Bergdahl gets no time, a dishonorable release

Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who in 2009 walked off a U.S. military outpost in eastern Afghanistan and spent the next five years in enemy captivity, was sentenced Friday to a dishonorable discharge from the Army but will avoid prison time. Bergdahl, 31, pleaded guilty in October to charges of desertion and misbehavior before the enemy and had faced a maximum life sentence.

GOP weighs mixing health law, tax cuts

The House's leading tax writer on Friday opened the possibility that Congress' push to cut taxes could mesh with its so-far failed effort to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, saying the tax bill could include a measure to do away with the health law's mandate that most Americans have health coverage. Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, said no decision had been made about whether to include repeal of the so-called individual mandate.

The Latest: Sen. Graham disappointed in Bergdahl sentence

The South Carolina Republican, who served as an Air Force lawyer for more than 30 years, says Friday he has tremendous respect for the military justice system. But he says "this sentence in my view falls short of the gravity of the offense."

Trump Says Unsure If Tillerson Will Remain Secretary of State

President Donald Trump said he was unsure whether his top diplomat, Rex Tillerson, would remain in his post for the rest of Trump's term in the White House and was "not happy" that some State Department staff were not supporting his agenda. In an interview with Laura Ingraham on Fox News late Thursday, Trump attacked the department under Secretary of State Tillerson and said he alone determines U.S. foreign policy.

Myanmar sees “bad results” if U.S. imposes sanctions on military

The bill, introduced by members of the U.S. Senate on the eve of Donald Trump's departure on his first trip to Asia since becoming president in January, seeks to reimpose some sanctions lifted last year as Myanmar returned to democracy. The measure would impose targeted sanctions and travel curbs on Myanmar military officials and bar the United States from supplying most assistance to the military until perpetrators of atrocities against the Rohingya in Myanmar's western Rakhine State are held accountable.

Trump’s judicial picks must be blocked

Most Americans understand the role of courts in protecting our civil rights, but many are not aware that courts play just as strong a role in protecting clean air, clean water, endangered species and many of our favorite public lands. Donald Trump has been losing in court his whole life, and as president many of his most immoral executive orders have been struck down by federal courts for violating our freedoms, laws and Constitution.

What We Know: Indictments, hearings in Russia probe

Special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election jumped forward this week with a 12-count indictment against two former campaign advisers to President Donald Trump and a guilty plea from another adviser. Several congressional committees are also investigating the meddling, and whether there is any link to Trump's campaign.

Pressure On Sessions Rises As Democrats Call For Him To Clarify Testimony On Russia

Senate Democrats have called on Jeff Sessions to clarify just how much he knew about attempts by the Russian government to influence the 2016 presidential election, following revelations that the attorney general was previously in a meeting with former Trump campaign aide-turned special counsel cooperator George Papadopoulos. Sen. Al Franken demanded that Sessions clarify his past statements and Sen. Patrick Leahy has asked the attorney general to once again appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee following the indictments this week of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and his longtime associate Rick Gates as part of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation.

Franken: Sessions ‘seems to have problems telling the truth’

Minnesota Democratic Sen. Al Franken responded to the latest developments in the special counsel investigation by saying that Attorney General Jeff Sessions "seems to have problems telling the truth." Franken's comments on CNN's "Erin Burnett OutFront" came after unsealed court documents showed former Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos had told the campaign about a potential meeting opportunity between Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, and news emerged that Sessions vetoed the idea.

Cuban Minister rejects US sonic attack claims

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla said today that the United States has provided no evidence for its claims that US diplomats in Havana have come under deliberate sonic attack, and raised the question of whether the Trump administration is using the diplomats' injuries to unwind recent progress in creating closer ties. "There is no evidence, there is no evidence whatsoever, of the occurrence of the alleged incidents or the cause or origin of these ailments reported by US diplomats," Rodriguez Parrilla said today in Washington.

The Trump campaign’s cocktail of stupid

Much is being made of Donald Trump, back when he was a Republican presidential candidate under pressure to show that he had a foreign policy team, referring to George Papadopoulos as "an oil and energy consultant, excellent guy," according to a recording produced by The Washington Post. What has not been reported much from that recording -- which was made during an interview Trump had with the Post's editorial board -- was what Trump said just before he uttered the guy's name: "Do you have that list, so I'll be a little more accurate with it?" Trump asks an aide, responding to a question about his foreign policy advisers.