A federal judge in California has temporarily blocked the Trump administration's rule that makes it easier for employers to deny contraceptive coverage on moral or religious grounds — a requirement under Obamacare.

Judge Haywood Gilliam, Jr., of the the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, issued the ruling today. It's the second time in a week that a federal judge has blocked the Trump rule. A federal court judge in Pennsylvania granted a preliminary injunction on the same issue last Friday, determining the directive would cause "serious and irreparable harm."

Donald Trump's national security adviser has accused Russia of "a sophisticated campaign of subversion" to undermine free and open societies.

Gen HR McMaster told the BBC that Moscow used propaganda and disinformation against democracies.

He said Russia's alleged meddling in US elections was "certainly" a national security threat.  He was speaking after President Trump's new national security policy labelled Russia and China "rival powers".

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He was stumped by "in limine" — and now he's e-liminated himself.

Matthew Petersen, the Trump judicial nominee who couldn't answer basic legal questions at his Senate confirmation hearing last week, has withdrawn his name from consideration.

In a letter to Trump revealed Monday, Petersen defended his professional record but conceded his utterly painful performance at his televised grilling — and the rampant ridicule that followed — had become a problem.

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The United Nations monitor on poverty and human rights has issued a devastating report on the condition of America, accusing Donald Trump and the Republican leadership in Congress of attempting to turn the country into the “world champion of extreme inequality”.

Philip Alston, the UN special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, has completed a two-week official tour of the US by releasing an excoriating attack on the direction of the nation. Not only does he warn that the tax bill currently being rushed through Congress will hugely increase already large disparities between rich and poor, he accuses Trump and his party of consciously distorting the shape of American society in a “bid to become the most unequal society in the world”.

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