'I think I'd take it': In exclusive interview, Trump says he would listen if foreigners offered dirt on opponents  —  President Donald Trump to if foreign governments offered damaging information against his 2020 rivals during the upcoming presidential race, he said, despite the deluge …

California Democratic 2020 presidential primary is a wide-open race, poll finds … With the Democratic presidential field now largely set, the race in the nation's largest state is wide open, with at least five candidates in serious contention and no clear favorite.

Social Security Is Staring at Its First Real Shortfall in Decades.  Big Cuts Could Follow.  —  A slow-moving crisis is approaching for Social Security, threatening to undermine a central pillar in the retirement of tens of millions of Americans.  —  Next year, for the first time since 1982 …

Mulvaney pushed judicial nominee over objections of White House lawyers  —  The nomination on Tuesday of Halil Suleyman “Sul” Ozerden to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals offers the latest glimpse of how acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney is exercising his power inside the White House …

Why the Trump campaign won't pay police bills  —  “Do we love law enforcement or what?”  President Donald Trump asked a cheering crowd during his “Make America Great Again” political rally Oct. 12 in Lebanon, Ohio.  —  “Thank you, law enforcement!” the president later told officers, who he called “heroes.”

Experts: Spy used AI-generated face to connect with targets  —  LONDON (AP) — Katie Jones sure seemed plugged into the Washington's political scene.  The 30-something redhead boasted a job at a top think tank and a who's-who network of pundits and experts, from the centrist Brookings Institution to the right-wing Heritage Foundation.

Oil tankers attacked in Gulf of Oman, U.S. Navy says  —  ISTANBUL — Two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman came under suspected attack early Thursday amid soaring tensions between the United States and Iran in the region.  —  One ship was adrift and on fire in the strategic waterway …

Hong Kong and the Future of Freedom  —  Under Trump, Uncle Sam no longer puts up his fists in defense of Lady Liberty.  —  Imagine if in 2018 the Trump administration had proposed legislation that would allow the government, on nearly any pretext, to detain, try and imprison Americans accused …

Manchin eyes Senate exit  —  Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) is eyeing a possible exit from the Senate, and his decision could be a significant factor in which party controls the majority in 2021.  —  In moments of frustration, the centrist senator has gone so far as to tell colleagues he may leave …

Trump applauds Flynn's hiring of FBI critic as new lawyer  —  President Donald Trump on Thursday hailed Michael Flynn's move to hire a new lawyer who has been a fierce critic of the FBI's probe of the former national security adviser.  —  “General Michael Flynn, the 33 year war hero …

Trump just invited Congress to begin impeachment proceedings  —  The idea that only the president can investigate the president is an argument for autocrats, not Americans.  — George T. Conway III, Neal Katyal -  ·  —  Her story isn't about euthanasia.  It's about failing mental-health systems.

Jessica Biel Comes Out as Anti-Vaxx Activist, Joins Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to Lobby Against CA Vaccination Bill  —  “I would say that she was for safe vaccines and for medical freedom,” Kennedy told The Daily Beast.  “My body, my choice.”  —  Tuesday, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. …

Tory leadership contest: Boris Johnson tops first ballot  —  Boris Johnson has secured the highest number of votes in the first ballot to select the Conservative party leader and next prime minister.  —  Three contenders - Mark Harper, Andrea Leadsom and Esther McVey - have been knocked out …

Donald Trump's Beverly Hills home quietly sells for $13.5 million  —  President Trump has visited California three times since entering the White House, but he'll have one less place to stay for the next trip.  The Trump Organization has quietly unloaded one of its last two properties in Los Angeles County …

Rick Santorum: Trump Was Just Using ‘Filler Words’ When He Said He'd Accept Foreign Help  —  “He has, sort of—as we all do, filler words that don't mean what they say, like, ‘I think,’” Santorum attempted to explain.  —  Rick Santorum, one of CNN's resident Trump defenders …

Howard Schultz Announces Campaign Staff Cuts, Summer Hiatus  —  The Starbucks billionaire won't make a decision on running for president until after Labor Day — and he's still eyeing Joe Biden as his biggest competition.  —  Starbucks billionaire Howard Schultz told campaign staff …

Media Claims Notwithstanding, Trump Is Favored To Be Re-Elected  —  Nothing has turned out the way the Resistance had hoped.  Far from their fever dreams of global chaos and economic catastrophe, the Trump agenda is turning out to be surprisingly successful.

House hearing on reparations for slavery set for next week  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — The topic of reparations for slavery is headed to Capitol Hill for its first hearing in more than a decade with writer Ta-Nehisi Coates and actor Danny Glover set to testify before a House panel.

Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax calls for criminal investigation into sexual assault allegations against him  —  A lawyer for Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax is calling on prosecutors in Massachusetts and North Carolina to open criminal investigations into sexual assault allegations made against Fairfax earlier this year.

‘Sex-starved males’ comment sets off House floor kerfuffle  —  A routine House debate nearly exploded Wednesday when California Democrat Norma J. Torres implied her Republican colleagues were “sex-starved males” for opposing abortion.  —  “Mr. Speaker, it is tiring to hear from so many sex-starved males …