Prosecutors weighed DOJ policy blocking indictment of a sitting president in closing Trump hush-money probe  —  WASHINGTON — Federal prosecutors' decision to end an investigation into hush money payments to women claiming affairs with Donald Trump relied at least in part …

Trump Disavows ‘Send Her Back’ Chant as G.O.P. Frets Over Ugly Phrase  —  WASHINGTON — President Trump on Thursday disavowed the “send her back” chant that broke out at his re-election rally Wednesday night when he railed against a Somali-born congresswoman, as Republicans in Congress rushed …

O'Hare Standoff: Federal Officials Detaining Three Children Of Undocumented Parents  —  Chicago lawyers, a representative from the Mexican Consulate and a congresswoman from Illinois have all met with U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials to find out why three American citizen children are being detained at O'Hare Airport.

Labor fight roils Bernie Sanders campaign, as workers demand the $15 hourly pay the candidate has proposed for employees nationwide  —  Unionized campaign organizers working for Sen. Bernie Sanders's presidential effort are battling with its management, arguing that the compensation and treatment …

Trump to Nominate Eugene Scalia for Labor Secretary Job  —  President Trump said he would name Eugene Scalia as his next secretary of labor, tapping the son of the former Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia for a position with vast responsibility over the American work force.

Rabbi in Congresswoman Ilhan Omar's district compares Trump rally to ‘Nazi Germany’  —  Faith leaders in Rep. Ilhan Omar's home district are standing firmly behind her in the face of attacks from President Trump, despite disagreeing with some of her comments on Israel.

Scoop: John Delaney's staffers have asked him to drop out  —  On July 9, John Delaney's senior team sat him down and told him to drop out of the presidential race by mid-August, according to three sources close to the campaign.  —  Why it matters: He's been running for president for 721 days.

Trump officials pressing to slash refugee admissions to zero next year  —  The Trump administration is considering a virtual shutdown of refugee admissions next year — cutting the number to nearly zero — according to three people familiar with the plan.  —  During a key meeting …

It's Biden v. Harris Part 2 at next Democratic presidential debate  —  Former vice president Joe Biden and California Sen. Kamala Harris, who clashed at the first Democratic debate, will face off again on July 31, leaving the ideologically aligned Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and Massachusetts …

GOP vote on Trump's ‘go back’ comments was an effort to absolve him — and themselves — on racism  —  KEY POINTS  — With their votes this week, House Republicans absolved President Donald Trump of racism in calling for four non-white lawmakers to “go back” to other countries.

E.P.A. Won't Ban Chlorpyrifos, Pesticide Tied to Children's Health Problems  —  WASHINGTON — The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday announced it would not ban a widely-used pesticide associated with developmental disabilities and other health problems in children.

Brexit: Scheme to block no deal ‘could involve Queen’  —  Senior Tories seeking to block a no-deal Brexit are examining a radical plan involving the Queen, Newsnight has learned.  —  Highly placed figures in the rebel group are so concerned that the next prime minister could ignore …

Store clerk fired after telling customers to ‘go back to their country’ in viral video  —  In the midst of a national controversy about President Donald Trump's inflammatory tweets towards minority congresswomen, a store clerk at an Illinois convenience store has been fired after he was caught …

Anxious Democratic Governors Urge 2020 Field Not to Veer Too Far Left  —  WASHINGTON — After claiming governorships from Republicans in seven states last year, including in crucial presidential battlegrounds like Wisconsin and Michigan, Democratic governors should have good reason to celebrate.

Trump Is Betting on Race in 2020.  He May Not Have a Choice.  —  Buried beneath the blustery bravado of Donald Trump's openly racist attacks on four Democratic congresswomen of color were clear signs of electoral anxiety.  —  Trump insists he is producing great results for the country, especially on the economy.

Safe Deposit Boxes Aren't Safe  —  When Philip Poniz opened Box 105 at his local Wells Fargo, he discovered it was empty — and that he was totally unprotected by federal law.  —  In the early 1980s, when Philip Poniz moved to New Jersey from Colorado, he needed a well-protected place to stash his collection of rare watches.

Donald Trump's Politics of Hate Began With a “Cynical and Evil” GOP Memo  —  Donald Trump's outburst of nativistic racism—viscerally and putridly displayed by his “go back” tweet-attack on four congresswoman who are people of color and the subsequent and shocking (even for Trump) “send her back” …

Congressional Republicans shame themselves with their silence on Trump's racism.  —  Days after President Donald Trump's racist declaration that four congresswomen of color — three of them American-born — should “go back” where they came from, the response from most members of the party of Lincoln continues to be ... nothing.

Donald Trump Hates America  —  The rest of us can love America well.  —  So apparently Donald Trump wants to make this an election about what it means to be American.  He's got his vision of what it means to be American, and he's challenging the rest of us to come up with a better one.

The 200th firefighter just died from a World Trade Center-related illness  —  New York Mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted images of FDNY firefighters Richard Driscoll and Kevin Nolan, saying, “200 members of the FDNY have now succumbed to WTC-related illness.  They didn't hesitate to run into danger.

“I'm Winning”: Donald Trump's Calculated Racism  —  On Tuesday, President Trump convened his Cabinet in the White House.  First to speak after a long, rambling, and inaccuracy-filled monologue by Trump himself was Ben Carson, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.