Bill Flores Announces Intent to Not Seek Re-election in 2020  —  f t # e  —  U.S. Representative Bill Flores (R-Texas) announced today that he will not seek another term in Congress.  Flores is currently serving his fifth term representing the 17th Congressional District of Texas …

A Top White House Reporter Is Taking Over The Washington Free Beacon  —  A leading political reporter is leaving Politico to lead the neoconservative flagship Washington Free Beacon, the latest move in a conservative media world attempting to adjust to the age of Donald Trump.

The Trump Voters Whose ‘Need for Chaos’ Obliterates Everything Else  —  Political nihilism is one of the president's strongest weapons.  —  Mr. Edsall contributes a weekly column from Washington, D.C. on politics, demographics and inequality.  —  Over the four years during …

21 British Conservatives put country over party.  Why can't 21 Republicans do the same?  —  Among them are two former chancellors of the exchequer, an array of former cabinet ministers, and many old and familiar stalwarts of Conservative party conferences and Conservative think tanks.

US watchdog: Separated migrant children suffered trauma  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Migrant children who were separated from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border last year suffered post-traumatic stress and other serious mental health problems, according to a government watchdog report Wednesday.

Hong Kong's Leader, Carrie Lam, to Withdraw Extradition Bill That Ignited Protests  —  HONG KONG — Carrie Lam, Hong Kong's chief executive, said Wednesday that the government would withdraw a contentious extradition bill that ignited months of protests in the city, moving to quell …

Trump administration raids military construction projects for border wall  —  The Trump administration is carrying out plans to raid $3.6 billion in military construction projects to build the border wall, further inflaming lawmakers who have accused President Donald Trump of illegally overriding Congress' spending decisions.

Top Interior official who pushed to expand drilling in Alaska to join oil company there  —  Joe Balash, a Trump appointee, had served as assistant secretary for Land and Minerals Management until Aug. 30  —  Last summer, Scott Pruitt left his job heading the Environmental Protection Agency …

Trump's schedule shows a president with plenty of downtime this summer  —  President Trump's daily Twitter feed in recent weeks has been a torrent of personal attacks, news commentary, weather reports, unfounded claims and congratulatory notes.  But when it comes to his day job, the American people have seen little of him.

‘They are riding a rubber ducky into alligator-infested waters’  —  President Donald Trump is staring down a series of trigger points that will determine whether he enters the 2020 campaign backed by his most valuable asset — a healthy U.S. economy — or empty-handed and further on the defensive.

The Secret History of the Push to Strike Iran  —  Hawks in Israel and America have spent more than a decade agitating for war against the Islamic Republic's nuclear program.  Will Trump finally deliver?  —  In july of 2017, the White House was at a crossroads on the question of Iran.

North Carolina Court Strikes Down Gerrymander, Citing Smoking Gun Evidence in the Hofeller Files  —  A North Carolina court struck down the state's legislative maps on Tuesday, ruling that the districts amounted to a partisan gerrymander in violation of the state constitution.

Why the Internet Thinks Cuomo Rigged N.Y.'s License Plate Contest  —  The theory: Four choices featuring the Statue of Liberty would split the vote, allowing the Cuomo Bridge design to prevail.  —  ALBANY — It seemed, at first glance, to be an innocuous idea.

AP source: Texas shooter purchased AK rifle at private sale  —  ODESSA, Texas (AP) — The gunman in a West Texas rampage that left seven dead obtained his AR-style rifle through a private sale, allowing him to evade a federal background check that previously blocked him from getting a gun …

The 10 counties that will decide the 2020 election  —  Three years after a presidential election that came down to 77,000 votes in three Midwestern battlegrounds, Democrats and Republicans are eyeing a much larger battlefield ahead of the 2020 contests, one that stretches from the picturesque coastline …

‘Hundreds of other people could be implicated’ in Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell court documents  —  KEY POINTS  — Secret court filings related to Jeffrey Epstein and his alleged procurer Ghislaine Maxwell could implicate “hundreds of other people,” Maxwell's lawyer said.

Why is the Russian meddling in 2016 such a big secret?  I'm not allowed to say.  —  Stephanie Murphy, a Democrat, represents Florida's 7th Congressional District in the House of Representatives.  —  In May, other members of Florida's congressional delegation and I were briefed for 90 minutes …

Elizabeth Warren embraces Jay Inslee's climate change platform  —  Warren to audience member: You may want to sit for this  —  (CNN)Sen. Elizabeth Warren on Tuesday announced she would adopt Washington Gov. Jay Inslee's 10-year climate plan, while also expanding on his blueprint with a series …

Whoopi Goldberg Goes Off on Debra Messing: 'You Don't Have the Right!'  —  “Listen, the last time people did this, people ended up killing themselves,” Goldberg said, referring to Joseph McCarthy's Hollywood blacklist of the 1950s.  —  Whoopi Goldberg is not impressed with actress Debra Messing's call …

‘Father is Surgeon,’ ‘1 mil pledge’: The Role of Money in USC Admissions  —  Emails in college admissions cheating scandal show the role donations played in decisions to accept students  —  BOSTON—Emails among athletics, admissions and fundraising officials at the University …

Why Trump's hurricane antics are so terribly odd  —  In recent years, American presidents have routinely been evaluated on their administrations' responses to hurricanes.  In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, George W. Bush created a low standard, and there's a broad expectation …

American Citizen, an Alleged ISIS Sniper and Weapons Instructor, Indicted for Providing Material Support to ISIS  —  A five-count indictment was filed yesterday in federal court in Brooklyn charging Ruslan Maratovich Asainov, 43, also known as “Suleiman Al-Amriki” and “Suleiman Al-Kazakhi,” …

Kroger to Customers: No More Open Carry of Firearms in Our Stores  —  Kroger has called on customers to refrain from openly carrying firearms in its stores where state laws allow it, joining Walmart in changing its policy after seven people were killed in a Texas shooting on Saturday.

Rep. Ilhan Omar's husband wants divorce after affair bombshell: source  —  MINNEAPOLIS — Rep. Ilhan Omar's marriage appears to be headed for the rocks, a longtime friend of the couple told The Post.  —  The congresswoman's husband Ahmed Hirsi, the source said, is poised to file for divorce …

China has reasons to keep fighting a trade war  —  How a protracted tariff feud actually benefits Beijing.  —  As new U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods took effect this week, China filed a case with the World Trade Organization alleging unfair trade practices.