Inauguration in sight, Trump continues Twitter assault

The inaugural parade presidential reviewing stand on Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House, Sunday, Jan. 15, 2017, is nearly completed in preparation for the 58th presidential inauguration, on Friday, Jan. 20. less The inaugural parade presidential reviewing stand on Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House, Sunday, Jan. 15, 2017, is nearly completed in preparation for the 58th presidential inauguration, on Friday, ... more NEW YORK - His inauguration days away, President-elect Donald Trump is continuing to lash out at critics in the intelligence community and Democrats in Congress who are vowing to skip his swearing-in ceremony.

Matt Welch:

Code Pink may get a bad rap, disrupting as it does seemingly every significant event on Capitol Hill. But the most hysterical performances at Tuesday's serially interrupted Senate confirmation hearing for attorney general nominee Jeff Sessions came not from scrappy protesters, but from the august senators within.

One hand on light switch, Obama isn’t flipping to ‘off’ just yet

President Barack Obama listens as Vice President Joe Biden speaks during a ceremony in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 12, 2017, where Obama presented him with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. An unusually young ex-president, Barack Obama has a busy life awaiting him after he leaves the White House.

The Peace Prize Winner Who Waged War

When he was first elected president, many observers, up to and including the Norwegian Nobel Committee, believed Barack Obama would represent a substantive departure from the foreign policy of his predecessor, George W. Bush. On the campaign trail, the then-senator from Illinois promised to bring the Iraq War to an end within 16 months.

Will Trump era make Cory Booker a Democratic star?

WASHINGTON -- There was a speech before a group of Democratic state legislators, an appearance on a Sunday talk show, and then a break with tradition by testifying against Attorney General-designate Jeff Sessions. After a presidential campaign where he often spoke for Hillary Clinton, U.S. Sen. Cory Booker is emerging as a leading voice of dissent in the Democratic Party as the Donald Trump era begins.

EDITORIAL: US is ending unfair Cuban immigration policy finally

Ever since U.S. relations with Cuba appear to have normalized in the past year - air travel has opened, trade restrictions were lifted, and President Barack Obama visited the island nation - The Monitor's editorial board has called for the lifting of a unique refugee policy that has been in place for Cubans, but not offered to other immigrants who are seeking asylum. Commonly referred to as "the wet-foot, dry-foot" policy, Cubans who cross onto U.S. land have for the past 22 years been immediately put on a path to citizenship and eligible for U.S. assistance programs.

Protesters across US decry Trumpa s anti-immigrant stance

Protesters gathered Saturday to support immigrant rights at rallies around the U.S., denouncing President-elect Donald Trump for his anti-immigrant rhetoric and his pledges to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexican border and to crack down on Muslims entering the country. "We are not going to allow Donald Trump to bury the Statue of Liberty," Sen. Chris Van Hollen, a Maryland Democrat, told a standing-room-only crowd at historic African-American church in downtown Washington during one of dozens of rallies around the nation.

Anti-Trump protests to kick off with Washington civil rights march

A week of protests ahead of Donald Trump's inauguration as U.S. president is set to kick off on Saturday with a civil rights march in Washington by activists angry over the Republican's comments on minority groups including Muslims and Mexicans.

Report: Texas congressman compares Mexican singers’ influence to Russian hackers

Texas Rep. Mike Conaway, R-Midland, apparently believes the influence of Mexican singers on the 2016 presidential campaign was similar to that of alleged interference by Russian hackers. Texas Rep. Mike Conaway, R-Midland, apparently believes the influence of Mexican singers on the 2016 presidential campaign was similar to that of alleged interference by Russian hackers.

Taliban video purportedly shows US, Australian hostages

The Afghan Taliban released a new video Wednesday purportedly showing two teachers from the American University of Afghanistan in Kabul begging Donald Trump to make a deal for their release. What appears to be the first "proof of life" of kidnapped US citizen Kevin King, 60, and of Australian citizen Timothy Weeks, 48, was posted online by the Taliban and distributed to media outlets.

In VW case, US takes aim at employees, not just corporation

Six high-level Volkswagen employees from Germany have been indicted in the U.S. in the automaker's emissions-cheating scandal as prosecutors made good on efforts to charge individuals in a corporate corruption case. In announcing the federal charges and a corporate plea bargain by Volkswagen, Justice Department prosecutors on Wednesday detailed a large and elaborate scheme inside the German automaker to commit fraud and then cover it up, with at least 40 employees allegedly involved in destroying evidence.

Snowfall in Portland affects Cavaliers, Trail Blazers

California's economy is expanding and voters just approved billions of dollars in tax increases, yet Gov. Jerry Brown this week projected a budget deficit for the first time in four years and called for... California's economy is expanding and voters just approved billions of dollars in tax increases, yet Gov. Jerry Brown this week projected a budget deficit for the first time in four years and called for spending cuts. Lawyers for Texas death row inmate Christopher Wilkins looked to the U.S. Supreme Court to keep him from becoming the first prisoner executed in the nation this year.

Watch the 2nd day of Jeff Sessions’ confirmation hearing live

Sen. Jeff Sessions begins his second day of questioning before Congress at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday in his quest to be confirmed as U.S. attorney general. On Tuesday, the Alabama senator faced more than 10 hours of questioning by the Senate Judiciary Committee for the role of head of the Department of Justice, the top law enforcement post in the country.