Biden: New campus sex assault guidelines not an improvement

Former Vice President Joe Biden, speaking to students at Rutgers University on Thursday, defended college sexual assault guidelines he helped champion that recently were relaxed by the Trump administration. During a 45-minute speech to about 2,000 students on combating sexual violence, Biden also took shots at disgraced film executive Harvey Weinstein over recent sexual assault revelations and at President Donald Trump.

Trump begins Obamacare dismantling with executive order

President Donald Trump took his first steps Thursday toward fulfilling his vow to dismantle Obamacare, signing an executive order that he says will bring affordable health insurance to millions more people. The order broadly tasks the administration with developing policies to increase health care competition and choice in order to improve the quality of health care and lower prices.

Sessions urges crackdown on policies allowing immigrants to seek asylum in the US

US Attorney General Jeff Sessions said on Thursday the policies that allow immigrants to seek asylum in the United States were broken and subject to "rampant abuse and fraud." In a speech at the department's Executive Office For Immigration Review, Sessions said too many immigrants were taking advantage of the rules, and urged Congress to pass legislation that could make it harder for asylum petitions to be granted.

Ryan blames high-tax states as GOP lawmakers balk on plan

House Speaker Paul Ryan on Thursday lambasted high-tax states like California, New York and New Jersey, arguing the rest of the country is "propping up profligate, big-government states" even as they pay billions more in taxes than they receive in return from the federal government. Ryan's attack came as he defended the Republican tax proposal that would repeal the federal deduction for state and local taxes, saying it has forced the rest of the country to support those states' high taxes and reckless spending.

What is Joe Biden up to?

Former Vice President Joe Biden is recruiting friends into tough-to-win Southern races, campaigning with Democrats in Virginia and New Jersey and wading into superior court races in Pennsylvania. He has cast President Donald Trump as racist, told an LGBT crowd that "we have a hell of a lot of work to do" and tweeted at Trump that "this has to stop."

INSIGHT-The US solar industry’s new growth region: Trump country

President Donald Trump's administration has vowed to revive the coal industry, challenged climate-change science and blasted renewable energy as expensive and dependent on government subsidies. And yet the solar power industry is booming across Trump country, fueled by falling development costs and those same subsidies, which many Republicans in Congress continue to support.

Trump hopes to boost lower-premium health insurance plans

A Malaysian police officer testified the two women on trial in the murder of the half brother of North Korea's leader were seen on airport security videos with two men believed to have provided the VX nerve agent. A Malaysian police officer testified the two women on trial in the murder of the half brother of North Korea's leader were seen on airport security videos with two men believed to have provided the VX nerve agent.

Democrats Rising? Early Statehouse Wins Test New Faces

Democrats desperate to rebuild after losing the White House last year have scored a string of election victories for statehouse seats, testing a new generation of candidates and activists eager to resist President Donald Trump's conservative agenda. From New Hampshire to Oklahoma, Democrats have flipped eight Republican-held seats in special legislative elections, having spent millions of dollars on low-turnout contests mostly being fought over local issues.

Trump Expected to Sign Order Side-Stepping Obamacare Rules

President Donald Trump was expected to sign an executive order on Thursday that would make it easier for Americans to buy bare-bones health insurance plans and circumvent rules put in place by Obamacare, though such an order could face legal challenges. Stymied in Congress by the failure of Senate Republicans to roll back former President Barack Obama's 2010 healthcare law, Trump's executive order would represent his administration's latest effort to undermine the law without legislation.

CALmatters Commentary: What next for California’s sanctuary defiance?

"This action protects public safety and ensures hard-working people who contribute to our state are respected," Gov. Jerry Brown said as he signed a package of bills aimed at protecting at least 2 million undocumented residents from being detained and, perhaps, expelled. It's California's most dramatic "resistance" to President Donald Trump, at least so far, and seems destined to provoke his administration, particularly Attorney General Jeff Sessions, into a confrontation.

GOP now the White Nationalist Party, not changing anytime soon

"At several events at this year's New Yorker Festival, a sense of wooziness predominated among audience members, who appeared to be grasping for a wisp of hope that the nightmare known as President Trump would soon be over. Alas, experts who graced the stages at three separate events had a common message: Expect Trump to serve out his first term, and perhaps even his second.

Donald Trump Thinks Freedom Of The Press Is Disgusting

The First Amendment, in the Bill of Rights, to the Constitution of the United States of America , makes it the highest law of the land that, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." What are the implications of having a President of the United States who finds the idea of a free press to be nauseating? J. Clifford is a veteran liberal activist and writer, with a history including many arrests for civil disobedience, pirate radio, and over 20 years writing the news unfit for print.

In case you didn’t take Trump’s threat to the First Amendment seriously

President Donald Trump's supporters have reveled in his and his administration's assault on the media. Trumpkins were thrilled when then-chief strategist Stephen Bannon declared the media to be the "opposition party."

McConnell promises to speed pace on judicial nominees

The Senate's top Republican, facing increasing pressure from conservative groups, is seeking to upend a longstanding Senate tradition in order to speed the confirmation pace on a backlog of President Donald Trump's judicial nominees. Conservative activists such as the Judicial Crisis Network have been increasingly frustrated with the slow pace on judicial nominees.