With tax pieces in play, it’s Capitol deal-making season

In this Nov. 10, 2016 file photo, Minnesota State Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka, center, is joined by Senate Republicans at the State Capitol in St. Paul, Minn. Republican lawmakers who control the Legislature and Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton have put forward markedly different plans to square Minnesota's tax code with the federal government.

Habakkuk on ‘longtime’ sources:

In the light of the suggestion in the Nunes memo that Steele was 'a longtime FBI source' it seems worth sketching out some background, which may also make it easier to see some possible reasons why he 'was desperate that Donald Trump not get elected and was passionate about him not being president.' There is reason to suspect that some former and very likely current employees of the FBI have been colluding with elements in other American and British intelligence agencies, in particular the CIA and MI6, in support of an extremely ambitious foreign policy agenda for a very long time.

Trump urged to sell $50 million in lethal weapons to Ukraine

National security officials are urging President Trump to approve the sale of nearly $50 million worth of U.S. weapons to Ukraine, which has confronted what it sees as military aggression from Russia and pro-Russian separatists for years. Congressional and State Department officials said Monday the weapons proposal had gained traction in the National Security Council.

Russia hackers had targets worldwide, beyond U.S. election – Thu, 02 Nov 2017 PST

This combination of photos shows, top row from left, Hillary Clinton, the logo of the defense contractor Lockheed Martin, and former Russian oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky; middle row from left, tanks at a military parade in Kiev, Ukraine, former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell and the Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington; bottom row from left, former Secretary of State John Kerry, former NATO Supreme Commander Wesley Clark and Maria Alekhina of the Russian punk band Pussy Riot. These people and organizations were among the thousands targeted by the hacking group Fancy Bear, which disrupted the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

AP Investigation: Russian hacking went beyond US elections

HOLD FOR RELEASE Thursday 2, 1 a.m. EDT; Graphic shows when fake password-reset links were created, as part of a hacking attack closely aligned with the Russian government; 2c x 5 inches; 96 mm x 126 mm; FILE - In this Monday, May 29, 2017 photo released by the Sputnik news agency, Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during an interview in Paris, France. On Thursday, June 1, 2017, Putin told reporters, Russian hackers might "wake up, read about something going on in interstate relations and, if they have patriotic leanings, they may try to add their contribution to the fight against those who speak badly about Russia."

Trump campaign adviser was wiretapped under secret court orders, according to CNN report

Paul Manafort, Donald Trump's campaign manager, before the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio, July 17, 2016. Manafort met with Senate Intelligence Committee investigators on July 25, 2017, to discuss the June 2016 meeting between a Russian lawyer and Trump's inner circle that was set up to receive damaging information about Hillary Clinton, according to a person familiar with the discussion.

‘Baffled’ Chuck Schumer tries to help Trump cram for Putin meeting via Twitter

The leader of the Democratic Party in the United States Senate is baffled that President Donald Trump has not prepared a specific agenda for Friday's meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin during the G20 summit. To remedy Trump's lack of planning, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer took to the president's favorite information platform - Twitter, of course - to brief the leader of the free world prior to the bilateral meeting with the Russian strongman.

Commentary: Capitalizing on Syria attack

President Trump did the right thing, the necessary thing, in striking Syria's Shayrat Air Base in response to the Assad regime's gruesome gas attack on civilians. In so doing, the president sharply reversed his own past stance and positions his team took just days ago on Syria.

Trudy Rubin: Trump must keep pressure on Syria, Russia – Wed, 12 Apr 2017 PST

President Trump did the right thing, the necessary thing, in striking Syria's Shayrat Air Base in response to the Assad regime's gruesome gas attack on civilians. In so doing, the president sharply reversed his own past stance and positions his team took just days ago on Syria.

Ukraine: Calm returns to flashpoint ‘Avdiivka’ town as Trump…

Ukrainian servicemen look at a building destroyed as a result of night shelling by pro-Russian separatists to the flashpoint eastern town of Avdiivka, north of the pro-Russian rebels' de facto capital of Donetsk, on February 3, 2017. AFP / Aleksey FILIPPOV Avdiivka, Ukraine: Fighting subsided around a flashpoint Ukrainian town on Sunday following a week-long surge in violence that prompted US President Donald Trump to pledge to help bring peace to Europe's backyard.

Senator McCain says U.S. stands with Ukraine against Russia

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko shakes hands with U.S. Senator John McCain during a meeting with Ukrainian servicemen in Shirokino settlement near Mariupol, Ukraine, December 31, 2016. Mikhail Palinchak/Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko greets U.S. Senator John McCain during a meeting in Kiev, Ukraine, December 30, 2016.

In NYCa s Russian enclaves, a big a nyeta to hacking talk

Clutching a cobbler's tool in his hand, Roman Gadayev defiantly lashed out against accusations that Russia meddled in the U.S. election to sway the vote to Donald Trump. "Simply impossible," said the Kazakhstan native who runs a shoe repair shop near the Brighton Beach boardwalk.