Scott Horsley

USA Today published an opinion column by President Trump Wednesday in which the president falsely accused Democrats of trying to "eviscerate" Medicare, while defending his own record of protecting health care coverage for seniors and others.

The column — published just weeks ahead of the midterm elections — underscores the political power of health care to energize voters. But it makes a number of unsubstantiated claims.

Updated at 1:06 p.m. ET.

President Trump defended his "America First" agenda in a speech to the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, in effect spiking the football at what his secretary of state described as the "Super Bowl of diplomacy."

The president boasted that he's accomplished more during his time in office than almost any previous administration — a claim that drew immediate laughter from the assembled diplomats and other world leaders.

Trump pressed ahead, undaunted.

"I didn't expect that reaction, but that's OK," he said.

President Trump will highlight progress of his "America First" agenda when he speaks to the United Nations General Assembly onTuesday, in effect spiking the football at what his secretary of state described as the "Super Bowl of diplomacy."

Updated at 6:26 p.m. ET

Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and the woman accusing him of sexual assault more than three decades ago, Christine Blasey Ford, will both testify publicly before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Sept. 24. The committee was supposed to vote on the nomination this Thursday but faced pressure after Ford went public with her allegation over the weekend.

Ford and Kavanaugh both agreed to testify under oath before the committee.

Updated at 5:22 p.m ET

Confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh opened on a contentious note Tuesday, with Senate Democrats raising noisy objections that much of Kavanaugh's lengthy paper trail is still off limits.

The hearing proceeded despite Democrats' call for delay. Republicans, who control the Senate, hope to confirm Kavanaugh in time to join the high court when its fall term begins next month, cementing a 5-4 conservative majority.

Updated at 1:50 p.m. ET

Friends, family and former political rivals saluted the late Sen. John McCain on Saturday as a loving father, a fierce but forgiving political brawler, and a champion of American values around the world.

Updated at 1:35 p.m. ET

White House counsel Don McGahn is resigning this autumn after a tumultuous stretch as President Trump's in-house lawyer.

Trump announced the departure on Twitter on Wednesday morning.

One likely candidate to replace McGahn is Emmet Flood, who joined the president's legal team in May to focus on the Justice Department's Russia investigation.

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said on Wednesday morning that Trump likes McGahn and that they have a "good relationship. There's not really a lot to add here."

Updated at 5:07 p.m. ET

The top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee is demanding an explanation of President Trump's decision this week to revoke the security clearance of former CIA Director John Brennan

In a letter to White House chief of staff John Kelly, Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., asked for a detailed briefing on the decision and suggested Trump may have failed to follow proper procedures.

Updated at 3:24 p.m ET

President Trump again threatened a government shutdown unless Congress funds his border wall. At a joint news conference at the White House Monday, along with Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, the president said "If we don't get border security after many, many years of talk within the United States I would have no problem doing a shutdown."

Updated at 7:13 p.m. ET

President Trump's effort to reset relations with Russia backfired at home after he failed to side with the U.S. intelligence community over Moscow's interference in the 2016 election. The president's equivocation drew bipartisan condemnation, capping a week in which Trump alienated allies and cozied up to adversaries.

Trump himself declared his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday in Helsinki a success, in what he called the "proud tradition of bold American diplomacy."

Updated at 1:03 p.m. ET

President Trump on Wednesday demanded that NATO allies increase defense spending immediately and double their current goal for burden-sharing in the defense alliance. As Trump gathered with leaders of NATO countries for a summit in Brussels, he also repeatedly said Germany's energy dependence on Russia undermines its independence.

Updated at 9:28 p.m. ET

President Trump has chosen Brett Kavanaugh to fill the Supreme Court vacancy left by retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy. If confirmed, Trump's choice would solidify the high court's conservative majority and continue the president's push to shift the federal bench to the right.

Trump announced his choice with a prime-time address from the White House East Room.

President Trump is nominating Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court to fill the vacancy left by retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy. If confirmed, Trump's choice would solidify the high court's conservative majority and continue the president's push to shift the federal bench to the right.

Trump announced his choice with a prime-time address from the White House East Room.

Updated Thursday, June 28 at 8:19 a.m. ET

President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin will discuss relations between the United States and Russia and a range of national security issues when they meet in Helsinki on July 16.

The meeting will follow a NATO summit in Brussels on July 11.

"I think we'll be talking about Syria. I think we'll be talking about Ukraine. I think we'll be talking about many other subjects," Trump told reporters at the White House on Wednesday.

Veteran diplomats say it could take years to assess the results of this week's nuclear summit between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Trump doesn't expect to wait that long.

