Senate GOP struggles to find challengers for some Democrats

By THOMAS BEAUMONT, Associated Press DES MOINES, Iowa - Senate Republicans landed a top-tier candidate in West Virginia but have struggled to recruit well-known GOP challengers in several states where President Donald Trump romped and Democratic incumbents warily face re-election. Two-term Rep. Evan Jenkins on Monday announced his bid against Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin, West Virginia's popular former governor whose conservative record often puts him at odds with his party and made him a possible member of Trump's Cabinet.

Peter Lucas: Famous Watergate watchdogs still lapping it up

If famous Washington Post reporters Woodward and Bernstein had reported on Democrat Barack Obama the way they did on Republican Richard Nixon, Obama could have ended up the same way. Instead Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, who broke the Watergate coverup story in 1972 that forced Nixon's resignation two years later, looked the other way during the eight years of scandals that enveloped the Obama administration.

Yates: Former Trump security aide was Russia blackmail risk

Former Acting U.S. Attorney General Sally Yates said on Monday she warned the White House in January that then-national security adviser Michael Flynn had been compromised and could have been vulnerable to blackmail by Russia. Yates testified at a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing that focused primarily on Flynn, and did not shed much light on other aspects of investigations of allegations that Russia meddled in the 2016 U.S. election and whether there was collusion between President Donald Trump's campaign and Moscow.

White House climate change meeting postponed

The White House has postponed a Tuesday meeting to discuss whether the United States should withdraw from the landmark international climate deal struck in Paris under the Obama administration. The White House said late Monday that the meeting would be rescheduled.

Former official says she warned White House about Flynn

Former acting Attorney General Sally Yates says she bluntly warned the Trump White House in January that new National Security Adviser Michael Flynn "essentially could be blackmailed" by the Russians because he apparently had lied to his bosses about his contacts with Moscow's ambassador in Washington. The congressional testimony Monday from Yates, an Obama administration holdover fired soon after for other reasons, marked her first public comments about the concerns she raised and filled in basic details about the chain of events that led to Flynn's ouster in February.

Kushner firm apologizes for reference to White House ties

Revelations that the sister of Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law and adviser, promoted a program offering a path to U.S. citizenship to Chinese backers in a Kushner family project bring new scrutiny to a foreign investor visa program. The Kushner Companies apologized Monday, saying it had not meant to lure investors by using Jared Kushner's name at an investment promotion event held Saturday at a Ritz Carlton in Beijing.

Trumpa s comments on Muslims could haunt him in appeals court

The first federal appeals court to hear a challenge to President Donald Trump's revised travel ban appeared unconvinced that it should ignore the Republican's repeated promises on the campaign trail to bar Muslims from entering the country. An attorney for the president urged the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday to focus on the text of the religiously neutral executive order rather than use campaign statements to infer that the policy was driven by anti-Muslim sentiment.

White House: Republicans to be rewarded for health care vote

" The Republican Party will be rewarded for doing "what's right" by voting to overhaul a "failing and collapsing" health care system, a top aide to President Donald Trump asserted as Democrats and at least one outside group began laying the groundwork to challenge the GOP for control of the House in the 2018 midterm election. The health advocacy group Save My Care on Monday announced the launch of a six-figure TV and digital advertising campaign beginning this week, targeting 24 Republican House members who voted last week to repeal the health care law enacted under President Barack Obama.

Zinke questions monument status as way to save sacred land

U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke says he's a "Teddy Roosevelt Republican" who values national monuments. But as he tours America's newest and most hotly contested monument, he questions whether the monument designation by the federal government was the right way to preserve sacred tribal lands.

Trump moves to get more conservatives on federal bench

The Trump administration on Monday named 10 judges and other law professionals it plans to nominate for key posts as President Donald Trump works to place more conservatives on the nation's federal courts. White House press secretary Sean Spicer said that among the candidates are individuals previously named on Trump's list of 21 possible picks for Supreme Court justice.

Trump administration was warned Michael Flynn ‘could be…

Former acting Attorney General Sally Yates told Congress Monday she bluntly warned the Trump White House in January that new National Security Adviser Michael Flynn "essentially could be blackmailed" by the Russians because he apparently had lied to his bosses about his contacts with Moscow's ambassador in Washington. The testimony from Yates, an Obama administration holdover fired soon after for other reasons, marked her first public comments about the concerns she raised and filled in basic details about the chain of events that led to Flynn's ouster in February.

White House was warned Trump aide Flynn a blackmail risk

The White House was warned in January that Donald Trump's national security advisor Michael Flynn was vulnerable to Russian blackmail, a top former official told lawmakers Monday, as the issue of the president's ties to Moscow returned to the spotlight. Trump hit back by dismissing suggestions that his team colluded with Russia as a "hoax," and calling the congressional investigations into Russia's interference in the US election a taxpayer-funded "charade."

Actor and Trump fan Antonio Sabato Jr to run for Congress

General Hospital actor and Trump fan Antonio Sabato Jr to run for Congress after claims Hollywood blacklisted him for publicly supporting the president Antonio Sabato, Jr, 45, will run for US Congress in California in the 2018 election according to documents filed with the Federal Election Commission on Monday He will seek to oust Democrat Julia Brownley from California's 26th congressional district, who has held the seat since the 2012 election Sabato was inspired to run by his experience at the Republican National Convention in July, after which he said he was blacklisted in Hollywood Actor Antonio Sabato Jr has decided to run for Congress after claiming he was blacklisted by Hollywood producers for his public support of President Donald Trump.

Senate confirms Trump’s pick for Air Force secretary

In this June 5, 2012 file photo, Heather Wilson, R-N.M. is seen in Albuquerque, N.M. Wilson, President Donald Trump's pick for Air Force secretary was on track for Senate confirmation on Monday, May 8, 2017. less FILE - In this June 5, 2012 file photo, Heather Wilson, R-N.M. is seen in Albuquerque, N.M. Wilson, President Donald Trump's pick for Air Force secretary was on track for Senate confirmation on Monday, May 8, ... more Heather Wilson would be Trump's first service secretary nominee to be approved by the Republican-led chamber, after fits and starts for several nominees.

Trump in-laws promote thorny visa-for-sale program in China

Texas has charged to the forefront of national debate over immigration as Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed a so-called "sanctuary cities" ban that lets police ask during routine stops whether someone is in the... Texas has charged to the forefront of national debate over immigration as Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed a so-called "sanctuary cities" ban that lets police ask during routine stops whether someone is in the U.S. legally. The most prominent domestic violence hotline in the U.S. says there's been a sharp increase in calls from abuse victims struggling with issues related to their immigration status.