Trump and his allies had a plan for how to hit Harris.  Then he opened his mouth.  —  “He's grasping around,” said Chuck Coughlin, an Arizona-based political strategist.  —  Scrambling to put an end to Kamala Harris' ascent, Donald Trump's campaign and outside allies came up with a plan …

US Reporter to Be Freed by Russia in Major Prisoner Swap  — Wall Street Journal reporter Gershkovich to be let go in deal  — US, Russia had held extensive talks on prisoner exchange  —  Russia is releasing Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former US Marine Paul Whelan …

Trump loses appeal of gag order in hush money criminal case  —  A New York state appeals court on Thursday rejected former U.S. President Donald Trump's challenge to a gag order in his criminal case on charges stemming from hush money paid to a porn star.  —  The Appellate Division's ruling …

How Hamas Leader Ismail Haniyeh Was Killed in Iran … A photograph circulating on Telegram and among Iranian officials on Wednesday showed a damaged building in northern Tehran.Provided to The New York Times  —  Ismail Haniyeh, a top leader of Hamas, was assassinated on Wednesday …

Democrats pitch No Kings Act to override supreme court's Trump immunity ruling  —  Bill would stipulate that Congress, not the supreme court, has authority to determine to whom federal criminal laws are applied  —  Chuck Schumer will introduce a bill in the Senate today to declare explicitly …

Why Trump Can't Banish the Weirdos  —  After years of describing Republicans as “dangerous,” Democrats seem to have hit a groove with “weird.”  “These guys are just weird,” Minnesota Governor Tim Walz said recently.  “We're not afraid of weird people.  We're a little bit creeped out, but we're not afraid.”

Critics Stunned By Donald Trump's ‘Heartless’ Punch Line About Man Killed At His Rally  —  The Republican nominee was slammed as horrible, unkind and a “self-centered sadistic monster” over the line.  —  LOADING  —  Donald Trump drew fierce criticism for making a crass comment about the wife …

Why Tim Walz's progressive support is great for Democrats  —  Also: Trump's racist self-immolation in front of Black journalists. … Two weeks ago, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz was largely unknown nationally.  Today, he's a widely beloved Democratic figure and a leading candidate to become Kamala Harris's running mate.

The truth about “migrant crime” during the Trump administration  —  “Our crime rate is going up while crime statistics all over the world are plunging,” Trump told the crowd at the Turning Point Action Conference last week in West Palm Beach, Florida.  “We have a new form of crime.  It's called migrant crime.”

Don Lemon Sues Elon Musk Over Canceled X Deal  —  The former CNN reporter said in a lawsuit that X had refused to pay him after a testy interview with its billionaire owner.  —  Don Lemon, the former CNN anchor, sued Elon Musk and X on Thursday, arguing that the billionaire refused to pay …

Senate Democrats will force vote to expand child tax credit despite GOP opposition  —  It's not clear the legislation has the votes to advance as top Republicans rally opposition.  The vote comes amid criticism over Sen. JD Vance's comments about “childless cat ladies.”