Political power plays

Four White House appointments of people you'll see and hear much more of:

• Hope Hicks — President Trump's most trusted aide, period — was officially named White House communications director.
• Mercedes Schlapp, a former Fox News contributor and George W. Bush aide, will be Senior Advisor for Strategic Communications.
• Raj Shah will be Principal Deputy Press Secretary.
• Steven Cheung will be Director of Strategic Response.

Steve Bannon will speak in Berkeley later this month "as part of Free Speech Week, a four-day event organized by The Berkeley Patriot, a conservative student publication," according to the N.Y. Times.

"New York Times White House correspondents Maggie Haberman and Glenn Thrush have agreed to do a Trump book for Random House," Vanity Fair's Joe Pompeo reports, noting that both are veterans of the New York tabloid world.