1. In an exclusive wide-ranging interview, President Trump said he will proceed on a border wall without lawmakers and dismissed any suggestions of wrongdoing in investigations that have consumed his presidency.

Mr. Trump called the current negotiations over the wall “a waste of time” and indicated he will likely take action on his own when they end in two weeks: “I’ve set the table. I’ve set the stage for doing what I’m going to do.”

On the topic of China, he expressed optimism at reaching a trade deal. And he denied being at odds with his intelligence chiefs, just a day after calling them “naive” on Twitter.