As Trump ranted and rambled in Phoenix, his crowd slowly thinned  —  PHOENIX — Just before President Trump strolled onto the rally stage on Tuesday evening, four speakers took turns carefully denouncing hate, calling for unity and ever so subtly assuring the audience that the president is not racist.

Trump Holds Steady After Charlottesville; Supporters Think Whites, Christians Face Discrimination  —  PPP's newest national poll finds that Donald Trump's approval rating is pretty steady in the wake of the Charlottesville attack, probably because his supporters think that whites and Christians …

James Clapper calls Trump speech ‘downright scary and disturbing’  —  (CNN)James Clapper, former director of National Intelligence, said Wednesday morning he questioned President Donald Trump's fitness for office.  —  “I really question his ability to be — his fitness to be — in this office …

Shutdown threat grows as Trump digs in on wall  —  President Donald Trump's vow Tuesday to close down the government if he doesn't get money for the border wall mirrors private comments he has made to advisers in recent days — and could cause significant rifts within his own party if he follows through.

White House has paperwork ready for Joe Arpaio pardon  —  (CNN) The White House has prepared the paperwork for President Trump to pardon former sheriff Joe Arpaio when he makes the final decision to do so, CNN has learned.  —  An administration official said the White House …

The Insidious Libertarian-to-Alt-Right Pipeline … Libertarianism has an alt-right problem.  Many prominent leaders of the alt-right have, at some point, identified as libertarian.  I am curious as to... why?  —  Milo Yiannopoulos has billed himself (and has been billed by others) as libertarian.

Wall Street Journal Editor Admonishes Reporters Over Trump Coverage  —  Gerard Baker, the editor in chief of The Wall Street Journal, has faced unease and frustration in his newsroom over his stewardship of the newspaper's coverage of President Trump, which some journalists there say has lacked toughness and verve.

Rescued piglets served up as sausages to firefighters  —  A litter of piglets whose bacon was saved from a barn fire has been served up as dinner to the firefighters who rescued them.  —  The 18 piglets and two sows survived the fire in Wiltshire in February, which saw 60 tonnes of hay catch fire.

The strange story of that ‘Blacks for Trump’ guy standing behind POTUS at his Phoenix rally  —  At a number of political rallies over the year, a character calling himself “Michael the Black Man” has appeared in the crowd directly behind Donald Trump, impossible to miss and possibly planted.

Exclusive: Hillary Clinton in her own words  —  Hillary Clinton reflects on the 2016 campaign in her new book ‘What Happened.’ Morning Joe has an exclusive first look. ...  more Duration: {{video.duration.momentjs}}

Fake news?  Trump supporters circulate photo of Phoenix rally crowds ... but it's not … Ah social media is a glorious place.  You see something, it looks cool, and so you retweet it.  —  And sometimes that gets you into trouble.  —  Such was the case Tuesday night …

CNN's Big Secret  —  BREAKING: Host reveals that journalists don't like Trump.  —  Now it can be told.  A CNN host named Brian Stelter confided to his audience this week about conversations occurring off-camera and off the record across the media landscape.  According to Mr. Stelter:

State Dept. science envoy resigns with letter that spells out ‘Impeach’  —  The science envoy for the State Department has resigned following President Trump's response to the violent clashes at a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va.  —  Daniel Kammen announced his resignation …

12 Days That Stunned a Nation: How Hillary Clinton Lost  —  WASHINGTON — Less than two weeks before Election Day, Hillary Clinton held a clear lead in the polls and it looked like her campaign was trying to run up the score — just as the race was about to turn upside down.

Bundy Ranch standoff trials … A federal jury in Las Vegas did not return any guilty verdicts Tuesday against four men accused of taking up arms against federal agents during the Bundy Ranch standoff in 2014.  —  Jurors dealt government prosecutors a stinging defeat in the case when …

German magazine cover shows Trump doing Nazi salute  —  A German news magazine's latest cover image shows President Trump doing a Nazi salute.  —  German publication Stern is portraying Trump wearing an American flag and doing the salute, which is illegal in Germany.

The President of Blank Sucking Nullity  —  Put a cone on it.  —  W  —  O  —  R  —  D  —  F  —  C  —  T  —  O  —  R  —  Y  —  MY FATHER IS CONVINCED that his dog is embarrassed.  He doesn't mean the rudimentary way that dogs ever show embarrassment …

16-year-old MPS student arrested after punching teacher several times in the head  —  MILWAUKEE — A teacher at South Division High School punched by a student.  The whole thing was captured on camera.  —  The video shows a student punching a teacher several times in the head.

‘This Is Not Hazing.  This Is Rape’: Inside a Texas Town's Football Nightmare … LA VERNIA, Texas—When Jennifer's* son made varsity—as a freshman, no less—it should have been cause for celebration.  —  Here, football is king.  The town is one of the oldest communities in the Lone Star State …

'He's anti-left, anti-PC, anti-stupid': Trump supporters in their own words  —  Trump is breath of fresh air.  He's totally not a political person.  He's a businessman: he's anti-left, he's anti-PC, he's anti-stupid.  He just wants to go in and make the best deal for Americans that he can.

MSESPN Pulls Asian Announcer Named Robert Lee Off UVa Game To Avoid Offending Idiots  —  UPDATE: ESPN ISSUES OFFICIAL STATEMENT ON MOVING ROBERT LEE FROM VIRGINIA GAME:  —  “We collectively made the decision with Robert to switch games as the tragic events in Charlottesville were unfolding …

After angry rally, Trump calls for healing in Nevada  —  STORY HIGHLIGHTS  —  Reno, Nevada (CNN)Hours after his irate campaign rally in Phoenix, President Donald Trump on Wednesday called for national healing.  —  “It is time to heal the wounds that divide us and to seek a new unity based …

Dems to Trump: We won't yield on wall funding  —  House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) warned Democrats would hold fast to their pledge to oppose border wall funding after President Trump threatened a government shutdown over the issue.  —  “President Trump's multi-billion dollar …