St. Louis Democrat hopes to duplicate Ocasio-Cortez feat

To continue reading this premium story, you need to become a member. Click below to take advantage of an exclusive offer for new members: FILE - In this July 28, 2018 file photo, New York Democratic congressional candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who defeated10-term Rep. Joseph Crowley in the Democratic primary, campaigns for Michigan Democratic gubernatorial candidate Abdul El-Sayed in Detroit.

Trump criticized for not leading effort to secure elections Source: AP

As alarms blare about Russian interference in U.S. elections, the Trump administration is facing criticism that it has no clear national strategy to protect the country during the upcoming midterms and beyond. Both Republicans and Democrats have criticized the administration's response as fragmented, without enough coordination across federal agencies.

Not good, not nice’: At Florida rally, Trump says China has – targeted our farmers’

TAMPA, Fla. - President Donald Trump on Tuesday issued a defiant defense of his trade policies, praising American farmers for weathering Chinese tariffs and telling a crowd at a rally for Republican candidates that "the days of plundering American jobs and American wealth - those days are over."

Federal judge in Seattle blocks release of 3D-printed gun plans 8 hours ago

In this May 10, 2013, file photo, Cody Wilson holds what he calls a Liberator pistol that was completely made on a 3-D-printer at his home in Austin, Texas. Eight states filed suit Monday, July 30, 2018, against the Trump administration over its decision to allow a Texas company to publish downloadable blueprints for a 3D-printed gun, contending the hard-to-trace plastic weapons are a boon to terrorists and criminals and threaten public safety.

Top StoryAuditors: 30M taxpayers will owe more due to low withholding

Congressional auditors say about 30 million people - 21 percent of U.S. taxpayers - will have to come up with more money to pay their 2018 taxes next year because their employers withheld too little from their paychecks under government tables keyed to the new tax law. New tax withholding tables for employers were put together by the government early this year.

Promoting voter ID, Trump says ID needed to buy groceries

A supporter of President Donald Trump heckles CNN Jim Acosta, left, during a Trump rally at the Florida State Fairgrounds in Tampa, Fla., Tuesday, July 31, 2018. Trump rallied against Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson, saying it's time for Florida to vote him out of office at the rally.

Senate wrestles with response to foreign influence campaigns

Republican senators said Wednesday that the government faces a momentous task in preventing foreigners from using social media to interfere in U.S. elections, citing concerns about the First Amendment and the sprawling nature of the internet. Experts testifying before the Senate Intelligence Committee said Russia and other foreign actors are using high-tech means to polarize Americans not only on elections, but also on highly charged issues like race and immigration.

‘The United States was allowed to truly get ripped off’: Trump tells…

President Donald Trump brought his "Make America Great Again" tour to Tampa on Tuesday, touting his agenda and promoting Florida candidates to an eager audience at the Florida State Fairgrounds. Expo Hall's 8,000 seats were packed, with an additional 4,000 in an overflow room and crowds standing outside the building.

O’Rourke draws crowds in tour through Lubbock, West Texas

There weren't enough seats inside the Cactus Theater to accommodate everyone who showed up Tuesday morning to hear from U.S. Senate Candidate Beto O'Rourke. People packed into the aisles, lined the staircases and poked their heads in from the outside lobby to catch a glimpse of the Democratic candidate in the conservative town of Lubbock as he challenges Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz in the November election.

House Speaker Paul Ryan uncovers Jewish roots on PBS show

The Wisconsin Republican discovered his family history while filming a segment for the upcoming season of the PBS series "Finding Your Roots With Henry Louis Gates Jr." Gates said Tuesday at a TV critics meeting that he traced Ryan's heritage back to his 10th great-grandfather born in 1531 in Germany. The research showed Ryan is 3 percent Ashkenazi Jewish.

Facebook finds – sophisticated’ efforts to disrupt elections

Facebook set off a firestorm on Tuesday, announcing that it had uncovered "sophisticated" efforts, possibly linked to Russia, to manipulate US politics and by extension the upcoming midterm elections. The company was careful to hedge its announcement; it did not connect the effort directly to Russia or to the midterms, now less than a hundred days away.

Democrats ramp up fight for Kavanaugh documents

Senate Democrats intensified their fight Tuesday over documents related to Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh's stint as staff secretary at the White House, pursuing a paper trail on his views of key issues that played out during the George W. Bush administration. The top Democrat, Sen. Chuck Schumer, said he personally appealed to the archivist of the United States to release the documents after Senate Republicans declined to pursue them.

Everything you need to know about President Trump’s endorsement of Ron DeSantis

President Trump said it himself - an endorsement from him can change the course of an election, and that has certainly been the case in Florida's Republican gubernatorial primary. Although President Trump spent most of his time at Tuesday's rally in Tampa speaking about his administration's accomplishments, he also used it as an opportunity to throw his support behind a couple of candidates in key President Trump said it himself - an endorsement from him can change the course of an election, and that has certainly been the case in Florida's Republican gubernatorial primary.

Senate passes flood insurance extension hours before deadline

The Senate passed a four-month extension to the National Flood Insurance Program Tuesday, less than a day before the program was set to expire. The bill, which had originated in the House, will now go to President Trump, who has until midnight to sign it to avoid a lapse in the program.

Facebook scraps accounts trying to influence November’s U.S. elections

Facebook Inc. has identified a coordinated political influence campaign ahead of November's U.S. congressional elections and taken down dozens of fake accounts on its site, the company said on Tuesday. A Russian propaganda arm tried to tamper in the 2016 U.S. election by posting and buying ads on Facebook, according to the company and U.S. intelligence agencies.

Senate panel to vote on Kraninger’s CFPB nomination

The Senate Banking Committee is scheduled to vote Thursday on the nomination of Kathy Kraninger to become director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau among a slate of six nominees considered by the panel. Kraninger, a senior official at the Office of Management and Budget, has been heavily criticized by Democrats on the panel over her ties to the administration's family-separation policy at the border.

Auditors: 30M taxpayers will owe more due to low withholding

Congressional auditors say about 30 million people - 21 percent of U.S. taxpayers - will have to come up with more money to pay their taxes next year because their employers withheld too little from their paychecks under government tables keyed to the new tax law. New tax withholding tables for employers were put together by the government early this year.

Kootenai County deputies respond to possible home invasion

At around 11:20 a.m. Wednesday, deputies from the Kootenai County Sheriff's office responded to the 7900 block of W. Cougar Gultch Rd. for a report of a possible home invasion robbery. It was reported that an 18-year-old woman had walked outside of her house to let her dog out of a nearby kennel.