The Hill reports: The White House is dismissing calls for Attorney General Jeff Sessions to recuse himself from an investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. “There’s nothing to recuse himself,” White House press secretary Sean Spicer said in an interview with Fox News that aired late Thursday morning. “He was 100 percent straight with the committee, and …

ABC News reports: Sen. Chuck Schumer today joined several Democratic lawmakers in calling for Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ resignation amid reports that he met with the Russian ambassador to the United States on two occasions, despite denying during his confirmation hearing that he had made contact with Russian officials. “The information reported last night makes it clear beyond the shadow …

Venerable newsman Dan Rather went to town on Jeff Sessions this morning. From his Facebook page: Every once in a while in Washington, the fuse is lit for what seems to be a big scandal. Much more rarely does that fuse lead to an explosion of the magnitude we are seeing with Russia and the new Administration, and frankly the …

Bloomberg reports: House Republican leaders have a new version of their major Obamacare repeal and replacement bill. They just don’t want you to see it. The document is being treated a bit like a top-secret surveillance intercept. It is expected to be available to members and staffers on the House Energy and Commerce panel starting Thursday, but only in a …

The Associated Press reports: The intense attention being given to the new U.S. attorney general’s meetings with Russia’s ambassador could obstruct improved Washington-Moscow relations, the spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday. The spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, told reporters he did not know about the meetings last year between Ambassador Sergei Kislyak and Jeff Sessions, who at that time was …

The Washington Post reports: Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson was confirmed Thursday as secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, bringing into President Trump’s cabinet a Washington outsider with no prior government experience and a staunchly conservative view of public assistance. Support for Carson’s confirmation came down largely along party lines, highlighting the intense partisan and ideological conflicts …

Mediaite reports: NBC caught up with Attorney General Jeff Sessions this morning, just hours after a Washington Post report said that Sessions did not disclose contact he had with the Russian ambassador during the campaign when he was going through his Senate Judiciary hearing to become the nation’s top prosecutor. “Well I have not met with any Russians at any …

Business Insider reports: The head of the House oversight committee on Thursday morning said Attorney General Jeff Sessions should recuse himself from the investigations into Russia’s election-related hacking and communications with President Donald Trump’s presidential campaign. House Oversight Chairman Jason Chaffetz, a Republican from Utah, said on Twitter that “AG Sessions should clarify his testimony and recuse himself.” House Majority …

The Miami Herald reports: A man accused of a homophobic hate crime in downtown Key West was arrested Wednesday morning in North Carolina and will be extradited to Monroe County for prosecution, authorities say. The Key West Police Department said Brandon Ray Davis, 30, was taken into custody by the Onslow County (N.C.) Sheriff’s Office on an “extraditable warrant” for …

Raw Story reports: Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) believes Attorney General Jeff Sessions misled him during a Senate confirmation about his contacts with Russian officials during the presidential campaign. “His responses to me weren’t accurate,” Franken told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” “I would like to see him answer questions at a press conference and then we can decide whether he should resign …

From Breitbart editor Joel Pollak: The Post does not provide the full transcript of the question, from Sen. Al Franken (D-MN), and Sessions’s answer. Instead it summarizes the exchange in a way that makes it seem that Sessions was asked if there was any contact at all between the campaign and representatives of the Russian government. The New York Times …

The Hill reports: President Trump’s transition team called off a plan for an ethics, leadership and management course for his senior White House staff and appointees, including Cabinet members, according to a new report. According to documents obtained by Politico, the Trump team opted not to have staffers go through the program, which would have covered confirmation hearings, complying with …

The New York Times reports: In the Obama administration’s last days, some White House officials scrambled to spread information about Russian efforts to undermine the presidential election — and about possible contacts between associates of President-elect Donald J. Trump and Russians — across the government. Former American officials say they had two aims: to ensure that such meddling isn’t duplicated …

Politico reports: Top congressional Democrats called on Attorney General Jeff Sessions to resign Wednesday after revelations that he had met with the Russian ambassador in the months before the election — meetings that Sessions did not disclose during his confirmation hearings. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) led the effort late on Wednesday night, accusing Sessions of “lying under oath” …

Just in from Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS: Tony Award winner Cynthia Erivo (The Color Purple), four-time Grammy Award nominee Josh Groban (Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812), Tony winner Cady Huffman (The Producers), three-time Tony nominee Carolee Carmello (Sweeney Todd) and Tony nominee Santino Fontana (Cinderella, TV’s Crazy Ex-Girlfriend) are joining the spectacular cast of Broadway Backwards, a …

Reuters reports: The White House told a government watchdog agency that Kellyanne Conway, a senior aide to President Donald Trump, acted “inadvertently” when she publicly endorsed the clothing and jewelry line of Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, according to a letter the administration released on Wednesday. Conway came under criticism last month when she said on television that Americans should “go buy …

Activist vlogger Matt Baume did the research and you’ll be shocked to learn the vast majority of anti-trans bills are being sponsored by Republicans up for reelection. Clip description: What’s the REAL reason for “bathroom bans”? Those are laws that prevent transgender people from using the bathroom unless it matches their birth certificate. The politicians pushing them claim that they …

Politico reports: A Republican congressman who is potentially eyeing a Senate run mocked Democratic women on Wednesday for wearing white at President Donald Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress. Rep. Kevin Cramer of North Dakota said the “poorly dressed” Democratic women wore “bad-looking white pantsuits” in solidarity with failed Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. During a radio town …

Interesting that this comes on the same day we learn of an “exclusively gay moment” in the upcoming Beauty And The Beast remake. Via email: Alerting all parents! In a first for the Disney Channel, a Disney XD show subtly displayed several gay kisses in an episode that aired a couple of days ago. The “Star vs. the Forces of …

“This weekend’s #Oscars had a big mix-up that we keep hearing about in the media, and some are even speculating that it may have been just a PR stunt. I don’t know about that, but either way, many who had never heard of the film ‘Moonlight,’ which received best picture, have heard of it now. From the reviews I have …