Politics

1. Retired Admiral McRaven has no regrets over criticizing Trump

   Retired Navy Admiral and former U.S. special operations chief William McRaven has no regrets about criticizing President Donald Trump, though he said on Wednesday that friends in the military faulted him for disparaging the commander-in-chief.

   

   

2. Judge rules against Trump, paves way for banks to provide his business records to Congress

   U.S. President Donald Trump, three of his children and the Trump Organization on Wednesday lost their bid to block Deutsche Bank AG and Capital One Financial Corp from providing financial records to Democratic lawmakers investigating Trump's businesses.

   

   

3. Trump administration may use Iran threat to sell bombs to Saudis without Congress' approval: senator

   U.S. President Donald Trump's administration plans to use a loophole and rising tensions with Iran to sell bombs to Saudi Arabia, even though Congress blocked such sales for months over concerns about civilian deaths in the war in Yemen, Senator Chris Murphy said on Wednesday.

   

   

4. Trump antagonist Avenatti indicted for ripping off Stormy Daniels, extorting Nike

   Michael Avenatti's legal troubles escalated on Wednesday as federal prosecutors announced new indictments accusing the lawyer and prominent critic of U.S. President Donald Trump of ripping off porn star Stormy Daniels and extorting Nike Inc.

   

   

5. House panel, Trump lawyers agree on appeals schedule in financial records case: statement

   The House Oversight Committee has reached an agreement with President Donald Trump's attorneys to seek an expedited appeal in a court case in which lawmakers are seeking the U.S. leader's financial records from his accounting firm, the panel said in a statement on Wednesday.

   

   

6. Trump torpedoes meeting with Democrats, blasts Pelosi's 'cover-up' accusation

   President Donald Trump on Wednesday abruptly cut short a White House meeting with Democratic lawmakers on infrastructure, then ripped into them over House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's accusation that he is engaged in a cover-up and asserted that he could not work with them unless they dropped multiple investigations.

   

   

7. Republican senator wants U.S. Census to ask about criminal records

   The U.S. census should include questions about criminal records to help policymakers get former convicts back into the workforce, a Republican lawmaker said on Wednesday.

   

   

8. Pentagon mulling U.S. military request to send 5,000 troops to Middle East: officials

   The U.S. Department of Defense is considering a U.S. military request to send about 5,000 additional troops to the Middle East amid increasing tensions with Iran, two U.S. officials told Reuters on Wednesday.

   

   

9. Trump loses court round in U.S. Democratic lawmakers demand for bank documents on his businesses

   U.S. President Donald Trump, three of his children and the Trump Organization on Wednesday lost their bid to block Deutsche Bank AG and Capital One Financial Corp from providing financial records to Democratic lawmakers investigating Trump's businesses.

   

   

10. U.S. election cybersecurity agency staff 'strained to the breaking point'

    As the U.S. government prepares to defend the 2020 presidential election from cyber threats, the federal agency charged with helping administer elections, the Election Assistance Commission, says it is “strained to the breaking point,” according to Chairwoman Christy McCormick.

    

    

11. Companies lobby U.S. Congress on carbon tax; senator expects bill in weeks

    Representatives from more than 70 companies met with U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday to push for a tax on carbon emissions to fight climate change, and a senator said bipartisan legislation containing such a plan could be introduced in weeks.

    

    

12. Trump administration readies draft plan to speed environmental permitting

    The Trump administration will complete a draft proposal to streamline environmental permitting for big infrastructure projects by next month, an administration official said on Wednesday, marking a key step in its controversial effort to cut red tape for industry over the objections of conservationists.

    

    

13. 'American Taliban' to be released from prison Thursday

    John Walker Lindh, the American captured in Afghanistan in 2001 fighting for the Taliban and vilified as a national traitor, is to be released early from a federal prison on Thursday while some U.S. lawmakers worry he still poses a security risk.

    

    

14. New York state legislature votes to make Trump tax returns available

    New York state's legislature on Wednesday passed a bill that would make it easier for U.S. congressional committees investigating President Donald Trump to get access to his state tax returns.

    

    

15. Trump administration holds off redirecting California's high-speed rail money

    The Trump administration on Wednesday agreed not to immediately redirect nearly $1 billion it is withholding from California's high-speed rail project, one of several disputes between Republican Trump and the Democratic-controlled state.

    

    

16. Budget talks not affected by Trump refusal to negotiate with Congress: CNBC

    President Donald Trump's refusal to negotiate with Congress does not extend to his administration's effort to reach a deal on must-pass debt ceiling and funding bills, CNBC reported on Wednesday, citing an unidentified senior administration official.

    

    

17. Virginia governor's role in blackface yearbook photo unclear, school says

    Virginia Governor Ralph Northam's former medical school was unable to determine his role in a racist photograph that appeared on his 1984 yearbook page, according to a report released on Wednesday following a three-month inquiry.

    

    

18. Pelosi says she prays for Trump after accusing him of cover-up

    U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Wednesday she prays for President Donald Trump after a meeting on infrastructure between Democratic congressional leaders and the president collapsed.

    

    

19. Pelosi says Trump obstruction, cover-up could be impeachable offense

    U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Wednesday President Donald Trump was engaged in obstruction of justice and a cover-up which could be an impeachable offense.

    

    

20. Trump accuses Democratic leaders of 'tearing the United States apart'

    U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday accused the top Democrats in Congress of "tearing the United States apart" by pursuing investigations stemming from the now-concluded Russia probe.