The Latest: LGBT activists hold dance party near Pence home

In this Dec. 1, 2016, file photo, President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence wave as they visit to Carrier factory in Indianapolis, Ind. Donald Trump enters the White House on Jan. 20 just as he entered the race for president: defiant, unfiltered, unbound by tradition and utterly confident in his chosen course.

Trump’s Treasury pick facing criticism over foreclosures

Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Treasury Department, Stephen Mnuchin, built his reputation and his fortune as a savvy Wall Street investor. But one of those investments has put him in the crosshairs of Democrats as he heads into his confirmation hearing Thursday: sub-prime mortgage lender IndyMac bank.

Chamber passes resolution supporting Orr for Sessions’ seat

The Decatur-Morgan County Chamber of Commerce passed a resolution today supporting the selection of state Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, to replace U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions if Sessions is confirmed as U.S. attorney general. Because of Judiciary Committee rules, Sessions has to wait longer than other Cabinet picks until his nomination can come to the floor.

Federal study on Dakota Access pipeline to move forward

A federal judge said Wednesday he won’t keep the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from launching a full environmental study of the $3.8 billion Dakota Access pipeline’s disputed crossing under a Missouri River reservoir in North Dakota. U.S. District Judge James Boasberg denied Texas-based Energy Transfer Partners’ request to stop the Corps from proceeding until he rules on whether the company already has the necessary permission to lay pipe under Lake Oahe, the water source for the Standing Rock Sioux tribe.

Obama’s Iranian Nuke Deal is a Major Challenge for Trump

How can the author of that article not know that the Iran deal was not actually signed? It was the State Department’s Julia Frifield who sent a letter to Rep. Mike Pompeo saying that the Iran deal is “not a treaty or an executive agreement, and is not a signed document.” Rather, she wrote, this deal represents “political commitments” between Iran and other nations.

Trump EPA pick pledges more cooperation with industry

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator-designate Scott Pruitt, left, is welcomed on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2017, by Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., prior to testifying at his confirmation hearing before the committee. Our team will redo any room but a bathroom or kitchen.

These courageous HIV advocates will lead the way against Trump in 2017

Donald J. Trump and the Republican-controlled Congress are a threat to everything HIV advocates have been fighting for during the last thirty years, and that includes access to healthcare, bans on insurance companies using HIV as reason to deny coverage, HIV prevention programs like PrEP, and the dignity with which we treat those who are most vulnerable to HIV infection. This new political reality is reflected in the 2017 list of HIV Advocates to Watch from Queerty health writer Mark King’s blog My Fabulous Disease .

Pointed questions await Trumpa s pick for health secretary

By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR, Associated Press WASHINGTON – With coverage for millions of people at stake, Rep. Tom Price is facing pointed questions about President-elect Donald Trump’s health policies – and his own investments in health care companies – from senators considering his selection as health secretary.

Nikki Haley Set for Confirmation Hearing

Nikki Haley delivers the State of the State in the House chambers at the South Carolina Statehouse, Jan. 20, 2016, in Columbia, South Carolina. Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley will face the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday for her confirmation hearing to be considered as President-elect Donald Trump ‘s choice for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations .

Kansas lawmakers move quickly on new special elections rules

Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, right, confers with Bryan Caskey, left, his elections director, during a state Senate committee hearing on a bill that would rewrite the state’s rules for special congressional elections to give military personnel overseas more time to cast their ballots, in Topeka, Kan. The bill arose from President-elect Donald Trump’s nomination of U.S. Rep. Mike Pompeo, R-Kan., as Central Intelligence Agency director.

‘Cops as Pigs’ Painting Removed by Architect of Capitol, Rep. Clay to Appeal

The controversial Congressional Art Competition winning student painting depicting police officers as pigs that hung in the U.S. Capitol complex for six months was removed over the Martin Luther King holiday weekend by the Architect of the Capitol for violating rules against controversial contemporary political themes. The painting’s patron, Rep. William Lacy Clay said he will appeal the removal.

CBO: 18 million more Americans would be uninsured under 2016 GOP repeal

Insurance premiums would soar and some 18 million Americans would lose health coverage if Republicans partially repeal President Barack Obama’s health care law without a replacement, Congress’ nonpartisan budget office estimated Tuesday. The Congressional Budget Office analyzed a GOP 2016 repeal measure, which Republicans have cited as a starting point for their 2017 drive to dismantle and replace Obama’s health overhaul.

