Monday's Headlines: White House installs political aides at Cabinet agencies to monitor loyalty

Tillerson appears to give ground during visit to Beijing; Intelligence chairman: Justice report shows no evidence for Trump's claims of wiretapping ; 'Nothing here but dust': Unregistered war refugees returning to Afghanistan face a barren welcome ; 'Your child is safe': Schools work to address deportation fears among immigrant families;   Democracy Dies in Darkness     The morning's most important stories, selected by Post editors   Top Stories White House installs political aides at Cabinet agencies to monitor loyalty The unusual shadow government of political appointees, which reports to the White House deputy chief of staff for policy, is charged with making sure the secretaries and their staff members carry out President Trump's agenda and stick to approved talking points, according to officials with knowledge of the arrangement. By Lisa Rein and Juliet Eilperin  •  Read more » Tillerson appears to give ground during visit to Beijing The secretary of state, on his first Asia trip, has been trying to build a "results-oriented" relationship with Chinese leaders, even as the president goads them on Twitter. But Rex Tillerson's call for "mutual respect" could be seen as agreeing that the U.S. would avoid issues such as Taiwan or Tibet, which the Communist Party deems of vital concern. By Simon Denyer  •  Read more »   Intelligence chairman: Justice report shows no evidence for Trump's claims of wiretapping A day before the House panel has public hearings about alleged Russian attempts to interfere in the election, Rep. Devin Nunes said a Justice Department report offers no proof that Barack Obama ordered a wiretap of Trump Tower. By Mike DeBonis  •  Read more »   'Nothing here but dust': Unregistered war refugees returning to Afghanistan face a barren welcome About 260,000 undocumented refugees have been pushed into the country by Pakistan in recent months. Without official status, though, they are nomads camping in makeshift shelters on rocky ground, unable to secure property rights or find employment in the overcrowded labor market. By Pamela Constable  •  Read more »   'Your child is safe': Schools work to address deportation fears among immigrant families The Trump administration's crackdown on illegal immigration has raised questions about how schools should respond if ICE agents try to take away students or obtain records. Historically, schools have been off-limits for immigration enforcement, but not everyone agrees that they should be. By Moriah Balingit and Emma Brown  •  Read more »   ADVERTISEMENT   Opinions   For this Russian dissident, holding Putin accountable was almost deadly — twice By Jackson Diehl  •  Read more »   Trump's foreign policy doctrine: Escalate to de-escalate By Josh Rogin  •  Read more »   'Trump' doesn't translate into Dutch By E.J. Dionne Jr.  •  Read more »   Medicaid is out of control. Here's how to fix it. By Robert J. Samuelson  •  Read more »   Let's start telling the truth about what the Supreme Court does By Brian Leiter  •  Read more »   The Great Barrier Reef is dying By Editorial Board  •  Read more » ADVERTISEMENT   More News   House health-care bill will change to offer more help to seniors, Ryan says House Speaker Paul Ryan's comments came as Sen. Ted Cruz said White House officials are negotiating other revisions in hopes of winning over hard-liners who have threatened to tank the legislation. By Mike DeBonis  •  Read more » With Gorsuch hearings starting, Democrats face a stark dilemma Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch has earned broad support among Republicans, but the left remains angry that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell blocked a hearing for then-President Barack Obama's pick. By Ed O'Keefe and Robert Barnes  •  Read more » Perspective Tracking the special treatment media get when they play nice with the White House Introducing "Access Watch," in which we follow how positive coverage of the Trump administration is rewarded with advantages such as phone calls or plane seats. By Margaret Sullivan  •  Read more » Former police chief says he was detained at JFK Airport because of his name Hassan Aden, an Italian-born U.S. citizen, said authorities told him his name was on a watch list. An officer told him: "Let's take a walk," in Aden's recollection. "I was like, 'Oh boy, here we go.'" By Faiz Siddiqui  •  Read more » Is Trump gutting Meals on Wheels? His budget director says no. The program, which provides hot meals to needy seniors, has become a rallying point for critics of the president's proposed budget. By Philip Rucker  •  Read more » Analysis What to worry about when you worry about North Korea The threat of nuclear war has been largely background noise for the past quarter-century, but North Korea's rush to build a nuclear arsenal makes it worth asking how concerned we should actually be. By Philip Bump  •  Read more » GOP lawmakers wouldn’t come to a town hall — so voters brought literal empty suits The Kentucky legislators may have figured that you can't get booed if you don't show up. But that didn't stop their constituents. By Cleve R. Wootson Jr.  •  Read more » 49ers great Dwight Clark, one half of ‘The Catch,’ announces he has ALS The San Francisco receiver, best known for pulling in Joe Montana's pass to win an NFC title, first began feeling weakness in his left hand in 2015. By Scott Allen  •  Read more » Analysis Duke's upset caps the ACC's weekend of humiliation Eight out of nine teams from the vaunted ACC dropped by the wayside over the weekend, often in unsightly fashion. Many of those defeats came at the hands of the previously derided Big Ten. By Adam Kilgore  •  Read more »         Share Today's Headlines:       Twitter      Facebook Trouble reading? Click here to view in your browser. You received this email because you are signed up for Headlines. For additional free newsletters or to manage your newsletters, click here. We respect your privacy. If you believe that this email has been sent to you in error or you no longer wish to receive email from The Washington Post, click here. Contact us for help. ©2017 The Washington Post, 1301 K St NW, Washington DC 20071