"I think within the first minute, I'll know," whether Kim is serious about giving up his nuclear weapons, the president told reporters Saturday. "Just my touch. My feel. That's what I do."

Updated at 5:00 p.m. ET

President Trump says his nuclear summit meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is back on.

"We'll be meeting on June 12 in Singapore," Trump told reporters on the South Lawn of the White House, after escorting Kim's top deputy, Kim Yong Chol, out of an Oval Office meeting.

Updated at 4:47 p.m. ET

President Trump cautioned that his historic summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un may not happen as planned.

"There's a chance, there's a very substantial chance that it won't work out," Trump said during an Oval Office photo op with the president of South Korea. "I don't want to waste a lot of time. And I'm sure he doesn't want to waste a lot of time. So there's a very substantial chance that it won't work out and that's OK. That doesn't mean that it won't work out over a period of time."

The Trump administration has decided to hold off on imposing most of its tariffs on imported steel and aluminum until at least June 1.

Tariffs were scheduled to take effect at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday on imports from Canada, the largest U.S. supplier of steel and aluminum, as well as Mexico, Argentina, Australia, Brazil and the EU.

A source familiar with the decision says the administration has reached an agreement in principle with Australia, Argentina and Brazil, which may avoid the need for tariffs against those countries altogether.

Updated at 2:54 p.m. ET

EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt faced withering criticism from congressional Democrats on Thursday, with one lawmaker calling him "unfit to hold public office." But Republican members of Congress — especially those representing states with large fossil fuel industries — rallied to Pruitt's defense.

Updated at 5:53 p.m. ET

Detailed new allegations surfaced Wednesday against President Trump's nominee to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs, including charges that Dr. Ronny Jackson improperly dispensed pain medication and once wrecked a government vehicle while driving drunk.

President Trump's adviser on homeland security, who helped coordinate the administration's response to a series of powerful hurricanes last year, is leaving the White House.

Tom Bossert's departure as counterterrorism and homeland security adviser comes one day after John Bolton took over as Trump's national security adviser.

"The president is grateful for Tom's commitment to the safety and security of our great country," White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement. "President Trump thanks him for his patriotic service and wishes him well."

Updated at 8:09 p.m. ET

President Trump says he was unaware that his attorney paid $130,000 to an adult film actress shortly before the 2016 election to prevent the woman from talking about an alleged sexual encounter with Trump.

The president told reporters traveling on Air Force One on Thursday that he didn't know where the money came from or why the payment was made.

"You'll have to ask Michael Cohen," Trump said. "Michael is my attorney. You'll have to ask Michael."

Updated at 4 p.m. ET

President Trump says he wants to use military troops to help secure the U.S. border with Mexico. He made the suggestion Tuesday during a White House summit meeting with Baltic leaders.

Trump also renewed his call for a quick withdrawal of U.S. forces in Syria. And he expressed support for embattled EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt.

Since the weekend, Trump has been tweeting about a caravan of Central Americans, most of them from Honduras, who are making their way north through Mexico.

Updated at 2:58 a.m. ET

President Trump has agreed to a face-to-face meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un "at a place and time to be determined," White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement Thursday.

The announcement came in response to a stunning invitation from Kim, relayed by South Korea's national security adviser, Chung Eui-yong, who briefed Trump and other U.S. officials on Chung's recent meeting with Kim in Pyongyang.

Updated at 4:47 p.m. ET

President Trump ordered steep tariffs on imported steel and aluminum from every country except Canada and Mexico. It's the boldest move to date for the president who campaigned on a protectionist platform that is sharply at odds with Republicans' free trade orthodoxy.

Updated at 8:40 p.m. ET

President Trump's looming trade war has already claimed its first victim: White House economic adviser Gary Cohn.

Cohn, a former Goldman Sachs executive and free trade advocate, announced his plans to resign Tuesday, less than a week after Trump called for stiff tariffs on imported steel and aluminum.

Updated at 3:37 p.m. ET

During a gathering with governors at the White House, President Trump called for strengthening school defenses and improving the "early warning" system in response to this month's deadly school shooting in Parkland, Fla.

"Our nation is heartbroken," Trump said. "We'll turn our grief into action."

Updated at 2:10 p.m. ET

Updated Feb. 10 at 4:17 p.m. ET

President Trump appeared to defend two recently resigned members of his staff accused of domestic abuse on Saturday, arguing in a tweet for due process and saying that people's lives are being destroyed by "a mere allegation."

Updated at 12:42 p.m. ET

President Trump, playing salesman-in-chief Friday morning at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, declared, "America is open for business and we are competitive once again."

He also proclaimed, "America first does not mean America alone."