Trump Tanks His Own Putin Walk-Back During One of the ‘Worst Moments of His Presidency’ … It was approaching mid-morning on Tuesday, and Donald Trump's team had one choice: He had to clean up the mess he had left for them following his disastrous press conference abroad.  If they had to beg, so be it.

Trump Supreme Court pick: I would ‘put the nail’ in ruling upholding independent counsel  —  (CNN)Judge Brett Kavanaugh two years ago expressed his desire to overturn a three-decade-old Supreme Court ruling upholding the constitutionality of an independent counsel, a comment bound …

The Unwinding of Donald Trump  —  In dictatorial states, a failure to applaud the Leader has often been a matter of treason.  Last February, following the State of the Union address, President Trump flew to Blue Ash, Ohio, for a rally and accused the Democrats in Congress of that very crime.

Trump says defending tiny NATO ally Montenegro could lead to World War III  —  President Trump, who rattled U.S. allies at a NATO meeting last week, voiced concern in a television interview broadcast Tuesday night that sending troops from the alliance to defend an “aggressive” Monte­negro could result in World War III.

Maria Butina, Suspected Secret Agent, Was in Touch With Russian Intelligence, Prosecutors Say  —  WASHINGTON — A woman charged with secretly acting on behalf of Russia was working as a covert agent in the United States and was recently in contact with a suspected Russian intelligence official, prosecutors said on Wednesday.

A Stabbing On Samish Island: The Radicalization Of Lane Davis  —  Lane Davis was a far-right, pro-Trump media figure looking for his big break.  Then he stabbed his father to death.  —  Nearly everyone on Samish Island knew Chuck Davis, a bighearted retiree who lived in the handsome gray shingle house …

Vote Joe Crowley, for Working Families  —  Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez hurts the party, Congress and even America.  —  Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's surprise primary victory over Rep. Joe Crowley seems likely to hurt Congress, America and the Democratic Party.  It doesn't have to.

Now the party of Trump, GOP's midterm pitch is protecting him  —  Subscribe to McClatchy's Beyond the Bubble show on iTunes here or Stitcher.  —  WASHINGTON — Headed into a election that's expected to favor Democrats, a top GOP Senate strategist says Republicans are counting …

“This Was the Nightmare Scenario”: The West Wing Revolts After Trump Embraces Putin  —  As Trump grappled with his error, Chief of Staff John Kelly went into overdrive to get Trump to walk it back.  —  As he flew home from Helsinki on Air Force One following his disastrous press conference …

Next Slide  —  The number of Tennesseans now displaying Confederate battle flag license plates is higher than at any other point in the last decade, according to state data on the controversial specialty tags.  —  The Sons of Confederate Veterans plate, the proceeds from which benefit …

Trump wrongly says queen reviewed guard for 1st time in 70 years  —  President Trump claimed Tuesday that during his visit to England, Queen Elizabeth II reviewed her Guard of Honor for the first time in 70 years — but she's only been queen for 65 years.  And as any royal-watcher knows …

The vanishing White House press briefing  —  Commentators slam Trump for summit performance  —  The “daily” White House press briefing is a thing of the past.  —  The White House has only held three on-camera briefings in the past 30 days, according to the administration's own records on WhiteHouse.gov.

Full transcript: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Recode Decode  —  Zuckerberg talks about everything from China to Infowars to whether he should be fired over the Cambridge Analytica scandal.  —  On the latest episode of Recode Decode, hosted by Kara Swisher, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg sat …

Texas to pass Iraq and Iran as world's No. 3 oil powerhouse  —  Shale exec: US will surpass Russia in oil production  —  Don't mess with Texas.  It's a global oil superpower.  —  The shale oil boom has brought a gold rush mentality to the Lone Star State, which is home to not one but two massive oilfields.

Husband shoots home invasion suspect holding wife at gunpoint  —  The husband managed to shoot one of the suspects in the head.  This happened at a home in in southeast Houston near Scott and Airport.  —  HOUSTON - Police say a husband opened fire on two home invasion suspects as they tried to hold his wife at gunpoint overnight.

‘I want him to fix it’: Trump voters sorry now that tariffs are killing their Missouri nail factory  —  MSNBC's Vaughn Hillyard this week visited a nail factory in Missouri that is getting absolutely crushed by President Donald Trump's steel and aluminum tariffs.

It's time to impeach the president  —  When I was ten years old, over a plate of rice, beans and tortillas, I watched the evening news in front of an old Emerson 19-inch tube TV.  On the screen was a man who looked like a grandpa, resembled the dad on “Father Knows Best,” …

Exclusive: Trump White House's Intelligence Chief Is Leaving  —  Michael Barry, the senior National Security Council director for intelligence programs, is leaving the White House, according to two government officials.  —  Barry's departure adds to the growing list of vacant senior NSC positions since …

Trump Campaigned For President Attacking Immigrants.  Here's All The Ways He's Done It In Office.  —  President Trump ran on a promise to make America great again by building a wall to keep out undocumented Mexican immigrants, whom he referred to as criminals and “rapists,” …

Wave Alert: House Democrats Setting Fundraising Records  —  Republicans are getting beaten badly on the financial front.  It's an ominous sign for their chances of holding a House majority.  —  To understand why House Democrats are still in strong position to retake the majority, simply follow the money.

DNC Loses Request to Serve Kushner With Russia Lawsuit by Mail  — ‘Service is not intended to be a game,’ judge says in denial  —  A judge denied the Democratic National Committee's request to use U.S. Postal Service first-class mail to formally let Jared Kushner know he was sued in April …

Trump's migrant fiasco diverts millions from health programs  —  HHS is forced to prioritize migrant crisis over medical research and other goals.  —  The health department has quietly dipped into tens of millions of dollars to pay for the consequences of President Donald Trump's border policy …

Shadow Politics: Meet the Digital Sleuth Exposing Fake News  —  WHEN WE MET in early March, Jonathan Albright was still shrugging off a sleepless weekend.  It was a few weeks after the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School had killed 17 people, most of them teenagers …