2016 US Presidential Election: Is Trump really interested in helping the little guy? - FURTHER UPDATES

New: Battle rages over Obama's economy

Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are jockeying for position on the U.S. economy amid conflicting signals about its trajectory and growth. Read More

New: Trump’s pushback on tax return release reveal true ambitions

With his nomination secure, Donald Trump has made it clear that he will not release his tax returns. Democrats have responded with outrage, and even bounties for their publication, while Trump supporters scramble to explain why this time is different, and the returns should remain confidential. Trump’s refusal already is costing him in the polls, and the issue will only grow as the election approaches.

So why has Mr. Trump staked out this politically unpalatable position? The answer lies not in any sordid details that Trump’s tax returns might reveal, but rather in what the refusal itself says about the man and his ambitions. Read More

New: Young Americans say neither party really represents them

Most young Americans say the Republican and Democratic parties don’t represent them, a critical data point after a year of ferocious presidential primaries that forced partisans on both sides to confront what — and whom — they stand for. Read More

New: Trump Is A Real Nuclear Threat

August 6th, 2016 marks the 71st anniversary of the day the United States became the first and only nation in history to use an atomic bomb in Hiroshima, Japan. Three days later, a second nuclear weapon — this time a more powerful hydrogen bomb — was dropped on Nagasaki, Japan. Hundreds of thousands of people were extinguished within minutes. Seventy one years later we find ourselves in the midst of a presidential election and political crossroads that will have serious consequences — not the least of which is nuclear. The Republican candidate, Donald Trump, has repeatedly said, using nuclear weapons is a real option for solving difficult political situations. In fact, he has asked military Generals why they have not been used more often. This election is a litmus test for Americans and nothing could be more important than how our next president reacts under pressure with respect to nuclear weapons. Read More

New: Paul Ryan Is Privately Warning That Trump Could Cost Republicans The House

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan is privately warning Republicans that Donald Trump could cost Republicans control of the House. Read More

New: Clinton, Trump claim: first president since 1993 who hasn’t smoked pot

While President Barack Obama has never hid his penchant for pot during his younger days in Hawaii, Americans soon will elect a president who claims never to have touched marijuana. Read More

New: Can the Green Party Win With ‘Jill, Not Hill’?

As the perennial also-ran party gathers in Houston this weekend, the early signs aren’t good. The surprising wild card? Republicans going Green. Read More

New: Green Party candidate: I'm not anti-vaccine

Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein on Friday pushed back against accusations that she opposes vaccines. Read More

New: Wikipedia: Jill Stein

Here is a sample of Stein's political positions on foreign policy: "Stein wants to cut U.S. military spending by at least 50%. Stein wants to close US overseas military bases, saying that these bases 'are turning our republic into a bankrupt empire' She wants to replace the lost military jobs 'with jobs in renewable energy, transportation and green infrastructure development. She wants to 'restore the National Guard as the centerpiece of our defense'." Read More

New: Wikipedia: Ajamu Baraka

Here is a sample of Baraka's political positions on foreign policy: "Speaking in 2014 on U.S. involvement in Iraq, Baraka characterized U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East over the previous 20 years as 'disastrous' and said that 'what has occurred in Iraq was predictable.' He has asserted that the United States has intentionally supported ISIL, saying 'It's very clear that ISIS could not have developed in Syria without the direct and indirect support from the U.S. and its allies in the region, and that ISIS was in fact carrying out, and still carrying out to a large extent, the agendas of those powers.'" Read More

New: Obama takes on Trump with tough talk

It's one more historic barrier President Barack Obama has shattered. Read More

New: Ask Trump

How Twitter responded to Donald Trump's claim that he wouldn't dodge questions as president. Read More

New: Trump Campaign Video Misrepresents Clinton's Position On Taxes

A video sent out by email from the Donald Trump campaign misrepresents Hillary Clinton's position on taxes by providing incorrect subtitles for a speech given by the Democratic nominee, according to CBS News. Read More

New: Trump campaign falsifies Hillary Clinton's stance on taxes

Donald Trump's campaign has released a video that falsifies Hillary Clinton's stance on taxes, the fact-checkers over at Politifact found. Read More

New: Will Trump endorsement hurt Ryan in Tuesday's primary against outsider?

House Speaker Paul Ryan appears likely to win a 10th term ahead of his primary challenge Tuesday, but an endorsement earlier this week from GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump is causing its share of political headwinds for the Wisconsin congressman and other Republicans seeking reelection. Read More

New: Robinson: Run, don’t walk, from Trump, Republicans

To Republicans who hope to emerge from the Donald Trump fiasco with any shred of political viability or self-respect, I offer some unsolicited advice: Run, do not walk, to the nearest exit. Read More

Both Clinton, Trump focus on middle class; that has Wall Street worried

Amid partisan furor over clashing red and blue visions of America and the uproar over Donald Trump’s hassling a Gold Star Muslim family, it’s easy to miss what the two rivals have in common – a focus on inequality as the driving issue of the campaign and on the need to offer a better deal to the middle class.

