Trump pressed aides on Venezuela invasion, US official says  —  BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — As a meeting last August in the Oval Office to discuss sanctions on Venezuela was concluding, President Donald Trump turned to his top aides and asked an unsettling question: With a fast unraveling Venezuela …

‘I would have done something’: Jordan rebuts claims he knew of abuse  —  The Freedom Caucus leader gives his first interview about a news report suggesting he ignored sexual abuse by a colleague decades ago.  —  Rep. Jim Jordan emphatically denied allegations that he intentionally overlooked …

In a Fox-Inspired Tweetstorm, Trump Offers a Medley of Falsehoods and Misstatements  —  WASHINGTON — The string of insults, misstatements, exaggerations and outright falsehoods emanating from the White House began just after sunrise.  —  In the space of a few hours, President Trump …

Counter-terror police investigate Amesbury substance after pair fall ill  —  Counter-terror police are investigating a “major incident” in Amesbury after two people were exposed to an unknown substance which left them in a critical condition.  —  Samples of the substance are being sent …

Leading contender to be Trump's Supreme Court pick faces questions from social conservatives  —  An intensifying debate over Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh, a front-runner in President Trump's search for a Supreme Court nominee, gripped Republicans on Tuesday, with conservative critics highlighting past rulings …

Donald Trump's talking points on Crimea are the same as Vladimir Putin's  —  A few days ago, reporters on Air Force One asked President Trump if he would accept Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014.  They had good reason to do so.  As Trump prepares for his July 16 summit meeting …

Pruitt directly asked Trump to replace Sessions with him  —  (CNN)Embattled Environmental Protection Agency Secretary Scott Pruitt directly appealed to President Donald Trump this spring to fire Attorney General Jeff Sessions and let him run the Department of Justice instead, according to three people familiar with the proposal.

Democracy Dies in the Blinding Light of Day  —  Despite being one of the United States's founding statesmen and its second president after independence from Britain, John Adams was quite skeptical of democracy.  “Democracy never lasts long,” Adams reflected in an 1814 letter.

Bipartisan Senate Panel Gives Middle Finger to Devin Nunes … The Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee have said the NSA, CIA, and FBI got it wrong when they assessed that the point of Russia's 2016 election interference was to harm Hillary Clinton and elect Donald Trump.

A Frosty Summer for Alan Dershowitz on Liberal Martha's Vineyard  —  CHILMARK, Mass. — For years, Alan Dershowitz, the lawyer and professor emeritus at Harvard Law School, has been a garrulous fixture in this handsome, gray-shingled town on Martha's Vineyard.

Next Slide  —  It's unconstitutional for the state of Tennessee to continue revoking driver's licenses from people who can't pay court costs, a federal judge determined Monday.  —  The ruling from U.S. District Judge Aleta Trauger will have broad national and state ramifications …

“What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?”  —  Mr. President, Friends and Fellow Citizens:  —  He who could address this audience without a quailing sensation, has stronger nerves than I have.  I do not remember ever to have appeared as a speaker before any assembly more shrinkingly …

Immigrant Mothers Were Moved Outdoors During Kirstjen Nielsen's Secretive Visit to Detention.  They Shouted for Help to No Avail.  —  Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen made a series of secretive visits to South Texas immigrant detention centers on Friday.

Pfizer raises prices on 100 drugs—again—despite backlash from public, lawmakers  —  Many Pfizer rivals vowed to limit such price hikes and Trump recently suggested cuts.  —  Despite public and political pressure, pharmaceutical giant Pfizer keeps raising the prices of its drugs …

Vote Leave broke electoral law, Electoral Commission expected to say  —  The official Brexit campaign is expected to be found guilty of four charges of breaking electoral law, the BBC has been told.  —  The draft of an investigation into Vote Leave concludes it broke spending limits and failed to comply with some of the rules.

Alan Diaz, AP photographer behind Elian image, dies at 71  —  MIAMI (AP) — Retired Associated Press photojournalist Alan Diaz , whose photo of a terrified 6-year-old Cuban boy named Elian Gonzalez earned him the Pulitzer Prize, has died.  He was 71.  —  Diaz's daughter, Aillette Rodriguez-Diaz, confirmed that he died Tuesday.

Remembering U.S. Secret Service Agent John R. Barletta  —  It is with heavy hearts that Young America's Foundation shares that President Reagan's longest-serving Secret Service agent and close friend, John R. Barletta, passed away Tuesday afternoon.  —  John Barletta is a widely known …

Victim of Norwalk assault gets 18 months for not retreating  —  STAMFORD — A Bridgeport man who was assaulted by three juveniles while he was at work in Norwalk will have to spend 18 months in jail for stabbing one of the attackers.  —  “I was defending myself,” Jeffrey Sumpter, 21 …

3-Year-Old Refugee Girl Killed by Mass Stabber During Her Birthday Party Loved Disney Princesses  —  The 3-year-old whose birthday was being celebrated when a man allegedly went on a stabbing spree in Idaho Saturday, attacking six children and three adults, has died.

Radical Democrats Are Pretty Reasonable  —  Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's upset primary victory has produced a huge amount of punditry about the supposed radicalization of the Democratic party, how it's going to hurt the party because her positions won't sell in the Midwest …

Viral video of woman's arrest sparks anger, but LAPD says she was involved in violent kidnapping plot  —  A viral video of several Los Angeles police officers training their firearms on an unarmed woman drew fierce criticism online Monday, but police and prosecutors said Tuesday …

Video shows Houston police officer dancing with girl in wheelchair at party  —  Houston Police Officer Sandy Fernandez says he was working security at a quinceañera last weekend, when he noticed a special guest on the dance floor.  It was little girl in a wheelchair, who was watching other party guests dance.

Teen Taken at U.S. Border Tells of ‘Icebox’ Cages With 60 Girls  — Affidavits by kids, parents tell of conditions in detention  — 17 states have sued to block U.S. family separation policy  —  A 15-year-old girl who was forcibly separated from her mother after fleeing to the U.S …

Poland Purges Supreme Court, and Protesters Take to Streets  —  WARSAW — Poland's government carried out a sweeping purge of the Supreme Court on Tuesday night, eroding the judiciary's independence, escalating a confrontation with the European Union over the rule of law and further dividing this already riven nation.

Rhode Island Dems in uproar as party seeks to oust three progressive women  —  The party is standing by a lawmaker who has been charged with sexual assault and perjury.  It also backed a former lawmaker who has been arrested several times.  —  WASHINGTON — As it tries to fend off a progressive insurgency …

Poll: More voters blame Trump than Dems for lack of civility  —  than Democrats for the lack of civility in politics, according to a new Quinnipiac poll.  —  The survey found that 91 percent of Americans say the lack of civility in politics is a serious problem, with 47 percent of respondents saying Trump is responsible for that.