The Trump administration’s failure to keep senior adviser Jared Kushner’s trip to Iraq secret isn’t standard practice for top U.S. officials visiting warzones. Such trips are usually kept quiet, with the cooperation of journalists, until the officials arrive in order to ensure maximum security. A senior administration official told reporters Sunday evening that Kushner _ President Donald Trump’s son-in-law _ was in Iraq, even though he was still en route. For the military and security professionals managing the mission, the public disclosure of the unannounced trip was a security breach. Gen. Joseph Dunford, the Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, also was on board. Although the plane landed safely in Baghdad on Monday, the Iraqi capital is hardly a secure location, having suffered countless extremist attacks over the years. The threat is no less acute today as Iraq wages a bitter battle to try to rid the Islamic State from its …

A Senate panel approved Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch Monday, sending President Trump’s pick to the full Senate where a ferocious battle looms that could provoke a change in rules governing the chamber. All Republicans on the Judiciary Committee backed Gorsuch, while all Democrats lined up in opposition to the appellate judge. …

After his press secretary blasted it as an example of rampant government overreach, President Donald Trump signed a bill into law Monday that could eventually allow internet providers to sell information about their customers’ browsing habits.   The bill scraps a Federal Communications Commission online privacy regulation issued in October to give consumers more control over how companies like Comcast, AT&T and Verizon share that information. Critics have argued that the rule would stifle innovation and pick winners and losers among internet companies.   The regulation was scheduled to take effect later this year, but Congress used its authority under the obscure Congressional Review Act to wipe it from the books.   With a Republican president in the White House, the GOP-controlled Congress has turned to the 20-year-old law to scrap numerous regulations that Republicans say are costly, burdensome or excessive, many of which were finalized in the closing months …

The outgoing head of the United Nations’ World Food Program said Monday she is certain the U.S. Congress will reject the Trump administration’s proposed budget cuts for U.N. aid agencies, saying “No one in America believes that ‘America First’ means that other people must die.”   Executive Director Ertharin Cousin, whose friendship with former President Barack Obama predated his presidency, on Tuesday winds up five years of leading the world’s largest anti-hunger humanitarian organization. The Trump administration tapped former South Carolina Gov. David Beasley to replace her, and U.N. officials appointed him last week.   In a blunt interview on the eve of her departure, Cousin joined Congressional Democrats and Republicans in criticizing the administration’s proposal to reduce funding for the State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development by roughly 31 percent in the next fiscal year. Congress, in negotiation with the administration, has the final say on the …

A U.S. appeals court said Monday it would hold a hearing in May over a Hawaii federal judge’s order that blocked President Donald Trump’s revised travel restrictions on citizens from six Muslim-majority countries. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals previously upheld a Seattle judge’s block of Trump’s first travel order. The appeals court did not say Monday which three judges would preside over the latest appeal. Trump signed the revised ban last month, in a bid to overcome legal problems with his January executive order that caused chaos at airports and sparked mass protests before its enforcement was halted in February. Trump has said the travel ban is needed for national security. The state of Hawaii challenged the revised travel directive as unconstitutional religious discrimination. Hawaii and other opponents of the ban claim it is based on Trump’s election campaign promise of “a total and complete shutdown of Muslims …

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will chair a meeting of the U.N. Security Council on the North Korea nuclear issue later this month. U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley told reporters Monday that Tillerson’s briefing to member states will take place April 28 — well after this week’s summit between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Florida. “I think a lot is going to depend on what happens between now and the end of the month,” Haley said at a news conference marking the U.S. assumption of the U.N. Security Council presidency for April. “Because with the conversations we are having and the decisions China makes, that will really spell out where at least the U.S. wants to go.”     Haley said the two leaders’ summit “will be very, very important” on a number of levels, but particularly on the issue of North …

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced steps on Monday to prevent the fraudulent use of H1B visas, used by employers to bring in specialized foreign workers temporarily, which appeared to fall short of President Donald Trump’s campaign promises to overhaul the program. Trump had promised to end the lottery system for H1B visas, which gives each applicant an equal chance at 65,000 positions each year. Lobbyists for businesses who rely on H1B visas, commonly used by the tech sector, had expected Trump to upend the lottery in favor of a system that prioritized workers who are highly skilled and would be highly paid in the United States. The lottery for fiscal year 2018 opened on Monday without changes. The start of the lottery was seen by those watching the issue as the unofficial deadline for the Trump administration to enact H1B visa reform, and the failure to meet that …

