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 …

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 …

Senate Leadership Fund: “ChemtrailKelli” AZ  —  Arizonans rejected Chemtrail Kelli Ward's embarrassing behavior and dangerous ideas just one year ago.  But she's back at it again.  —  Chemtrail Kelli supported wacky conspiracy theories and even spent taxpayer money on a town-hall about chemtrails.

Joe Arpaio Says He Has ‘No Idea’ if President Trump Will Pardon Him  —  President Donald Trump is reportedly considering a pardon for Joe Arpaio, the controversial former Arizona lawman with a reputation as “America's toughest sheriff.”  —  That would surely be good news for Arpaio …

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.)

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 …

It's High Time Barron Trump Starts Dressing Like He's In the White House  —  I've been on the Barron Trump train from the start, but it's about time the president's son starts dressing the part.  —  Barron is the youngest son of Donald Trump and the only child the president shares with Melania Trump.

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 …

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.

Virginia voters divided on blame for Charlottesville violence  —  About half see at least equal blame for violence at the Charlottesville white nationalist rally.  Many Virginia voters (47 percent) believe the counter protesters in Charlottesville deserve at least equal blame for the violence at last week's white nationalist rally.

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.

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 …

Exclusive: Sen. Schatz's new health care idea could be the Democratic Party's future  —  Democrats are ready to go on the health care offensive.  And Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI) may have a new plan for them to do it.  —  In an interview with Vox, Schatz revealed that he's preparing a new bill …

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 …

Places with the fewest immigrants push back hardest against immigration  —  Trump backs plan to curb legal immigration  —  (CNN)As President Donald Trump's trip to Arizona is certain to demonstrate, immigration remains one of the most polarizing issues in American politics.

Dems prep for Pence, Kasich, Haley to run in 2020  —  The Democratic National Committee is conducting full-scale opposition research on multiple Republicans it believes could challenge President Donald Trump for reelection — or are likely to run if he does not.