Clinton surges to big lead in McClatchy-Marist poll  —  WASHINGTON  —  Hillary Clinton has surged to a 15-point lead over reeling, gaffe-plagued Donald Trump, according to a new McClatchy-Marist poll.  —  Clinton made strong gains with two constituencies crucial to a Republican victory …

Media trumpeting Trump implosion, but is it real?  —  This is what a full-fledged feeding frenzy looks like.  —  With Donald Trump facing the roughest stretch of his candidacy, the media have moved from questioning his sanity to depicting a campaign in disarray and top Republicans still wondering whether they can dump the nominee.

Gaps in Melania Trump's immigration story raise questions  —  Nude photographs published this week are raising fresh questions about the accuracy of a key aspect of Melania Trump's biography: her immigration status when she first came to the United States to work as a model.

Trump repeats claim about nonexistent Iran footage  —  Despite Donald Trump's claim of having seen video footage of the $400 million cash delivery to Iran having been acknowledge as false by his own campaign, the Manhattan billionaire kicked off a rally Thursday afternoon by repeating the tall tale.

President Barack Obama on Feminism, Michelle, and His Daughters  —  There are a lot of tough aspects to being President.  But there are some perks too.  Meeting extraordinary people across the country.  Holding an office where you get to make a difference in the life of our nation.  Air Force One.

A blind eye to sex abuse: How USA Gymnastics failed to report cases  —  THE PROMINENT OLYMPIC ORGANIZATION FAILED TO ALERT AUTHORITIES TO MANY ALLEGATIONS OF SEXUAL ABUSE BY COACHES.  —  Top executives at one of America's most prominent Olympic organizations failed to alert authorities …

Hanging Tough  —  Why we've made only minor changes to our Electoral College ratings since March  —  On March 31, we released our first general election map of the Electoral College.  With our self-imposed rule of permitting no cop-out “toss-ups” — a rule we'll try to hold to as we handicap …

How the Trump Presidential Campaign is Affecting Trump Businesses  —  At Foursquare, our data scientists are often called upon to analyze real world trends; we use Big Data to determine how commercial fortunes are rising or falling.  This year, politics and business are intersecting …

Erickson Angrily Tears Into Trump Boosters: You ‘Reflect the Evil Character of Your God’  —  Erick Erickson has been a #NeverTrump conservative for a while now, but something Trump said today finally pushed him to a place of extreme anger at his boosters.  —  Erickson was set off …

Sasha Obama lands summer job at Vineyard seafood joint  —  Sasha Obama, who has lived eight of her 15 years in the luxurious confines of the White House, is learning how the other half lives this summer.  The First Daughter is working the takeout window at Nancy's, a seafood restaurant on Martha's Vineyard.

Wearing 'Don't Tread on Me' insignia could be punishable racial harassment  —  The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, among its other functions, decides “hostile work environment” harassment claims brought against federal agencies.  In doing so, it applies the same legal rules …

Trump Proves Republican Obama Hate Was Never About Obama's Ideas  —  This week, largely drowned out on the stump by his succession of own goals, Donald Trump returned to a theme he has mentioned before in the campaign — his infrastructure plan, which would amount to either half a trillion dollars …

The Political Process Isn't Rigged — It Has Much Bigger Problems  —  All right, I need to vent.  For months, I've watched Donald Trump decry as “rigged” everything from the Democratic primaries, the Republican primary rules (that's right, the same rules that helped him win the nomination) and the fall debate schedule.

Mike Pence Declines to Endorse John McCain and Kelly Ayotte  —  Siding with his running mate, Mike Pence on Thursday declined to endorse John McCain and Kelly Ayotte in their upcoming reelection bids.  —  “I look forward to supporting Republican candidates in the days and weeks ahead all over the country …

Missouri's head public defender assigns case to Gov. Nixon, cites overburdened staff  —  Fed up with what he says is the governor's failure to properly fund his overwhelmed office, the state's lead public defender ordered Gov. Jay Nixon this week to represent a poor person in Cole County this month.

LISTEN: Sean Explains Why Republican Insiders Will Be To Blame If Trump Is Defeated In November  —  GOP insiders are in full-on panic mode over Donald Trump after a rough week led to a dip in the polls for the Republican nominee.  While we're still several months from the November election …