A Very Good Republican Presidential Debate  —  Without Trump, the candidates could fight about their policies.  —  Donald Trump ducked the first Republican presidential debate Wednesday night, and his absence did the party and country a favor.  Voters were able to hear eight other candidates …

The winners and losers from the first Republican debate  —  Eight Republican presidential candidates who sought some kind of traction against former president Donald Trump faced off Wednesday night at the first debate of the 2024 GOP primary race in Milwaukee.  Trump was absent.

Nikki Haley Is the Best Trump Alternative  —  I have a bunch of friends and acquaintances who are Never Trump, maybe-Trump or kind-of-Trump Republicans.  They've been looking around for the candidate they can support and give their dollars to, somebody who is an antidote to Donald Trump and who can win a general election.

Why do Republicans even bother with this whole farce?  —  Trump wasn't there, but we saw why he's leading: GOP voters don't care about substance, just unjustified grievances  —  Going into Wednesday night, there were some valiant efforts from the Beltway media to hype the first debate of the Republican presidential primary.

Russia-Ukraine War  —  Mercenary Leader Is Presumed Dead After Plane Crash  —  Russian military bloggers and a Western intelligence official said that Yevgeny V. Prigozhin, who led a brief mutiny in June, had been killed.  There was no official confirmation of his death and Russian officials …

Exclusive: US believes missile inside Russia likely shot down Prigozhin's presumed plane, US officials say  —  The United States believes a surface-to-air missile originating from inside Russia likely shot down the plane presumed to be carrying mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin on Wednesday, two U.S. officials told Reuters on Thursday.

Early Intelligence Suggests Prigozhin Was Assassinated, U.S. Officials Say  —  Preliminary findings indicate it wasn't surface-to-air missile that took down Wagner leader's plane  —  The plane carrying Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner paramilitary group, crashed as the result …

House Judiciary Committee launches inquiry into Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis  —  The Republican-led House Judiciary Committee has opened a congressional investigation into Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, a development that was first reported by CNN and comes the same …

Jim Jordan launches probe into Georgia Trump prosecution  —  House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) fired off a sweeping request for documents dealing with former President Trump's prosecution for election interference in Georgia, asking Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis (D) to turn over all records relating to the case.

Fulton County prosecutors ask judge to set Oct. 23 trial on Trump racketeering charges  —  A trial just two months from now seems implausible given the torrent of anticipated pretrial motions and complex legal issues likely to be litigated before a jury can be seated.