The National Archives and Records Administration has told the White House to keep each of President Donald Trump’s tweets, even those he deletes or corrects, and the White House has agreed.   The head of the archives, David S. Ferriero, told two Democratic senators in a letter last week that the White House has assured him it’s saving all Trump’s Twitter blasts.   The archives contacted the White House about the matter because the Presidential Records Act requires such correspondence to be preserved for history. Ferriero did not say when the agency contacted White House officials to remind them about the records requirement, but officials briefed the White House counsel’s office about the law on Feb. 2, according to the archivist’s letter to Sens. Claire McCaskill of Missouri and Tom Carper of Delaware.   The archivist’s letter, dated March 30, doesn’t describe precisely how the White House is saving Trump’s …

U.S. President Donald Trump has followed up on one of his campaign promises and donated his salary for the first quarter of the year to the National Park Service. White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer on Monday presented Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke with a check for $78,333,32, during a press briefing at the White House. A billionaire businessman turned president, Trump had promised to forgo his presidential salary. By law he must be paid, so he is donating the money. U.S. taxpayers can write off such donations, potentially lowering their income taxes. The gift may be a peace offering of sorts. Trump has tangled with the parks agency over its tweets, which unfavorably compared the size of his inauguration crowd with that of Barack Obama’s. The National Park Service is part of the Department of the Interior, whose budget Trump has proposed cutting by more than $1 billion. The charitable …

A new initiative launched by Black Lives Matter activists seeks to re-focus the movement’s efforts on state capitols, building on momentum at the national level to push back against President Donald Trump’s political agenda on issues such as policing and immigration. The online platform OurStates.org is the latest indication that Democrats and left-leaning groups are turning their attention to statehouses after concluding that many of the policies they oppose are being enacted at the state level, since Congress has passed few major laws in recent years.   Despite the movement’s national presence, it has not concentrated “on engaging and resisting what state legislatures are doing to essentially implement the same agenda,” said Sam Sinyangwe, a data scientist with the project. “If we don’t engage on the state level, many of the same rights we’re fighting to protect will be restricted at the local level anyway.”   Users visiting the site …

Among 4 million residents in the city of Los Angeles, an estimated half a million are undocumented.   L.A. police captain Alfred Labrada used to be one of them. “I came here undocumented many years ago in this country as a young child and lived in some of the fear that I think some of the community is (feeling),” said Labrada, who received his citizenship after joining the military. He says fear among undocumented immigrants is heightened because of President Donald Trump’s executive orders on immigration. Those orders expand the scope of who can be labeled as a “criminal,” subjecting more people to possible deportation. “I understand some of the fears there are occurring in the country, and I see it. A lot of the parents have for a time being, some, kept their children from schools,” said Labrada. The LAPD has seen a drop in the number of calls …

U.S. President Donald Trump’s tough but vague talk on North Korea, in advance of this week’s visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping, is fueling a wide range of speculation that he may pursue a major policy shift that could either lead to a grand bargain with Beijing or start a preemptive war. In an interview with London’s Financial Times on Sunday, Trump said that if China is not going to solve the problem of North Korea, “we will.” He also noted China’s “great influence over North Korea” and warned that if Beijing did not help resolve the issue of Pyongyang’s rapidly advancing nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities, that “it won’t be good for anyone.” Halting North Korea’s nuclear program and preventing the Kim Jong Un government from developing a nuclear tipped intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) that could strike the U.S. mainland, is expected to be a key issue Trump and …

Amid the turmoil over staff shake-ups, blocked travel bans and the Russia cloud hanging overhead, President Donald Trump is steadily plugging away at a major piece of his agenda: Undoing Obama. From abortion to energy to climate change and personal investments, Trump is keeping his promises in methodically overturning regulations and policies adopted when Barack Obama was president. It hasn’t all been smooth sailing. Trump recently failed to fulfill his pledge to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, which continues to stand as Obama’s most recognizable domestic policy achievement. Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan couldn’t persuade enough fellow Republicans to back new health care legislation last month. Ryan pulled the measure just before a scheduled House vote. Trump has had better outcomes in other areas. Climate change Trump signed an executive order last week to deliver on his pledge to unravel Obama’s efforts to curb global warming. The …

