The interceptor missile lifted off from the California coast on Tuesday afternoon, and minutes later it smashed into a mock warhead that had launched from Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. Past efforts to test the country's multibillion-dollar efforts at missile defense have had mixed results, which only served to heighten the tensions around the test on Tuesday.

She vowed she would not call an early election and then did just that. She supported Britain remaining in the European Union, yet is now overseeing its departure. She has been criticized for backtracking from new plans to finance care for older people, even as she has portrayed herself as the champion of those "just about managing" to get by.

But there is an exception to this rule: namely, when presidential speech supplies evidence of intent or purpose of established legal relevance - for example, when assessing a claim of religious discrimination. Thus the Fourth Circuit was right to rely on Mr. Trump's words in rejecting the administration's effort to revive its travel ban, and the Supreme Court should follow suit.

When he returned home, Mr. Trump stoked the fires more, complaining in a tweet that Germany pays "far less than they should on NATO & military. Very bad for U.S. This will change."

"It has gotten so bad that nearly 20 million Americans have chosen to pay the penalty or received an exemption rather than buy insurance. That's something that nobody has ever heard of or thought could happen, and they're actually doing that rather than being forced to buy insurance."

Federal workers are growing increasingly anxious at the prospect of massive budget cuts President Trump proposed this week as a way to pay for increased military spending. Employees who list endangered species, collect taxes and distribute aid to foreign countries are fearing for their livelihoods as they sift through rumors and wait to see whether their offices will be targeted for steep reductions.

Sheriff Bouchard answered questions by phone, and Dr. Serpas by email. Their responses were edited for clarity and length. Do you agree with the argument that the Obama administration undercut the police? Michael Bouchard: I think that police agencies are expecting and capable of handling scrutiny.

Donald J. Trump's global business empire will create an unprecedented number of conflicts of interest for a United States president, experts in legal ethics say. Mr. Trump has said he will separate himself from his company before taking the oath of office, but he has not offered any details on how.

Although a few of today's mainstream Republicans, like Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, have promoted child care proposals, the official G.O.P. platform does not mention the issue. Conservatives tend to view government-funded child care as an expensive and unwanted intrusion into family life.

A wall would not just split the tribe's traditional lands in the United States and Mexico, members say. It would threaten an ancestral connection that has endured even as barriers, gates, cameras and Border Patrol agents have become a part of the landscape.

Mr. Spicer said that officials at the Justice and Education Departments were reviewing a policy put out by the Obama administration last May that directed public schools to allow transgender students to use the bathrooms that match their gender identity. The Obama administration said that transgender students fell under the sex discrimination measures in federal funding under Title IX.

President Trump's current antagonistic stance towards his intelligence and security agencies dates, we all recall, from before his election, when he characterized them as part of the smug, Democrat-inclined Washington establishment that he aimed to overturn.

The leader of one of the U.S.'s largest health insurance agencies-who has been saying for months that ObamaCare is on the ropes-- said Wednesday that statistics indicate that the law has now entered a "death spiral." Aetna's CEO Mark Bertolini told The Wall Street Journal that the health law's market is nearing failure because healthier people have dropped out while premiums continue to climb.

First Read is a morning briefing from Meet the Press and the NBC Political Unit on the day's most important political stories and why they matter Trump's fight with the intel community Less than a month in office, President Trump has engaged in plenty of fights already -- with the courts, Mexico, the media, and even Nordstrom.

The new US defence secretary has told Nato countries that Washington will "moderate its commitment" to the alliance if they do not increase their spending on defence. James Mattis's comments repeat President Donald Trump's demand that many countries raise their spending. Mr Mattis met Nato defence ministers for the first time on Wednesday.