How Trump and the GOP Are at Odds Over Alleged Russian Hack

Donald J. Trump has picked another fight with the elders of his own Republican Party, over whether Russia engaged in hacking aimed at influencing the US election. Trump has maintained that it is impossible to trace hacking attempts, that it isn't clear who was behind them, and that he knows a lot about hacking and knows things about these incidents that the rest of us do not know, which he would reveal last Tuesday or Wednesday .

Trump calls intelligence briefing on Russian hacking ‘constructive’

President-elect Donald Trump said Friday he had a "constructive meeting and conversation" with the country's top intelligence officials who briefed him on alleged Russian election-related hacking. "I have tremendous respect for the work and service done by the men and women of this community to our great nation," Trump said in a statement after the meeting.

Republicans Can’t Just Pretend Obamacare Never Happened

If you confine yourself to the Congressional Record, you would assume that Republicans methodically followed their game plan to dismantle Obamacare in the first week of the new session. The Senate passed the first phase of their repeal bill under a process called reconciliation, a budget procedure that requires only a simple majority in the Senate, without opportunity for filibuster.

How to Get Tickets to Trump’s Inauguration

Anyone can go watch Donald Trump be sworn in as president on the National Mall, but a ticket is needed in order to get within about a half-mile of the action. The tickets are color-coded, and ticket holders are required to enter the Capitol grounds through the entry point designated for their color-coded section.

Multiple people shot dead at Fort Lauderdale airport

Multiple victims have been shot dead by at least one gunman at Florida's Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, a major tourist hub in the greater Miami area, according to officials who said there was an "ongoing incident" at the baggage claim area in Terminal 2. There were five people dead, several more injured and one person in custody, according to Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel's office, which said police received a call just before 1 p.m. local time on Friday about shots fired at Terminal Drive. The shooting occurred in the baggage claim area of Terminal 2. The FAA ordered a stop to all flights and the airport was evacuated.

The Latest: Ohio senator to oppose Sessions nomination

Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio says he won't support his Senate colleague Jeff Sessions, who is President-elect Donald Trump's pick for attorney general. Brown says he met with Sessions this week and says the Alabama Republican has a civil rights record "at direct odds with the task of promoting justice and equality for all."

Donald Trump selects former Indiana senator for top intelligence post

President-elect Donald Trump has selected former Indiana Sen. Dan Coats to lead the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, a role that would thrust him into the center of the intelligence community that Trump has publicly challenged, a person with knowledge of the decision said Thursday. Coats served as a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee before retiring from Congress last year.

Drug Court graduates 6 –

The recent drug court graduation featured the fo.lowing speakers: Supreme Court Justice Brent Benjamin; Mike Lacy, Director of Probation Services; Michael Browning, Representative for Senator Joe Manchin; Chad Story, Representative for Congressman Evan Jenkins; Gabriel Frye, Logan County Juvenile Drug Court Probation Officer and Chris Newsome, past ... (more)

Obamacare battle: Americans divided on plan to repeal first without replacement: Poll

The American public remains deeply divided over Obamacare, but only 1 in 5 back a Republican plan first to repeal the law, then to come up with a replacement, according to a timely poll that says most people want Congress to have a firm alternative in hand before it pulls the plug on the existing system. The findings could boost President Obama and congressional Democrats, who have made defending the law their chief goal this year.

Sessions’ record a source of different depictions of senator

Senators at next week's confirmation hearing will confront competing versions of Jeff Sessions, the Alabama senator who is President-elect Donald Trump's pick for attorney general. His supporters will frame the 70-year-old Republican, who grew up in the segregated South before a career as a local GOP leader, prosecutor and elected official, as an unyielding but fair-minded conservative.

Could Free College Really Be This Cheap? 21 minutes ago

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, right and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders appear on stage together at LaGuardia Community College, on Jan. 3 in New York. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo made a big splash this week when he announced  a fairly inexpensive plan to make college tuition-free for as many as 1 million New Yorkers.

Tribune Conversation with U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke D-El Paso on November 4, 2016

U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke said Thursday he is all but certain to make a run for U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz 's seat in 2018. "I've had the chance to talk to a lot of people around the state of Texas over the last six weeks, and I will tell you, I'm very encouraged," he told The Texas Tribune on Thursday in an interview.

Free tuition Q&A: Could New York’s plan spread across US?

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, right and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders wave at the audience as they arrive onstage at an event at LaGuardia Community College, Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2017, in New York. Gov. Cuomo announced a proposal for free tuition at state colleges to hundreds of thousands of low- and middle income residents.

Donald Solem had few peers as political organizer, adviser

Donald Solem, the political organizer and campaign quarterback who ran successful drives on behalf of countless civic issues from school bonds to parking garages, seemed to make friends with everyone who shook his sizable hand. He was a large man with a broad smile, a cheery manner and keen insight into getting voters to see things his way.