Schumer urges Trump to tap Merrick Garland for Supreme Court  —  Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) privately urged President Trump in a phone call earlier this week to nominate federal Judge Merrick B. Garland, then President Barack Obama's third nominee to the Supreme Court …

Ed Schultz, former Fargo radio personality, has died  —  Ed Schultz listens to a caller during a broadcast of his nationally syndicated liberal talk show on Feb. 9, 2006.  There's no reason a left-leaning show can't be successful, he says.  “The last time I checked, liberals drive vehicles,” he says.

He is a Member of a Violent White Supremacist Group; So Why is He Working for a Defense Contractor with a Security Clearance?  —  In partnership with: … There likely isn't such a thing as a “typical” violent white extremist in America in 2018.  Still, Michael Miselis — a University of California …

Trump Just Hired A Controversial Former Fox News Executive  —  “It's extraordinary that the president of the United States could hire someone like this.”  —  Former Fox News copresident Bill Shine, who was ousted over the network's mishandling of sexual harassment, just took …

Viral video: Teen says he was attacked for wearing ‘Make American Great Again’ hat  —  Police are investigating after a teen says he was verbally attacked and assaulted at a Whataburger for wearing a Make America Great Again hat.  —  In the video, you can see a man throw a drink …

Mom Shoots Man Trying to Steal SUV With Kids Inside: Cops  —  The mother shot the man in the head when he refused her orders to stop the vehicle, police say  —  Mom Shoots Kidnapper in the Head: Police  —  A mother shot a man who tried to steal her SUV while her two toddlers were still inside …

Mueller Taps More Prosecutors to Help With Growing Trump Probe  —  (Bloomberg) — Special Counsel Robert Mueller is tapping additional Justice Department resources for help with new legal battles as his year-old investigation of Russian interference with the 2016 election continues to expand.

E.P.A. Aide Questioned Deleting Sensitive Meeting Details.  Then She Was Fired.  —  WASHINGTON — Scott Pruitt, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and the subject of numerous investigations into claims that he used agency resources for personal benefit …

Trump ‘angry baby’ blimp gets green light to fly over London during president's visit  —  A giant balloon dubbed “Trump baby” has been given the green light to fly near parliament during the president's UK visit.  —  London mayor Sadiq Khan's Greater London Authority has approved a request …

White Fight  —  Under the Trump administration, even naturalized citizens are now a target.  The government agency that oversees immigration applications is hiring lawyers and immigration officers to review cases of immigrants suspected of obtaining citizenship through fake identities or other false information on their applications.

Three poachers are EATEN by lions after the men broke into South African nature reserve to slaughter rhinos for their horns  —  A gang of poachers who broke into a South African game reserve to hunt rhinos came off second best when they were attacked and eaten by a pride of hungry lions.

Far-Right Twitter Keeps Falling for the Same Liberal Troll … The tweet was an obvious troll, by a fake doctor with a profane name.  —  “When Trump supporters come to my office at the Mayo Clinic, I love misdiagnosing their healthy pregnancies as ectopic so they have to abort their white fetuses …

‘We are the casualty:’ US pig farmers brace for second round of pork tariffs from China, Mexico  — U.S. pork producers are about to be hit by a second batch of hefty retaliatory tariffs from China and Mexico that has some large producers predicting they will lose big money.

Trump loses effort to block 2 California sanctuary laws  —  SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A U.S. judge on Thursday rejected a request by the Trump administration to block two California laws that protect immigrants in the country illegally, but put key parts of a third sanctuary law on hold.

Arizona Senate candidate's husband, who is a top campaign surrogate, spread conspiracy theories online  —  (CNN)Arizona US Senate candidate Kelli Ward's husband has a history of promoting fringe conspiracy theories on social media, a CNN KFile review has found.

Life in Trump Cabinet: perks, pestering, power, putdowns  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross came in for an Oval Office tongue-lashing after he used a mundane soup can as a TV prop.  Defense Secretary Jim Mattis got overruled by President Donald Trump's announcement that a new “Space Force” is in the offing.

The US government doesn't know how many migrant kids are still separated from their parents  —  The department that separated families at the border didn't talk to the agency that took custody of separated kids.  —  With a court-imposed deadline looming for the government to reunite families separated …

The messy reality of Donald Trump's poll numbers  —  He's playing a strong hand, poorly.  —  On June 25, Axios's Mike Allen and Jim VandeHei took readers inside Donald Trump's “winning, cynical plan.”  They argued that “the more President Trump does, says and tweets outrageous things …

Trump's trade war with China is finally here — and it won't be pretty, analysts say  —  BEIJING — Some said the day would never come, that it was all a bluff.  But as the Independence Day fireworks cool in Washington, the eve of the trade war has arrived in China's capital …

Democrats Underperforming With Hispanic Voters  —  Despite the president's hard-line immigration policies, Republican candidates are running competitively in many Hispanic-heavy states and congressional districts.  —  Democrats counting on President Trump's hard-line immigration policies …

Smithsonian planning for permanent security checkpoints at the National Zoo  —  The National Zoo is slowly going secure.  —  The Smithsonian Institution has a proposal before the National Capital Planning Commission for supplemental perimeter fencing, to close gaps in existing fencing …

The centrist heavenly chorus is off-key  —  We human beings cling to dogmas long after they're disproved.  We tend to believe things that make us feel better or remind of us of a past that we miss. This is certainly true of our assumptions about electoral politics.