Axios

The Air Force has developed a new strategy to increase its capability to fight a war in space. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David L. Goldfein said the changes announced Tuesday were to "ensure we can organize, train, and equip our space forces to have the skills necessary to operate in a contested environment, defend our systems, and assure space missions and space superiority."

Context: Congress has been pressuring the Air Force to take a potential war in space more seriously, and Mike Rogers, chairman of the House Armed Services strategic forces subcommittee, has even called for the development of a "Space Force" separate from the Air Force. As Rogers said: "It is all too clear that our military is not organized and prepared to fight and win a war in space."

Why it matters: Retired Major General Charlie Dunlap tells Axios:

"A key reason that the US military is the dominant armed force in the world today is space. So much of what makes it uniquely lethal is its ability to use satellites not only to gather intelligence from every place on the planet, but also to instantly command and control its forces anywhere on the globe. In addition, precision-guided weapons use global positioning satellites to precisely apply force."

President Trump kicked off his joint press conference with Jordan's King Abdullah II by condemning the chemical weapons attack in Syria, and stating that such a "heinous act cannot be tolerated." He added, "my attitude toward Syria and Assad has changed very much," but wouldn't say if he would consider military action. Other takeaways:

President Trump told the New York Times he doesn't think Fox News host Bill O'Reilly should have settled any lawsuits stemming from the at least five accusations of sexual harassment or inappropriate behavior against him. Trump's take:

I don't think Bill did anything wrong.

Trump also praised O'Reilly for hosting him on his show over the years, and added, "I think he's a person I know well — he is a good person."

In an interview with the New York Times today, President Trump alleged that former Obama national security adviser Susan Rice and other Obama administration officials — whom he refused to name — may have committed a crime by "unmasking" the identities of Trump team associates in intercepted communications with foreign officials. His take:

I think it's going to be the biggest story. It's such an important story for our country and the world. It is one of the big stories of our time.

Rice denied the allegations yesterday, but Trump promised to release more information "at the right time" in today's interview.

While meeting in the Oval Office with King Abdullah II of Jordan, President Trump called the Assad regime's chemical attack yesterday in Syria "unspeakable" and "a terrible affront to humanity." He noted that "these are very troubled times in the Middle East." And when asked about a potential change in policy regarding Syria, he simply responded:

You'll see.

House Democrats are moving forward with a discharge petition that would force the House to vote on a bill requiring Trump and future presidents to release their tax returns. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said this has larger implications beyond taxes:

This is not just about releasing his tax returns... but about connecting the dots. It's a national security issue.

What's next: The majority of House members from both parties would need to sign the petition for the bill, created by California Rep. Anna Eshoo, to become law, but so far only two Republicans — South Carolina Rep. Mark Sanford and Michigan Rep. Justin Amash — have done so.

Ivanka Trump spoke to Gayle King of CBS This Morning, and they discussed the harsh Saturday Night Live sketch saying her perfume would be called "complicit" — a jab from critics who think Ivanka should challenge her father on more issues:

"If being complicit ... is wanting to be a force for good and to make a positive impact, then I'm complicit. I don't know that the critics who may say that of me, if they found themselves in this very unique and unprecedented situation that I am now in, would do any differently than I am doing ... I hope time will prove that I have done a good job and much more importantly that my father's administration is the success that I know it will be."

On why she doesn't publicly speak out on issues ranging from Planned Parenthood and gay rights to climate change: "I would say not to conflate lack of public denouncement with silence."

On ways to make your voice heard:

"In some case it's through protest and ... going on the nightly news and talking about or denouncing every issue in which you disagree with. Other times it is quietly, and directly, and candidly ... So where I disagree with my father, he knows it, and I express myself with total candor. ... I respect the fact that he always listens. It's how he was in business. It's how he is as president."

White House insiders tell me that when the president meets the other most powerful man in the world, China's Xi Jinping, at Mar-a-Lago tomorrow, expect Trump to be cordial in public, tough(ish) in private.

Trump plans to tell Xi behind the scenes that he will stick up for the country in a way that his predecessors didn't. But for the cameras, Trump will play the cordial host — his natural mien.

Trump isn't expected to make as big a point of human-rights issues as some of his conservative backers would like.

An apparent North Korean ballistic missile launch and a White House warning that "all options are on the table" with regard to North Korea came within minutes of one another and appear set to further ratchet up tensions between the two countries.

Two senior officials briefed reporters about North Korea in advance of the Chinese President's visit later this week, with one saying:

The clock has now run out and all options are on the table.

The chronology is unclear, but the warning came within minutes of North Korea firing what the US has confirmed was probably a ballistic missile into the East Sea. The DPRK fired it from the Tongchang-ri region, where a missile base is located, per Reuters, which also reports the launch came at 5:36PM ET.

