Julián Castro, the lowest-polling candidate in the Democratic debate Thursday night, reached up the ladder and tried to yank Joe Biden off it. Castro’s decision to attack the former vice president and 2020 front-runner, in a way that appeared designed to highlight Biden’s advancing age, was a high-stakes move at a time when the former … Continue reading "The two minutes when Castro questioned Biden’s memory"

Montana Gov. Steve Bullock tried to pump the brakes Tuesday night after watching the more progressive Democrats stake out left-leaning territory on border crossings, health care for undocumented immigrants and “Medicare for All” over three debates. “Look, I think this is part of the discussion that shows how often these debates are detached from people’s … Continue reading "Moderates warn that Sanders, Warren risk throwing 2020 to Trump"

The assignment of Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren to the same debate stage in Detroit Tuesday night was random chance, but turned out to be a well-timed and clarifying event. There was the possibility that the two heroes of the left would sharpen the differences between them in the competition over who is the fairest … Continue reading "It’s a center-left party after all"

Beto O’Rourke shunned precision politics in his Texas Senate run last year, running an unorthodox — and often haphazard — effort to turn out hundreds of thousands of Democratic-leaning but previously inactive voters. But as he begins running for president, O’Rourke is trying something new: a conventional campaign. After eschewing strategists and pollsters in his … Continue reading "‘He can’t DIY things like he did in Texas’: Beto goes mainstream"

HAMPTON, N.H. — It was supposed to be a standard meet-and-greet event in a coastal New Hampshire town. But Joe Biden inadvertently created a ruckus here in a pizza restaurant Monday when reporters and onlookers climbed on tables and broke glassware in a frenzied scramble to get a better view of the former vice president. … Continue reading "Biden’s wild New Hampshire meet-and-greet"

The progressive group Indivisible tried something almost quaint last week, just after raucous clashes about the party’s “corporate wing” and engaging with segregationists: It circulated a “debate-watching kit” informing members of candidates’ positions on key issues. Even the best-informed activists could be forgiven for needing it. For months, the Democratic primary has been defined by … Continue reading "‘Get down to the real business’: Debates kick off clash of ideas"

The now-divorced couple is trying to find out what happened to Drew Wasilewski’s once-frozen sperm. “They took it and it was defrosted. If they didn’t use it for this procedure they must have used it in some other procedure,” attorney David Mazie told NPR. The New Jersey couple tried and tried to have a baby. … Continue reading "Clinic Ordered To Reveal Sperm Donor List After Baby Mix Up"

President Donald Trump took another swipe at Fox News on Sunday, saying ahead of its scheduled town hall with Pete Buttigieg that his favorite network was “wasting airtime” on the Democratic presidential candidate. “Hard to believe that @FoxNews is wasting airtime on Mayor Pete, as Chris Wallace likes to call him,” Trump wrote on Twitter. … Continue reading "Trump: Fox News 'wasting airtime on Mayor Pete'"

Plácido Domingo at the Teatro de la Zarzuela in Madrid in July. Updated at 3:43 p.m. ET The embattled opera singer Plácido Domingo resigned Wednesday as general director of LA Opera, the company that he helped found and that he led for more than 15 years. The news broke in the midst of two formal … Continue reading "Plácido Domingo Resigns From LA Opera"

Click:portable cigar lighter President Trump with his new national security adviser, Robert O’Brien, on Wednesday in Los Angeles. Updated at 6:16 p.m. ET President Trump’s brand-new national security adviser, Robert O’Brien, will inherit a National Security Council struggling to attract talent, current and former U.S. officials tell NPR. The National Security Council is traditionally one … Continue reading "Once A ‘Rocket Ship,’ National Security Council Now Avoided By Government Pros"