will be the nomination of Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama as the new Attorney General.