Bruce Rauner announces he’ll run for governor in 2018, and other Chicago news

There's a chance of severe storms Wednesday evening, including hail, a big downpour, and possibly even a tornado. It will be cooler, with a high of 76 and a low of 70. [ AccuWeather ] Governor Bruce Rauner hasn't made a splashy announcement yet, but he told the Tribune editorial board Monday that he'll run for governor again in 2018.

Protesters urge Sen. Ayotte to toughen on gun laws

U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte joined a bipartisan group of lawmakers Tuesday to explain their support for a bill aimed at restricting firearms purchases by those found to be on the government's terrorist watch lists, even as protesters gathered outside her Nashua office to demand further action. Ayotte, a Nashua Republican, said she is proud to work with a senators across party lines on a "reasonable and common-sense proposal" to keep guns out of the hands of terrorists while ensuring the constitutional rights of Americans.

N.J. Politics Roundup: Christie’s school funding plan; Clinton warns about Trump on economy

Gov. Chris Christie proposes his "fairness formula" at Hillsborough High School in Hillsborough N.J. The proposal would disperse state aid equally across all the school districts and potentially reduce property taxes in some areas. 6/21/16 fumed after Senate Republicans blocked action on legislation to ban those on the terrorist watch list from buying weapons.

Portman, Strickland Tied in Ohio; Toomey Up in Pa.: Quinnipiac

Republican Sen. Rob Portman and Democratic rival and former Gov. Ted Strickland each get 42% support for Ohio Senate race, according to Quinnipiac University poll. In Fla., Republican Sen. Marco Rubio leads Democratic opponent Rep. Patrick Murphy 47%-40%; Rubio tops Rep. Alan Grayson 48%-40% NOTE: Rubio needs to decide by Friday whether he will seek re-election; he is re-evaluating his earlier decision not to seek a second term NOTE: Margin of error in Fla.

Sen. Jeff Sessions: Trump Is Right on Muslim Immigration Ban

Once again Donald Trump has opened a dialogue about a controversial issue. As he did with illegal immigration, he has brought to the forefront his desire to keep Americans safe by temporarily banning Muslims from entering the U.S. His critics are from the left and right, calling him a divider and a racist.

Mitch McConnell wants to protect your Second Amendment rights, to hell with the Fourth

Donald Trump is the presumptive Republican nominee, which is frightening.We must make sure his hateful rhetoric does not even... Sign if you agree: Presidents do not stop working in the final year of their term. Neither should the Senate.

Obama chooses PNNL to lead Northwest manufacturing center

The national lab will focus on some of the most energy intensive industries in the region - food processing, advanced materials and forest products. Advances in smart sensors, digital process controls and information technology could radically reduce energy use in manufacturing and improve productivity.

Trump’s meager fundraising imperils presidential bid

Just weeks after going back on his pledge to self-fund his presidential campaign, Donald Trump on Tuesday came under attack from fellow Republicans stunned to learn that he entered the final month of the primary season with barely enough cash to run for a California House seat let alone the White House.

Fish: The definition of crazy

So you'll forgive me for taking a layman's approach to what I feel is a very basic common sense piece of legislation that failed on the senate floor Monday. Maybe it's because I'm older and wiser that prevents me from wrapping my brain around why we can't pass a piece of legislation that would prevent a gun sale to a would-be terrorist.

McClaughry: Good profit is not a bad thing

The mere existence on our planet of the billionaire industrialists Charles and David Koch drives Sen. Bernie Sanders to torrents of outrage. They, according to Sanders' imagination, are the secret owners of the Republican Party, the Tea Party , and a long list of organizations opposed to the Sanders agenda, such as the political action group Americans for Prosperity.

Dana Milbank: Congress on guns: doing nothing faster than ever

On May 24, the House Appropriations Committee took up a proposal "to deny transfers of firearms to persons known or suspected to be engaged in conduct related to terrorism." In a party-line vote, Republicans defeated the plan 29 to 17. Nineteen days later, a man whom the FBI had investigated as a possible terrorist went into an Orlando nightclub and, claiming solidarity with the Islamic State, shot 49 people to death with weapons he bought legally.

Special session talks go south

Gov. Mark Dayton and the leaders of the Republican caucuses in the Minnesota Legislature uttered plenty of discouraging words Tuesday after another meeting meant to plot a course toward a special session. Dayton emerged from the closed-door gathering of legislative leaders at his temporary offices in the Veterans Service Building in St. Paul saying he felt "much more discouraged" than when he went into the meeting less than an hour before.

Trumpa s changes coming too late? Republicans worrying

Republicans increasingly fear Donald Trump is missing valuable opportunities to build a winning case against Hillary Clinton, compounding their concerns about his campaign's day-to-day decision making and seeming lack of preparedness for the general election. While Clinton presses a highly co-ordinated effort to cast Trump as a reckless, self-serving businessman, he has spent the past few weeks mired in controversies of his own making.

Trump’s campaign fundraising falling far short of Clinton’s

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, left, shouts to Secret Service agents that supporter Diana Brest, right, had been waiting in line since 2 a.m. to see the candidate speak at a rally Saturday, June 18, 2016, in Phoenix. less Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, left, shouts to Secret Service agents that supporter Diana Brest, right, had been waiting in line since 2 a.m. to see the candidate speak at a rally Saturday, ... more Together, Trump and the Republican National Committee brought in about $18.6 million in May, including another loan from the candidate.

Clinton’s VP search moves into more intense phase

Hillary Clinton's search for a running mate is moving into a more intense phase, according to several Democrats, as aides contact a pared-down pool of candidates to ask for reams of personal information and set up interviews with the presumptive Democratic nominee's vetting team. Those on the shortlist include Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a favorite of progressives who has emerged as a blistering critic of presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump; Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, a well-liked lawmaker from an important general election battleground state; and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro of Texas, a rising star in the Democratic Party.