I never considered voting for Trump in 2016.  I may be forced to vote for him this year.  —  Danielle Pletka is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.  —  In 2016, I never considered voting for Donald Trump.  The Johnny-come-lately Republican and his nasty schoolyard jibes seemed …

Trump's Perverse Campaign Strategy  —  If the president's allies are talking about the moment “shooting will begin” and “martial law,” it's not by accident.  —  On Sunday, Michael Caputo, the assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Health and Human Services …

How Trump's Middle East Plan Could Boost the Region  —  Four years ago, in the midst of a divisive U.S. presidential election, we led a bipartisan task force taking a renewed and comprehensive look at the Middle East.  In addition to the region's many problems, we identified “green shoots” …

Rank-and-file House members achieve rare bipartisan consensus in bid to press Hill leaders to cut stimulus deal  —  (CNN)A bipartisan group of House members is unveiling a sweeping proposal to inject up to $2 trillion in aid to the economy amid the coronavirus pandemic, a move aimed …

Trump ad asks people to support the troops.  But it uses a picture of Russian jets.  —  A digital ad released by a fundraising arm of the Trump campaign on Sept. 11 calling on people to “support our troops” uses a stock photo of Russian-made fighter jets and Russian models dressed as soldiers.

He Hunted Bin Laden for CIA.  Now He Wants Americans Dead.  —  ‘ELIMINATE THEM’  —  Michael Scheuer used to hunt Osama bin Laden, whom he now says he admires.  Now his quarry is Donald Trump's enemies, whom he equates with terrorists.  —  The former senior CIA official once in charge …

Judge rules Chad Wolf likely unlawfully serving as Homeland Security secretary and temporarily blocks some asylum restrictions  —  (CNN)A Maryland federal judge on Friday ruled that Chad Wolf is likely unlawfully serving as acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security and temporarily barred …

Bill Gates Wonders Whether FDA Can Be Trusted on a Covid Vaccine  — Philanthropist says political pressure cost agency credibility  — Polls show confidence slipping as Trump pushes for approval  —  Bill Gates used to think of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as the world's premier public-health authority.

Staggering Number of Hysterectomies Happening at ICE Facility, Whistleblower Says  —  “We've questioned among ourselves, like, goodness, he's taking everybody's stuff out,” said a former nurse at the facility.  “That's his specialty, he's the uterus collector.”  —  CS

Washington's cozy media-political cocktail circuit needs a cooling-off.  Now is the perfect time.  —  From the perspective of the Washington women involved in “Girls' Night Out,” the social gathering was friendly, professionally helpful, and harmless.  —  For about 10 years …

Don't expect our elites to learn from the Los Angeles horror  —  The attempted assassination of two Los Angeles County deputies, caught on a security video, is chilling and enraging enough.  —  A man walks up to the parked black-and-white cruiser and fires point-blank through the passenger window, then runs away.

More cities and states are opening bars and restaurants despite mounting evidence of potential danger  —  Where indoor dining is allowed, as of Sept. 14  —  Where indoor dining is allowed, as of Sept. 14  —  In New York City, diners will be able to have a meal inside a restaurant at the end of the month …

Justice Department internal watchdog is investigating Roger Stone's sentencing, say sources  —  WASHINGTON — The Justice Department's Office of the Inspector General has begun investigating the circumstances surrounding the sentencing recommendation for Roger Stone, a longtime friend …

White evangelicals and Catholics may finally be opening their ears  —  To whom can I speak and give warning?  Who will listen to me?  Their ears are closed so they cannot hear.  —  Jeremiah was as good as it gets in the prophet business, but he could be a bit of a downer.

Fact check: Trump makes four false claims in one sentence  —  Washington (CNN)In what may be a new record for President Donald Trump, he made four false claims in one sentence of a tweet on Saturday.  —  The sentence was about Hillary Clinton, Trump's 2016 election opponent, and Andrew McCabe …

Trump Defends Indoor Rally, but Aides Express Concern  —  “I'm on a stage, and it's very far away,” Mr. Trump said of the gathering on Sunday.  His own campaign aides privately called the move a game of political Russian roulette.  —  WASHINGTON — President Trump and his campaign are defending …

A fake FBI raid orchestrated by right-wing activists dupes The Washington Post  —  A fake FBI raid staged Monday by a notorious right-wing activist and conspiracist turned into an embarrassment for The Washington Post, which briefly reported the faux-event as if it were the real deal.

