DHS shuts down aerial surveillance on border

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security quietly shut down Operation Phalanx, an aerial surveillance program that intercepts drugs and illegal crossings along the Mexican border. Cuellar, a member of the House Appropriations Committee and the Homeland Security Subcommittee, is drafting a letter to DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson protesting the shutdown.

Trump shifts to right by tapping Sessions, Pompeo, Flynn

President-elect Donald Trump has picked Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions for attorney general and Kansas Rep. Mike Pompeo to head the CIA, signaling a sharp rightward shift in US security policy as he begins to form his Cabinet. Trump on Friday also named retired Lt.

Trump’s CIA pick is conservative Kansas congressman

President-elect Donald Trump has offered the CIA director job to Mike Pompeo, a hard-line Republican congressman from Kansas who heavily criticized the Iran deal, blasted Hillary Clinton over the attack on a U.S. diplomatic outpost in Libya and believes Edward Snowden is a traitor. Before starting the job, Pompeo would have to be confirmed by the Senate.

Kirk Douglas gets early 100th birthday gift from Jewish org

Vice President-elect Mike Pence is the latest celebrity to attend the Broadway hit "Hamilton," but the first to get a sharp message from a cast member from the stage. Vice President-elect Mike Pence on Friday was the latest high-profile person to attend the Broadway hit "Hamilton," but he became the first to get a sharp message from a cast member from the stage.

Democrat’s lead widens in North Carolina governor’s race

Hardly anyone in North Carolina is willing to guess when their excruciatingly close governor's race will be resolved. A Friday deadline came and went with Democratic Attorney General Roy Cooper's unofficial advantage growing to about 6,600 votes over Republican Gov. Pat McCrory, from nearly 4.7 million cast.

The Latest: VP-elect Mike Pence gets a message at ‘Hamilton’

Vice-President-elect Mike Pence is the latest high-profile person to attend the Broadway hit show "Hamilton" - but the first to get a sharp message from a cast member from the stage. Actor Brandon Victor Dixon, who plays Aaron Burr, the nation's third vice-president, had this message Friday from the stage for his political descendant after the curtain call: "We, sir, are the diverse America who are alarmed and anxious that your new administration will not protect us, our planet, our children, our parents, or defend us and uphold our inalienable rights," he said.

Donald Trump’s attorney general pick Jeff Sessions brings racially charged past to light

The Senate confirmation hearing of Sen. Jeff Sessions, President-elect Donald Trump 's pick for attorney general, is likely to rehash racially charged allegations that derailed his efforts to become a federal judge and made him a symbol of black-voter intimidation under the Reagan administration. The expected focus on Sessions' record on race, policing and immigration comes as the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division has surged in prominence under the Obama administration.

The messy politics of repealing Obamacare

Already there are tensions between Trump, who's been shaky on the specifics of the 2010 health-care law and says he wants to keep the popular parts, and congressional leaders like House Speaker Paul Ryan and conservative think tanks who ideologically, almost theologically, oppose anything associated with the Affordable Care Act. They're going to get squeezed in a political vise.

Trump taps Sessions and Flynn for Cabinet

In this Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2016 file photo, President-elect Donald Trump speaks during an election night rally, in New York. A federal judge in San Diego will consider arguments on President-elect Trump's latest request to delay a civil fraud trial involving his now-defunct Trump University until after his inauguration on Jan. 20, 2017.

Sessions’ 1986 Confirmation Hearing Tinged With Racism Allegations

When Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee during his expected confirmation hearing after being tapped to be President-elect Donald Trump's attorney general, it won't be his first time in front of that panel. Two decades ago, Sessions, then a U.S. attorney from Mobile, Ala., appeared before the body as President Ronald Reagan's nominee for the U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of Alabama.

‘Hamilton’ Broadway Cast Addresses Mike Pence in Audience: “Work on Behalf of All of Us”

"We are the diverse America who are alarmed and anxious that your new administration will not protect us, our planet, our children, our parents, or defend us and uphold our inalienable rights, sir. But we truly hope this show has inspired you to uphold our American values, and work on behalf of all of us."

Donald Trump’s national security appointments stoke Muslim fears of an anti-Islamic White House

Washington: News of President-elect Donald Trump's national security picks set off fresh tremors across the Islamic world on Friday as Middle Eastern allies and Muslim American groups prepared to face advisers and potential Cabinet members noted for harshly anti-Muslim rhetoric. The naming of Trump's picks for attorney-general, CIA director and national security adviser drew public condemnations from Muslim civil rights groups as well as private expressions of concern from several Arab states that cooperate closely with the United States in the fight against the Islamic State and other terrorist groups.

Warren, Healey oppose Trump’s choice for AG

As protesters rallied against his pick for chief strategist, President-elect Donald Trump's plan to nominate Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions as attorney general also came under immediate fire Friday from Massachusetts elected officials. Urging Trump to change his mind, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and others noted the U.S. Senate 30 years ago rejected Sessions' nomination for a federal judgeship.

Backers of legal pot horrified by Trumpa s selection of Sessions

After winning big at the polls only 10 days ago, backers of marijuana legalization fear their movement took a major hit Friday when President-elect Donald Trump chose Alabama Republican Sen. Jeff Sessions , a staunch legalization opponent, as his attorney general. It is false that marijuana use doesn't lead people to more drug use.

Americaa s next spy chief, Mike Pompeo, would be Trumpa s a tough on terrorisma man

In selecting Kansas Republican Rep. Mike Pompeo to lead the CIA, President-elect Donald Trump has chosen a strong supporter of aggressive interrogation and surveillance as a means of keeping Americans safe. If the Senate confirms Pompeo to lead a sprawling agency with 21,500 employees and an annual budget of $15 billion, Trump will have someone who reflects his views on national security.