Politics

The Supreme Court in Washington. (Associated Press) The Supreme Court’s favorite target again this year was the California-based U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which saw 15 of 16 rulings overturned on review. For decades, the high court’s conservatives have trained a skeptical eye on the historically liberal appeals court and regularly reversed its rulings, … Read more

President Trump declared his former chief strategist Stephen K. Bannon persona non grata on Wednesday, delivering a scorching rebuke to the man who had been Trump’s most visible partner in his efforts to redefine the Republican Party according to their populist and nationalist vision. “Steve Bannon has nothing to do with me or my Presidency,” … Read more

The last time four living U.S. presidents got together was for a somber conference at the White House to prepare for the 1981 funeral of slain Egyptian President Anwar Sadat. This week, less than nine years later, four living presidents, former and serving, will gather at an unprecedented public ceremony in Orange County to mark … Read more

House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Tulare) worked on a confidential and controversial memo involving how the Department of Justice pursued the Russia investigation. (Jim Lo Scalzo / EPA) Conservative Republicans are pushing to release a memo containing classified information about the federal investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 campaign, sparking new controversy in a … Read more

Research that led to the compilation of a dossier detailing allegations about President Trump’s ties to Russia and possible coordination with the Kremlin were funded in part by the Hillary Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee, according to the Washington Post. A Clinton campaign lawyer and the DNC retained Fusion GPS, a Washington firm, … Read more

Christian O’Neil hugs his mother, Sara, during dinner at their home in Randall, Iowa, while she describes a scary incident she experienced while serving in the military. (Bryon Houlgrave / For The Times) The Barbies lived in California, of course. On summer days, as Sara O’Neil pranced her dolls along the muddy stream that ran … Read more

Former President Jimmy Carter discusses his cancer diagnosis at the Carter Center in Atlanta. (Bob Andres / Atlanta Journal-Constitution) As former President Carter told reporters Thursday that cancer had spread to his brain, he reflected on his life and was asked whether he had any regrets. The 90-year-old’s answer was blunt and candid. “I wish … Read more

Sully, former President George H.W. Bush’s service dog, lies in front of his casket in Houston on Sunday. The 41st president died Friday at his home in Houston at 94. (Evan Sisley / Associated Press) The yellow Labrador retriever appeared woebegone, his head slack over his front left paw, his muzzle resting on the ground. … Read more

Washington is abuzz over a secret memo that House Select Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, a California Republican from Tulare, has been pushing to release. The memo reportedly alleges senior FBI and Justice Department officials relied on questionable and politically motivated sources to justify surveillance of President Trump’s campaign. In a highly unusual move Monday, … Read more

Supreme Court Justices Sandra Day O’Connor, Anthony M. Kennedy and David H. Souter were reviled Monday by Randy Terry, chairman of the Operation Rescue anti-abortion group, for their cowardice and betrayal, but fellow Justice Harry A. Blackmun lauded them for “an act of personal courage and constitutional principle.” O’Connor, Kennedy and Souter had rejected pleas … Read more