Obama returning from summer vacation

President Barack Obama is returning from vacation rested and ready for a busy fall, including pressing Congress for money to protect against the Zika virus and fending off lawmakers' attacks over the administration's $400 million "leverage" payment to Iran. Obama was due at the White House late Sunday after a 16-day getaway to Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, with his wife, Michelle, and daughters Malia and Sasha.

Obama returning from summer vacation ready for busy fall

President Barack Obama returns from vacation rested and ready for a busy fall, including pressing Congres... . President Barack Obama is seated in the presidential vehicle as his motorcade leaves his family's rented vacation home in Chilmark, Mass., on Martha's Vineyard, Saturday, Aug. 20, 2016.

Pence earns GOP raves in first month as Trump VP

He has comforted a weeping boy, defended the Gold Star Khan family and praised New Mexico's Hispanic-American governor who backs immigration reform. The Indiana GOP governor and former congressman has been projecting a kinder, gentler Republican Party as he's hopscotched across the country during his first month as the vice presidential nominee.

What Paul Ryan’s primary could tell us about Donald Trump and…

An early-May poll showed Paul Ryan's primary challenger with the support of 14% of voters in Wisconsin's 1st District. Earlier this week, Paul Nehlen, the Wisconsin businessman looking to unseat the House speaker, wound up with a near identical level of support - just 15.9% - in the Tuesday primary.

Trump brushes off a sarcasma as Clinton releases tax returns

Republican Donald Trump tried to brush off the latest furor to envelop his struggling White House campaign on Friday, saying he was just being sarcastic when he called President Barack Obama and Democratic rival Hillary Clinton the founders of Islamic State. Trump used the unfounded description on Wednesday night and all day on Thursday during campaign appearances in Florida.

Great Lakes no help for a struggling Trump on road to 270

Hillary Clinton is starting to spend a little money in Georgia and Arizona, states that any Republican running for president ought to be able to count on. The road to 270 electoral votes - the threshold to clinch the presidency - increasingly looks to be a series of uphill climbs and dead ends for Trump in the usual collection of most competitive states.

Trump says Second Amendment comment refers to ‘political power’

Hours after setting off fresh controversy during a speech in Wilmington, N.C., Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump insisted that he had not intended to encourage violence against Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton with his allusion to "Second Amendment people" who could stop the Democratic candidate from stacking the Supreme Court with antigun justices. " This is a political movement ," Mr. Trump said in an interview with FOX News afterward.

With Wisconsin primary over, focus shifts to November races

The hotly contested Senate rematch between Republican Sen. Ron Johnson and Democrat Russ Feingold tops the list of races to watch in Wisconsin, along with an open congressional seat in the Green Bay area. It may be too soon to know whether Wisconsin will be a top-tier battleground state in the presidential race between Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump.

Donald Trump blames media for 2nd Amendment flap

On the defensive once again, Donald Trump is blaming faulty interpretations and media bias for an uproar over his comments about the Second Amendment. He's insisting he never advocated violence against Hillary Clinton, even as undeterred Democrats pile on.

Romeo and Juliet’s lessons for Trump and Clinton

Though it has been over four centuries since William Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" was written, the play's ultimate tragedy is still allegorical today for the unnecessary feud between Republicans and Democrats as they share the danger of GOP nominee Donald Trump Scarborough: The GOP should remove Trump as nominee Romeo and Juliet's lessons for Trump and Clinton Poll: One in five Republicans want Trump to drop bid MORE In Shakespeare's fair Verona, Romeo of House Montague steals a visit to Juliet, daughter of House Capulet. The tragic lovers meet in the Capulets' orchard - she by her balcony, and he below.

Avoiding major upset, Paul Ryan wins GOP nomination

House Speaker Paul Ryan rejected the idea that his easy win Tuesday over a long-shot Republican primary challenger praised by Donald Trump spells danger for Trump's presidential prospects in the swing state of Wisconsin. All the huge primary win means, Ryan insisted, is that he's really well-liked in the congressional district where he was born and raised and has won election to represent since 1998.

Paul Ryan Defeats GOP Primary Challenger

Get ready for a shock, folks, but Paul Ryan , who was consistently well ahead of his Republican primary challenger for weeks won reelection! This was a fairly obvious fact to everyone, but Donald Trump 's brief flirtation with Paul Nehlen last week stirred up a media frenzy and got Ryan's challenger some media attention .

House Speaker Paul Ryan wins GOP nomination to run again

The Rio Olympics are in full swing: Michael Phelps is back to winning races in the pool, Simone Biles is running up the score in the gym and Hillary Clinton is advertising with eyes on doing just as well on... Hillary Clinton wants to get as close as possible to Michael Phelps and Simone Biles. So she's spending more than $13 million on political ads at the Olympics - while Donald Trump is sitting on the sidelines.

Speaker Ryan easily defeats primary challenger

Speaker Paul Ryan successfully fought off a Republican primary challenger to retain his seat in Wisconsin's 1st congressional district Tuesday night. The Associated Press called Ryan's victory over Paul Nehlen at 8:30 p.m. The primary race went from an afterthought to a national story after Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump withheld an endorsement of Ryan on August 2 and complimented Nehlen for running a "good campaign."

Endorsements, or lack thereof, that could matter for Trump

For a potential president Donald Trump, the rocky relationship he has with some Republican leaders " the ones he once refused to endorse, and those who have held back their kind words " could spill over into his first term at the White House. Here's a look at some of the key Washington players who haven't offered a ringing endorsement of the GOP nominee " and how their lack of support could affect the celebrity businessman's time in office.