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The president’s second term is telling us a lot about the constraints that he faced during his first administration. Read full article

The man, who has since been fired by the F.B.I., maintains the conduct was consensual, his lawyer said. Read full article

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth offered unusually strong criticism of Russia, just as Ukraine seeks American Tomahawk missiles. Read full article

The bone fragment, found in June, “is a powerful and humbling reminder that people have walked this land, our home in Fayette County, for millennia,” the county’s coroner said. Read full article

Gov. Gavin Newsom of California vetoed bills that would have provided tangible benefits to descendants of slavery, though he approved a state agency to determine who qualifies for potential reparations. Read full article

The president gave Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wide authority to repurpose funds to pay members of the military without approval from Congress, which has the sole constitutional authority to decide federal spending. Read full article

Brown was the second university to turn down the deal, which would have given a funding preference to universities that agreed to certain requirements. Read full article

Representative Kevin Kiley of California has criticized his own party for keeping the House out of session during the shutdown. He is battling boredom and disaffection as the stalemate drags on. Read full article

The top Senate Democrat said the president and Republican leaders had an “obligation to denounce vile rhetoric,” even when it comes from within their own party. Read full article

An influence campaign has relied on allies of the president, including Rudolph W. Giuliani, to cast a Serbian politician as a victim of political persecution. Read full article