First lady visits migrant children at Texas detention center

Melania Trump made an unannounced visit to a Texas facility Thursday, talking with children and staff as she got a first-hand look at some of the migrant children sent there by the U.S. government after their families entered the country illegally. The first lady's stop at Upbring New Hope Children's Center came the morning after President Donald Trump signed an executive order halting the practice of separating these families.

Trump orders halt to family separations

President Donald Trump has ordered an end to the separation of migrant children from their parents on the U.S. border, reversing a tough policy under heavy pressure from his fellow Republicans, Democrats and the international community. The spectacular about-face comes after more than 2,300 children were stripped from their parents and adult relatives after illegally crossing the border since May 5 and placed in tent camps and other facilities, with no way to contact their relatives.

NORC Poll: Majority approve of Trump’s North Korea effort

A majority of Americans now approve of President Donald Trump's handling of U.S. relations with North Korea, a change that comes after his historic summit with that country's leader, Kim Jong Un. But most don't believe Kim is serious about addressing the international concerns about his country's nuclear weapons program.

Sens. McCain, Coons urge Trump to withdraw migration nominee

By JOSH LEDERMAN Associated Press WASHINGTON - Republican Sen. John McCain and Democratic Sen. Chris Coons called on President Donald Trump's administration Tuesday to withdraw its nominee for a key State Department position over his "lack of empathy" for immigrants. The appeal comes as the president faces mushrooming outrage over treatment of migrant families at the border.

Trump’s immigration order sparks confusion, deep concern

President Donald Trump's reversal of a policy separating migrant families at the Mexico border sparked confusion over how the new guidelines will play out and deep concern that the changes don't go far enough, allowing children to still be held in detention even if they remain with their families. "We are pleased that the president is calling a halt to his inhumane and heartless policy of separating parents from their children," said Peter Schey, the lawyer in a lawsuit that resulted in a key agreement governing the treatment of migrant children in detention called the Flores settlement.

Ivanka Trump thanks father for border action

Presidential adviser and daughter Ivanka Trump has broken her days-long silence about the forced separations of migrant families, tweeting thanks to President Donald Trump for "taking critical action" to end the separations at the border. Presidential adviser and daughter Ivanka Trump has broken her days-long silence about the forced separations of migrant families, tweeting thanks to President Donald Trump for "taking critical action" to end the separations at the border.

What’s changed after Trump’s immigration order: For families, the military and Congress

In signing an executive order Wednesday, President Donald Trump said he was ending the practice of separating children from parents who cross the U.S.-Mexico border illegally. "We are keeping families together," he said.

Trump defends ‘tough’ immigration plans at raucous rally

President Donald Trump has attended a raucous rally to defend his hard-line immigration policies hours after signing an executive order to end the forced separations of migrant families. Mr Trump downplayed the crisis that has threatened to envelop the White House amid days of images of children being pulled from their immigrant parents along the nation's southern border.

If Donald Trump thwarts Russia investigation with pardons, we might never recover: Pascrell & Lieu

If Donald Trump issued pardons to his advisers, his children or himself, that would constitute perhaps the gravest abuse of power in American history. If Donald Trump thwarts Russia investigation with pardons, we might never recover: Pascrell & Lieu If Donald Trump issued pardons to his advisers, his children or himself, that would constitute perhaps the gravest abuse of power in American history.

6commentaryKaren Tumulty: The weakness of Donald Trump’s cruelty

Maybe there are reasons to hope that this nightmare has awakened some Republicans to the fact that they can actually stand up to the president. President Donald Trump gestures as he signs a "Space Policy Directive" during a meeting of the National Space Council in the East Room of the White House, Monday, June 18, 2018, in Washington, as Vice President Mike Pence watches.

White House to propose merging Labor and Education into one agency

President Donald Trump, flanked by Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, left, and Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta, answers a question on Aug. 11, 2017, at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J. President Donald Trump, flanked by Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, left, and Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta, answers a question on Aug. 11, 2017, at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J. The White House on Thursday will propose merging the Education and Labor departments into one federal agency, the centerpiece of a plan to remake a bureaucracy that President Donald Trump and his supporters consider too big and bloated, according to an administration official familiar with the plan.

Veteran Republican strategist Steve Schmidt renounces GOP Source: AP

Veteran Republican campaign strategist Steve Schmidt said Wednesday he is renouncing the GOP - in part because of what he calls President Donald Trump's unethical and corrupt behavior, but more because the party's leadership in Congress has failed to hold Trump to account. "What we've seen is the complete and total corruption of the Republican Party among its elected officials," Schmidt, senior strategist for 2008 GOP presidential nominee John McCain, told The Associated Press.

At raucous rally, Trump touts hawkish immigration plans

Hours after abruptly reversing himself to end the forced separations of migrant families, President Donald Trump returned to the warm embrace of his supporters at a raucous rally Wednesday to fiercely defend his hard-line immigration policies while unleashing a torrent of grievances about the media and those investigating him. Trump downplayed the crisis that has threatened to envelop the White House amid days of heart-wrenching images of children being pulled from their immigrant parents along the nation's southern border.

The Latest: Justice Dept. calls executive order ‘stopgap’ Source: AP

An official with Health and Human Services says the more than 2,300 children separated from their parents at the border as a result of a zero-tolerance policy on illegal crossings won't be immediately reunited with their families. Kenneth Wolfe, a spokesman for the department's Administration for Children and Families, says their cases will proceed through the system.

Obama Criticized in Senate for Not Doing More on Russia Meddling

The Republican and Democratic senators leading an investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 elections joined in criticism of President Barack Obama's administration for failing to do more to stop the meddling. Republican Senate Intelligence Chairman Richard Burr said at a hearing Wednesday that Obama administration officials have made clear they were operating "without a playbook" against a new threat with an undefined set of rules.

Donald Trump orders Jeff Sessions to challenge ‘Flores’ family-immigration policy in court

President Trump's new immigration policy now depends on either the courts or Congress overturning a 2015 ruling that the administration says forced family separations. That obscure 2015 ruling, the so-called "Flores settlement," is now the crux of the immigration debate, with Mr. Trump on Wednesday ordering his attorney general to ask the court to revise the agreement, and the president also pleading with Congress to step in and overturn it by law.