Groundbreaking Night for Women and Diversity, While a Trump Critic Falls  —  HARTLAND, Wis. — Tim Pawlenty, the former Minnesota governor and onetime presidential candidate, was soundly defeated Tuesday in his bid to reclaim the Republican nomination for governor, a remarkable upset …

I read six sycophantic pro-Trump books — and then I read Omarosa  —  Hagiographies of the president share seven core traits.  —  Some are born Trump sycophants.  Some achieve Trump sycophancy.  And some have Trump sycophancy thrust upon them — since he's a star, they let him do that.

House: Three More GOP Seats Join the Toss Up Column  —  For Republicans, the 2018 House playing field is a lot like a game of Whack-a-Mole: everywhere they turn, new problems keep popping up in surprising places.  In January, we rated 20 GOP-held seats as Toss Ups or worse, including three leaning towards Democrats.

White House spokesman: I've never seen an NDA in Trump White House  —  White House spokesman Hogan Gidley said on Wednesday that he has never seen a nondisclosure agreement in the White House under the Trump administration.  —  “I can't speak to anybody else.  What I can tell you is I've never seen one in this White House.

Huckabee Sanders apologizes for false statement about black employment  —  White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders apologized late Tuesday for wrongly stating that President Trump has created three times as many jobs for black workers as President Barack Obama did.

Did I Join a Movement That Naturally Attracts Extremists and Kooks? … This week's news about Omarosa secretly taping chief of staff John Kelly and President Donald Trump is yet another reminder of something about Trumpworld: Politics has always attracted eccentric opportunists, but people in this administration are especially weird.

Let's Hope There Is No Tape of Trump Using the N-Word  —  But if there is ...  I hope there isn't a tape of Donald Trump using the N-word in a manner that's clearly meant to be offensive, bigoted, and derogatory.  —  We've now reached the stage where the existence of such a tape is not proven, but is more than theoretically possible.

The organizer of the Charlottesville rally just got humiliated by his own father  —  “Get out of my room,” Jason Kessler's father said to him during a live stream.  —  I reported from the “Unite the Right 2” rally in Washington on Sunday.  It was a dreary failure that attracted around 30 people …

'The guy's not right': Morning Joe raises new questions about Trump's mental health  —  MSNBC's Joe Scarborough has been surprised by President Donald Trump's inability to enlarge his support, saying he had believed his former friend's pathological need to be liked would outweigh his other negative personality traits.

Hostility unabated: Colorado seeks to punish cake artist Jack Phillips again  —  ADF attorneys file suit against state officials  —  DENVER - Although the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June that Colorado cannot treat cake artist Jack Phillips differently than others, state officials have continued …

New Estimates Show Overdose Deaths Surpassed 72,000, a New High, in 2017  —  Fentanyl is a big culprit, but there are also encouraging signs from states that have prioritized public health campaigns and addiction treatment.  —  Drug overdoses killed more than 72,300 Americans last year …

Joe Biden cancels Illinois event due to 'doctor's orders'  —  Biden: President is looking out for himself  —  Washington (CNN)Former Vice President Joe Biden canceled a planned appearance in Illinois this week because he is sick and “under doctor's orders not to travel,” according to state Democrats.

Your Name Is All Over the Internet.  It Doesn't Need to Be.  —  As more activity is linked to our real names, the stakes seem excessively high.  There has to be a better way.  —  In the 1981 sci-fi novel “True Names,” Vernor Vinge describes a dystopian future in which hackers go to great lengths …

Former U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman says cancer has returned to his lungs, ‘shaken my soul’  —  Coleman said his prognosis is not “overly optimistic,” but he will fight on.  —  TEXT SIZE  —  The throat and neck cancer that former U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman began battling almost three years ago …

Treasury retweets Trump, possibly violating campaign law  —  The Treasury Department on Wednesday retweeted a post from President Trump  —  celebrating Republican wins in congressional elections this year, potentially violating federal campaign law.  —  The department's official Twitter account shared …

