Kushner's Business Got Loans from Companies After White House Meetings  —  Apollo, the private equity firm, and Citigroup made large loans last year to the family real estate business of Jared Kushner, President Trump's senior adviser.  —  Early last year, a private equity billionaire started paying regular visits to the White House.

Senate Intelligence Leaders Say House G.O.P. Leaked a Senator's Texts  —  WASHINGTON — The Senate Intelligence Committee has concluded that Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee were behind the leak of private text messages between the Senate panel's top Democrat and a Russian-connected lawyer …

See HUD's $31,000 mahogany dining set  —  Washington (CNN)A $31,000 dining set the Department of Housing and Urban Development purchased, which raised eyebrows when first reported Tuesday, includes a table, sideboard, breakfront — all in mahogany — and 10 mahogany chairs with a blue velvet finish …

Trump Says He'll Impose Tariffs on Steel and Aluminum Imports  —  President Donald Trump, in a meeting at the White House with company leaders, said Thursday he will impose tariffs on imported steel and aluminum—10% for aluminum, 25% for steel—and will sign the measure next week.

Questions linger about how Melania Trump, a Slovenian model, scored ‘the Einstein visa’  —  In 2000, Melania Knauss, a Slovenian model dating Donald Trump, began petitioning the government for the right to permanently reside in the United States under a program reserved for people with “extraordinary ability.”

Putin threatens US arms race with new missiles declaration  —  President says Russia has new line of nuclear-capable weapons that can breach US defences … Vladimir Putin has announced that Russia has developed and is testing a new line of strategic, nuclear-capable weapons that would be able …

French far-right leader Marine Le Pen charged over IS photos  —  PARIS (AP) — French prosecutors filed preliminary charges Thursday against far-right leader Marine Le Pen for tweeting brutal images of Islamic State violence, in a new blow to a woman long seen as the face of Europe's anti-immigrant populism.

U.S. Ambassador to Mexico to Quit Amid Tense Relations Under Trump  —  MEXICO CITY — The United States ambassador to Mexico plans to resign from her post in May, according to a memo circulated on Thursday to embassy staff, the latest in a string of senior diplomatic departures from the region …

AP-NORC Poll: Most Americans say Trump is racist  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — More than half of Americans, including large majorities of blacks and Hispanics, think President Donald Trump is a racist.  More than half think his policies have made things worse for Hispanics and Muslims …

D.C. Public Schools graduation rate on track to decline this year … Fewer high school seniors in the District are expected to receive a diploma in June than the year before, a sharp reversal for a school system that had celebrated a 20-point increase in its graduate rate since 2011.

Walmart Statement on Firearms Policy  —  In light of recent events, we've taken an opportunity to review our policy on firearm sales.  Going forward, we are raising the age restriction for purchase of firearms and ammunition to 21 years of age.  We will update our processes as quickly as possible to implement this change.

Fights Worth Having  —  For my money, the best op-ed published in The Times this week was Mona Charen's Feb. 25 barn-burner, “I'm Glad I Got Booed at CPAC.”  Charen is a movement conservative who worked for Nancy and Ronald Reagan and is a longtime contributor to National Review.

Shelby says he'd leave Trump if he were Sessions: 'I wouldn't be anybody's whipping boy'  —  U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., said Wednesday he would not stick around and be President Trump's “whipping boy” if he was in the position of his former colleague, Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

The Trump Official Who Blocked Undocumented Teens From Getting Abortions Said He Doesn't Believe They Have The Constitutional Right To The Procedure  —  Scott Lloyd, the head of the Office of Refugee Resettlement, is a central figure in several lawsuits over the Trump administration blocking …

Voters vow to elect a Congress that stands up to Trump, poll shows  —  WASHINGTON — Americans are mad, and that is putting Republicans at risk.  —  A new USA TODAY/Suffolk University Poll finds voters looking toward the midterm elections are overwhelmingly unhappy with the country's direction …

Some NBA teams played ‘negro national anthem’ at games  —  WASHINGTON (AP) - Several NBA teams have played what is known as the “negro national anthem” at games during Black History Month thanks in part to the urging of a retired Howard University professor.

Twitter Health Metrics Proposal Submission  —  We're committing to helping increase the collective health, openness, and civility of public conversation around the world, and to hold ourselves publicly accountable toward progress.  By measuring our contribution to the overall health …