Scott Horsley

President Trump's longtime friend Tom Barrack has been getting a lot of attention lately — much of it not good.

Barrack was the chairman of Trump's inaugural committee, which is now under scrutiny by federal prosecutors.

He was roundly criticized for comments he made this month about the killing of Saudi journalist, Jamal Khashoggi.

In declaring a national emergency Friday, President Trump tried to underscore the urgency of what he calls a national security crisis along the U.S. border with Mexico, while at the same time downplaying the gravity of his response.

What started off as a strong holiday shopping season ended with a whimper, as consumers, rattled by a trade war and a government shutdown, tightened their belts. The Commerce Department said retail sales fell 1.2 percent between November and December, the sharpest drop in nine years.

President Trump renewed his call for border wall funding and accused House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of "rigid" opposition, in an interview airing two days before Trump's State of the Union address.

The tone of the president's remarks in an interview taped Friday with CBS calls into question whether Trump will actually use Tuesday's primetime speech to appeal for compromise, as advertised.

The Trump administration opened high-stakes trade talks with China on Wednesday. The two sides have just over a month to reach an agreement, or risk an escalation in their costly trade battle.

The administration has already imposed tariffs on some $250 billion in Chinese imports. President Trump has threatened to increase and expand those tariffs, but he agreed to hold off until early March, while negotiators try to hammer out a deal.

Updated at 6:37 p.m. ET

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross downplayed the hardships caused by a partial government shutdown on Thursday as some 800,000 federal workers prepared to miss a second consecutive payday.

Ross told CNBC he is puzzled by reports of federal workers turning to food banks and other forms of relief, suggesting they should be able to obtain bridge loans to tide them over until the government reopens.

Updated at 1:15 a.m. ET

President Trump said Wednesday night he won't be looking for an alternative place to give the State of the Union address. Earlier in the day, asked about House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., insisting he could not speak on the House floor until a partial government shutdown is over, the president said, "We'll do something in the alternative."

Sunday marks the second anniversary of President Trump's inauguration. At the midpoint of his four-year term, Trump has already delivered on some of his campaign promises, such as boosting funding for the military.

President Trump spoke to the centennial gathering of the American Farm Bureau Federation Monday, cultivating ties to rural voters who were a key factor in his 2016 election.

"I'm proud to be a great friend of the farmer," Trump said, addressing the group's convention for the second year in a row.

The president drew applause as he recounted administration efforts to reduce regulation and save the very wealthiest farmers from the estate tax.

Updated at 5:15 p.m. ET

The White House is working to identify federal dollars that could be redirected to construct a border wall, if President Trump invokes his emergency powers to do so.

Updated at 4:15 p.m. ET

President Trump abruptly halted spending talks at the White House on Wednesday, after congressional Democrats again rejected his demand for a $5.7 billion border wall.

On Twitter, Trump dismissed the negotiations as a "total waste of time," as a partial government shutdown stretched into its 19th day. He added, "I said bye-bye, nothing else works!"

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President Trump used his first prime-time address from the Oval Office to make the case for his controversial border wall. The president's demand for $5.7 billion in wall funding — and Democrats' opposition — has led to a partial shutdown of the federal government.

Here we check some of the arguments made by the president and top Democrats in their response.

Trump's Speech

Claim 1: Humanitarian and security crisis

"There is a growing humanitarian and security crisis at our Southern border."

President Trump has suggested that he might resort to using "emergency" powers to build his border wall if he is not able to reach agreement on funding with congressional Democrats.

"We are looking at it very strongly," Trump told reporters on Sunday. "We're looking at a national emergency, because we have a national emergency."

The president does have broad powers to act in a crisis situation, but those powers are not unlimited. And critics say Trump should be careful about invoking them in this instance.

President Trump on Friday issued an executive order freezing the salary rates for federal workers. The order wasn't a surprise but for some 800,000 federal employees furloughed during the partial government shutdown or working without pay, it was like rubbing salt into a wound.

The Christmas season is typically one of the busiest times of the year at Joshua Tree National Park in California, as rock climbers and car campers flock to the high desert getaway.

President Trump insists that he didn't violate campaign finance laws and that any legal liability for hush money paid to two women who claimed to have had affairs with him rests with his former personal attorney and fixer, Michael Cohen.

"I never directed him to do anything wrong," Trump said Thursday afternoon in an interview with Fox News. "Whatever he did, he did on his own."

Updated at 4 p.m. ET

President Trump says he will be making a decision "soon" on a new chief of staff. But some of the candidates whose names have been floated for the post say they're not interested.

It seems people are not exactly lining up for the chance to try to organize Trump's impulsive and unpredictable operation, especially in the face of an aggressive special counsel's investigation and newly empowered Democrats in the House of Representatives.

Updated at 1:36 p.m. ET

White House chief of staff John Kelly will leave "toward the end of the year," President Trump said Saturday. It is the latest administration shake-up as Trump makes adjustments following the recent midterm elections.

"John Kelly will be leaving — I don't know if I can say 'retiring.' But, he's a great guy," Trump told reporters on the South Lawn of the White House.

Trump did not announce who would replace Kelly but said that would come in a day or two.

The arrest and possible extradition of a Chinese business executive highlights ongoing trade tensions between the U.S. and China that national security adviser John Bolton says will be a major focus of negotiations over the next three months.