The father and daughter who drowned at the border dove into the river in desperation  —  Valeria was a cheery child.  Not even 2 years old, she loved to dance, play with her stuffed animals and brush her family members' hair.  Her father, Óscar Alberto Martínez Ramírez, was stalwart.

How Mueller's testimony could expose one of Trump's biggest crimes  —  Now that Robert S. Mueller III has agreed to testify before Congress, some commentators are rushing to declare that “expectations” could be dashed.  And some Democrats are also downplaying expectations …

USWNT's Ali Krieger says Donald Trump is angered by women he ‘cannot control or grope’  —  USWNT defender Ali Krieger issued a strong rebuke to President Donald Trump after he tweeted about teammate Megan Rapinoe on Wednesday.  —  “In regards to the 'President's' tweet today …

What Happened to America's Political Center of Gravity?  —  The Republican Party leans much farther right than most traditional conservative parties in Western Europe and Canada, according to an analysis of their election manifestos.  It is more extreme than Britain's Independence Party …

Senate passes border spending package, setting up fight with House  —  Both the Senate and House have now passed legislation delivering billions of dollars to address the growing humanitarian crisis at the southern border.  But lawmakers have no agreement on how to reconcile those bills before a recess set to start on Friday.

Investigators Revealed Disgusting Conditions For Migrant Children And Families Locked In Border Camps  —  When Department of Homeland Security inspectors visited several border facilities in the Rio Grande Valley earlier this month, they found adults and minors with no access to showers …

Reddit Restricts Pro-Trump Forum Because of Threats  —  The subreddit The_Donald was “quarantined” for threats of violence toward police officers and politicians in Oregon.  —  Reddit limited access to a forum popular with supporters of President Trump on Wednesday, saying that its users …

Is Trump a Rapist?  —  America needs to give these women, and the accusations they've brought forth, the full attention they deserve.  —  I am simply disgusted by what's happening in America.  —  My political differences with this president and his accomplices in Congress …

Embattled NRA Loses Its Political Power Broker on Eve of 2020  —  With the exit of Chris Cox and the longtime producer of NRATV, the gun lobby is entering the election season without the lobbying or publicity power that catapulted Trump in 2016  —  As the National Rifle Association's chief lobbyist …

Woman indicted in shooting death of her unborn child; charges against shooter dismissed  —  A woman whose unborn baby was killed in a 2018 Pleasant Grove shooting has now been indicted in the death.  —  Marshae Jones, a 27-year-old Birmingham woman, was indicted by a Jefferson County grand jury on a manslaughter charge.

Who Is the Republican Heir to Trump?  —  Some ambitious politicians are setting themselves up to run in the 2024 election — or perhaps earlier.  —  Ms. Mair is a Republican campaign strategist.  —  For the kickoff of his 2020 re-election campaign in Florida last week …

‘Unmasker in Chief’ Samantha Power spewed anti-Trump bias in government emails  —  Former United Nations Ambassador Samantha Power may share an unflattering stage with a text-loving FBI agent and his Donald Trump-hating paramour from the bureau.  —  Fired agent Peter Strzok and ex-FBI lawyer Lisa Page …

36 Hours With Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez  —  Here's what it's like to be Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the most famous regular person on Capitol Hill.  —  Everyone is talking about her, whether she knows it or not.  First, there are the two Wall Street guys in button-downs having coffee in Union Station.

Most of the 2020 Democratic candidates are already doomed  —  Political reporters, whose powers of analysis and prediction have been not so reliable in the Trump era, have learned to lean on what editors call the “to be sure” paragraph.  These are like the fine print in a legal contract …

Farewell to NPR's Peter Overby  —  Senior Director of Special Projects Beth Donovan and Chief Washington Editor Shirley Henry announced the retirement of long-time NPR correspondent Peter Overby.  Read the full note below.  —  All - With some sadness for the newsroom and much happiness for Peter …

Claiming to be Cherokee, contractors with white ancestry got $300 million … Two years ago, when the mayor's office in St. Louis announced a $311,000 contract to tear down an old shoe factory, it made a point of identifying the demolition company as minority owned.  —  That was welcome news.

Eric Trump Says He Was Spit on by Restaurant Employee in Chicago  —  “It was purely a disgusting act by somebody who clearly has emotional problems,” he said.  —  President Donald Trump's son Eric says he was spit on by an employee at the Aviary, a cocktail bar in Chicago, on Tuesday night.

Attorney General William Barr wows Justice Dept crowd with bagpipe playing  —  Attorney General William Barr took a break from his day job to showcase one of his hidden talents during an event with U.S. attorneys.  Seated on stage Wednesday during the Justice Department event …

Another Impeachment Rant  —  The fact that House Democrats have finally subpoenaed Special Counsel Robert Mueller's public testimony is important, welcome news  —  The fact that it comes as a relief, even a surprise, reflects the party's broader strategic and moral failure to anathematize the most obscene …

Wayfair Should Have Seen This Coming  —  Last week, as Americans reacted to news reports that children being held at the border were being denied food, water, and hygiene supplies, employees at a normally under-the-radar, Boston-based e-commerce company were having their own reckoning.

Google Workers Petition SF Pride to Exclude Company From Parade  —  Almost 100 Google employees are urging the organizer of this weekend's San Francisco Pride parade to kick the company out of the celebration, escalating pressure on the internet giant to overhaul its handling of hate speech online.

Moulton hires Jesse Colvin as deputy national finance director  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. —  Representative Seth Moulton has hired Jesse Colvin, a 2018 congressional candidate, to serve as deputy national finance director for his presidential campaign.  —  Colvin, whose campaign was backed by Moulton …

Sanders gets testy when asked about exiting primary  —  Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Wednesday did not commit to conceding the primary even if it became clear he would not be the nominee, a move that traces back to 2016 when the senator was facing down then-Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton.

Overdose Deaths Likely to Fall for First Time Since 1990  —  Health officials and scientists warn U.S. is far from defeating drug epidemic  —  For the first time in decades, drug-overdose deaths in the U.S. are on the precipice of declining.  —  Authorities are still counting fatalities around …