Trump rejected plans for a White House statement praising McCain  —  President Trump nixed issuing a statement that praised the heroism and life of Sen. John McCain, telling senior aides he preferred to issue a tweet before posting one Saturday night that did not include any kind words for the late Arizona Republican.

Scoop: Republicans secretly study their coming hell  —  Congressional Republicans are getting ready for hell.  Axios has obtained a spreadsheet that's circulated through Republican circles on and off Capitol Hill — including at least one leadership office — that meticulously previews …

Baltimore man identified as gunman in Jacksonville shooting  —  Federal authorities were at a home near in Baltimore's Inner Harbor on Sunday night as part of an investigation into the Jacksonville mass shooting.  (Justin Fenton / Baltimore Sun)  —  A Baltimore man has been identified …

Attorney for Michael Cohen backs away from confidence that Cohen has information about Trump's knowledge on Russian efforts  —  An attorney for Michael Cohen, President Trump's former lawyer, is backing away from confident assertions he made that Cohen has information to share with investigators …

Gather Round, Everyone.  It's Time to Play ‘Find the Collusion’!  —  WASHINGTON — Have you heard the one about the collusion?  Nobody can seem to find it.  —  It was about halfway through President Trump's speech to thousands of supporters last week in West Virginia — right after referring to …

Kansans drank contaminated water for years.  The state didn't tell them.  —  The state allowed hundreds of residents in two Wichita-area neighborhoods to drink contaminated water for years without telling them, despite warning signs of contamination close to water wells used for drinking, washing and bathing.

Cancer eating the heart of Australian democracy  —  Beneath the sound and light show that passed for Australian politics last week, there is a much deeper question of what underlying forces have been at work that have brought us this low.  The uncomfortable truth is since the coup of June 2010 …

John McCain's Epiphany About Paul Manafort  —  Manafort saw managing the 2008 Republican Convention as almost a birthright.  But McCain denied him the job.  He couldn't abide Manafort's pro-Russian clients—and told him so.  —  A central feature of John McCain's biography was his capacity for change.

Manafort, Cohen cases reveal weaknesses in enforcement of tax and election laws  —  Paul Manafort's multiyear tax fraud and Michael Cohen's ability to easily arrange campaign contributions as hush money could have been intercepted sooner based on existing tax and campaign rules.

Democrats fret Nelson is choking in Florida Senate race  —  Nelson's laid-back style and fundraising deficit have left Democrats concerned that Rick Scott will trounce him.  —  When Sen. Claire McCaskill began to choke in a Democratic Caucus lunch in June, Sen. Bill Nelson stepped in to perform the Heimlich maneuver.

It Would Only Take a Single Senator  —  With Republicans clinging to a precarious 50-49 majority, every individual GOP senator can serve as a check on Trump's excesses whenever they choose to act.  —  A few days ago I did a long item about changing assessments of Donald Trump …

Vigano letter exposes the putsch against Pope Francis  —  Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano's testimony proves one thing: The former Vatican ambassador to the United States is to the clergy sex abuse crisis what Oliver Stone is to the assassination of President John Kennedy …