How Mike Pence shat on the new carpet in Ireland's spare room  —  Stoical smiles as US vice-president delivers strong endorsement of Johnson and Brexit  —  The hospitable hosts buttered up their important guest and made a big fuss of his family and hoped he would say nice things …

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 …

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 …

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.

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 …

‘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.

Conflicting Rulings on the Electoral College Could Throw the Next Election Into Chaos  —  Since the 2016 election, some Democrats have raged against the Electoral College as an anti-democratic institution that does not reflect the will of the people.  Some Republicans have defended the institution …

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 …

‘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.

Trump Administration Is Rolling Back Rules Requiring More Energy-Efficient Bulbs  —  The Trump administration announced new rules on Wednesday to roll back requirements for energy-saving light bulbs, a move that could contribute to the greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change.

US offers cash to tanker captains in bid to seize Iranian ships  —  Four days before the US imposed sanctions on an Iranian tanker suspected of shipping oil to Syria, the vessel's Indian captain received an unusual email from the top Iran official at the Department of State.

Exclusive: Document reveals the FBI is tracking border protest groups as extremist organizations  —  WASHINGTON — The FBI is monitoring groups on the border that are protesting U.S. immigration policy, according to a document obtained by Yahoo News.  —  The FBI has gathered intelligence from people with …

A Tomato Grows in the East River  —  A single tomato plant has sprouted on a piling by the Brooklyn Bridge.  Who knows how it got there?  —  On a wooden piling in the waters off Brooklyn Bridge Park, a lone red fruit grows between Pier 1, right next to the Brooklyn Bridge, and Pier 2.

The Season of Scarlett Johansson: Two Hot Films, Her Marvel Future, Woody Allen and a Pick for President  —  With Noah Baumbach's ‘Marriage Story’ and Taika Waititi's ‘Jojo Rabbit’, her Avengers spinoff ‘Black Widow’ and the mantle of the world's highest-grossing actress …

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.

Mattis's former speechwriter faces warning from Pentagon as he prepares book, memos show  —  The Pentagon has warned former defense secretary Jim Mattis's onetime speechwriter that he could face “a range of potential consequences” if he reveals classified information in a forthcoming book …

Four Things That Are Not White Nationalism  —  Conservatism's racism problem is real.  So is a pattern of media smears against non-racist conservatives.  —  The American right in the Trump era has a racism problem.  It's fed by a Republican president who race-baits, a media ecosystem whose guardrails …

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.

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.

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 …

Infowars Loses Appeal in Sandy Hook Defamation Lawsuit  —  Alex Jones, the conspiracy theorist proprietor of Infowars, and his attorneys were denied an appeal regarding a lawsuit that alleges Infowars broadcast defamatory comments regarding the father of a child murdered in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.

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.

EXCLUSIVE: Video Shows Anti-Kavanaugh Lawyer Saying Christine Blasey Ford Wanted ‘Asterisk’ By Justice's Name  — Video footage obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation shows Christine Blasey Ford's lawyer Debra Katz discussing Ford's motivations for making accusations against Justice Brett Kavanaugh public.

San Francisco Board of Supervisors designates NRA domestic terrorist organization  —  SAN FRANCISCO (KTVU) - The city of San Francisco has formally adopted a resolution calling the National Rifle Association a domestic terrorist organization.  —  San Francisco's Board of Supervisors …

The Brexit Crystal Ball, Explained For People Who Want To Know What The Hell Is Going On  —  Today in Westminster is one of the busiest days in recent political history.  —  The UK prime minister Boris Johnson is facing Jeremy Corbyn at Prime Minister's Questions, Chancellor Sajid Javid …

Marianne Williamson suggests using ‘the power of the mind’ to change Hurricane Dorian's course  —  Democratic presidential candidate Marianne Williamson on Wednesday offered an un­or­tho­dox suggestion for dealing with Hurricane Dorian: using “the power of the mind” to will the storm elsewhere.

Joe Biden says he opposed the Iraq War soon after it started.  A check of his record shows otherwise  —  Biden ‘loose with facts’ on the campaign trail  —  The Democratic presidential frontrunner, in explaining his 2002 vote to authorize military force in Iraq, told NPR in an interview …

Fall Issue Launch:  —  TICKETS ($10: includes a copy of the Fall Issue)  —  Save the date!  We're thrilled to host Kevin Kruse, Jamelle Bouie, and Nicole Hemmer in conversation to kick off our Fall politics issue, Left/Right.  Guest edited by Joseph Crespino, the Left/Right issue explores …

I was one of those white women who voted for Donald Trump in 2016.  Now I see what a terrible mistake I made  —  And this political era has instilled an outrage and activism in me I never knew existed  —  Prior to the 2016 presidential election, I was a happily uninvolved voter.