Tuesday's Headlines: Trump softens border wall demands in bid to calm shutdown jitters

President seeks 15 percent corporate tax rate, even if it swells the national debt; Arkansas carries out country's first back-to-back executions since 2000; This congressman's reelection challenge is (almost) as big as Texas; U.S. to launch punitive tariffs on Canadian lumber;   Democracy Dies in Darkness     The morning's most important stories, selected by Post editors   Top Stories Trump softens border wall demands in bid to calm shutdown jitters The White House said the president was open to delaying funding for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border until September as the administration sought to project confidence that a new spending bill would be passed by the Friday deadline and a government shutdown would be avoided. By Philip Rucker, Robert Costa and David Weigel  •  Read more » President seeks 15 percent corporate tax rate, even if it swells the national debt Sticking to one of his campaign pledges but shattering another, President Trump instructed advisers to drastically cut the corporate tax rate from 35 percent. By doing so — but not committing to measures that would offset the revenue loss — Trump is making clear he is putting a priority on cutting taxes over the national debt. By Damian Paletta and Robert Costa  •  Read more »   Arkansas carries out country's first back-to-back executions since 2000 The second lethal injection of the night had been temporarily halted as a federal judge considered claims that the first execution may have been botched. But late Monday, Marcel W. Williams's death sentence was carried out. By Mark Berman  •  Read more »   This congressman's reelection challenge is (almost) as big as Texas As Democrats try for an anti-Trump wave in next year's midterm elections, break-the-mold Republican Will Hurd is fighting to hold a vast, politically volatile district along the U.S.-Mexico border with a battle plan that includes being one of the harshest GOP critics of the president's push to build a wall along that border. By Karen Tumulty  •  Read more »   U.S. to launch punitive tariffs on Canadian lumber Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said the administration is planning to impose a roughly 20 percent tariff on softwood lumber imported from Canada, in what may be the biggest trade dispute between the U.S. and its northern neighbor in over a decade. By Ana Swanson and Damian Paletta  •  Read more »   ADVERTISEMENT   Opinions   Trump's border-wall fantasy is crumbling By Eugene Robinson  •  Read more »   Trump's most striking accomplishment so far By Eric Liu  •  Read more »   Marijuanalujah? Jeff Sessions and the cannabis conundrum By Dana Milbank  •  Read more »   Workers who really do 'support our troops' are getting their wages slashed By Catherine Rampell  •  Read more »   Young men in devastated countries used to dream of America. Not anymore. By Richard Cohen  •  Read more »   Trump should stop playing his game of budget brinkmanship By Editorial Board  •  Read more » ADVERTISEMENT   More News   Senate staff perplexed by unusual White House private briefing on North Korea Some lawmakers questioned whether President Trump intends to use the highly sensitive meeting as a photo op ahead of his symbolic 100-day mark. By David Nakamura and Ed O'Keefe  •  Read more » State Department website removes article touting history of Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate The post prompted questions about whether the federal government improperly promoted the president's moneymaking enterprises. In a statement, the State Department apologized for "any misperception." By Anne Gearan  •  Read more » The Fix | Analysis Bill O’Reilly sounds like he is about to launch a revenge tour, not an apology tour On the day he was originally scheduled to return to Fox News from vacation, O'Reilly spoke out on a podcast about the sexual harassment allegations that led to his ouster and hinted at a campaign to clear his name. By Callum Borchers  •  Read more » Japanese tattoo artist challenges a national revulsion to body art Taiki Masuda is fighting a $3,000 fine that was levied two years ago. Tattoos are strongly associated with organized crime in Japan and are therefore almost universally viewed with repugnance. By Anna Fifield  •  Read more » U.S. imposes sanctions on 271 employees of Syrian research center The Trump administrations says the center was responsible for developing and producing sarin used to kill dozens of people in the April 4 chemical weapons attack by the government of President Bashar al-Assad. By Karen DeYoung  •  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