Manchin undecided on Kavanaugh after 2-hour meeting

Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh, President Donald Trump's choice to replace retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy, arrives for a private meeting with Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., a member of the Judiciary Committee, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday, July 30, 2018. WASHINGTON- The first Democratic senator to sit down with Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh said Monday he's not ready to say how he'll vote, but Kavanaugh did pick up the backing of Kentucky's Rand Paul, the only Republican in the narrowly divided Senate to have outwardly wavered in possible support.

Democrat Manchin undecided on Kavanaugh after 2-hour meeting

Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh, President Donald Trump's choice to replace retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy, arrives for a private meeting with Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., a member of the Judiciary Committee, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday, July 30, 2018.

New faces in Tennessee legislative primaries as dozens leave

An exodus of more than two dozen state lawmakers means new faces are running for the Republican-led Tennessee General Assembly, setting up primary fights that could have early implications on the jockeying to become the House's new leader. Eighteen Republican and seven Democratic incumbents in the House won't be running again.

Ex-Republican columnist who attacked Obama for 8 years writes apology …

The calorie-labeling rules were a controversial provision of former president Barack Obama's signature 2010 health care law AFP/File / BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI Former Republican Max Boot spent eight years trying to stop Obama as an aide to both John McCain and Mitt Romney, and as a longtime conservative columnist. Boot, who is now a columnist for the Washington Post , was never a Trump fan, but he did write a column the day after the election in which he argued that a Trump presidency "might not be so bad" and encouraged optimism.

Reversal: Kentucky restoring Medicaid benefits for thousands

Dental and vision care benefits will be restored for hundreds of thousands of Medicaid recipients in a sudden reversal by Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin's administration following an outcry over the recent cuts. The coverage had been abruptly cut at the start of July after a federal judge rejected the Republican governor's plan to overhaul Kentucky's Medicaid program.

Judge temporarily halts deportations of parents separated from children Source: Cox Media Group

U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw said Monday he's become "exasperated" by the Trump administration's slow work to reunify more than 2,600 children separated from their parents, and he ordered the government to halt all deportations of parents for at least a week. Sabraw scolded the Department of Health and Human Services for taking so long to reunite children in its care with their parents held in separate government facilities.

How LePage – and his veto pen – remade Maine politics

Gov. Paul LePage's legacy as Maine's 74th governor will be complex and varied, ranging from his conservative accomplishments to verbal explosions that put Maine in a negative national light. With three of his four terms spent as Democrats held legislative majorities, the Republican governor's veto became the most formidable weapon in his efforts to simultaneously advance his conservative agenda while thwarting liberal and moderate initiatives.

As Supreme Court battle roils DC, suburban voters shrug

It stands to shift the direction of the nation's highest court for decades, but President Donald Trump's move to fill a Supreme Court vacancy has barely cracked the consciousness of some voters in the nation's top political battlegrounds. Even among this year's most prized voting bloc - educated suburban women - there's no evidence that a groundswell of opposition to a conservative transformation of the judicial branch, which could lead to the erosion or reversal of Roe v.

Judge does not punish Trump administration over family separations Source: Cox Media Group

A federal judge did not rule Friday on whether to punish the Trump administration for missing a court-ordered deadline to reunite dozens of young children separated from their parents, focusing instead on pushing the government to ensure the next round of reunifications happens properly and on time. U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw had ordered the administration to reunite all children under age 5 by Tuesday.

Stabenow, Peters oppose Trump’s high court nominee Kavanaugh

In this April 30, 2018, file photo, U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., speaks to reporters after holding a roundtable meeting with veterans in Lansing, Mich. In a statement released Friday, July 13, 2018, Stabenow said she will oppose President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Judge Brett Kavanaugh.

US budget deficit totals $74.9 billion in June

The federal government recorded a $74.9 billion deficit in June, a month when the government often runs a surplus, as corporate taxes dropped sharply compared to a year ago. The Treasury Department reported Thursday that the June deficit pushed the imbalance so far this year to $607.1 billion, 16.1 percent higher than the same period a year ago.