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 …

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 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.”

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 …

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.

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.”