Can school vouchers give kids a shot at a better education?

Can school vouchers give kids a shot at a better education? Education nominee Betsy DeVos faces her first Senate confirmation hearing Tuesday. Check out this story on USATODAY.com: http://usat.ly/2jO8Zme President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for Education Secretary, Betsy DeVos.

Capitol Hill Buzz: Russian news site interrupts C-SPAN

Web surfers expecting to tune into C-SPAN's online feed of debate in the House on Thursday instead saw images supplied by the Russian news site RT, which briefly interrupted programming on the network's website. Spokesman Howard Mortman said the website, www.c-span.org , was replaced by RT for about 10 minutes.

CIA nominee talks tough against Russia

Donald Trump's pick to run the CIA took a tough stand against Russia on Thursday, distancing himself from the president-elect, who wants to warm relations with Moscow. Rep. Mike Pompeo, a four-term conservative Kansas Republican, spoke at his confirmation hearing before the Senate intelligence committee amid a testy standoff between Trump and the spy community over Russian activities during the president election.

Russia likely to be the elephant in the room during Pompeoa s CIA hearing

Kansas Rep. Mike Pompeo will have his turn in the confirmation spotlight on Thursday as the Senate Intelligence Committee takes up his nomination to be CIA director. The questions will almost certainly turn on what he thinks about Russia's hacking activities and how he'd lead an agency President-elect Donald Trump has repeatedly criticized.

How Mike Pompeo went from one of Trump’s biggest critics to one of his biggest fans

CIA Director Mike Pompeo speaks at a Senate committee hearing on Feb. 13, 2018, on Capitol Hill. He was nominated as the new secretary of state, replacing Rex Tillerson, on March 13. CIA Director Mike Pompeo speaks at a Senate committee hearing on Feb. 13, 2018, on Capitol Hill.

Republican plans to quickly confirm Trump nominees are upended

Republican plans to quickly confirm Donald Trump's Cabinet nominees were upended Tuesday amid Democratic pressure to slow down the examination of picks. The Senate Intelligence Committee announced early Tuesday that it would delay by a day a hearing for Rep. Mike Pompeo, R-Kan., to serve as CIA director.

McConnell: Trump’s Russia hopes will quickly be dashed

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell predicted Sunday that any hopes President-elect Trump has to get along with the Russians and President Vladimir Putin will be "dashed pretty quickly" into his first term in office. Appearing on "Face The Nation," McConnell argued that it is not unusual for a new president to seek an improved relationship with the Russians, citing former President George W. Bush's efforts upon taking office in 2000.

Several Donald Trump picks’ ethics reviews incomplete

Republicans are intent on getting as many of Trump's choices through the arduous confirmation process as quickly as possible. Several of President-elect Donald Trump's Cabinet choices have not completed a full review to avoid conflicts of interest, the government's ethics office says, even as Republican senators move quickly to hold at least nine confirmation hearings next week.

Ethics Reviews Incomplete for Several of Trump’s Picks

Several of President-elect Donald Trump's Cabinet choices have not completed a full review to avoid conflicts of interest, the government's ethics office says, even as Republican senators move quickly to hold at least nine confirmation hearings next week. In a letter to Senate leaders, the director of the Office of Government Ethics described the current status of several nominees, some of whom are billionaires and millionaires, in the ethics process and expressed concern about the lack of ethics reviews just days from committee hearings.

Trump Formally Nominates Former Sen. Coats as Intelligence Director

President-elect Donald Trump nominated former Indiana Senator Dan Coats as U.S. director of national intelligence, giving the retired lawmaker oversight of the spy agencies that have drawn skepticism from Trump. Coats, 73, probably would face close questioning by both Republicans and Democrats about how he views the intelligence community's conclusions that Russia hacked Democratic Party computer systems in order to meddle in the U.S. presidential campaign, which Trump has repeatedly questioned.

Kansas amputee gets surprise holiday gift: electronic hands

A southern Kansas woman whose hands and feet had to be amputated after she was shot during a robbery got an early Christmas gift - new electronic hands worth $260,000, courtesy of a businessman and his wife. Julie Dombo of Derby showed off her new hands Tuesday with her husband, a day after receiving them as a present from Koch Industries' general counsel Mark Holden and his wife, The Wichita Eagle reported .

For Trump White House, diplomatic security challenges remain

Donald Trump hammered rival Hillary Clinton during the presidential campaign for failing to prevent the attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya, when she was secretary of state. Soon he'll be the one responsible for protecting America's diplomats, but he's offered virtually no insight into how he'll do that.

Just one Trump transition aide for U.S. spy agencies: officials

Only one member of President-elect Donald Trump's transition team is dealing with the CIA and the 16 other offices and agencies that make up the U.S. intelligence community, four U.S. officials said Wednesday. Geoffrey Kahn, a former House intelligence committee staffer, is the only person named so far to Trump's intelligence community "landing team," they said.

Jill Stein says she’s raised enough money for Wis., Pa. election recounts

President-elect Donald Trump and Betsy DeVos pose for photographs at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster clubhouse in Bedminster, N.J., on Nov. 19, 2016. President-elect Donald Trump and Betsy DeVos pose for photographs at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster clubhouse in Bedminster, N.J., on Nov. 19, 2016.

Trump rethinks need for torture

President-elect Donald Trump, in an interview with The New York Times , suggested a turnabout on the need for torture as a tool in the fight against terrorism, which he repeatedly endorsed during the campaign. Trump suggested that he has changed his mind about the usefulness of waterboarding and other forms of torture after talking with James Mattis, a retired Marine Corps general, who headed the U.S. Central Command.