The Senate’s three tools on health care: Sabotage, speed and secrecy

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had a problem when the American Health Care Act arrived from the House last month. What to do with a bill that is clogging your agenda but only 8 percent of Americans want you to pass and members of your own caucus swore was dead on arrival? McConnell couldn't have missed the town halls filled with angry Americans who rely on Medicaid and see the Affordable Care Act's protections for those with preexisting conditions as a godsend.

An Obama regulation is allowed to go into effect, for now

Interpretation of the news based on evidence, including data, as well as anticipating how events might unfold based on past events ONE OF President Barack Obama's last major policies was the " fiduciary rule ," a Labor Department regulation aimed at alleged conflicts of interest in the professional advice that millions of Americans receive about their tax-advantaged retirement accounts. To cut a long story short, previous regulations require advisers to find their clients "suitable" investments, a looser standard than applies to fiduciaries, who are legally obligated to serve the client's " best interest ."

Our Opinion: ‘Sanctuary’ semantics shouldn’t hold up good legislation

Legislation on Beacon Hill effectively making Massachusetts a "sanctuary state" would protect local and state law enforcement officers from being dragged into federal immigration issues where they risk being compromised. However, the word "sanctuary" is a loaded one that is a misnomer in this case, a misnomer that should not but may contribute to sinking this worthy effort.

I was an FBI agent. Trump’s lack of concern about Russian hacking shocks me.

Reactions to former FBI director James Comey's testimony Thursday mostly seemed to follow predictable, partisan lines. To many Democrats, Comey appeared to be describing a clear case of obstruction of justice by President Donald Trump.

#FakeNews: A look at what didn’t happen this week

NOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn't happen this week None of these stories are legit, even though they were shared widely on social media. Check out this story on publicopiniononline.com: FILE - In this March 24, 2017, file photo, White House press secretary Sean Spicer gestures while speaking to the media during the daily briefing in the Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington.

Washington Post Editorial: The Kansas mirage fades

It has been five years since Kansas, prodded by Republican Gov. Sam Brownback, decided to make itself the subject of a gruesome experiment in fiscal self-evisceration - a regime of draconian tax cuts that, unsurprisingly, blew a prairie-size hole in the state's budget. The resulting casualties included funding for public schools, about which, it turns out, many Kansans care deeply.

Comey should get his story straight on Clinton, Trump: Susan Shelley

The most stunning thing in James Comey's testimony to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence was what he said about special prosecutors, also called special counsels. “After former President Clinton met on the plane with the attorney general, I considered whether I should call for the appointment of a special counsel and decided that would be an unfair thing to do because I knew there was no case there,” Comey testified, speaking of the investigation into Hillary Clinton's private email server.

‘The president’s new at this’: Other views

'The president's new at this': Other views A roundup of what people are saying about James Comey's testimony. Check out this story on USATODAY.com: https://usat.ly/2sZG4QO Rep. Paul Ryan , R-Wis., House speaker: "Of course there needs to be a degree of independence between , FBI and the White House and a line of communications established.

Come home, Jeff Sessions

In this March 6, 2017 file photo, Attorney General Jeff Sessions waits to make a statement at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection office in Washington. Sessions is seeking the resignations of 46 United States attorneys who were appointed during the prior presidential administration, the Justice Department said Friday, March 10, 2017.

The other shoes start falling

The nation's top intelligence official told associates in March that President Trump asked him if he could intervene with then-FBI Direc tor James B. Comey to get the bureau to back off its focus on former national security adviser Michael Flynn in its Russia probe, according to officials. On March 22, less than a week after being confirmed by the Senate, Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats attended a briefing at the White House together with officials from several government agencies.

Mr. Nunes Went To Washington

Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., the now-controversial chair of the House Intelligence Committee, is a bit different from what Washington expects in its politicians. He grew up in the agricultural cornucopia of the Central Valley of California -- fruits, vegetables, beef, dairy products and fibers -- the concrete expression of a myriad of hard-working ethnic groups.

Shaheen not talking ancestry with Warren

New Hampshire U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen says her direct lineage to Pocahontas is too touchy a subject to bring up in conversation with Bay State U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who claims her own Native American heritage. "It's kind of a sensitive topic," Shaheen told CNN when asked if she's told Warren about her ancestry, "so probably not."