Trump naming seasoned GOP hands to Pa. field effort

Donald J. Trump plans to name two respected Republican operatives to run his effort in Pennsylvania amid criticism that the real-estate developer has lagged in building the organization required of a presidential campaign. David Urban will be senior adviser and Ted Christian will be the state director, according to sources close to the Trump campaign who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to announce the move.

Krauthammer on both presidential candidates abandoning free trade: -…

Syndicated columnist Charles Krauthammer said Wednesday on "Special Report with Bret Baier" that, as both presumptive presidential nominees - Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton - have expressed concerns about the Trans-Pacific Partnership and trade deals more generally, our allies have a lot to lose come 2017. "If the Republicans are now abandoning free trade, for the first time ever in our memory, we're having a presidential campaign where neither side is for free trade," Krauthammer said, adding, "Which I think bodes really badly for our allies abroad, the Australians, the Canadians, the Mexicans."

A Sanders endorsement of Clinton could still make a big difference

Is the window closing on Bernie Sanders's moment? A number of folks, your humble blogger included , have suggested as much. We've argued that with Democrats seeming to unite behind Hillary Clinton, it's possible that the longer Sanders withholds his endorsement for her in the quest to make the party platform more progressive, the less leverage he'll end up having.

The Latest: Trump hires chief of staff in Wisconsin

Donald Trump has hired the chief of staff of U.S. Rep. Sean Duffy to run his campaign operation in Wisconsin. Trump's campaign confirmed to The Associated Press on Thursday that Pete Meachum has been hired to start immediately as state director.

Bill Clinton and AG Loretta Lynch meet privately

Attorney General Loretta Lynch and former President Bill Clinton met privately on Monday in Phoenix, Arizona, after the two realized they were on the same tarmac, an aide to Clinton said. The meeting took place at an Arizona airport ahead of the public release Tuesday morning of the House Benghazi committee's report on the September 11, 2012, attack on a U.S. consulate in Libya.

Nation-Now 15 mins ago 4:29 a.m.For the Record: Who’s tweaking Trump’s tweets?

Happy Social Media Day, everyone! At first we were worried when Donald Trump's live events started to lose their bombast ; lately, the @realDonaldTrump Twitter account is looking a bit too slick as well. Let's have a 140-character moment of silence for what once was.

Nate Silver: Clinton has 80% chance of winning election

Renowned statistician Nate Silver on Wednesday revealed his general-election forecast on ABC's "Good Morning America," and he's placing Hillary Clinton at a near 80% favorite to win in the fall. Silver, who runs the data-journalism website FiveThirtyEight, handicapped Clinton's current odds at 79% while giving Donald Trump a 20% chance of winning the general election.

Democrats Target North Carolina

President Barack Obama will make his campaign-trail debut with Hillary Clinton on Tuesday in North Carolina, launching what is expected to be an aggressive effort by Democrats to regain this swing state in November. After flipping between the two parties in the last two presidential elections, North Carolina is emerging as a key battleground and a highly trafficked destination for both parties' presumptive nominees.

Aide: Clinton opposed private emails accessible to ‘anybody’

Longtime Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin said in a legal proceeding that Clinton did not want the private emails that she mixed in with State Department emails on her private computer server to be accessible to "anybody," according to transcripts released Wednesday. Abedin's comments provided new insight into the highly unusual decision by the presumptive Democratic presidential candidate to operate a private email server in her basement to conduct government business when she served as secretary of state.

Poll: Clinton extends lead over Trump

Hillary Clinton leads Donald Trump by six points, 44% to 38%, in a Fox News poll of registered voters released Wednesday, marking an uptick from similar polls released in May and June. The Fox News results follow a rough patch for the Trump campaign: In May, the presumptive Republican nominee enjoyed a three-point lead in the same survey.

Sessions: Clinton’s Foreign Student Plan Would Hurt U.S. Grads

Democratic Candidate Hillary Clinton's plan to "staple" a green card to the diplomas of foreign students graduating with masters and PhDs in the Science, Technology, Education, and Mathematics fields would hurt the job prospects and wages of American graduates already struggling in a glutted labor market, according to Sen. Jeff Sessions . "Although there are more college graduates in the U.S. today than at any point in our history, many have trouble finding meaningful work in their field of study.