Boats, flags and merchandise: Trump is core to supporters' identity  —  If President Trump defies today's swing-state polls and pulls off another upset, what will we have missed that could have been a clue?  —  Here's a big one: Trump flotillas ... Trump flags bigger than American flags …

Florida offers key test of Biden team's pandemic campaign plan  —  WASHINGTON — There's no set playbook for running against a candidate like Donald Trump during a global pandemic.  But to understand the formula that Joe Biden's campaign thinks they can use to topple the incumbent in November's election …

After an Inlander article about her links to conspiracy theory websites, Rep. Jenny Graham responds with profanity, threats and another conspiracy website  —  State Rep. Jenny Graham (R-Spokane) called me on my cellphone the day the Inlander published my story about her unwittingly linking to conspiracy theory posts on Facebook.

Noted Bibliophobe Donald Trump Claims He Read 466-Page Woodward Book in One Night  —  President Trump appeared on Fox & Friends again this morning, rambling on for 45 minutes until the hosts mercifully told him it was time for him to leave.  During his appearance he regaled the audience with a brief …

Why a Progressive N.Y. Party Is Fighting for Its Survival  —  The Working Families Party needs 130,000 New Yorkers to vote for Biden on its line, or it will lose its automatic ballot spot.  —  Just months after progressives in New York State concluded one of their most successful primary seasons in history …

Global views of U.S. plunge to new lows amid pandemic, poll finds  —  President Trump defended his handling of the novel coronavirus pandemic during an interview with Fox News over the weekend, arguing that he took “tremendous steps” early in the outbreak, which “saved probably two or two-and-a-half million lives.”

Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin decided the 2016 election.  We'll have to wait on them in 2020.  —  Huge surges in mail voting will change how and when votes are counted in 2020.  Here's our guide to the rules.  —  The most important states in the 2016 election are among …

400,000 Immigrants Can Be Forced to Leave the U.S., Court Rules  —  People from countries like El Salvador and Haiti who won temporary protected status after fleeing natural disaster and war can be forced to return home, a federal appeals court ruled.  —  LOS ANGELES — A federal appeals court ruled …

Confessions of a New Gun Owner  —  Even in suburbia, people are losing confidence the police will keep them safe.  —  On Monday it became official: The police issued me a gun permit.  —  Never did I imagine I'd be here.  Not because I was anti-gun.  My dad was a career FBI agent, so my siblings and I grew up with guns.

Trump alma mater says Biden plan would lead to more economic growth  —  Joe Biden's economic proposals would create a faster growing economy, higher wages for American workers and reduce the debt compared to where the U.S. is headed under President Donald Trump, according to new analysis …

Trump says he wanted to take out Syria's Assad but Mattis opposed it  —  President Trump on Tuesday confirmed a plan was in the works to take out Syrian President Bashar Assad in 2017 and that he was supportive of it, but that former Defense Secretary James Mattis was opposed.

‘We were shocked’: RAND study uncovers massive income shift to the top 1%  —  Just how far has the working class been left behind by the winner-take-all economy?  A new analysis by the RAND Corporation examines what rising inequality has cost Americans in lost income—and the results are stunning.

Trump is trying to sabotage the election.  Here's why it won't work.  —  President Trump has done everything in his power — and some things outside his power — to sabotage the election.  —  He has suggested postponing the election and holding a re-vote, warned baselessly about rampant fraud and pushed his supporters to vote twice.

Trump in ‘Fox & Friends’ interview claims coronavirus vaccine coming ‘in a matter of weeks’  —  Thee president also spoke about Hurricane Sally, slammed Bob Woodward's book and ripped Joe Biden  —  President Trump in an interview on “Fox & Friends” Tuesday claimed a vaccine for coronavirus could be approved “in a matter of weeks.”