Announcement of Trump Supreme Court choice nears

President Donald Trump was closing in on his choice to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy on Saturday, making final deliberations from the privacy of his New Jersey golf club. Clearly relishing the mounting suspense, Trump tweeted early in the morning: "Big decision will soon be made on our next Justice of the Supreme Court!" The president, who is planning a Monday night announcement from the East Room in the White House, has told reporters that he was focused on four people and "of the four people I have it down to three or two."

Judge rules that Trump administration has been wrongly detaining asylum seekers

A federal judge ruled on Monday that the Department of Homeland Security has violated its own policies by refusing to release most asylum-seekers from immigration detention even if they are likely to win their asylum case. District Judge James Boasberg in the District of Columbia ordered the department to stop making blanket determinations against most asylum-seekers and resume the long-standing practice of deciding each applicant's detention status on a case by case basis.

As thousands prepare to rally, here’s where things stand on…

Saturday's protests will focus on the 'zero tolerance' policy that has resulted in the separation of more than 2,000 children from their parents. Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to march in dozens of U.S. cities on Saturday to protest family separations carried out by the Trump administration, according to organizers.

The Trump-Putin summit will be a waste of time

Don't get me wrong; I understand why the prospect of a sit-down seems sensible. Scheduled for July 16, in Helsinki, Finland, Trump hopes to win progress from Putin on issues related to Ukraine, Syria, Iran's nuclear program, Russian cyberactivity, and Russian breaches of United Nations sanctions on North Korea.

Koch Brothers-Linked Group Declares New War on Unions

Following a U.S. Supreme Court decision that millions of public sector workers can stop paying union fees, a group tied to Republican billionaires long opposed to organized labor and its support of the Democratic Party has pledged to build on the landmark ruling to further marginalize employee representation. The conservative nonprofit Freedom Foundation said that starting Wednesday, it will deploy 80 people to a trio of West Coast union bastions: California, Oregon and its home state of Washington.

Judge orders U.S. border authorities to reunite separated families within 30 days

Randi Weingarten tried to deliver a teddy bear and other items for children to federal agents at the port-of-entry today in Fabens, Texas. McALLEN, Texas>> A judge in California today ordered U.S. border authorities to reunite separated families within 30 days, setting a hard deadline in a process that has so far yielded uncertainty about when children might again see their parents.

Americans Evaluate Trump’s Character Across 13 Dimensions

A review of Americans' ratings of President Donald Trump across a series of personal dimensions shows that at least half consider him intelligent, strong and decisive, and able to bring about change. However, much smaller proportions deem him honest, likable or admirable, or say he has appointed good advisers or works well with both parties.

Americans’ Certainty About Voting This Year Starting Off Low

Fifty-six percent of U.S. adults are currently "absolutely certain" they will vote in the November elections for Congress. That's on the low side in Gallup's trend of final pre-election midterm polls since 1954 and is similar to the 58% recorded just before the 2014 midterms, which had the lowest turnout rate since 1942.

Fight over detained children intensifies

Democrats expanded their campaign Sunday to spotlight the Trump administration's forced separation of migrant children from their families at the U.S. border, trying to compel a change of policy and gain political advantage five months before midterm elections. Against a notable silence on the part of many Republicans who usually defend President Trump, Democratic lawmakers fanned out across the country, visiting a detention center outside New York City and heading to Texas to inspect facilities where children have been detained.