The Case of Al Franken  —  A close look at the accusations against the former senator.  —  Last month, in Minneapolis, I climbed the stairs of a row house to find Al Franken, Minnesota's disgraced former senator, wandering around in jeans and stocking feet.  It was a sunny day, but the shades were mostly drawn.

Illinois Republicans pull social media aimed at four Democratic congresswomen who were subjects of President Trump's ‘go back’ tweets, calling them ‘Jihad Squad’  —  Top leaders of the Illinois Republican Party launched an effort at damage control Sunday after a social media post echoed …

The Coming Economic Crash — And How to Stop It  —  I warned about an economic crash years before the 2008 crisis, but the people in power wouldn't listen.  Now I'm seeing serious warning signs in the economy again — and I'm calling on regulators and Congress to act before another crisis …

19 Questions We Have for Mueller About His Investigation  —  THE MUELLER INVESTIGATION  —  Were Robert S. Mueller III ever to tell the inside story of his investigation, much of America would likely come to a standstill to hear what he had to say.  There is virtually no chance that will happen …

'It's a disaster over there': Commerce reaches new heights of dysfunction  —  Constant infighting among top officials.  Sudden departures of senior staffers without explanation.  A leader who is disengaged and prone to falling asleep in meetings.  —  The Commerce Department has reached …

Officer suggests Ocasio-Cortez should be shot, after he read fake news on Facebook  —  It was not clear from his Facebook post whether police officer Charlie Rispoli knew he was responding to fake news when he suggested Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) should be shot.

White House and congressional leaders close in on budget deal  —  White House officials and congressional leaders are closing in on a budget deal on Monday that would raise spending levels for both the Pentagon and non-defense programs while extending the debt limit until at least July 2021, according to sources close to the talks.

Who Was Jeffrey Epstein Calling?  A close study of his circle — social, professional, transactional — reveals a damning portrait of elite New York.  —  By The Editors Reporting by Brock Colyar, Kelsey Hurwitz, Charlotte Klein, Ezekiel Kweku, Amy Larocca, Yinka Martins, Adam K. Raymond …

Two Unofficial US Operatives Reporting To Trump's Lawyer Privately Lobbied A Foreign Government In A Bid To Help The President Win In 2020  —  Two unofficial envoys reporting directly to Donald Trump's personal lawyer have waged a remarkable back-channel campaign to discredit the president's rivals …

A GOP senator just laid out his blueprint for theocratic segregationism  —  The frustrating thing about Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO), is that he so often walks right up to the edge of an excellent idea, presenting a compelling case that he's identified a problem that demands a solution …

Trump's New Favorite Channel Employs Kremlin-Paid Journalist  —  Kristian Rouz appears on segments for One America News Network—ironic given he is working for a Russian outlet fingered in the 2016 election attack.  —  If the stories broadcast by the Trump-endorsed One America News Network sometimes look …

Wendy Davis announces bid for Congress, will challenge U.S. Rep. Chip Roy  —  The former state senator is running for office for the first time since her unsuccessful campaign for Texas governor.  —  WASHINGTON - Former Texas state Sen. Wendy Davis is running for Congress.

Contested NC House race in dead heat: internal poll  —  Democrat Dan McCready and North Carolina Republican state Sen. Dan Bishop are neck and neck in their race to represent the state's contested 9th congressional district, according to an internal poll from McCready's campaign obtained first by The Hill on Monday.

Army Lets Slip That It's Conducting Secret Operation Around D.C.  — Black Hawk copters working on ‘emerging classified’ mission  — Service asks Congress for an extra $1.55 million for project  —  The Pentagon has revealed a few details about a secret Army mission …

Comey's Under DoJ Scrutiny for Leading Probe While Misleading Trump  —  It is one of the most enduring and consequential mysteries of the Trump-Russia investigation: Why did former FBI Director James Comey refuse to say publicly what he was telling President Trump in private — that Trump was not the target of an ongoing probe?

A Peculiarly Dutch Summer Rite: Children Abandoned in the Night Woods  —  It may sound extreme, but it's normal in the Netherlands.  —  AUSTERLITZ, the Netherlands — Shortly after 10 p.m. on a recent night, a car came to a stop at the edge of the woods.  The door opened to release three children …

Top Democrat on tax committee faces left-wing primary challenge  —  WASHINGTON — Alex Morse, the mayor of Holyoke, Massachusetts, announced Monday that he will mount a primary challenge against Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., the chairman of the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee who has been criticized …

Indian Americans, a rising political force, give $3 million to 2020 presidential campaigns  —  Indian Americans are a sliver of the nation's population but a growing political force.  They have contributed more than $3 million to 2020 presidential campaigns — more than the coveted donors of Hollywood.

Trust and Distrust in America  —  Many Americans think declining trust in the government and in each other makes it harder to solve key problems.  They have a wealth of ideas about what's gone wrong and how to fix it  —  Trust is an essential elixir for public life and neighborly relations …

Scoop: Trump resort in mix to host G7  —  The Trump administration, which next year will host the leaders of the world's most powerful economies for the G7 summit, is down to its final few choices after completing site surveys of possible locations — and Trump National Doral …

Leaked documents reveal Huawei's secret operations to build North Korea's wireless network  —  Huawei Technologies Co., the Chinese tech giant embroiled in President Trump's trade war with China and blacklisted as a national security threat, secretly helped the North Korean government build …

Ilhan Omar Marriage Flummoxes Media Fact-Checkers  —  The ‘baseless smear’ that can't be debunked  —  Media outlets scrambled to prove false the accusation that Rep. Ilhan Omar (D., Minn.) married her brother after President Donald Trump mentioned it, but none have been able to definitively reach an answer …

2020 Candidates Delayed Paying Staff to Look Richer on Paper  —  There were several campaigns that used the accounting trick.  But it was Amy Klobuchar's operation that stood out the most.  —  For months, Sen. Amy Klobuchar's (D-MN) presidential campaign made regular payments to its staff and vendors …

What if Robert Mueller decided to tell Congress what he really thinks?  —  I did not anticipate William Barr's perfidious misrepresentations, maddening Democratic caution or scandalous Republican indifference.  Let's clear things up.  —  CONNECT … Think of me as a hostage, tied to this chair …