Trump Calling Reporter ‘Piggy’ Was ‘Frankness,’ White House Says

Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, addressed for the first time a schoolyard insult that President Trump lobbed at a Bloomberg News reporter last week.

News
Nydia Velázquez, a New York Trailblazer in Congress, to Retire Next Year

Ms. Velázquez, 72, a 16-term congresswoman, said it was time for a new generation of Democrats to step forward.

News
Energy Department Reorganization Reflects Shift Away From Renewable Energy

The reorganization reflects the ongoing shift in the federal government’s energy priorities: less renewable energy, more fossil fuels.

News
Trump Calls Democrats’ Military Video ‘Seditious Behavior, Punishable by Death’

President Trump was reacting to a video that reminded members of the military that they are not supposed to obey illegal orders.

News
Short on Cash, D.N.C. Took Out $15 Million Loan in October

The move, unusual for a year without a midterm or presidential election, is the latest sign of financial distress for the Democratic Party.

News
Judge Temporarily Blocks Trump From Deploying National Guard in D.C.

Judge Jia M. Cobb found that the presence of more than 2,000 National Guard troops, many from outside D.C., was most likely unlawful. She paused the order from taking effect until Dec. 11.

News
Missouri Judge Who Wore Elvis Wig in Court Agrees to Resign

Judge Matthew E.P. Thornhill also talked about politics and played Elvis songs in court, a judicial commission said.

News
Coast Guard Softens Stance on Hate and Hazing

A new servicewide policy recasts swastikas and nooses as merely “politically divisive” and deletes protections for transgender troops.

News
Nigerian Student Describes Hiding From Kidnappers at School

The girl hid in a toilet; another managed to sneak away. Security forces are still trying to rescue the 24 girls who were abducted in northwestern Nigeria.

News
The Privacy Battle in Our Brains

My colleague talks about technology that can actually read our minds — and maybe even change them.

News