Outside the Beltway

Don’t expect the Congress (i.e., the Senate) to pull us out of this shutdown mess.

As expected, Bill Cosby’s lawyers have filed an appeal of his conviction earlier this year on sexual assault charges.

This time, the rumors about John Kelly leaving appear to be true.

With the election over, New York’s junior Senator seems to have changed her mind about running for President.

National Republicans are worried that the President’s concentration on hot-button issues could end up backfiring. They should be.

While the numbers seem to show that scandal-plagued Senator Bob Menendez will win re-election on Tuesday, national Democrats aren’t taking any chances.

More explosive devices sent to prominent Trump critics, including Robert DeNiro and Joe Biden, have been located.

The Catholic Church’s problems may have just gotten a lot more serious.

The Trump Administration’s war on so-called “Sanctuary Cities” suffers yet another defeat in Court.

President Trump got his revised version of NAFTA, but Canadians are less positive about the United States than they have been in at least twenty years.

Six siblings of Arizona Congressman Paul Gosar are starring in political ads against him. This is just another unfortunate example of the extent to which our political culture has been ruined by hyperpartisan polarization.

A top Vatican official is alleging that Pope Francis and Pope Benedict XVI were both aware of previously unknown allegations of sexual abuse and chose to allow them to be covered up rather than bringing them to light.

Another Federal Judge has ruled in favor of a transgender student seeking the right to use the gender that conforms to the gender they identify with.

The first night of games in the N.F.L. pre-season included some sporadic protests during the National Anthem, and prompted a predictable response from the President.

A Federal Judge in Oregon has rejected an efforts by a parent’s group to block a school district policy that allows transgender students to use the restroom facilities that conform to their gender identity.

New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez is running for a third term under a dark ethical cloud. That probably won’t matter.

A reference point for the future.

There are good arguments as to why progressive Senators should vote against his confirmation. Let’s stick to those.

A Federal Judge in California has largely rejected a Trump Administration challenge to a series of new laws in California designed to protect so-called “sanctuary cities.”

Joe Crowley, widely considered in line to replace Nancy Pelosi as party leader in the House, has been defeated.

A controversial name is disappearing from one small stretch of road.

In a new interview, the President says that he doesn’t believe that N.F.L. players who kneel during the National Anthem have a real issue.

Trump’s withdrawal of his invitation to the Philadelphia Eagles is just another example of his populistic nationalism. (And it isn’t healthy).

There have been dynasties in American team sports before. But this one feels different.

Another Federal Judge has held that the Trump Administration’s efforts to punish so-called ‘sanctuary cities’ violates both Federal law and the Constitution.

Most Americans disagree with Trump on the N.F.L. National Anthem protests, but Republicans are behind him.

In what seems like an obvious response to the rise of the #MeToo movement and the cultural changes it has brought about, the Miss America pageant is making a major change.

President Trump waded back into the National Anthem debate when he revoked the invitation of the Philadelphia Eagles to come to the White House today.

Former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein has been charged with rape and sexual assault in a New York Court.

Enforcing our immigration and drug laws comes at the cost of fundamental rights.

Eleven states plus DC, who have 172 of the 270 electoral votes needed to elect a President, are now part of the compact.

The incident involving Paul Ryan and the House Chaplain has raised some questions.

Marking the end of a long fall from grace, the man once known as “America’s Dad” has been found guilty on three counts of sexual assault.

Bill Cosby heads back to court for a retrial on the sexual assault allegations against him but it’s not going to be the same as the first.

Challengers to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s ruling on Congressional redistricting suffered two big setbacks in court yesterday that suggest that they’ve reached the end of the road legally.

Will Bunch wildly exaggerates the Cambridge Analytica scandal.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has redrawn the state’s Congressional Districts based on its recent ruling finding the current map to be unconstitutional partisan Gerrymandering. It makes a lot more sense than the map the state is currently using.

Even with yesterday’s indictments, President Trump still won’t acknowledge reality even though it’s staring him in the face.

Two Amtrak crashes in less than a week is newsworthy. It is not, however, a trend.

Three U.S. cities are suing the Federal Government over the failure to properly report military convictions to the national gun background check database.

The Justice Department appears to be on the verge of charging Russian government officials in connection with election-related hacking.

John McCain has been standing out from his fellow Republicans largely by unleashing on President Trump, and it is unlikely to end anytime soon.

A legal setback for Ezekiel Elliott and the Dallas Cowboys.

Trump loses his HHS Secretary amid a growing scandal involving the use of private and government jets by Cabinet officials.

Authorities are being second-guessed over their handling of Saturday’s protests. Virginia gun laws are the more obvious problem.

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case involving New Jersey’s challenge to a Federal law outlawing sports betting.

The Supreme Court has once again declined to hear an appeal in a Second Amendment case.

A hung jury in the Cosby sexual assault case results in a mistrial.