US report: Putin ordered effort to help Trump, hurt Clinton

Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a hidden campaign to influence America's presidential election in favor of Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton, U.S. intelligence agencies declared Friday in the government's first formal allegation supporting sensational claims that Trump and his supporters have staunchly resisted. The intelligence report, an unclassified version of a more-detailed classified account given earlier to Trump, the White House and congressional leaders, withheld the government's evidence to back up its assertions.

NC governor formally begins Medicaid expansion pursuit

North Carolina's new Democratic governor has formally started his effort to expand Medicaid to more of the working poor in the state, even as Republicans in Washington bear down on repealing the federal health care law that offers this increased coverage. Cooper's office said he sent a letter to federal regulators Friday.

Trump calls intelligence briefing ‘constructive,’ but says hacking had no effect on election

National Intelligence Director James Clapper and Cyber Command Chief Admiral Mike Rogers were among the intelligence community officials called to testify before the Senate Armed Services Committee on cyber threats facing the United States. Jan. 5, 2017.

Obama derides a recklessa plan to repeal now, replace later

President Barack Obama derided as "reckless" on Friday a Republican plan to repeal his health care law now and replace it later, predicting that the replacement may never come. In an opinion piece in the New England Journal of Medicine, Obama sought to dispel the notion that Republicans could fulfill their campaign promises to gut the Affordable Care Act immediately without risking devastating consequences for consumers.

Trump on border wall: Mexico will pay us back

President-elect Donald Trump on Friday tweeted that Mexico will reimburse American taxpayers for a new border wall and that U.S. money spent will be for the "sake of speed." His tweet came as congressional Republicans and his top aides consider a plan to ask Congress to ensure money is available in U.S. coffers for the wall without passing any new legislation.

Naomi Campbell reveals she was almost robbed in Paris

In this Oct. 21, 2016, file photo, model Naomi Campbell, center, arrives at a BET event hosted by President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama on the South Lawn of the White House, in Washington. Campbell revealed that she was the victim of a 2012 attempted robbery in Paris during an appearance on "The Wendy Williams Show" Thursday, Jan. 5, 2016.

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.

Federal judge blocks Obamacare’s protections for transgender patients

Three weeks before President Barack Obama leaves office, a federal judge dealt yet another blow to the president's signature policy, siding with religiously affiliated health care providers over the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor on Dec. 31 blocked the Affordable Care Act's so-called transgender mandate, which sought to end discrimination on the basis of gender identity within the health care system.

AP sources: Officials discuss what’s needed for border wall-Image1

Congressional Republicans and Donald Trump's transition team are exploring whether they can make good on Trump's promise to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border without passing a new bill. Under the evolving plan, the Trump administration would rely on existing legislation authorizing fencing and other technology along the southern border.

President Obama Sits Down Exclusively With NBC News’s Lester Holt

January 8, 2017 - President Barack Obama will sit down with "NBC Nightly News" anchor Lester Holt for an in-depth and intimate interview in Chicago this Tuesday, ahead of the president's farewell address to the nation. Holt will have rare access, traveling on Air Force One with President Obama on his final trip to Chicago -- the birthplace of his campaign -- as Commander in Chief.

Republicans, Democrats unite behind Trump to attack UN

United Nations, Jan 6 - The deeply divided Democrats and Republicans have rallied behind US President-elect Donald Trump in the House of Representatives to denounce the UN for a Security Council resolution condemning Israel for building settlements on the occupied territories. The House resolution passed on Thursday was also a rebuke to President Barack Obama who refused to have the UN resolution vetoed.

Democrat plan would not serve nation well

Democrats in the U.S. Senate have vowed to use every roadblock they can find to delay confirmation of President-elect Donald Trump's Cabinet nominees. They have speculated they could drag the process out for as much as two months after Trump is inaugurated on Jan. 20. That would delay the people's business, forcing the new administration to work through interim heads of agencies ranging from the State Department to the Environmental Protection Agency.