Obama aide started Christopher Steele-FBI alliance

A senior Barack Obama State Department official gave the green light to an FBI agent in 2016 to meet with dossier writer Christopher Steele, a meeting that touched off a relationship that would fuel the ongoing investigation into possible Donald Trump-Russia election collusion. And, the sensational Steele allegation that led to an FBI wiretap on Trump volunteer Carter Page came from "pillow talk" with the lover of a Kremlin official, a new book says.

Trump gets the drop

President Trump may only be blowing smoke -- again -- but his willingness to schedule a "denuclearization" summit with Kim Jong Un, North Korea's brutal dictator, is clearly part Hollywood and part serious diplomacy. He can decide on a moment's notice to parlay with Un and generate thousands of headlines worldwide.

The Latest: Bill rolling back bank restraints moves forward Source: AP

The Senate is edging forward legislation to roll back some of the restraints on banks that President Barack Obama and Democrats in Congress put in place eight years ago to prevent another financial crisis. The bill has overwhelming Republican support and enough Democratic backing that it's expected to garner the 60 votes necessary to clear the Senate, possibly later this week.

Initial GOP report: No collusion between Trump and Russia

Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee have completed a draft report concluding there was no collusion or coordination between Donald Trump's presidential campaign and Russia, a finding that has enraged Democrats on the panel but is sure to please the White House. After a yearlong investigation, Texas Rep. Mike Conaway announced Monday that the committee has finished interviewing witnesses and will share the report with Democrats for the first time on Tuesday.

Ex-Massachusetts Gov. Patrick weighing 2020 White House bid

In this May 7, 2017 file photo, former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick arrives at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston for the 2017 Profile in Courage award ceremony. The former Democratic governor said in March 2018 that a run for the White House in 2020 is on his "radar screen."

Katy Burns: I miss them all NEW

The photo - of a very little black girl staring up in rapt awe at a portrait of a regal Michelle Obama - flashed like wildfire across the internet a week or so ago. The mother of two-year-old Parker Curry tried in vain to take a picture of her daughter in front of the portrait, but the child, transfixed by a painting of someone she later breathlessly confided was "a queen," wouldn't turn around.

Ap Fact Check: Trump on trade, guns, White House morale

Despite grappling with unparalleled staff departures, President Donald Trump painted a rosy picture of a smoothly functioning administration getting things done, pushing along gun restrictions and bringing jobs to the United States. It made for another series of grandiose claims this past week.

Where Is Barack Obama?

At a moment when many of his former voters believe that America is facing a genuine democratic crisis, former President Barack Obama has been largely silent about what is happening in American politics. Other than a handful of appearances-an interview with David Letterman in a new Netflix show, or an oral history project at MIT-he insists on following protocol and tradition for former presidents, resisting the temptation to jump back into the political fray.

155,215,000: Record Number of Americans Employed

Trump Is Said to Accept North Korea's Invitation to Discuss Its Nuclear Program - WASHINGTON - North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-un, has invited President Trump to meet for negotiations over its nuclear program, an audacious diplomatic overture that would bring together two strong-willed Trump's North Korea gambit blindsides U.S. diplomats President Trump's high-wire gambit to accept a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un sets off a scramble among U.S. officials to assemble a team capable of supporting a historic summit of longtime adversaries and determine a viable engagement strategy.

U.S. and Russia: A dramatic turn

It is a truth that can be verified based on the most various publicly-available data of the last 7 years: Russia and the U.S. were on a positive trajectory in bilateral relations. It seems paradoxical, but the pronounced cooldown in relations between "the big two" after the war in Georgia was followed, at Washington's initiative, at the initiative of the then-new President Barack Obama, by the so-called 'reset' in bilateral relations, sealed in Moscow by then-State Secretary Hillary Clinton.

Obama In Talks To Produce Shows For Netflix, Report Says

Former President Barack Obama is in negotiations with Netflix to produce a series of high-profile shows, according to a story in The New York Times . "Under terms of a proposed deal, which is not yet final, Netflix would pay Mr. Obama and his wife, Michelle, for exclusive content that would be available only on the streaming service, which has nearly 118 million subscribers around the world.