First Run News

WASHINGTON — The special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, has obtained a letter drafted by President Trump and a top political aide that offered an unvarnished view of Mr. Trump’s thinking in the days before the president fired the F.B.I. director, James B. Comey. The circumstances and reasons for the firing are believed to be a significant element of Mr. Mueller’s investigation, which includes whether Mr. Trump obstructed justice by firing Mr.

WASHINGTON — The special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, has obtained a letter drafted by President Trump and a top political aide that offered an unvarnished view of Mr. Trump’s thinking in the days before the president fired the F.B.I. director, James B. Comey. The circumstances and reasons for the firing are believed to be a significant element of Mr. Mueller’s investigation, which includes whether Mr. Trump obstructed justice by firing Mr.

BEAUMONT, Tex. — Carrie Chambliss climbed into her husband’s truck on Friday and drove a winding route some 70 miles, plowing through deep water, to get from her home in Mauriceville to a grocery store in Beaumont that had “barely anything” left. For the second day in a row, Beaumont is without running water.

In the week that followed Hurricane Harvey’s landfall, photographers on the ground in Texas and Louisiana documented the staggering aftermath, including crowded shelters full of evacuees, the tireless efforts of emergency workers, and the return of residents to assess the damage from an event described by the National Weather Service as “unprecedented.”

HOUSTON — A Holocaust survivor waded waist-deep in flood water. Dozens of people were trapped in a 14-story residence for seniors. A disabled man sat alone at home, without the aide who usually helps him, watching the water rise and unsure if anyone would come. Harvey was terrifying for millions of people along the Gulf Coast. But it was particularly difficult for the region’s seniors and disabled, many of whom struggled to escape as the water rose.

Fire engulfed part of a chemical plant northeast of Houston on Friday evening, sending thick black smoke high into the sky, a statement from Arkema, the owner of the plant, confirmed. It was the same facility where, on Thursday, a chemical storage trailer exploded, setting off a fire.

HOUSTON — As Southeast Texas residents emerged by the thousands from shelters, motels and friends’ houses to return to flood-damaged homes, others remained in the grip of the crisis on Friday, cut off by still-rising floodwaters and living without running water for a second day. In Houston and the surrounding area where the historic inundation from storm Harvey was mostly receding, people took to trucks and boats to get back into their neighborhoods, and many were appalled by what they found. Getting their first post-Harvey look at their northwest Houston home, where the water had risen to mor

HOUSTON — As Southeast Texas residents emerged by the thousands from shelters, motels and friends’ houses to return to flood-damaged homes, others remained in the grip of the crisis on Friday, cut off by still-rising floodwaters and living without running water for a second day. In Houston and the surrounding area where the historic inundation from storm Harvey was mostly receding, people took to trucks and boats to get back into their neighborhoods, and many were appalled by what they found. Getting their first post-Harvey look at their northwest Houston home, where the water had risen to mor

The Trump administration plans on making a 90 percent cut to the advertising budget for Obamacare during the upcoming enrollment period. In 2016, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services spent $100 million on Obamacare advertising and outreach, but for this year’s open enrollment period, CMS plans on spending $10 million. They also plan on cutting grant money for Navigator programs (which are required by the ACA), which receive funds to assist with public enrollment in Obamacare.

On his first visit to Texas after it was ravaged by Hurricane Harvey, Vice President Mike Pence hugged survivors, prayed with them, even pitched in to help haul away debris from a damaged home. "I think the scope is truly breathtaking," Pence told ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Jonathan Karl in an interview in Rockport, Texas. "We're gonna be here today, tomorrow, until it's done.