Trump tweets shocking assault on Brzezinski, Scarborough  —  Trump attacks ‘Morning Joe’ hosts on Twitter  —  Even by President Trump's standards, these tweets were shocking.  —  On Thursday morning, while MSNBC's “Morning Joe” was on the air, Trump posted a pair of hateful tweets about co-hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski.

Portman and McConnell clash over health bill  —  Senate Republicans' health care fight is getting personal.  —  Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Sen. Rob Portman, close allies and typically mild-mannered men, got into a heated exchange over Medicaid at a meeting earlier this week.

Pence to Replace His Chief of Staff  —  WASHINGTON — Vice President Mike Pence's chief of staff will depart the White House in the coming weeks and will be replaced by a long-serving aide, in the first major staff change of his office, officials said on Thursday.

Tillerson blows up at top White House aide  —  Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's frustrations with the White House have been building for months.  Last Friday, they exploded.  —  The normally laconic Texan unloaded on Johnny DeStefano, the head of the presidential personnel office …

A Stunt Turns Deadly for a Couple Seeking YouTube Fame  —  Over the past several weeks, Monalisa Perez of Halstad, Minn., and her boyfriend, Pedro Ruiz III, began their quest for YouTube fame by creating and posting videos of mostly harmless pranks: Mr. Ruiz climbing onto a tenuous tree branch …

Stepsister, Yes; Grandma, No: U.S. Sets Guidelines for Revised Travel Ban  —  WASHINGTON — Stepsiblings and half-siblings are allowed, but not nieces or nephews.  Sons- and daughters-in-law are in, but parents- and siblings-in-law are not.  Parents are considered “close family,” but grandparents are not.

As GOP buckles down on health care, conservative media loses interest  —  On Tuesday, the fate of the Republicans' attempt to undo the Affordable Care Act dominated news out of Washington.  Phones rattled with alerts about the decision to delay a vote until mid-July.

EVEN TRUMP CAN'T MAKE GOLDMAN SACHS POPULAR  —  Having pulled off the monumental achievement of getting elected with zero help from Wall Street, President Trump is at risk of throwing it all away.  He seems to be turning his White House over not only to liberal Democrats …

Trump rips media, mocks Pelosi at closed-door fundraiser  —  President Donald Trump, facing dimming approval ratings and a stalled legislative agenda, rolled out his greatest hits on Wednesday evening - ripping into CNN, assailing House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, and hailing his party's string of special election wins.

House Russia probe eyes longtime Trump bodyguard-turned-White House aide Keith Schiller  —  Congressional investigators now want to interview Keith Schiller, President Donald Trump's longtime bodyguard-turned-White House aide, as part of their investigation into Russian interference …

Iraq declares end of caliphate after capture of Mosul mosque  —  After eight months of grinding urban warfare, Iraqi government troops on Thursday captured the ruined mosque at the heart of Islamic State's de facto capital Mosul, and the prime minister declared the group's self-styled caliphate at an end.

San Francisco To Pay Undocumented Immigrant $190K For Violating Sanctuary Policy  —  SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX 5) — San Francisco taxpayers could soon pay $190,000 in a lawsuit settlement with an undocumented immigrant who claimed he was reported to federal immigration authorities in violation …

Trump's Obama Obsession  —  Donald Trump has a thing about Barack Obama.  Trump is obsessed with Obama.  Obama haunts Trump's dreams.  One of Trump's primary motivators is the absolute erasure of Obama — were it possible — not only from the political landscape but also from the history books.

White House could offer to roll back sanctions in first Trump-Putin meeting  —  G20 meeting of two presidents could see Russia regain access to diplomatic compounds blocked after interference in 2016 US election, say former officials … Donald Trump has told White House aides to come …

Army vet beaten to death after saving two teens  —  (CNN)A 62-year-old veteran died saving a pair of teenagers from a brutal attack, and now he's being hailed as a hero.  —  James Farmer Jr. was asleep in his car in downtown Denver on June 16 when he woke up to a homeless man attacking the two teens.

Bridges takes chilled approach in heated political rhetoric … Jeff Bridges played a president in “The Contender,” a political flick released nearly two decades ago in the wake of President Bill Clinton's White House scandals.  —  But when it comes to critiquing the role of today's real-life president …

Much ado about nothing (burger)  —  Reporter fires back on ‘fake news’ attack  — Jones says he thinks it's unlikely Trump will be forced from office over the Russia investigation but that doesn't mean he thinks there's nothing there  —  CNN political commentator Van Jones is president …

Spurned by Trump, Senate Democrats Take a Harder Line  —  WASHINGTON — Shortly after President Trump won the White House, a cluster of Senate Democrats began the search for common cause with the unlikely new president, scouring the populist policy agenda that dominated his campaign.

Stop going to the White House press briefings  —  With all the legitimate gripes reporters have with this White House, perhaps the least worthy of your (or their) time and attention is the WWE-style smackdown over briefings.  Every day, the White House hides or dodges.  Every day, reporters protest and whine.