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.

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.

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 …

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.

Pardon America's toughest sheriff  —  Joe Arpaio became a principal target of the militant left wing: Opposing view  —  Arizona's Sheriff Joe Arpaio has dedicated his whole life to keeping his fellow human beings safe; in his senior years, he has specifically protected Arizona communities.

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.)

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 …

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 …

‘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.

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 …

The Book He Wasn't Supposed to Write  —  I had written five books for Scott Moyers, following him as he moved from editing jobs at Scribner's to Random House and then to Penguin Press.  We worked well together, and in part thanks to his strong editing hand, my last three books had been bestsellers.