1. The Department of Housing and Urban Development was spending tens of thousands of dollars on upgrades to Ben Carson's office at the same time it was making drastic cuts to programs that help the poor, homeless, and elderly. Just as they were circulating plans to slash social spending and assistance programs in late 2017, HUD officials also spent more than $31,000 on a new dining room set for Carson's office. (New York Times)

  2. Hope Hicks told investigators during her closed-door session with the House Intelligence Committee on Tuesday that her job as White House communications director requires that she sometimes tell white lies for Trump. Hicks then walked back the admission after an extended conversation with her lawyers and insisted that she had not told any lies about the Russia investigation. (New York Times)

  3. Mueller's investigators have been asking witnesses about Trump's business activities in Russia before he was elected as part of the ongoing probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election and Russian ties to the Trump campaign. Among the issues Mueller's team has been probing are questions about the timing of Trump's decision to run, potentially compromising information the Russians may have against Trump, and why a deal to brand a Trump Tower in Moscow never came to fruition. (CNN)

  4. Democrats flipped two state legislative seats — one in Connecticut and one in New Hampshire — bringing the total number of flipped seats since Trump was elected to 39. The latest two mark the fifth and sixth seats that have been flipped in 2018 alone. (The Daily Beast)

  5. Leaders of the NRA met with Trump on Sunday and asked him directly not to raise the age limit for buying firearms. The NRA reportedly asked Trump to pursue school safety programs instead, which the White House plans to unveil on Thursday before Trump leaves for the Billy Graham funeral the next day. (CNN)