The best women’s hockey players in the U.S. can now make a living playing the sport they love thanks to a landmark agreement with USA Hockey reached after a threat to boycott the world championship. The deal will likely help their counterparts north of the border make more money in their next Olympic agreement with Hockey Canada. Even those who will benefit, though, acknowledge the off-ice fight isn’t over. At every level of female hockey, from pre-teen girls to college to post-graduate players, there are obstacles. “Women’s hockey has come a long way with the amount of teams that are popping up and support and visibility,” said Meghan Duggan, captain of the Americans’ team playing in the world championship. “I think it has a long way to go, and I’m excited to push it ahead. I’m certainly proud to be someone standing up for women’s hockey and really trying to …

Many of California’s immigrants are believed to be undocumented, making them subject to President Trump’s executive orders on immigration. Those orders expand the scope of who can be labeled as a “criminal,” subjecting more people to possible deportation. But California state law protects undocumented immigrants who have not committed serious crimes. …

An oil leak was discovered in Alaska’s Cook Inlet on Saturday, causing a major oil and gas producer to shut down two of its platforms there, officials say. Hilcorp Alaska LLC workers felt an impact on the company’s Anna Platform shortly before noon Saturday, then noticed an oil sheen and bubbling from underwater, according to the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation.   The spill is on the west side of Cook Inlet, to the southwest of Anchorage. Governor ‘deeply concerned’ Officials say leak is from an underwater pipeline that is carrying more than 19,000 gallons of crude oil. It’s not clear how much oil is spilling into the inlet. Hilcorp said it lowered the pressure in the line and has hired a diving contractor to investigate the leak. “I am deeply concerned about the potential impact to the environment,” Gov. Bill Walker said in a statement Sunday. “Our Spill Prevention …

Should U.S. high school students know at least as much about the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Federalist papers as immigrants passing an American citizenship test?   In a growing number of states, having such a basic knowledge is now a high school graduation requirement.   Kentucky last week became the latest state to require the high school social studies curriculum to teach the same material used in the 100 civics questions on the naturalization test.   Other civics education boosters say such a mandate is too simplistic. They say it’s better to have a full course delving into the founding U.S. documents.   Rhode Island and Minnesota are among the states where lawmakers are considering requiring a course on American government and civics. It’s been a bipartisan cause. …

U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi Monday at the White House.  It is the Egyptian leader’s first official visit to the White House.   Former U.S. President Barack Obama froze aid to Cairo after Egypt’s military, led by then General Sissi, overthrew Egypt’s first democratically elected president, Mohammed Morsi, in 2013.  Sissi was elected to the presidency a year later. Obama did not invite Sissi to the White House and was critical of the military regime’s crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood, which Morsi represented as president.  Sissi regards the Brotherhood as a terrorist group. Monday’s Oval Office meeting is being keenly watched in Cairo where there is intense curiosity about Trump’s intentions toward Egypt and the greater Muslim world following Trump’s ban on citizens from six Muslim majority countries.   The meeting, however, is not the first time the two leaders have met.  The two …

A Senate panel is expected to approve President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch, setting the stage for a bruising partisan battle in the full Senate that could forever alter how the chamber operates. As the majority party, Republicans have the votes to approve Gorsuch in the Senate Judiciary Committee this week, even if, as expected, all Democrats line up in opposition. After that, questions abound. Three more Democratic senators, Claire McCaskill, Richard Blumenthal and Brian Schatz, announced their opposition to Gorsuch Friday, setting up a confrontation with Republicans. Democrats have said they will use a procedure called a filibuster that requires 60 votes to win a confirmation in the 100-seat Senate. Republicans control the Senate by a 52-48 margin but if Democrats can garner 41 votes, they would be able to sustain the filibuster. As of Friday, 36 Democrats said they would support the move. If Democrats gain …