Trump's going to use this week's China summit in Mar-a-Lago to propose a new "framework" for relations, senior Trump Administration officials said today on a background call with reporters. Trump and Xi are spending roughly a day together at the Florida club, with Xi arriving Thursday afternoon and leaving after a working lunch on Friday. It'll be all business, one official said:

It's safe to say there's not going to be any golf

Key points from the phone briefing:

Forbes sat down with Eric Trump, who called nepotism "kind of a factor of life" and spoke about the Trump siblings' relationship with their father, especially as it applies to their role in the family business.

• "We might be here because of nepotism, but we're not still here because of nepotism. You know, if we didn't do a good job, if we weren't competent, believe me, we wouldn't be in this spot."
• "He's a guy, no matter where it is, he expects people to perform. And if they're not performing, he kind of encourages them to go on their way. You know the one thing, Don, Ivanka and I never let him down really in any factor of life. And I think it's one of the reasons that we're as innately close as we are."
• "I don't know if he could have done the presidential thing four years ago. Certainly eight years ago, he couldn't have. I think we probably would have been too big of question marks for him. I think in so many of the deals that we've done…hopefully we earned our stripes. And I think that's ultimately why we're in the seat we're in."

President Trump kicked off the White House CEO town hall Tuesday pledging to "completely destroy" regulations on US companies. Two takeaways from Trump's remarks:

1. Dodd-Frank:

"We're going to do a very major haircut on Dodd-Frank. We want strong restrictions, we want strong regulation. But not regulation that makes it impossible for the banks to loan to people that are going to create jobs."

2. Infrastructure: Trump said he was "willing to take the heat" to get rid of 95% of the federal regulations he said state governments must work through to get a highway built, gesturing at chart illustrating the regulations: "This is anywhere from a 10- to a 20-year process, 17 agencies, hundreds and hundreds of permits...29 different statutes…We're going to be able to get rid of 95% of that…and still get protection."

Who else spoke? Gary Cohn, Elaine Chao, Christopher Liddell, Kevin McCarthy, Wilbur Ross, Dina Powell, Ivanka Trump.

Mike Cernovich is a pro-Trump blogger and social media personality — and he's getting a lot of love from Trumpland these days. Cernovich made an appearance on 60 Minutes Sunday to defend his controversial views, which Kellyanne Conway tweeted about as a "must-see ratings bonanza."

Driving the news: Bloomberg published a story yesterday that Susan Rice had requested that Trump associates be unmasked in incidental collection of electronic surveillance of foreign agents, but the story first came to light Sunday via Cernovich. Donald Trump Jr. tweeted this morning:

The obvious question: Does Cernovich have inside access to White House sources?

Some of his past controversies: A now-deleted tweet saying "Date rape does not exist," accusing political opponents of pedophilia and child abuse — though he claims to have never outright supported Pizzagate. — and putting forth theories about "Sick Hillary" during the campaign, claiming she suffered from seizures and Parkinson's disease.

The Washington Post has an inside look at a Trump transition that "went off the rails almost immediately after the election," according to one source. The highlights:

• President Trump reportedly believed it was bad karma to plan his presidency before winning the election, causing him to become divorced from most of the earliest transition planning.
• The transition team helmed by Chris Christie created binders of detailed materials with hour-by-hour schedules for President Trump's transition and legislative plans for the earliest days of his fledgling presidency.
• The nuts-and-bolts transition in Washington was largely disconnected from the Trump Tower power center, which was only compounded when Christie was forced from his role in an alleged Jared Kushner power-play.
• The original transition document called for Obamacare to be repealed by day 36 of the administration.

Chelsea Clinton told CBS This Morning that she is "definitely not the right person to defeat [President Trump] in 2020," but she does believe that his presidency should inspire young people to become more civically engaged. Check it out:

President Trump called Russian President Vladimir Putin Monday night to condemn the terrorist attack in St. Petersburg that left 14 dead and more than 50 injured. From the White House readout:

"President Trump expressed his deepest condolences to the victims and their loved ones, and to the Russian people. President Trump offered the full support of the United States Government in responding to the attack and bringing those responsible to justice. Both President Trump and President Putin agreed that terrorism must be decisively and quickly defeated."

New details: Akbarzhon Dzhalilov, a native of Kyrgyzstan who had Russian citizenship, is believed to be responsible for the attack in the city's subway system. Kyrgyz authorities said in a statement Tuesday that officials are cooperating with Russian security services. Russian investigators also said they believe the suspect was a suicide bomber.

President Trump has signed a Congressional resolution overturning Federal Communications Commission rules that would have required internet providers to get their customers' permission before sharing personal data like browsing history with advertisers. The rules had yet to go into effect.

What's next: Democrats view this as an issue that they can use to hit vulnerable Republican lawmakers, so they'll do what they can to keep it in play politically. Republican FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, who supported the effort to overturn the rules, said that he wants "the American people to know that the FCC will work with the [Federal Trade Commission] to ensure that consumers' online privacy is protected [through] a consistent and comprehensive framework."