Trump and McConnell Locked in a Cold War, Threatening the G.O.P. Agenda  —  The relationship between President Trump and Senator Mitch McConnell, the majority leader, has disintegrated to the point that they have not spoken to each other in weeks, and Mr. McConnell has privately expressed uncertainty …

Emails: Breitbart editor pledges to do ‘dirty work’ for Bannon, smears Ivanka  —  A self-described “email prankster” seemingly fooled top editors at Breitbart over the weekend into believing he was Steve Bannon, the fired White House chief strategist who returned to the right-wing website as executive chairman on Friday.

Mnuchin's Wife Mocks Oregon Woman Over Lifestyle and Wealth  —  WASHINGTON — The wife of the Treasury secretary on Monday night took a page from President Trump's social media playbook for punching down.  —  Louise Linton, the labels-loving wife of Steven Mnuchin, replied condescendingly …

Fake Polls Are A Real Problem  —  Is Kid Rock leading the U.S. Senate race in Michigan?  A story like that is essentially designed to go viral, and that's exactly what happened when Delphi Analytica released a poll fielded from July 14 to July 18.  Republican Kid Rock earned 30 percent to Sen. Debbie Stabenow's 26 percent.

Angry Trump Grilled His Generals About Troop Increase, Then Gave In  —  WASHINGTON — President Trump's skepticism about America's involvement in Afghanistan was no secret to his staff.  But his top national security officials were still taken aback at a meeting in the Situation Room on July 19 …

Trump aides plot a big immigration deal — that breaks a campaign promise  —  Donald Trump's top aides are pushing him to protect young people brought into the country illegally as children — and then use the issue as a bargaining chip for a larger immigration deal — despite the president's campaign vow to deport so-called Dreamers.

Gawker has been gone for a year.  We've never needed it more than now.  —  Gawker wasn't perfect.  But in the age of Trump, it's hard not to miss its voice.  (Henri Grivot/AP)  —  One year ago today, Gawker shut down.  Nick Denton's legendary website is now gone, sued into oblivion …

Trump won't pardon ‘Sheriff Joe’ Arpaio at Arizona rally  —  President Trump will not pardon controversial former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio at a campaign rally Tuesday night in Arizona.  —  “There will be no discussion of that today at any point and no action will be taken on that front …

‘My actions were despicable’: Catholic priest steps down after revealing he was a Ku Klux Klan member decades ago  —  A Catholic priest in Arlington, Va., is temporarily stepping down after revealing he was a member of the Ku Klux Klan and burned crosses more than 40 years ago before becoming a clergy member.

12 Browns players kneel in prayer over racial, social injustice  —  CLEVELAND — A dozen Browns players took a knee in prayer during the national anthem before Monday night's preseason game against the New York Giants.  —  While the group knelt behind the bench, several other players placed …

Glenn Simpson, key figure behind million-dollar ‘dossier,’ to face questions  —  A key figure behind the so-called “dossier” featuring uncorroborated and salacious allegations about then-candidate Donald Trump's ties to Russia will be questioned by investigators from the Senate Judiciary Committee today …

President Trump's list of false and misleading claims tops 1,000 … We have been tracking President Trump's false or misleading claims for more than seven months.  Somewhere around Aug. 4 or Aug. 5, he broke 1,000 claims, and the tally now stands at 1,057.  (Our full interactive graphic can be found here.)

Is Anybody Home at HUD?  —  A long-harbored conservative dream — the “dismantling of the administrative state” — is taking place under Secretary Ben Carson.  —  In mid-May, Steve Preston, who served as the secretary of Housing and Urban Development in the final two years …

A Woman Who Says She Had Underage Sex With R. Kelly Is Finally Telling Her Story  —  Jerhonda Pace was just 15 when she met her musical idol, R. Kelly, outside his child pornography trial.  The alleged underage sexual relationship with him that followed and subsequent payouts mirror decades of allegations against the star.

White House renews request for privacy for Trump's young son  —  https://apnews.com/a38845c4eb7646189147 fa01122a680c  —  Link copied!  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House is appealing to the news media for privacy for President Donald Trump's young son, Barron.

Exclusive - ‘America First Rallies’ Canceled, Replaced with Online ‘Day of ACTion’ over Threat of Violence  —  ACT for America is canceling its America First Rallies, previously scheduled for Saturday, September 9, “out of an abundance of caution” due “to the recent violence in America and in Europe.”

Polls Show Trump Cratering?  Not So Fast  —  Diagnosing the state of President Donald Trump's political health should be a simple matter.  The story that the traditional metrics tell is straightforward.  —  On a good day for him, Trump's approval rating might crack 40 percent.

Time for Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal to exit gracefully  —  State Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal, D-University City, issued a full-throated apology Sunday to President Donald Trump and his family for posting on Facebook that she hopes he'll be assassinated.  There are times when unequivocal contrition …

Politicians usually sound the most off-key when they are trying to pretend to be something they are not.  Remember Donald Trump trying to talk abortion policy with Chris Matthews?  Or the classic of the genre - “severely conservative” Mitt Romney.  —  Well in the wake of the horrific violence …

‘Some remains’ of missing 10 sailors found after collision, admiral says  —  STORY HIGHLIGHTS  —  (CNN)"Some remains" of 10 missing US sailors have been found after the collision between the US destroyer John S. McCain and an oil tanker near Singapore, US Navy Adm. Scott Swift said Tuesday.

Chaos Breaks Out at Charlottesville City Council Meeting  —  CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — They shouted down the mayor and City Council members, took over the Council chambers for about a half-hour, and gave more than four hours of impassioned testimony about how city officials had botched the response …

Patriots gave President Trump Super Bowl ring as thank-you for White House visit  —  New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft gave President Trump a commemorative Super Bowl ring after the team's visit to the White House in April.  —  Patriots spokesman Stacey James told USA TODAY Sports …