WASHINGTON — In the Obama administration’s last days, some White House officials scrambled to spread information about Russian efforts to undermine the presidential election — and about possible contacts between associates of President-elect Donald J. Trump and Russians — across the government. Former American officials say they had two aims: to ensure that such meddling isn’t duplicated in future American or European elections, and to leave a clear trail of intelligence for government investigators.

Beyond leaving a trail for investigators, the Obama administration also wanted to help European allies combat a threat that had caught the United States off guard. American intelligence agencies made it clear in the declassified version of the intelligence assessment released in January that they believed Russia intended to use its attacks on the United States as a template for more meddling. “We assess Moscow will apply lessons learned,” the report said, “to future influence efforts worldwide, including against U.S. allies.”

WASHINGTON — Attorney General Jeff Sessions, facing a chorus of criticism over his contacts with the Russian ambassador, recused himself Thursday from any current or future investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. His conversations with the ambassador, Sergey I. Kislyak, came amid suspected Russian hacking directed at Hillary Clinton’s campaign.

“There is no longer any question that we need a truly independent commission to investigate this issue,” Mr. Cummings said.

The US Department of Homeland Security has offered help to Jewish Community Centers after they received more than 100 hoax bomb threats in recent weeks.

The Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia says the event is intended to "restore a sense of security and peace to our community".

Democrats calling for a special prosecutor to investigate links between Donald Trump’s presidential campaign and Russia found new momentum with reports Wednesday that Attorney General Jeff Sessions, then a senator, had two meetings with the Russian ambassador before the election — meetings that Sessions failed to disclose during his confirmation hearings.

Rather than a special prosecutor, what’s needed is an independent, 9/11-style commission to investigate potential foreign ties to the Trump campaign. Only by a thorough and public accounting can the public have confidence that our democracy has not been hacked.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — A North Korean envoy rejected a Malaysian autopsy finding that VX nerve agent killed Kim Jong Nam, saying Thursday the man probably died of a heart attack because he suffered from heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure. Malaysia dismissed the claim.

“North Korea is a society ruled in terror. For a big decision like killing Kim Jong Nam, no one could make a decision like that except Kim Jong Un,” he said in a broadcast from Seoul, South Korea.

Was President Trump’s speech to Congress a turning point or a head fake? The fact is, no one knows for sure. Less than 48 hours after the speech, a quick Google search for “Trump pivot” brings up 631,000 entries and counting of pure and absolute conjecture. What we know for certain is that Tuesday’s performance truly shone a spotlight on Trump’s dynamic range as a politician. It also proved that the White House staff, as currently constituted, can deliver big when it matters. Just knowing that to be true has been a major source of relief among Republicans everywhere, particularly those in Congress. And for voters who thought the president couldn’t possibly ditch his rally talk in favor of a sincere, polished address, well, that bar has been cleared.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions said Thursday he will recuse himself from any investigations related to the 2016 presidential campaign, which would include any Russian interference in the electoral process.

Some Democratic senators called on Sessions to appear again before the Judiciary Committee to explain his relationship and conversations with Russian officials under oath. Others are encouraging congressional tax-writing committees to use their authority to review Trump’s tax returns for any sign of Russian connections.

When a German Chancellor feels the need to explain the refugee convention to an American president, the speaker of British House of Commons says the leader of its closest ally is not welcome to address parliament, China positions itself as the grown-up in the room by chiding him for his blunt Twitter diplomacy and the botched travel ban is denounced not just by US adversaries, such as Iran, but allies, such as France and Canada, is it not time to sound the death-knell of American exceptionalism?

Trump's America might end up being a forcefully protected citadel, but will it be a city on a hill?

Governors face uncertainty in the Trump era

But it was Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson who may have best encapsulated the governors’ view of the entertainer-turned-President. “I don’t agree with his style, but he’s shaking it up,” he said.

