Poll: Americans are anxious, pessimistic and deeply unhappy with Trump ahead of the midterms  —  The share of Americans who believe the country is on the wrong track is at the highest level of the president's second term, according to the NBC News Decision Desk Poll.

Do You Really Own Your Home?  A Tax Revolt Says No. … Before making their way to stalls selling whirligigs, handmade soap, and peanut-butter Buckeye brownies, dozens of people stopped at folding tables where volunteers hawked petitions to abolish property taxes.  Few needed much convincing before adding their names.

Trump shares plan to overhaul East Potomac golf course amid court fight over land  —  The historic public facility will close for about 15 months, he said.  Government attorneys have stressed in court that the president's broader redevelopment remained conceptual.  —  SummaryLoading...

Trump team defends Russia energy moves but offers contradictory reasons  —  President Trump's top aides offered sharply different explanations this weekend of his Russian diesel deal amid a barrage of bipartisan criticism calling the move a gift to Russia.

Massachusetts Republican lieutenant governor candidate suspends campaign after OUI arrest  —  Police said Shawn Oliver's vehicle overturned after hitting five parked vehicles, two of which were extensively damaged. … A candidate for lieutenant governor of Massachusetts, Republican Shawn Oliver …

Obama blasts Trump admin's Omar crackdown  —  Former President Barack Obama issued a forceful denunciation of the Trump administration's legal pursuit of Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar over suspicions she fraudulently obtained U.S. citizenship decades ago, an allegation the Minnesota lawmaker has called “disgusting lies.”

Can Scott Colom win Mississippi Senate?  Warnock is making a big bet on it.  —  JACKSON, Mississippi — Raphael Warnock is racing to get Democrat Scott Colom elected in deep-red Mississippi.  It's part of his bigger bet on the South.  —  Colom, a charismatic local prosecutor …

Three Shootings in America  —  A week of our entirely-ordinary *extraordinary* violence … I want to highlight three incidents of gun violence this last week, each very ordinary — and each shocking in its own way.  —  First: A white nationalist attempted a mass shooting and to assassinate …

I Teach at a Business School.  It's Time to Shut Them Down.  —  This fall, another cohort of ambitious young professionals has arrived at business schools around the world for two-year programs with price tags in the six figures.  Their presence at some of the nicest and shiniest buildings …

France in Shock After Protests Turn Into Riots, Damaging Buildings and Shops  —  After anti-government protests devolved into chaos, leaders from across the political spectrum blamed one another for the unrest, even as it largely subsided on Sunday.  —  France was in a state of shock on Sunday …

Zacharia posts altered photos of Trump's Oval Office desk  —  Advocates for East Potomac Park said they believe a blurred image on the president's desk is of a golf course at the center of a legal fight.  —  Loading...  Katie Zacharia, who was ousted as White House press secretary on Friday …

‘Scorched It All’: How Trump Lost the Affordability Debate, According to Abigail Spanberger … Abigail Spanberger rode furor over rising costs to dominate Virginia's gubernatorial race last year — putting her among the first class of Democrats elected on the promise to tackle the affordability crisis.

The overlooked geography of American poverty  —  California and Louisiana have something surprising in common: Both have among the nation's highest poverty rates when the cost of living is factored in, according to Census Bureau data. … But that familiar geographic divide starts to disappear …

Trump Promoted Suspiciously Cheap Gas Stations.  Here's What He Didn't Tell You. … To understand how Donald Trump would come to use the power of the presidency to promote a small discount gas station operation — one with murky finances, mysterious ownership and allegedly dubious business practices …