Sunday's Headlines: Pentagon plan to seize Raqqa calls for significant increase in U.S. participation

Obama spokesman calls Trump's wiretapping claim 'simply false'; Russia is the slow burn of the Trump administration, and it's not going away; Catholic Church challenges Duterte in fight for the soul of the Philippines; Trump's sons leverage ties established in campaign;   Democracy Dies in Darkness     The morning's most important stories, selected by Post editors   Top Stories Pentagon plan to seize Raqqa calls for significant increase in U.S. participation The military's favored option, among several under review by the White House to capture the Islamic State capital in Syria, calls for a greater U.S. military presence, including more Special Operations forces, attack helicopters and artillery. By Karen DeYoung and Liz Sly  •  Read more » Obama spokesman calls Trump's wiretapping claim 'simply false' President Trump, citing no evidence, said the Obama administration was "wire tapping" his offices before the election. Officials with knowledge of a federal investigation into Russian interference in the election said there was no wiretap of Trump. By Philip Rucker, Ellen Nakashima and Robert Costa  •  Read more »   The Take | Analysis Russia is the slow burn of the Trump administration, and it's not going away There are legitimate questions that the president can't simply wish away.  By Dan Balz  •  Read more »   Catholic Church challenges Duterte in fight for the soul of the Philippines Using biblical language to cast himself as the defender of the innocent, President Rodrigo Duterte launched a war on crime that has claimed at least 7,000 lives. Now the Catholic Church is fighting back, denouncing Duterte's anti-drug crusade as a "reign of terror" against the poor. By Emily Rauhala  •  Read more »   Trump's sons leverage ties established in campaign A new hotel chain would extend the company's reach into dozens of cities, including locations where the president's sons made connections during their father's White House bid. By Jonathan O'Connell, David A. Fahrenthold and Matea Gold  •  Read more »   ADVERTISEMENT   Opinions   Americans have lost faith in institutions. That’s not because of Trump or ‘fake news.’ By Bill Bishop  •  Read more »   Things look bleak for liberals now. But they’ll beat Trump in the end. By Ruy Teixeira  •  Read more »   Ayn Rand is dead. Liberals are going to miss her. By Jennifer Burns  •  Read more »   The biggest problem for Trump’s border wall isn’t money. It’s getting the land. By Gerald S. Dickinson  •  Read more »   There’s more to fighting racism than getting rid of a Confederate statue By David Rotenstein  •  Read more »   Five myths about historically black colleges and universities By Shirley Carswell  •  Read more » ADVERTISEMENT   More News   Some are rejected for organ transplants because of conditions such as autism Beyond some restrictions imposed by laws such as the Americans With Disabilities Act, the doctors, nurses, psychologists and social workers at U.S. transplant programs are free to take neurocognitive disabilities such as autism into consideration any way they want. By Lenny Bernstein  •  Read more » SNL imagines Jeff Sessions as Forrest Gump at the bus stop "Saturday Night Live" opened with Kate McKinnon playing Attorney General Jeff Sessions as a version of Tom Hanks's title role in "Forrest Gump," complete with riffs on classic lines from the 1994 movie. By Bethonie Butler  •  Read more » Wonkblog | Analysis American cocaine use is way up. Colombia’s coca boom might be why. The illegal Colombian crop has exploded since 2013 and a State Department report says U.S. cocaine use is on the rise for the first time in nearly a decade. By Nick Miroff  •  Read more » Perspective I stopped drinking, and it made some of my friends uncomfortable Social drinkers felt ill-at-ease around me, almost as if I were passing judgment on them. Recovering alcoholics looked at me askance because I wasn't in Alcoholics Anonymous, where they assumed I belonged if I was no longer drinking. By Steven Petrow  •  Read more » Sanders backs Miss. unionization push as Democrats draft agenda to win back blue-collar voters The senator from Vermont came to the event both to help the UAW's campaign and to send a message about "standing up for working men and women." By David Weigel  •  Read more » @PKCapitol | Analysis Some GOP lawmakers' block-everything mentality could imperil big-picture plans It's unclear whether a new generation of Capitol Hill Republicans, whose entire legislative careers have previously been dedicated to stopping the Obama administration, are ready to follow their leaders. By Paul Kane  •  Read more » ‘Go back to your own country': Sikh man shot in his driveway in suspected hate crime The Washington state shooting, which left the man injured, came days after an Indian man in Kansas was killed and another was hurt, police said, by a gunman who told them to "get out of my country." By Cleve R. Wootson Jr.  •  Read more » News quiz: Snippets and snaps Even if you didn't stay up to watch two widely broadcast events, you might have heard about what happened. How well did you pay attention this week? By Tiffany Harness  •  Read more » Cars Acura's MDX: Others offer more value It's a well-made SUV, but the Honda counterpart provides just as much at a lower cost. By Warren Brown  •  Read more » Food Sushi doughnuts. Seriously. Will the latest made-for-Instagram food be the new sushi burrito? Only time will tell. By Maura Judkis  •  Read more » On Parenting Parenting could be easier if we divorced Shared custody would give this parent time to recover from the child-care marathon. By Crystal Ponti  •  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. 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