SAN DIEGO -- Passed over for higher command, U.S. Navy Adm. Scott Swift on Monday announced his unexpected retirement as commander of the Pacific Fleet.

"I have been informed by the Chief of Naval Operations that I will not be his nominee to replace Adm. (Harry) Harris as the Commander, U.S. Pacific Command," Swift wrote in a prepared statement...Read more

WASHINGTON -- North Carolina Rep. Mark Walker, the chairman of the conservative House Republican Study Committee, plans to deliver a frank, firm message to fellow Republicans Tuesday: Time is running out to fulfill all those promises you made last year.

Start acting fast, he's expected to tell a Capitol Hill news conference, or the party could ...Read more

WASHINGTON -- Roger Stone, a long-time ally and informal campaign adviser to President Donald Trump, denied any collusion with Russia and accused a House panel of "cowardice" in a statement he plans to deliver Tuesday before a closed-door meeting with House Intelligence Committee staffers.

"Multiple members of this committee have made false ...Read more

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry has a message for those seeking to link climate change with this year's devastating hurricanes: Fossil fuels are saving lives.

Perry's address to oil industry executives Monday was interrupted by hecklers protesting the Trump administration's skepticism of climate change and its rollback of ...Read more

WASHINGTON -- Dan Coats, the director of national intelligence, urged Congress Monday to tread carefully as it considers limiting surveillance powers used by the nation's spy agencies for nearly a decade.

"This is clearly a major issue for the intelligence community," Coats told a group of journalists at his office in suburban Virginia. "It's ...Read more

WASHINGTON -- Dan Coats, the director of national intelligence, urged Congress Monday to tread carefully as it considers limiting surveillance powers used by the nation's spy agencies for nearly a decade.

"This is clearly a major issue for the intelligence community," Coats told a group of journalists at his office in suburban Virginia. "It's ...Read more

WASHINGTON -- A recent report by the Los Angeles Times that aides had warned President Donald Trump not to personally attack North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was a "false narrative," the president's spokeswoman said Monday.

But Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, did not deny the facts of the story. The Times reported Friday...Read more

BEIRUT -- Sometimes, in the fractious world of Iraqi politics, no means yes.

That was the central message from Kurdish leaders Monday morning when Iraq's Kurds cast their ballots in a controversial independence referendum, despite repeated entreaties and threats from regional and world powers to stop the vote.

The referendum was to decide ...Read more

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Thom Tillis introduced his "conservative Dream Act" on Monday to provide a pathway to citizenship for as many as 2.5 million young undocumented immigrants.

Tillis, a North Carolina Republican, and co-sponsors James Lankford, R-Okla., and Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, pitched their plan -- the Succeed Act -- as "merit-based" relief ...Read more

LOS ANGELES -- One of Southern California longest-running and ugliest development battles ended in a historic truce Monday when environmental groups agreed to a deal that will allow a new city of 58,000 residents to rise in the Santa Clarita Valley.

The pact clears perhaps the largest remaining hurdle for the Newhall Ranch project, which was ...Read more

WASHINGTON -- Rep. Louie Gohmert believes Arizona Sen. John McCain should be recalled while he battles brain cancer and so that the GOP can replace him with someone who will support the party's latest effort to repeal the 2010 health care law.

"Nothing inhibits recovery from cancer like stress," the Texas Republican told "Fox & Friends" Monday....Read more

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court has postponed a decision on the legality of President Donald Trump's travel ban, announcing Monday it will not hear arguments on the issue Oct. 10 as planned.

The justices were set to hear an appeal from Trump's lawyers who had urged the high court to reject a series of rulings from district judges in Hawaii and ...Read more

Advocates for immigrants Monday condemned the latest incarnation of President Donald Trump's travel ban, calling it an abuse of presidential authority and potentially unconstitutional, as they vowed to continue fighting the president's travel restrictions.

The new measure, which takes effect Oct. 18 and will apply indefinitely, bans entry by ...Read more