Rachel Treisman

Dozens of national security specialists clustered inside a Washington hotel on a chilly December morning, warming up with coffee and checking out booths set up by intelligence agencies and defense contractors.

There were clues that the target audience for this event was a little broader than the usual D.C. security crowd: The unicorn logo behind the podium. A pop-up shop selling workplace fashion. Free child care. Talk of a line at the women's restroom.

Some low-income college students are among the 688,000 food stamp recipients projected to lose benefits as a result of a Trump administration rule announced Dec. 4.

When students in wilderness EMT Alice Henshaw's training courses grab practice dummies for CPR drills, they have their choice of a traditional, flat-chested training manikin or one that looks a little different: a manikin zipped into a neoprene vest with silicone breasts.

Updated at 12:59 p.m. ET

The Trump administration is tightening work requirements for some food stamp recipients, a change that is expected to eliminate Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits for 688,000 adults.

To Michelle Seifer, the timing was just a coincidence. After losing power in a summer storm, she came down with flu-like symptoms.

It wasn't until two days later, when a carbon monoxide detector activated and a utility company worker tested levels in Seifer's home, that she learned she was being poisoned by the portable generator she had been running in her open garage.

Turkeys frozen solid, ovens filling with smoke, and refrigerators stacked to the brim: For many, Thanksgiving meal prep means a kitchen in chaos. Luckily, several major food companies are throwing cooks across the country a lifeline — or, more specifically, a help line.

Basters and bakers can call a number of different hotlines for their turkey, dessert, and even cranberry needs. Many of these services also offer help through online chats, text messaging, email, and smart speakers such as Amazon Alexa.

Chelsea and Noah Isaacs were busy new parents of twin daughters when they lost their home in the Camp Fire in Paradise, Calif. That same day — Nov. 8, 2018 — Chelsea discovered she was pregnant again; later she would learn it was with another set of twins.

"All of those things kind of created this perfect storm of appreciation for what I've got, but then at the same time [there was] this feeling of 'how is this all going to work?' that was really overwhelming initially," Chelsea said.

Updated Nov. 12, 5:25 p.m. ET

While the number of reported hate crimes dipped slightly in 2018, violence against individuals rose to a 16-year high, according to numbers released Tuesday by the FBI.

The FBI's annual tally counted 7,120 hate crimes reported last year, 55 fewer than the year before. The main concern for extremism trackers, however, is the rising level of violence — the report showed an increase in the number of "crimes against persons," such as intimidation, assault and homicide.

Mike Lofgren is the very definition of a civil servant. He was a congressional staffer for 28 years, with most of that time spent crunching numbers on the Senate and House budget committees.

He's moderate and mild-mannered, saying, "I was on the Republican side my whole career. I wasn't a culture wars Republican, basically a fiscal conservative in the manner of say, [President Dwight] Eisenhower."