U.S. officials underscoring threat Russia posed to 2016 vote for White House

U.S. officials sought Wednesday to underscore for lawmakers the threat Russia posed to the 2016 vote for the White House, outlining efforts to hack into election systems in 21 states and to fill the internet with misinformation during a divisive campaign season. Officials also revealed what appeared to be a breakdown in communications about how severe the threat appeared, and they reported tensions the Obama administration faced in trying to publicly warn of meddling in the face of a skeptical then-candidate Donald Trump.

Under fire in Washington, Trump back in campaign mode in Iowa

U.S. President Donald Trump, under siege in Washington, defended his record at a raucous political rally in Iowa on Wednesday, rejecting a Russia investigation as a witch hunt and saying he was succeeding against all odds, despite no major legislative achievements. A feisty Trump spoke for more than an hour at a rally in Cedar Rapids that was similar to those he held during last year's presidential campaign.

U.S. officials retrace Russia threat to 2016 elections

WASHINGTON >> U.S. officials sought Wednesday to underscore for lawmakers the threat Russia posed to the 2016 vote for the White House, outlining efforts to hack into election systems in 21 states and to fill the internet with misinformation during a divisive campaign season. Officials also revealed what appeared to be a breakdown in communications about how severe the threat appeared, and they reported tensions the Obama administration faced in trying to publicly warn of meddling in the face of a skeptical then-candidate Donald Trump.

A complete rundown of President Trump’s speech in Cedar Rapids

The Latest on President Donald Trumps' trip to Iowa : 9 p.m. President Donald Trump says he wishes China would offer "a little more help" in applying pressure to North Korea. Trump says at a rally in Cedar Rapid, Iowa: "I wish we would have a little more help with respect to North Korea from China.

In Iowa, Trump rallies base, celebrates GOP resilience

Struggling to advance his agenda in Washington, President Donald Trump traveled to the Midwest on Wednesday in search of his supporters' warm embrace and to celebrate a Republican congressional victory in an election viewed as an early referendum on his presidency. Trump touched down Wednesday evening in rainy Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and headed to a local community college, where he toured agriculture technology innovations, and then to a campaign rally where he reveled in Karen Handel's victory in a special election in a House district in suburban Atlanta.

AP sources: Senate GOP would halt Obamacare penalties, taxesabout 1 hour ago

Top Senate Republicans prepared Wednesday to release their plan for dismantling President Barack Obama's health care law, a proposal that would cut and revamp Medicaid, end penalties on people not buying coverage and eliminate tax increases that financed the statute's expansion of coverage, lobbyists and congressional aides said. Departing from the House-approved version of the legislation - which President Donald Trump privately called "mean" last week - the Senate plan would drop the House bill's waivers allowing states to let insurers boost premiums on some people with pre-existing conditions.

Trump returns to Iowa and unhappy independent voters

Iowa independents who helped Donald Trump win the presidency see last year's tough-talking candidate as a thin-skinned chief executive and wish he'd show more grace. Unaffiliated voters make up the largest percentage of the electorate in the Midwest state that backed Trump in 2016, after lifting Democrat Barack Obama to the White House in party caucuses and two straight elections.

Republican Karen Handel Defeats Democrat Jon Ossoff in Georgia Special Election

Republican Karen Handel won the special congressional election in Georgia on Tuesday, fending off a challenge from Democrat Jon Ossoff in the heavily Republican House district. Handel's victory in the closely fought contest, which drew national interest and was the most expensive House race ever at over $50 million spent by both sides, comes as good news for President Donald Trump.

Former Obama official to testify on Russia attempts to interfere with U.S. election

In this July 14, 2016, file photo, then-Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington. Johnson will face questions today about Russian meddling into the 2016 presidential election as the House intelligence committee presses ahead with its investigation.

After Georgia, Republicans celebrating, Dems searching

Republicans can enjoy some breathing room after winning a Georgia special congressional race that morphed from an afterthought in the usually conservative Atlanta suburbs into an expensive national proxy for Washington wars ahead of the 2018 midterm elections. Democrats are left with the bitter hope of another tighter-than-usual margin, still searching for a contest where anti-Trump energy and flush campaign coffers actually add up to victory.

Man accused of moving cocaine through children’s day care

Authorities say a Los Angeles man accused of trafficking cocaine out of his house did so while running an unlic... Children played and slept surrounded by pounds of cocaine at a Los Angeles day care center that a man used as a drug trafficking hub, authorities said. Republicans have some breathing room after Karen Handel won a nationally watched congressional election in Georgia to avoid a major upset ahead of the 2018 midterm elections.

The Latest: Former Saudi crown prince meets king’s son

Illinois is poised to enter a third year without a spending plan as the feud between Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and Democrats controlling the Legislature drags on. Jury deliberations are entering a second day in the trial of a former Milwaukee police officer charged in a fatal shooting that led to riots in the majority African-American neighborhood where it happened last year.

GOP’s Handel to win in Georgia House race, CNN projects

Republican Karen Handel defeated Democrat Jon Ossoff in a high-stakes special election for a Georgia House seat on Tuesday, denying Democrats their first major victory of the Donald Trump era. Handel led Ossoff by 4.8 percentage points with more than three-fourths of the 6th District's precincts having reported their results at 10 p.m. ET, in the most expensive House race in US history.