Thursday's Headlines: Trump believes he can stir the pot without ever getting burned

President's retweets elevate a tiny fringe group of anti-Muslim activists in Britain; Senators vote to open debate on massive GOP tax plan, but Republicans split over key details;...

Democracy Dies in Darkness     The morning's most important stories, selected by Post editors    • The Debrief Trump believes he can stir the pot without ever getting burned People close to the president say he has internalized the belief that he can largely operate with impunity. His political base cheers him on. Fellow Republican leaders largely stand by him. His staff scrambles to explain away his misbehavior and the White House disciplinarian, Chief of Staff John F. Kelly, has said it is not his job to control him. By Philip Rucker and Ashley Parker  •  Read more » President's retweets elevate a tiny fringe group of anti-Muslim activists in Britain The president's retweets of a series of anti-Muslim video clips promoted by the leader of an ultranationalsist fringe group in the U.K. drew a sharp personal rebuke from British Prime Minister Theresa May. By William Booth and Karla Adam  •   Read more »   Senators vote to open debate on massive GOP tax plan, but Republicans split over key details Several Republican lawmakers agreed to begin debate on the measure so they could pursue amendments, but have not yet committed to voting "yes" on final passage. By Erica Werner, Damian Paletta and Mike DeBonis  •   Read more »   Sen. Bob Corker promised not to let the GOP tax bill drive up the debt. He's running out of time. At each juncture, the Tennessee Republican has supported moving along a tax bill that would blow a $1.5 trillion hole in the budget in the next decade. By Erica Werner  •   Read more »   Project Veritas operative's effort to infiltrate The Post dated back months, extended to other news outlets Jaime Phillips's sustained attempt to insinuate herself into reporters' social circles in Washington and New York makes clear that the efforts to discredit The Post went much further than one false claim to reporters about U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore. By Beth Reinhard, Aaron C. Davis and Andrew Ba Tran  •   Read more »   Project Veritas founder vows more undercover operations: 'Being hated is a sign of respect' At a speech at Southern Methodist University, James O'Keefe defended his organization's tactics: "Yes, we use disguise, yes, we go undercover, but sometimes it's the only way to ferret out what people really believe — when nobody's looking." By Joel Achenbach  •   Read more »   After Matt Lauer's ouster by NBC, Ann Curry's disastrous 'Today' exit is back in the spotlight Lauer, perhaps the best-known of the men whose high-flying careers have crashed in the wake of sexual harassment accusations over the past two months, was widely blamed in 2012 after Curry was pushed out of her co-host seat. By Emily Yahr  •   Read more »   ADVERTISEMENT Opinions   Our political foundation is rotting away By E.J. Dionne Jr.  •   Read more »   The national security emergency we're not talking about By Madeleine K. Albright  •   Read more »   Trump says pharma gets away with murder. Alex Azar is the guy with the hatchet. By Dana Milbank  •   Read more »   No serious lawmaker should support this tax bill By Robert E. Rubin  •   Read more »   The Supreme Court should let states set their own sports gambling laws By George F. Will  •   Read more »   Trump retweets hate By Editorial Board  •   Read more » ADVERTISEMENT More News   North Korea has shown us its new missile, and it's scarier than we thought Newly released photos of the Hwasong-15 missile have impressed experts with its size and complexity. They generally agree that the weapon marks a significant leap forward in the North's missile development. By Anna Fifield  •  Read more »     Republican senator suggests Trump is strong-arming judicial nominees through Congress Sen. John Neely Kennedy of Louisiana said that he was told, not asked, about a circuit court nominee. By Karoun Demirjian  •   Read more »   One of the country's biggest oil fields just turned to an unexpected power source: Solar California's Belridge field will use a huge solar plant to create the steam that pushes additional oil out of the ground. By Chris Mooney  •   Read more »   Trump suggested the 2001 death of a Joe Scarborough aide is an 'unsolved mystery.' It isn't. Authorities determined 16 years ago that Lori Klausutis died after losing consciousness from an abnormal heart rhythm and collapsing, striking her head. By Lindsey Bever  •   Read more »   Man charged with murder after mysterious killings paralyzed a Tampa neighborhood Police charged Howell Emanuel Donaldson III in four separate slayings in the Seminole Heights neighborhood. "I'm sure we have a lot of people in this community who are able to sleep now," the uncle of one victim said. By Amy B Wang and Eli Rosenberg  •   Read more »   Lawyer says Rep. Conyers has no immediate plans to resign amid sexual harassment allegations The Michigan Democrat "doesn't want to make a hasty decision," his attorney said. The statement came as members of the Congressional Black Caucus declined to call for Conyers to step down, complicating efforts by Democratic leaders to ease the veteran lawmaker toward an exit. By Elise Viebeck, David Weigel and Ed O'Keefe  •   Read more »   Nazi sympathizer profiled by the New York Times says he lost his job and — soon — his home Tony Hovater said he, his wife and his brother-in-law were all fired from their jobs following swift backlash over the story. By Kristine Phillips  •   Read more »   Kennedy Center Honors Gloria Estefan left Cuba as a young child, but the island defines her, and her music The Latina pop star, a member of this year's class of Kennedy Center Honors recipients, calls herself an exile. Her father's dramatic story is the source of much of her drive. By Karen Heller  •   Read more »         Share Today's Headlines:    Twitter     Facebook Trouble reading? Click here to view in your browser. You received this email because you signed up for Today's Headlines or because it is included in your subscription. 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