This year, the captains of industry and finance have been sidelined, and they know it. Read More

Donald Trump wrongly says Hillary Clinton wants to raise taxes on the middle class

Hillary Clinton just admitted to a big tax hike, at least according to Donald Trump.

Spokesman Josh Schwerin told us Clinton actually said the exact opposite.

He pointed to numerous reporters who agreed and forwarded us a transcript of Clinton’s prepared remarks that reads, "We aren’t going to to raise taxes on the middle class."

It’s a classic case of she-heard-he-heard, so we asked experts to arbitrate. They agreed with the Clinton camp and offered some technical evidence to prove it. Get ready for some science. Read More

Meet Donald Trump’s Economic Advisors

Ahead of an economic speech Donald Trump will deliver in Detroit on Monday, the Republican nominee released a list of economic advisors that includes hedge fund managers, bank executives and a cigarette manufacturer. Read More

Bartiromo: An early look at Trump's economic plan

Donald Trump Is hoping next week acts as a catalyst to turn around what has been a tough week for the Republican presidential nominee. Trump is expected to unveil his economic plan on Monday, which he says will create millions of new jobs. I caught up with one of his economic advisers -- Stephen Moore, Distinguished Visiting Fellow, Institute for Economic Freedom and Opportunity, The Heritage Foundation, to find out what is in the works. Our interview follows, edited for clarity and length. Read More

If Hillary Clinton wins, can she claim a 'mandate'?

“Not Donald Trump,” it turns out, may be enough of a platform to win.

But it comes with a potential cost. By focusing on the other guy’s flaws, Clinton may fail to build a strong mandate for her agenda, including higher taxes for upper-income earners, a $275 billion infrastructure program and comprehensive immigration reform. Read More

Poll: Clinton up 3 points over Trump

Hillary Clinton leads Donald Trump by about three points nationally, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released Friday. Read More

To crossover Republicans, voting for Hillary Clinton is a first step to fixing GOP

Poaching voters of the opposite party, many political watchers know, is rather standard fare for campaigns. What is unique about this year is the self-directed movement of Republicans actively encouraging votes for other candidates with an eye toward Republicans’ future. If Clinton's Republican outreach is a top-down effort, Republicans are putting together their own, decidedly bottom-up organizations. Read More

"Republicans in states ostensibly in play in November (a shrinking group if Trump keeps blowing himself up on a daily basis) are coming to the conclusion that voting for Johnson-Weld, writing in a candidate or not voting for president are not satisfactory options. They agree with Trumpkins that this is a binary election choice, but they are absolutely certain that Trump cannot be president. That viewpoint has certainly gotten traction over the past couple of weeks as real concern has mounted about his instability, ignorance and unfitness for office. If you think the nation would be imperiled by a Trump presidency (because he is, to be blunt, nuts), you must do everything possible to prevent that. It's not enough to take a vote away from Trump; Clinton needs all the votes she can get to keep swing states out of Trump's column. Yes, these Republicans are seriously considering doing the unthinkable — voting for Clinton." Jennifer Rubin,The Chicago Tribune

Some Bernie Sanders Supporters Finding A New Home Within The Green Party

At the Green Party national convention in Houston, Bernie Sanders may have been mentioned more often so far than the party's own presumptive nominee, Dr. Jill Stein. Read More

Jill Stein Announces Baraka as VP, the Man Who Said America is a "White Supremacist Monstrosity"

ill Stein has has finally made her vice presidential pick in this year's election by choosing human rights activist Ajamu Baraka. Read More

Obama's approval rating is near its highest point ever — and that could be a big problem for Donald Trump

"Why is it important? Because it means that Obama will be an asset to Hillary Clinton on the campaign trail unlike he was in the 2014 midterms, when his approval rating was in the low 40s," NBC's Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, and Carrie Dann wrote. Read More

How Obama has broken the mold in 2016

President Obama's trashing of Donald Trump is unique for the modern era. But he risks overshadowing Hillary Clinton. Read More

Tim Kaine campaigns in Milwaukee, lauds Wisconsin voting rights ruling

Hillary Clinton’s running mate, Tim Kaine, took jabs at Donald Trump in his first campaign stop in Wisconsin on Friday, while also praising a federal court ruling overturning a number of voting rules approved by Republicans. Read More

Kaine on VP selection: ‘Feels like I got kidnapped’

Tim Kaine is feeling just a little bit like a hostage on the campaign trail. Read More

Baiting the bull: How matador Clinton found Trump's weakness

Like a great matador, a politician gains the affection of the public, tests and baits the opponent with skill, and wins the charge to its final conclusion. In this arena, Hillary Clinton is finally showing mastery. Read More

GOP convention scared this veteran more than Afghanistan

Nothing has ever yielded fear as close to my heart as the Republicans' weeklong event. Blind partisanship, misplaced bomb-the-hell-out-of-them militarism and just plain hatred are not qualities that whoever is occupying our nation's highest office should ever embody. Read More