Excerpts From Trump's Interview With The Times  —  President Trump spoke on Thursday with a reporter from The New York Times, Michael S. Schmidt.  The interview took place in the Grill Room of his golf club in West Palm Beach, Fla., whose noise made some portions at times hard to hear.

EXCLUSIVE: White power at the White House - Trump intern flashes ‘alt-right’ symbol used by notorious extremists during group photo with the president  — Former White House intern Jack Breuer held up a ‘white power’ sign during a photo-op with President Trump and fellow interns in the East Room in November

Trump fires all members of HIV/AIDS council without explanation  —  With no explanation, the White House has terminated members of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS amid widespread discontent with President Trump's approach to the epidemic.  —  After six members of PACHA resigned in June …

Call of Duty gaming community points to ‘swatting’ in deadly Wichita police shooting  —  Online gamers have said in multiple Twitter posts that the shooting of a man Thursday night by Wichita police was the result of a “swatting” prank involving two gamers.  —  Swatting is an internet prank …

In Q&A, Sen. Marco Rubio lauds child tax credit expansion, wants Mueller probe to continue  —  Senator Marco Rubio says he's pleasantly ‘encouraged’ at the support from his party to help Puerto Rico recover from the devastation brought on by Hurricane Maria.  Rubio visited the island and says the challenges there are extraordinary.

Trump Tweets About the Bitter Cold and Global Warming, Confusing Weather and Climate  — President Trump tweeted about the cold snap hitting the East Coast.  — He seemed to confuse the difference between weather and climate.  —  President Donald Trump tweeted Thursday that …

No, Trump's approval rating hasn't caught up to Obama's  —  STORY HIGHLIGHTS  —  (CNN)President Donald Trump claimed Friday that his approval ratings at this point in his presidency rival those of Barack Obama, citing a report from “Fox & Friends.”  —  “While the Fake News loves to talk …

Warriors coach Steve Kerr: There's an ‘assault on our institutions and on our core values’  —  SAN FRANCISCO - Outspoken Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr sat down with USA TODAY Sports recently following a tour of the team's Chase Center construction site.

Drexel professor resigns amid threats over controversial tweets  —  (CNN)A Drexel University professor who received death threats after posting several controversial tweets said Thursday he is resigning because the year-long harassment has made his situation “unsustainable.”

A rising White House power: true-believer Stephen Miller  —  Guess who's likely to stick around for all four or eight years, and will be empowered in 2018?  Stephen Miller, the true-believer senior policy adviser, who trumps Trump on hardline immigration views — and may outlast almost everyone.

The Most Expensive Mile of Subway Track on Earth … An accountant discovered the discrepancy while reviewing the budget for new train platforms under Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan.  —  The budget showed that 900 workers were being paid to dig caverns for the platforms as part …

Billionaire kingmakers swarm Florida governor's race after Trump endorsement  —  After Donald Trump appeared to endorse Ron DeSantis' campaign for Florida governor last week, a handful of the biggest and most influential billionaires in Republican politics threw their support behind …

Trump targets Amazon in call for postal service to hike prices  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump targeted online retailer Amazon(AMZN.O) on Friday in a call for the country's postal service to raise prices of shipments in order to recoup costs.

Why I Left Iran to Play Chess in America  —  Right now in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the World Chess Championships are underway.  But some world champions are noticeably absent: The Israeli players were blocked from participating when Saudi Arabia denied them visas.

‘Star Wars’ Franchise Crosses $4 Billion, Eclipsing Disney's Lucasfilm Price  —  The feat comes as ‘The Last Jedi’ nears $940 million at the worldwide box office.  —  From the get-go, Wall Street analysts lauded The Walt Disney Co.'s decision in 2012 to buy Lucasfilm …

Second dog rescued  —  The Toledo Area Humane Society is investigating the death of a dog in central Toledo that was found outside and “frozen solid.”  —  The female dog had died after curling up on the front porch of a house in the 1000 block of King Street.

Heckler of Donald Trump Animatronic at Disney World Responds to Haters: ‘Check Your Privilege’  —  “I wanted to show their kids what a protest looks like before Trump destroys democracy,” Jay Malsky says after disrupting performance at theme park's Hall of Presidents

Key races for control of the House as Democrats take slight edge into 2018  —  WASHINGTON — Democrats ended 2016 dejected and despondent after Donald Trump shocked Hillary Clinton — and the world — by a tiny combined margin of 77,744 votes in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin to win the presidency.

New Year's Eve party in Berlin to have ‘safe zone’ for women  —  Organisers of Berlin's New Year's Eve celebrations are to set up a “safe zone” for women for the first time.  —  The new security measures planned for the Brandenburg Gate party come amid concerns about sexual assaults.