Exclusive: Trump threatens third-party run  —  NEW YORK — Donald Trump says the chances that he will launch a third-party White House run will “absolutely” increase if the Republican National Committee is unfair to him during the 2016 primary season.  —  “The RNC has not been supportive.

Bye Bye J-J!  —  Executive Office of the President/Wikimedia Commons (left), Executive Office of the President/Wikimedia Commons (right)  —  You had to figure this was coming (per the Connecticut Post's Neil Vigdor): … As briefly discussed here in response to an essay from Jonathan Chait suggesting …

Exclusive: More MSNBC Changes Coming with Three Shows Out, Hard News and Chuck Todd Back  —  A well-placed source tells me MSNBC will announce today major changes to its afternoon lineup...arguably the most significant revamp the network has made at one time in its 19-year history.

Jeb Bush pushes to ‘phase out’ Medicare  —  Republican presidential hopeful Jeb Bush appeared at a New Hampshire event last night sponsored by the Koch brothers' Americans for Prosperity, and the former governor raised a few eyebrows with his comments on the future of Medicare.

‘Just stay behind me’ Construction worker helps teen escape I-95 abduction  —  HENRICO COUNTY, Va — Kevin Huntington knows things can get hectic along Interstate 95, especially in Northern Virginia.  The construction worker said what he saw last week, was like nothing he's ever experienced.

National Border Patrol Council Local 2455 statement  —  After careful consideration of all the factors involved in this event and communicating with members of the National Border Patrol Council (NBPC) at the National level, it has been decided by Local 2455 to pull out of all events involving Donald Trump.

Bison attacks woman who was trying to take selfie with it in Yellowstone Park  —  Yellowstone: Our first national park 9 photos  —  Yellowstone: Our first national park - Old Faithful Geyser may be the most-famous “resident” of Yellowstone National Park, but park ranger Dan Hottle …

Anthony Weiner got a job fixing PR messes — seriously  —  If you find yourself in a p.r. nightmare, there's a swashbuckling new hero you can turn to — Carlos Danger.  —  A top “crisis” public-relations firm with ties to Hillary Rodham Clinton has hired the last person in the world …

IPAB's on the horizon — House Republicans vow to subpoena Planned Parenthood official — Casey takes on foster children's health insurance  —  With help from Paul Demko, Rachana Pradhan and Brett Norman  —  GET READY: IPAB COULD BE TRIGGERED BY 2017 — Implementation of the Independent …

Increasingly divided Democrats causing problems for their party  —  Share Tweet Reddit Digg Mail Print SMS More  —  America's two major political parties have a difficult task: amassing a 51 percent coalition in a nation that has always been — not just now, but from the beginning …

Reality TV star found dead in Redondo Beach home; boyfriend arrested  —  A former Los Angeles police officer who starred in a reality TV show about her subsequent career as a lawyer was found slain Wednesday morning in her Redondo Beach home, authorities said.

The Toxic Worldview of Ta-Nehisi Coates  —  Moses gave us the Ten Commandments.  Paul gave us the epistles.  And Ta-Nehisi gave us, Between the World and Me.  —  Get POLITICO Magazine in your feeds  —  The new book by Atlantic writer Ta-Nehisi Coates, in the form of a letter to his son …

Illegal Alien Crime Wave in Texas: 611,234 Crimes, 2,993 Murders  —  The murder of Kathryn Steinle on the Embarcadero in San Francisco by an illegal alien is the most familiar example of a crime committed by an alien.  But an unreleased internal report by the Texas Department of Public Safety reveals …

Ex-cop Tells CNN: Sandra Bland Would Be Alive If She Wasn't ‘Arrogant From The Very Beginning’  —  CNN contributor and former NYPD detective Harry Houck argued on Tuesday that a Texas woman would not have died in police custody if she had not been “arrogant from the very beginning.”

A homeless woman picked up an LAPD nightstick during the skid row shooting — and could get life in prison  —  Millions of people viewed video of the fatal police shooting March 1 of an unarmed black man known as “Africa” outside his skid row tent.  —  Police said the man …

NASA May Have Discovered An Earth-Like Planet  —  NASA announced this week that it will shares news on Thursday from the Kepler Space Telescope project hinting that NASA may have found an earth-like planet.  —  “The first exoplanet orbiting another star like our sun was discovered in 1995.

Hamilton Councilman Ed Gore explains his ‘Muslim scum’ comment  —  HAMILTON >> When gunman Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez shot and killed five U.S. military service members July 16 in Chattanooga, Tenn., a Hamilton councilman went to Facebook to voice his sentiments.  —  “Murdering bastard.

Socialism, American-Style  —  THE great 20th-century conservative economist Joseph Schumpeter thought the left had overlooked a major selling point in pressing the case for public — i.e., government — control over productive capital.  “One of the most significant titles to superiority,” …

Appeasing Iran Ignores the Lessons of History  —  The now-concluded Iran nuclear negotiations predictably reflect ancient truths of appeasement.  —  While members of the Obama administration are high-fiving each other over a deal with the Iranian theocracy, they should remember unchanging laws …