I will dispense for now from discussion of the moral character of the president's Charlottesville statements.  Whether he intended to or not, what he communicated caused racists to rejoice, minorities to weep, and the vast heart of America to mourn.  His apologists strain to explain that he didn't mean what we heard.

Members of White House presidential arts commission resigning to protest Trump's comments  —  The remaining members of a presidential arts and humanities panel resigned on Friday in yet another sign of growing national protest of President Trump's recent comments on the violence in Charlottesville.

James Murdoch, Rebuking Trump, Pledges $1 Million to Anti-Defamation League  —  BRIDGEWATER, N.J. — James Murdoch, the chief executive of 21st Century Fox and the son of a frequent ally of President Trump's, condemned the president's performance after the violence in Charlottesville, Va. …

Mother of Charlottesville Victim Heather Heyer Says She's Received Death Threats  —  A day after burying her daughter, the mother of a woman killed during Saturday's white nationalist rally in Charlottesville scoffed at President Donald Trump's claim that violence on “both sides” led to her daughter's death.

The Party of Trump  —  Column: America's new, combustible four-party system  —  On July 18, 2015, about a month into his long-shot campaign for president, Donald Trump famously attacked John McCain.  “He's not a war hero,” he said.  “He was a war hero because he was captured.

Taney statue removed from Md. state house grounds overnight  —  Workers dismantled a 145-year-old statue of Supreme Court Justice Roger B. Taney outside the Maryland State House shortly after midnight Friday, the latest ripple effect from last weekend's deadly violence at a rally of white supremacists in Charlottesville.

ACLU Will No Longer Defend Hate Groups Protesting With Firearms  —  Executive director says violence and guns at Charlottesville rally spurred new stance  —  The American Civil Liberties Union, taking a tougher stance on armed protests, will no longer defend hate groups seeking to march with firearms …

MSNBC Ranks as No. 1 Cable Network in Total Viewers for First Time Ever  —  MSNBC ranked as the number one network across all of cable in total viewers for the first time in its history, according to Nielsen data.  —  For Wednesday, Aug. 16, MSNBC averaged 1.52 million viewers for the total …

The agonizing, 8-page memo on how to chauffeur a congressman  —  Empty his trash.  Always have hand sanitizer and gum at the ready.  And don't bother with “unnecessary conversation” — the congressman doesn't have time for your chit-chat.  —  Demanding, high-maintenance bosses are notorious on Capitol Hill.

Sen. Scott says Trump's “moral authority is compromised”  —  For more of this interview with Sen. Scott, watch VICE News Tonight on HBO at 7:30 ET.  —  CHARLESTON, South Carolina — President Donald Trump has put his fellow Republican politicians in an awkward position after his Tuesday news conference …

Steve Bannon Detonates His Trump Survival Plan, Worrying Allies  —  “He's saying, 'I'm going to force you to fire me in a public way or we're going to follow the agenda we were elected for,'” an ally said.  —  Allies who spend too long in Donald Trump's doghouse usually get sent away for good.

‘Antifa’ Grows as Left-Wing Faction Set to, Literally, Fight the Far Right  —  OAKLAND, Calif. — Last weekend, when a 27-year-old bike messenger showed up at the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Va., he came ready for battle.  He joined a human chain that stretched in front …

Barcelona terror attack death toll rises, fourth suspect arrested  —  A fourth person was arrested on Friday in connection with the terror attacks that killed at least 14 people in Barcelona and the resort of Cambrils, police said.  —  News of the arrest followed the announcement …

Armed Group Appears at Council to Oppose Statue's Removal  —  The ongoing controversy surrounding the proposed removal of the Confederate monument in Travis Park was at the center of Wednesday evening's citizens to be heard session in City Council Chambers.  —  As speakers addressed Council members …

Corker: Trump hasn't demonstrated the stability or competence to be successful  —  STORY HIGHLIGHTS  —  (CNN)Sen. Bob Corker slammed President Donald Trump's handling of the racially motivated protests in Charlottesville, Virginia, charging that the President “has not demonstrated he understands the character of this nation.”

Fighting Nazis doesn't make ‘antifa’ the good guys  —  MORE FROM: … Fighting Nazis is a good thing, but fighting Nazis doesn't necessarily make you or your cause good.  By my lights this is simply an obvious fact.  —  The greatest Nazi-killer of the 20th century was Josef Stalin.

Art of the Deal Writer Says Trump Will Resign Before Year's End: Reminds Me of ‘Last Days of Nixon’  —  Author Tony Schwartz spent 18 months with Donald Trump putting together The Art of the Deal — Trump's best-selling book.  And having spent so much time with the man who is now President …

Dem group puts Trump's words over video of Charlottesville violence  —  A Democratic group is hitting President Trump over his claim that “both sides” were responsible for the violence at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Va., over the weekend.  —  A new video from Bridge Project …

Op-Ed Speech in America is fast, cheap and out of control  —  Alex Jones from infowars.com speaks during the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio on July 18, 2016.  (David Swanson / TNS)  —  The Internet and social media did not create white supremacist movements in the United States …

Donald Trump has no grasp of what it means to be president  —  U-turns, self-regard and equivocation are not what it takes  —  DEFENDERS of President Donald Trump offer two arguments in his favour—that he is a businessman who will curb the excesses of the state; and that he will help America …

McCaskill, Clay and others call for Mo. senator to resign after post hoping for Trump's assassination  —  With five written words Thursday morning, one of Missouri's most controversial state lawmakers spawned a U.S. Secret Service investigation, potentially endangered her own political career …

New Poll: Republicans support Trump view of Charlottesville  —  Watching media coverage, you'd think Trump is nearly alone in believing “both sides” share fault for the Charlottesville violence.  Turns out, most Republicans have his back.  SurveyMonkey findings, previewed first for Axios readers …

Abraham Lincoln monument torched in Chicago: ‘An absolute disgraceful act’  —  Abraham Lincoln has joined George Washington on the list of those targeted by Chicagoans in a national debate over Civil War-era monuments.  —  Alderman Raymond Lopez took to Facebook Wednesday night to decry …