EXCLUSIVE: Trump says he's ‘not unhappy’ with racism fight's result because ‘the race card’ is ‘the only thing they have’ now, telling DailyMail.com his back-and-forth with Pelosi was ‘one of the all-time classics’  — In a brief phone call, the president said he's ‘not unhappy’ with the result …

Tape shows Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein discussing women at 1992 party  —  The November 1992 tape in the NBC archives shows Donald Trump with Jeffrey Epstein more than a decade before Epstein pleaded guilty to felony prostitution charges in Florida.  —  Inside a 1992 party with Trump, Jeffrey Epstein

Rand Paul blocks Senate from approving 9/11 victim compensation fund  —  Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) on Wednesday blocked an attempt by Democrats to pass an extension of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund.  —  Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) tried to win the Senate's consent to approve …

Rand Paul angles to become Trump's emissary to Iran  —  Over a round of golf this past weekend, Sen. Rand Paul asked President Donald Trump's blessing for a sensitive diplomatic mission.  —  Paul proposed sitting down with Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif to extend a fresh olive branch …

Notre-Dame came far closer to collapsing than people knew.  This is how it was saved.  —  A baffling alert.  A race to the wrong building.  Notre-Dame still stands only because firefighters decided to risk everything, a New York Times reconstruction has found.

Omar to introduce pro-BDS resolution in House  —  U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar said that she plans to introduce a resolution this week in support of the anti-Israel BDS movement, reported Al-Monitor on Tuesday.  —  “We are introducing a resolution ... to really speak about the American values …

Feds end investigation into Trump Org and hush money payments  —  New York (CNN)Federal prosecutors in New York have ended their investigation into the Trump Organization's role in hush money payments made to women who alleged affairs with President Donald Trump and have been ordered by a judge …

'Trump's Going to Get Re-elected, Isn't He?'  —  Voters have reason to worry.  —  I'm struck at how many people have come up to me recently and said, “Trump's going to get re-elected, isn't he?”  And in each case, when I drilled down to ask why, I bumped into the Democratic presidential debates in June.

Yahoo's story on Chris Pratt's ‘white supremacist’ T-shirt did us all a disservice  —  U.S. media took a bold stand against racist tweets by the president of the United States this week, with much of it objectively calling Donald Trump's behavior “racist” after resisting that label in its news coverage for years.

The Humane Legacy of John Paul Stevens  —  John Paul Stevens, who served on the Supreme Court from 1975 to 2010 and died Tuesday, at the age of ninety-nine, belonged to a vanished tradition on the Court and in American life: moderate Republicanism.  By the time he left the Court …

Why Democrats' oversight machine is moving so slowly against Trump  —  House Democrats have kicked and screamed about the White House's refusal to allow key Trump officials to come before Congress.  But they haven't done the one thing they can do to force the issue: Go to court.

Widespread, oppressive and dangerous heat to roast much of the U.S. through the weekend  —  A heat wave featuring a life-threatening combination of heat and oppressive humidity has begun to spread across the United States, with excessive heat warnings and heat advisories in effect for at least 22 states and the District of Columbia.

Unauthorized immigrants face public backlash in Mexico, survey finds  —  MEXICO CITY — Mexicans are deeply frustrated with immigrants after a year of heightened migration from Central America through the country, according to a survey conducted by The Washington Post and Mexico's Reforma newspaper.

Drug Overdose Deaths Drop in U.S. for First Time Since 1990  —  After three decades of ever-escalating drug overdose deaths, the tide of fatalities may have finally started to turn.  Total drug overdose deaths in America declined by around 5 percent last year, the first drop since 1990 …

Ocasio-Cortez gets new 2020 challenger: a Republican immigrant from Jamaica  —  EXCLUSIVE — Scherie Murray, a New York businesswoman who immigrated from Jamaica as a child and is active in state Republican politics, is launching a campaign Wednesday for the congressional seat held by Democratic …

Civil Servants Who Process Immigration Applications Are Being Asked To Help ICE Instead  —  As the US agency that processes applications for legal immigration struggles with a backlog, its leaders asked staffers to volunteer to help ICE on administrative tasks, including with a program keeping asylum-seekers in Mexico.

How the Democratic Netroots Died  —  Twelve years ago, progressive political bloggers were so influential that nearly every 2008 Democratic presidential candidate attended the Yearly Kos convention—a gathering of liberal online activists named after Markos Moulitsas' popular Daily Kos website.

Pompeo leaves the door open to Kansas Senate run  —  Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday appeared to re-open the door to a Kansas Senate run, telling a Kansas City radio station that he will “always leave open the possibility that something will change.”

An ultra-violent MS-13 gang entered the U.S., then stalked L.A. with blades and bats  —  One by one, the victims were lured to remote locations: an abandoned building in downtown Los Angeles, an empty rooftop in Hollywood, a quiet park in the San Fernando Valley.

‘Maybe all the rules are gone’: Bullock tries to break through in Democratic primary  —  “We're over 200 days from any voter expressing their preference,” Bullock told POLITICO.  “I think there's a lot of time to have moments.”  —  Montana Gov. Steve Bullock on paper has a strong case …

Another top NRA staffer departs amid upheaval  —  The turmoil at the National Rifle Association continues to build, with Jennifer Baker, the organization's longtime director of public affairs, stepping down from her post.  —  Baker's departure, which was confirmed by several people familiar with the matter …

Pinker, Epstein, Soldier, Spy  —  Steven Pinker's aid in Jeffrey Epstein's legal defense renews criticism of an increasingly divisive public intellectual.  —  That convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein had help in avoiding federal or state prison is unsurprising: money and power often buy what they shouldn't.