Politics

Bloomberg reports: Donald Trump has traded cheeseburgers for salads in the presidential diet — at least some of the time. The president whose trademark campaign-trail dinner consisted of two McDonald’s Big Macs, two Filet-o-Fish sandwiches and a chocolate milkshake is cutting back on doctor’s orders to drop a few pounds, according to three people familiar with the matter. Less red …

The Washington Post reports: The 2016 election was less than a month away, and Donald Trump’s attorney had blown the deadline for paying Stormy Daniels to keep quiet about her alleged affair with the future president. In an Oct. 17 email, an attorney for Daniels — a porn star whose real name is Stephanie Clifford — threatened to cancel the …

CNN reports: President Donald Trump reached a presidential milestone at his Palm Beach County, Florida, golf club on Saturday: One hundred days in office at a golf club that bears his name. Trump, once a critic of presidential golfing, has ignored his own advice and made a habit of visiting some of the many golf courses emblazoned in his moniker. …

The Hill reports: Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) on Friday apologized for calling supporters of ObamaCare “the stupidest, dumbass people I’ve ever met.” “Yesterday, I made a poorly worded joke about Obamacare supporters — a joke that was not reflective of my actual feelings towards my friends on the other side,” Hatch said in a statement. “Throughout my term of service, …

Somehow I missed this yesterday. The Washington Post reports: Utah has never been known as a launchpad for hip-hop music, and if a mock rap video released by a group of state lawmakers is any indication, there’s a good reason for that. The state’s Republican-controlled House of Representatives released a video ostensibly meant to educate citizens about how a bill …

ABC News reports: A government watchdog group filed a new ethics complaint against House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes and majority committee staff on Thursday following a report that Senate investigators have determined House Republicans leaked private text messages related to the ongoing probe of Russian election interference. According to the New York Times, the leaders of the Senate Intelligence …

CNBC reports: Even if new tariffs on steel and aluminum spark an international trade war, President Donald Trump is confident the United States would come out on top. Trump announced Thursday that he will impose 25 percent tariff on steel and a 10 percent tariff on aluminum as early as next week in an effort to force partners into “fairer” …

ABC News reports: The president woke up with Alec Baldwin on his mind — and let the world know about it. Well, he let “Alex Baldwin” know about it anyway. Donald Trump took to Twitter at 5:42 a.m. to fire off a tweet attacking the left-leaning actor for his portrayal of Trump on “Saturday Night Live.” Baldwin had said on …

The Hill reports: Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) on Thursday called ObamaCare supporters “the stupidest, dumbass people” he’s ever met. Orrin made the comments during a speech at the American Enterprise Institute about the GOP tax overhaul, which repealed the ObamaCare individual mandate. “[We] finally did away with the individual mandate tax that was established under that wonderful bill called ObamaCare,” …

CNBC reports: Stocks fell on Thursday after President Donald Trump said the U.S. will implement tariffs on steel and aluminum imports next week. The Dow Jones industrial average closed 431 points lower after rising more than 150 points earlier in the day. The 30-stock index fell as much as 586 points. The S&P 500 declined 1.4 percent — erasing its …

NBC News reports: The White House is preparing to replace H.R. McMaster as national security adviser as early as next month in a move orchestrated by chief of staff John Kelly and Defense Secretary James Mattis, according to five people familiar with the discussions. The move would be the latest in a long string of staff shakeups at the White …

The Hill reports: Democrats hold a 15-point lead over Republicans on a generic House ballot, according to a poll released Thursday by Suffolk University and USA Today. This survey is at least the third in recent days to have found Democrats with a double-digit lead as voters look to the 2018 midterms. Forty-seven percent of respondents said that they would …

Talking Points Memo reports: A spokesperson for the Department of Housing and Urban Development told TPM Thursday that Secretary Ben Carson had ordered the agency to rescind an order for $31,561 worth of dining room furniture. “At the request of the Secretary, the agency is working to rescind the order for the dining room set,” HUD spokesperson Raffi Williams told …

The Washington Post reports: In March 2001, she was granted a green card in the elite EB-1 program, which was designed for renowned academic researchers, multinational business executives or those in other fields, such as Olympic athletes and Oscar-winning actors, who demonstrated “sustained national and international acclaim.” “We called it the Einstein visa,” said Bruce Morrison, a former Democratic congressman …

The Washington Post reports: Special counsel Robert S. Mueller III has been investigating a period of time last summer when President Trump seemed determined to drive Attorney General Jeff Sessions from his job, according to people familiar with the matter who said that a key area of interest for the inquiry is whether those efforts were part of a months-long …

TMZ reports: Donald Trump Jr. is “one and done” when it comes to his civic duty, and looks pretty damn happy about it. We got Trump Jr. outside the Manhattan criminal courthouse where he reported Wednesday morning for jury duty. The President’s son was actually selected as a potential juror in an attempted robbery case, but obviously didn’t make the …

USA Today reports: President Trump said he favored taking guns away from people who might commit violence before going through legal due process Wednesday, one of many startling comments he made in a rambling White House meeting with a bipartisan group of lawmakers. Trump also called some of his fellow Republicans afraid of the NRA, said “we must harden our …

The BBC reports: A nomination made for US President Donald Trump to receive the Nobel Peace Prize was potentially fraudulent, according to the awarding committee. The Norwegian committee has filed a report with police over its concerns. Mr Trump was reportedly nominated for his “ideology of peace by force” by an anonymous American. The director of the Nobel Institute said …

The Independent reports: President Donald Trump has mounted a fresh attack on his attorney general, questioning his judgement on a federal investigation in a rambling tweet. The president lashed out at Attorney General Jeff Sessions over his decision to appoint the Department of Justice inspector general to probe allegations of FBI surveillance abuse. Mr Sessions had announced the day before …

The Hill reports: The Trump campaign store is now selling an “American Dreamer” hat for $50, monetizing one of President Trump’s signature lines from his State of the Union speech last month. The hat reads “American Dreamer” across the front, has an American flag stitched onto the side and “#MAGA” stitched onto the back. The hat is “proudly made in …