Poised to Make History, Jahana Hayes Wins the 5th District Democratic Primary  —  Jahana Hayes wins the Democratic primary for 5th district defeating Mary Glassman Tuesday night.  (John Woike / Hartford Courant)  —  Jahana Hayes, the daughter of a drug addict who grew up in public housing …

‘We pay for it, we should have access to it,’ but police close Nunes office during rally  —  Clovis police were called and the building housing Congressman Devin Nunes' office was locked during a rally for Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security on Tuesday.  —  For more than a year …

In A News Vacuum, Politicians Construct Their Own Realities  —  In the Arizona Senate race, Democrat Kyrsten Sinema avoids the press while Republican Martha McSally attacks the media.  And without vibrant local-news coverage, no one cares.  —  CHANDLER, Ariz.—President Trump's frequent diatribes …

Earnell Lucas defeats Richard Schmidt in Milwaukee County sheriff's race  —  Earnell Lucas, a Major League Baseball security official, won Tuesday's Democratic primary election for Milwaukee County sheriff and he becomes a sure bet to be hired by voters in November to a four-year term in the office.

'You're on your own,' &c.  —  In the past several days, I have noted three things in the media that bear on the struggle over conservatism.  Well, maybe more than three, but I would like to comment on three.  This will not be a very fun Impromptus, maybe — but, on the plus side, it'll be brief.

Public Radio Networks to Merge in Big Bet on Podcasts  —  PRI and PRX are joining forces in hopes of becoming a podcasting juggernaut  —  Public-radio companies PRX and PRI are merging in a bid to capitalize on the surging popularity of podcasts and other digital formats as listeners …

Palestinian-American Congressional Candidate Called Out Over Pledge to Cut Military Aid to ‘Discriminatory’ Israel  —  Michigan's Rashida Tlaib, poised to become one of America's first Muslim congresswoman told an interviewer that ‘US aid should be leveraged’ and support to Israel 'doesn't fit the values of our country'

When a Young Trump Went to Russia  —  On a frigid December day in 2017, Oleg Kalugin opens the door of his house in Rockville, Maryland, an upper-middle-class suburb of Washington, D.C., to meet me.  Nothing in particular distinguishes his split-level suburban home from those of the other professionals …

Mueller Probe Seen Pushing Past Trump-Demanded September 1 Deadline  — Giuliani says will ‘unload’ on Mueller if probe lasts longer  — DOJ guidelines don't bar indictments in period before election  —  Special Counsel Robert Mueller doesn't have to shut down his Russia investigation …

Obama Shunned Hungary's Leader, but He Has a Friend in Trump  —  BUDAPEST — Across rural Hungary, Prime Minister Viktor Orban dominates the media landscape.  His allies control the major regional newspapers, which provide supportive coverage of Mr. Orban's anti-immigrant agenda …

Turnout in Minnesota, Wisconsin primaries surges to two-decade highs  —  (Reuters) - Voter engagement in the 2018 midterm races remains feverish, primaries in notable swing states Wisconsin and Minnesota showed on Tuesday.  —  Both states showed dramatic increases in participation …

Senate Intel Wants To Follow The Money In The Russia Probe.  But Treasury Isn't Making That Easy.  —  In its investigation of Russia's interference in the 2016 election, the Senate Intelligence Committee has spent more than a year trying to follow the money.

For Online Daters, Women Peak at 18 While Men Peak at 50, Study Finds.  Oy.  —  If you haven't watched “Nanette,” Hannah Gadsby's fearless comedy special on Netflix, do that now.  (We'll wait.)  —  In it, Ms. Gadsby takes on the fragility of masculinity — and at one point drills into Pablo Picasso …

Kellyanne Conway: Women Who Label Trump A Misogynist Are ‘Jealous’  —  Kellyanne Conway argued on Tuesday that the people who have labeled the president a misogynist are primarily women on cable news programs “are jealous or have no access.”  Conway explained, “he's an excellent boss to women …