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 …

Hard Partying and a Corruption Scandal: Duncan Hunter's Political Life Unravels  —  SAN DIEGO — In Alpine, Calif., a suburban Southern California enclave, Duncan Hunter was a good neighbor.  He'd help people do yard work, or move heavy furniture.  He drove the same dented-up truck for years.

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.

John McCain's Epiphany About Paul Manafort  —  A central feature of John McCain's biography was his capacity for change.  After he sullied himself in the Savings and Loan scandal of the late eighties, he self-consciously transformed into a warrior on behalf of the cause of political reform.

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.

It Would Only Take a Single Senator  —  A few days ago I did a long item about changing assessments of Donald Trump: which first-impressions had held up, and which called for second thoughts over time.  —  The last part of the post concerned the main, and depressing, area where second thoughts were called for.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette no longer prints a daily newspaper  —  Saturday and Tuesday papers are a thing of the past now.  —  Pittsburgh is now the largest city in America without a daily newspaper.  —  After many iterations, Pittsburgh's last remaining daily, the 232-year-old Pittsburgh Post-Gazette …

A Republican Underdog Fights for a Senate Seat in Wisconsin  —  Leah Vukmir just survived one of the toughest GOP primaries of the cycle.  Now, she's aiming to upset incumbent Democratic senator Tammy Baldwin in November.  —  D  —  on't count Leah Vukmir out yet.

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.

Donald Trump Is Not Even Trying in Afghanistan  —  President Donald Trump opposes his own policy in Afghanistan.  It shows.  —  Trump's disdain for the war in Afghanistan had long been well known, so no one in the White House knew what he would decide to do about it in the summer of 2017.

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 …