EXCLUSIVE: Trump says he's ‘not unhappy’ with racism fight's result because ‘the race card’ is ‘the only thing they have’ now, telling DailyMail.com his back-and-forth with Pelosi was ‘one of the all-time classics’  — In a brief phone call, the president said he's ‘not unhappy’ with the result …

Tape shows Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein discussing women at 1992 party  —  The November 1992 tape in the NBC archives shows Donald Trump with Jeffrey Epstein more than a decade before Epstein pleaded guilty to felony prostitution charges in Florida.  —  Inside a 1992 party with Trump, Jeffrey Epstein

Rand Paul blocks Senate from approving 9/11 victim compensation fund  —  Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) on Wednesday blocked an attempt by Democrats to pass an extension of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund.  —  Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) tried to win the Senate's consent to approve …

Omar to introduce pro-BDS resolution in House  —  U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar said that she plans to introduce a resolution this week in support of the anti-Israel BDS movement, reported Al-Monitor on Tuesday.  —  “We are introducing a resolution ... to really speak about the American values …

Rand Paul angles to become Trump's emissary to Iran  —  Over a round of golf this past weekend, Sen. Rand Paul asked President Donald Trump's blessing for a sensitive diplomatic mission.  —  Paul proposed sitting down with Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif to extend a fresh olive branch …

Notre-Dame came far closer to collapsing than people knew.  This is how it was saved.  —  A baffling alert.  A race to the wrong building.  Notre-Dame still stands only because firefighters decided to risk everything, a New York Times reconstruction has found.

Once Trump Talked About ‘American Carnage.’ Now He Says Critics Should Leave.  —  WASHINGTON — America stinks.  At least that's what Donald J. Trump seemed to be saying before becoming president.  —  He did not believe in “American exceptionalism,” he said, because America was not exceptional.

DNC warns 2020 campaigns not to use FaceApp ‘developed by Russians’  —  Washington (CNN)The Democratic National Committee sent a security alert to 2020 presidential campaigns Wednesday afternoon warning them not to use the popular smartphone application FaceApp, CNN has learned.

Feds end investigation into Trump Org and hush money payments  —  New York (CNN)Federal prosecutors in New York have ended their investigation into the Trump Organization's role in hush money payments made to women who alleged affairs with President Donald Trump and have been ordered by a judge …

'Trump's Going to Get Re-elected, Isn't He?'  —  Voters have reason to worry.  —  I'm struck at how many people have come up to me recently and said, “Trump's going to get re-elected, isn't he?”  And in each case, when I drilled down to ask why, I bumped into the Democratic presidential debates in June.

Yahoo's story on Chris Pratt's ‘white supremacist’ T-shirt did us all a disservice  —  U.S. media took a bold stand against racist tweets by the president of the United States this week, with much of it objectively calling Donald Trump's behavior “racist” after resisting that label in its news coverage for years.

Why Democrats' oversight machine is moving so slowly against Trump  —  House Democrats have kicked and screamed about the White House's refusal to allow key Trump officials to come before Congress.  But they haven't done the one thing they can do to force the issue: Go to court.

Unauthorized immigrants face public backlash in Mexico, survey finds  —  MEXICO CITY — Mexicans are deeply frustrated with immigrants after a year of heightened migration from Central America through the country, according to a survey conducted by The Washington Post and Mexico's Reforma newspaper.

Widespread, oppressive and dangerous heat to roast much of the U.S. through the weekend  —  A heat wave featuring a life-threatening combination of heat and oppressive humidity has begun to spread across the United States, with excessive heat warnings and heat advisories in effect for at least 22 states and the District of Columbia.

Civil Servants Who Process Immigration Applications Are Being Asked To Help ICE Instead  —  As the US agency that processes applications for legal immigration struggles with a backlog, its leaders asked staffers to volunteer to help ICE on administrative tasks, including with a program keeping asylum-seekers in Mexico.

Another top NRA staffer departs amid upheaval  —  The turmoil at the National Rifle Association continues to build, with Jennifer Baker, the organization's longtime director of public affairs, stepping down from her post.  —  Baker's departure, which was confirmed by several people familiar with the matter …

Ocasio-Cortez gets new 2020 challenger: a Republican immigrant from Jamaica  —  EXCLUSIVE — Scherie Murray, a New York businesswoman who immigrated from Jamaica as a child and is active in state Republican politics, is launching a campaign Wednesday for the congressional seat held by Democratic …

Drug Overdose Deaths Drop in U.S. for First Time Since 1990  —  After three decades of ever-escalating drug overdose deaths, the tide of fatalities may have finally started to turn.  Total drug overdose deaths in America declined by around 5 percent last year, the first drop since 1990 …

The Economist Who Would Fix the American Dream  —  Raj Chetty got his biggest break before his life began.  His mother, Anbu, grew up in Tamil Nadu, a tropical state at the southern tip of the Indian subcontinent.  Anbu showed the greatest academic potential of her five siblings, but her future was constrained by custom.

An ultra-violent MS-13 gang entered the U.S., then stalked L.A. with blades and bats  —  One by one, the victims were lured to remote locations: an abandoned building in downtown Los Angeles, an empty rooftop in Hollywood, a quiet park in the San Fernando Valley.

How the Democratic Netroots Died  —  Twelve years ago, progressive political bloggers were so influential that nearly every 2008 Democratic presidential candidate attended the Yearly Kos convention—a gathering of liberal online activists named after Markos Moulitsas' popular Daily Kos website.

Duncan Hunter ordered to stop using Marine Corps emblem in campaign  —  The California Republican used the Marine Corps emblem in a campaign mailer that tied his Democratic opponent and two Democratic congresswomen to terror.  —  WASHINGTON — The Marine Corps has issued a cease-and-desist letter …