Poll: Young Americans fear they will be worse off post-Trump

As Donald Trump approaches his inauguration, young Americans have a deeply pessimistic view about his incoming administration, with young blacks, Latinos and Asian Americans particularly concerned about what’s to come in the next four years. That’s according to a new GenForward poll of Americans aged 18 to 30, which found that the country’s young adults are more likely to expect they’ll be worse off at the end of Trump’s first term than better off.

Conservative talk radio host mulls Senate run in Virginia

Conservative talk radio host Laura Ingraham says she’s considering a 2018 challenge to Democrat Tim Kaine for a U.S. Senate representing Virginia. But the former attorney and Reagan White House aide said she’s been flattered by several “well-connected” people in Virginia asking her to be a candidate.

Sorenson to be Sentenced in Campaign Finance Violation Case

A former state senator is being sentenced Monday on federal charges related to violating campaign finance laws during the 2012 presidential campaign. Kent Sorenson pleaded guilty in 2014 to one count of causing a federal campaign committee to falsely report its expenditures to the Federal Election Commission and one count of obstruction of justice in connection with the concealed expenditures.

Jobs White People Won’t do:

It’s been a rough day for Donald Trump’s appointees. Earlier on Monday, Monica Crowley said she will not take a communications job at the National Security Council amid a plagiarism scandal.

Fear spurs support for health law as Republicans work to repeal it

Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., at podium, cheers health care workers to save the Affordable Care Act across the country outside LAC+USC Medical Center in Los Angeles, Sunday, Jan. 15, 2017. The rally was one of many being staged across the country in advance of President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20. Trump has promised to repeal and replace the health care law, and the Republican-controlled Senate on Thursday passed a measure taking the first steps to dismantle it.

Other Tuesday closings/cancellations due to weather

Authorities say a dog walker who became the victim of an unusual, road rage incident was able to disarm another man, and give the hand gun to a passerby. Authorities say a dog walker who became the victim of an unusual, road rage incident was able to disarm another man, and give the hand gun to a passerby.

Trump continues Twitter assault

His inauguration days away, President- elect Donald Trump is continuing to lash out at critics in the intelligence community and Democrats in Congress who are vowing to skip his swearing-in ceremony. The tough-talking Republican questioned whether the CIA director himself was “the leaker of fake news” in a Sunday night tweet.

Oman reports accepting Guantanamo Bay detainees upon request

However, there has been no official statement released by the US Defense Department [official website] on the transfer nor has the Oman Foreign Ministry released the names of the detainees. US President-Elect Donald Trump recently called for a halt to the releases, stating [WP report] that the remaining detainees are too dangerous to be “allowed back onto the battlefield.”

On King day, Trump meets with Martin Luther King III

Donald Trump will mark the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday Monday by meeting with the son of the civil rights icon. On King day, Trump meets with Martin Luther King III Donald Trump will mark the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday Monday by meeting with the son of the civil rights icon.

Top Palestinian Official: Congress Limited in Push Back to U.N. Resolution

Congress has limited options for responding to a United Nations Security Council resolution critical of Israel, according to a top Palestinian official who spoke to THE WEEKLY STANDARD. The remarks from Maen Areikat, the chief representative of the Palestine Liberation Organization in the United States, came as lawmakers rolled out legislation in the aftermath of the December resolution, which describes the West Bank and east Jerusalem as occupied Palestinian territory and condemns Israeli construction in those areas.

Rubio Still Undecided on Tillerson Vote

Republican senator Marco Rubio told reporters Monday he is still mulling whether to support secretary of state nominee Rex Tillerson, a decision that could bode ill for the former Exxon Mobil CEO’s confirmation hopes. The Florida Republican said he’s awaiting responses to written questions to Tillerson following last week’s Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing.

Inauguration in sight, Trump continues Twitter assault

His inauguration days away, President-elect Donald Trump is continuing to lash out at critics in the intelligence community and Democrats in Congress who are vowing to skip his swearing-in ceremony. The tough-talking Republican questioned whether the CIA director himself was “the leaker of fake news” in a Sunday night tweet.