Strzok, Page and the FBI texting scandal explained

Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian influence in the 2016 presidential election has been clouded by revelations that two former members of his team sent negative text messages about President Trump. In the messages, Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, who were romantically involved, bash Trump and discuss concerns about being too tough on Hillary Clinton during an investigation into the use of her private email server.

Trump announces steel tariffs, stokes trade war fears

President Donald Trump announced on Thursday he would impose hefty tariffs on imported steel and aluminum to protect U.S. producers, risking retaliation from major trade partners like China, Europe and neighboring Canada. Trump said the duties, 25 percent on steel imports and 10 percent on aluminum, would be formally announced next week, although White House officials later said some details still needed to be ironed out.

Trump hopes top court will rein in judges who block policies

The Trump administration is looking for ways to deal with a recurring frustration: individual federal judges who have put the brakes on one major administration policy after another. The administration is telling the Supreme Court in a case about President Donald Trump's travel ban that judges are increasingly using what are called nationwide injunctions to stop "a federal policy everywhere."

Congress’ immigration push sputters as guns grab attention

It's taken just two weeks for Washington's immigration battle to fade from blistering to back-burner. Lawmakers now seem likely to do little or nothing this election year on an effort that's been eclipsed by Congress' new focus on guns, bloodied by Senate defeats and relegated to B-level urgency by a Supreme Court ruling.

Justice Department hasn’t decided whether to participate in opioid litigation

As U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions promised, the Justice Department on Thursday evening filed a "statement of interest" in the swath of lawsuits being heard in Cleveland that accuse drug manufacturers and distributors of heavily contributing to the nation's opioid epidemic. But instead of a display of force and support for the local and state governments that allege the drug companies caused the addiction problems, the Justice Department asked U.S. District Judge Dan Polster for 30 days to decide whether it wants to intervene.

Lawmakers: Penalize railroads that don’t hit safety deadline

The mother of a woman killed when a speeding Amtrak train hurtled from the tracks in May 2015 told a Senate committee on Thursday that she is seething over the prospect of more delays in installing speed controls that could have prevented that wreck and dozens of others. Technology executive Rachel Jacobs was among eight passengers killed when the Washington-to-New York train crashed in Philadelphia.

WRAPUP 4-Trump says U.S. to impose hefty tariffs on steel, aluminum imports

President Donald Trump announced on Thursday he would impose hefty tariffs on imported steel and aluminum to protect U.S. producers, risking retaliation from major trade partners like China, Europe and neighboring Canada as well as helping to trigger a large selloff on Wall Street. Trump said the duties of 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminum would be formally announced next week although White House officials later said some details still needed to be ironed out.

Rubio set to announce his own gun safety plan

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio is set to announce a gun safety plan which he said will keep "any guns of any kind out of the hands of dangerous or deranged people." He tweeted Thursday morning, "Later today I will be announcing my plan to keep our students safe in school & keeping any guns of any kind out of the hands of dangerous or deranged people.

Grassley: I’ll fight for sentencing reforms

U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, pledged Wednesday to fight for a criminal justice proposal that includes reducing certain mandatory prison sentences, and he raised the prospect of blocking a package of related reforms the White House and congressional Republicans are said to be interested in if he can't get an agreement. Grassley and Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., has been pushing for legislation that would make reforms to sentencing guidelines, as well as prison practices.

Massachusetts man charged in Trump Jr. hoax threat letter

Federal prosecutors in Boston on Thursday charged a Massachusetts man with sending a series of threatening letters containing a suspicious powder, including one addressed to U.S. President Donald Trump's eldest son. The letter addressed to Donald Trump Jr. led to the Republican president's daughter-in-law, Vanessa Trump, being taken to a hospital after opening it on Feb. 12. Two other people also went to the hospital but the white powder in the envelope proved to be harmless.

Planned Parenthood to focus on Ohio races for U.S. Senate and governor

Planned Parenthood political organizations announced Thursday that they'll spend at least $20 million in this year's elections, with a particular focus on gubernatorial and Senate races in Ohio and seven other states. Planned Parenthood Votes executive director Deirdre Schifeling says the organization decided to intervene in Ohio because it hopes to "elect reproductive health champions who will fight with us to expand ..

Senate Intelligence Leaders Say House G.O.P. Leaked a Senator’s Texts

Senator Richard M. Burr, right, and Senator Mark Warner, the leaders of the Senate Intelligence Committee, were so perturbed by the leak of Mr. Warner's text messages that they demanded a rare meeting with Speaker Paul D. Ryan last month to inform him of their findings. WASHINGTON - The Senate Intelligence Committee has concluded that Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee were behind the leak of private text messages between the Senate panel's top Democrat and a Russian-connected lawyer, according to two congressional officials briefed on the matter.

Trump’s Spy Chief Nominee to Face Grilling Over Russia Response

Now, with the first congressional primaries taking place this month, Trump's nominee to lead the secretive National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command will be asked by lawmakers to explain his plans to do so. Army Lieutenant General Paul Nakasone, nominated by Trump to head both intelligence agencies, faces the Senate Armed Services Committee Thursday for his confirmation hearing. Not only may he be pressed about what tools he has at his fingertips to counter Russia, but also whether he will ask the president -- who continues to call probes of Russian interference a "witch hunt" -- for power to do more.

Russian election assault poses quandary for 2018 campaigns

A Facebook posting released by the House Intelligence Committee, for a group called "Being Patriotic" is photographed in Washington, Friday, Feb. 16, 2018. For candidates running in the 2018 elections, it's a race against Russia _ or other actors, perhaps _ as they try to ensure that they aren't thrown off message by misinformation campaigns like the one special counsel Robert Mueller laid out in his surprise indictment in the Russia investigation last week.