Some issues saw more of a partisan division. Trump’s plans to rapidly ramp up the deportation of undocumented immigrants, including those who had committed only minor crimes, alarmed Democrats but won plaudits from Republicans.

Lawmakers are learning to shrug off President Donald Trump’s penchant for embracing and repeating incorrect information — and not apologizing for it — even as his comments rattle the rest of the world.

Trump has continued to repeat the voter fraud allegations. At the Conservative Political Action Conference on Friday, Trump said a crowd stretched six blocks outside to see him speak, even though pictures showed that was not true. He also doubled down on his claim of a terrorist attack in Sweden.

President Trump on Friday assailed the F.B.I. as a dangerously porous agency, charging that leaks of classified information from within its ranks were putting the country at risk — and calling for an immediate hunt for the leakers.

Mr. Trump has been disparaging the intelligence community for months, particularly in response to its conclusion that Russia sought to influence the election on his behalf.

President Trump’s sweeping new immigration policies — which include efforts to shine a harsh national spotlight on cities that released undocumented immigrants who went on to be accused of serious crimes — are sharply increasing the legal and political risks confronting local law enforcement officials.

That kind of public-relations warfare is almost certain to escalate. This week, the Department of Homeland Security ordered Immigration and Customs Enforcement to release weekly reports of crimes committed by immigrants who were the subjects of detainer requests that went ignored.

Targeted by ISIS, Egyptian Christians Flee Violence

Dozens of Egyptian Christian families fled their homes in the northern Sinai Peninsula on Friday, driven by a targeted campaign of Islamist violence that has killed at least seven people in recent weeks.

The Islamic State affiliate in Sinai is small compared with Iraq or Syria, but it has been increasingly active in recent weeks. It has carried out two rocket attacks on Israel in the past two weeks. There were no reported casualties, and Israel’s defense minister, Avigdor Lieberman, said in a newspaper interview that such attacks, while “vexing,” did not pose a major security threat.

Trump Intensifies His Attacks on Journalists and Condemns F.B.I. ‘Leakers’

President Trump turned the power of the White House against the news media on Friday, escalating his attacks on journalists as “the enemy of the people” and berating members of his own F.B.I. as “leakers” who he said were putting the nation at risk.

“The grass is dry on both sides,” said Ari Fleischer, who was press secretary to George W. Bush, “so it only takes a very small match to light it on fire.”

Men outnumber women by more than 2-to-1 among top aides to President Trump so far, according to the White House and an analysis by USA TODAY

“We are used to seeing the president of the U.S. as one of the most well-informed persons in the world, also well aware of the importance of what he says,” Carl Bildt, a former prime minister of Sweden, said by email on Monday. “And then, suddenly, we see him engaging in misinformation and slander against a truly friendly country, obviously relying on sources of a quality that at best could be described as dubious.”

Fight Erupts in Trump Administration Over Transgender Students’ Rights

One filing deadline is coming up this Thursday in the case before the Supreme Court involving the Virginia transgender boy, Gavin Grimm. He sued the Gloucester County School Board two years ago after the board refused to allow him to use the boys’ bathroom and told him he could use a separate bathroom in a converted janitors closet. The Obama administration had rejected that type of accommodation as unacceptable and discriminatory.

Russian military admits significant cyber-war effort

Russia's military has admitted for the first time the scale of its information warfare effort, saying it was significantly expanded post-Cold War. Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said that Russian "information troops" were involved in "intelligent, effective propaganda", but he did not reveal details about the team or its targets.

Nato is reported to be a top target.

Paris protests: Students tear-gassed by police

Police have fired tear gas at Paris students who blockaded 16 high schools in protest against the alleged police rape of a young black man. The demonstrations are the latest to be held in the capital over the alleged rape and other reported police abuses.

Rex Tillerson Tasked With Helping Soothe Tensions With Mexico

"At a time when we have great cooperation with Mexico both on economics, as well as national security this is something that has to be mended and I think both Secretary Tillerson and Secretary Kelly are the ones to deliver the message and to try to get it back on track," he added.