Trump was angry and ‘unglued’ when he started a trade war, officials say  —  WASHINGTON — With global markets shaken by President Donald Trump's surprise decision to impose strict tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, the president went into battle mode on Friday: “Trade wars are good, and easy to win,” he wrote on Twitter.

Days before the election, Stormy Daniels threatened to cancel deal to keep alleged affair with Trump secret … 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.

Mueller team asking if Kushner foreign business ties influenced Trump policy  —  WASHINGTON — Federal investigators are scrutinizing whether any of Jared Kushner's business discussions with foreigners during the presidential transition later shaped White House policies in ways designed …

Why Trump is far more likely to cave on gun control than on free trade  —  (CNN)President Donald Trump deviated from the standard Republican line this week on two fronts: gun rights and free trade.  —  On guns, he suggested that he preferred to “take the gun first, go through due process second …

Amid national controversy, Houston Democrats hustle votes in 7th Congressional District  —  National Democrats set off a national firestorm when they took a shot at one of their own. … HOUSTON — Democratic congressional candidate Lizzie Pannill Fletcher stumped through 102 fever at a River Oaks house party Wednesday night.

“She's in Immense Personal Jeopardy”: Even for Hope Hicks, the West Wing Got Too Hot  —  “Emotionally overwhelmed” by the headlines over Rob Porter, manipulated by Kelly, and interviewed by Mueller and Congress, the president's surrogate daughter is leaving the Trump bunker at one of his toughest moments.

Roy Moore pleads for money, saying resources ‘depleted’  —  MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Former U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore is pleading for money to pay for his legal bills as he fights a lawsuit against a woman who says he molested her when she was 14.  —  Moore said on a campaign Facebook …

Kentucky's ‘child bride’ bill stalls as groups fight to let 13-year-olds wed  —  Donna Pollard describes getting married at 16 to a 29-year-old man who was her counselor.  She is behind Senate Bill 48 to raise the legal age of marriage in Kentucky to 18 years old.  Matt Stone, Courier Journal

Why Italy's Insular Election Is More Important Than It Looks  —  ROME — The campaign before Italy's national elections on Sunday has been self-obsessed and often petty and unedifying.  But it has been instructive about one thing: The political forces that have torn at the global order …

Delta hit with a sea of angry customers after it bans NRA discounts  — On Monday the Atlanta-based company was targeted by Republican lawmakers who blocked a bill that would have given Delta a roughly $40 million tax exemption.  —  Delta announced last Saturday that it would be cutting ties with the NRA …

Trump pushes Republicans to oppose crucial New York-New Jersey tunnel project … President Trump is pushing congressional Republicans not to fund a crucial infrastructure project — a long-delayed plan to build a new rail tunnel between Manhattan and New Jersey — setting up a confrontation …

California Dems' hard-left turn could be the whole party's future  —  How far left is the Democratic Party headed?  Look to California, where last month's state party convention went off the deep end.  —  The first sign of lunacy was the delegates' refusal to endorse impeccably liberal Sen. Dianne Feinstein.

Veteran Affairs Secretary David Shulkin ‘Extremely Paranoid’ Ahead of Damning New Investigation, Sources Say … Embattled Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin is likely to be the subject of another damaging investigation as early as next week, one that could prove politically fatal.

APNewsBreak: Questions surround Trump's 1st wall contract  —  OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A tiny Nebraska startup awarded the first border wall construction project under President Donald Trump is the offshoot of a construction firm that was sued repeatedly for failing to pay subcontractors and accused …

Rick Ross Hospitalized, Machine Keeping Him Alive  —  Rick Ross has been hooked up to a machine that's taking over the function of his heart and lungs ... according to sources connected to the music mogul.  —  Rick is in a Miami area hospital getting treatment in the cardio unit …

Tone-Deaf: How Facebook Misread America's Mood on Russia  —  Social-media giant played down allegations Russia exploited its platform, deepening perceptions it is oblivious to public concern about its social impact  —  Weeks after Facebook Inc. disclosed it had been exploited by Russia-backed propagandists …

Trump Swaps His Beloved Burgers for Salads and Soups in New Diet  —  Two weeks since he's been seen eating burger, one person says  —  But bacon was still on the menu at breakfast this week  —  Donald Trump has traded cheeseburgers for salads in the presidential diet — at least some of the time.

“The Mafia White House”: My no-holds-barred interview on The Rick Smith Show  —  On February 28, I did an extremely angry, no-holds-barred interview with The Rick Smith Show about the Trump administration and the investigation into Russian interference.  You can listen to the interview here.

Child called racial slur, spat on by firefighter at Overland Park Hooters  —  Police say a racial slur was hurled at a child at a Hooters off Metcalf Avenue.  —  KCTV5 News spoke to a witness who was at the restaurant and he said he was dumbfounded by a statement the firefighter made to police.