Thursday's Headlines: Trump and ‘America First’ foreign policy face first moral quandary in Syria

Some Senate Republicans fret over Trump's handling of Syria; 'If the world wanted to stop this, they would have done so by now'; Bannon's removal from NSC reflects growing influence of national security adviser H.R. McMaster; Mitch McConnell: 'Nuclear' option helps Senate. John McCain: 'Whoever says that is a stupid idiot.'; Analysis: Your guide to Gorsuch's confirmation to the Supreme Court;   Democracy Dies in Darkness     The morning's most important stories, selected by Post editors   Top Stories Trump and 'America First' foreign policy face first moral quandary in Syria The Syrian chemical weapons attack seemed to awaken President Trump's sense of moral responsibility as leader of the world's sole superpower. A president who has often seemed indifferent to suffering in other countries — including the plight of Syrian refugees — reacted with a natural revulsion. Less clear was whether it would produce a significant shift in policy. By Greg Jaffe  •  Read more » The Fix | Analysis Some Senate Republicans fret over Trump's handling of Syria This week's criticism from powerful lawmakers in the Senate over President Trump's response to his first major international test suggests that in the eyes of these GOP foreign-policy leaders, he has failed in a dangerous way. By Amber Phillips  •  Read more »   'If the world wanted to stop this, they would have done so by now' In Khan Sheikhoun, Syria, the site of a chemical attack that killed scores of civilians, families spoke of grief and a sense of betrayal, as the United States and European allies at the U.N. Security Council demanded an investigation. "My son died yesterday," one woman said. "I have nothing left to say to the world." By Louisa Loveluck and Zakaria Zakaria  •  Read more »   Bannon's removal from NSC reflects growing influence of national security adviser H.R. McMaster An Army three-star general who took over the post after Michael Flynn was ousted in February, McMaster is increasingly asserting himself over the flow of national security information in the White House. He has become a rising and blunt force who has made clear to several top officials and the president that he does not want the NSC to have any political elements. By Robert Costa, Abby Phillip and Karen DeYoung  •  Read more »   @PKCapitol | Analysis Mitch McConnell: 'Nuclear' option helps Senate. John McCain: 'Whoever says that is a stupid idiot.' The Senate majority leader believes the GOP's unilateral response to confirm Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court on a simple majority vote will take senators "back to what was the tradition in the Senate" for confirming justices. McCain sees the move as the next step in the slide to crushing the chamber's bipartisan traditions. By Paul Kane  •  Read more »   Analysis: Your guide to Gorsuch's confirmation to the Supreme Court Senate Democratic leader Charles Schumer, and progressive groups, both worked to oppose Trump's nominee to the Supreme Court. By Sean Sullivan and David Weigel  •  Read more »   ADVERTISEMENT   Opinions   The Gorsuch filibuster is about far more than payback By E.J. Dionne Jr.  •  Read more »   The 'alternative facts' epidemic goes way beyond politics By George F. Will  •  Read more »   Personal irresponsibility: A concise history of Trump's buck-passing By Dana Milbank  •  Read more »   How Trump can stop China from eating our lunch By Robert D. Atkinson  •  Read more »   The Syrian genocide is now Trump’s problem By Jennifer Rubin  •  Read more »   The Texas-size scapegoating of an illegal voter is a travesty of justice By Editorial Board  •  Read more » ADVERTISEMENT   More News   At Trump's request, House may tweak health-care bill before recess Lawmakers have discussed tentative plans to amend the health-care bill to add "high-risk pools" — a mechanism to subsidize insurance coverage for the seriously ill. By Paige Winfield Cunningham, Juliet Eilperin and Mike DeBonis  •  Read more » Retail apocalypse: Troubles at the American mall come to a boil Many major chains find themselves victims of a problem of their own making, having elbowed their way into so many locations that the United States, with more retail square footage per capita than any other nation, is "overstored." By Sarah Halzack  •  Read more » More than 1 in 5 U.S. adults infected by high-risk HPV, report says During a recent two-year period, almost 23 percent of U.S. adults ages 18 to 59 had a type of genital human papillomavirus that put them at high risk of certain cancers, said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. By Jia Naqvi  •  Read more » IRS took millions of dollars from innocent people, inspector general finds While enforcing a transparency rule on large-sum bank deposits, the IRS confiscated legally obtained money more than 90 percent of the time, according to the Treasury Department report. By Christopher Ingraham  •  Read more » Susan Rice may have committed a crime, Trump says without providing evidence "I think it's going to be the biggest story," the president told the New York Times about his suggestion that Obama's former national security adviser requested the identities of Trump campaign associates contained in classified intelligence reports for political purposes. By Abby Phillip  •  Read more » Secret Service agent on Pence's detail suspended after meeting prostitute The Secret Service agent was off-duty when the incident reportedly occurred late last week at a Maryland hotel. By Samantha Schmidt  •  Read more » Long shadow cast by psychiatrist on transgender issues finally recedes at Johns Hopkins The institution will come full circle on transgender medicine as it resumes surgeries this summer after abruptly halting them in 1979 when its then-chief of psychiatry Paul McHugh declared transgender people needed psychological, not surgical, help. By Amy Ellis Nutt  •  Read more »         Share Today's Headlines:       Twitter      Facebook Trouble reading? Click here to view in your browser. You received this email because you are signed up for Headlines. 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