National News at a Glance

Trump Arrives in Pittsburgh as Many Make Clear His Visit Isn’t Welcome

President Donald Trump arrived in Pittsburgh on Tuesday as the city began to bury the victims of Saturday’s synagogue attack and as many officials and residents made clear his visit was not welcome. As Trump arrived with the first lady, Melania Trump, as well as his daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, about 1,000 protesters gathered near the synagogue in opposition to his visit. Their signs read “Words matter” and “President Hate is not welcome in our state.”

Trump’s Birthright Citizenship Proposal Is at Odds With Legal Consensus

The words of the 14th Amendment are plain, and the scholarly and judicial consensus about what they mean is nearly uniform: Children born in the United States automatically become citizens of the United States. In an interview, President Donald Trump proposed a different reading of the amendment, one he said denies birthright citizenship to the children of immigrants in the country illegally. Trump said he was preparing to issue an executive order to that end. But there was little question that any action by Trump to try to alter birthright citizenship would be met with immediate legal challenges.

Plot to Smear Mueller Unravels as FBI Is Asked to Investigate

The office of the special counsel, Robert Mueller, has asked the FBI to investigate what appears to be an effort to smear him, stemming from suspicious emails offering women money in exchange for fabricating sexual misconduct claims against him. The plot appeared to be the latest in a string of attempts by supporters of President Donald Trump to discredit Mueller’s investigation as a hoax and a witch hunt. Mueller is investigating whether any Trump associates conspired with Russia’s 2016 election interference and whether the president tried to obstruct the inquiry.

Female Candidates Break Barriers, Except When It Comes to Money

Women have broken many barriers in this midterm election cycle: Record numbers have run for Congress and record numbers have won primaries, including a record number of women of color. But women who run for office are still struggling to raise as much as men, particularly if they are Republican, or challenging incumbents, or running in places where the opposing party has a big advantage — as is the case with many Democratic women this year. Men are still making the large majority of political contributions, and male candidates are still raising more money.

Claire McCaskill, a Democrat, Slams ‘Crazy Democrats’ on Fox News

Sen. Claire McCaskill, the Missouri Democrat facing one of the country’s toughest re-election races, raised eyebrows Monday when she distanced herself from leading members of her party, including two possible presidential hopefuls, Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, in a Fox News interview about “crazy Democrats.” McCaskill, who has been attacked by her Republican challenger, Josh Hawley, as too liberal for Missouri, was asked about a radio ad that sunnily describes her as “not one of those crazy Democrats.” When asked who she considered to be crazy Democrats, McCaskill pointed to liberal activists who have publicly confronted Trump administration officials and other Republican figures.

A Mobster of Many Enemies, Whitey Bulger May Have Been Killed in a Hit

James “Whitey” Bulger had amassed enemy after enemy over a lifetime of murder, extortion, double-crossing and — in a breach of the cardinal rule of his ilk — snitching on rival mobsters. When Bulger was sent off to federal prison about five years ago after more than a decade on the run, his enemies remained, their memories of him long. That left some of those who followed his exploits back in South Boston unsurprised Tuesday when Bulger, 89, turned up dead in his jail cell, apparently beaten by fellow inmates, according to four Federal Bureau of Prisons employees.

Standing ‘Against White Supremacy,’ GOP Campaign Chief Rebukes Steve King

As Pittsburgh began burying the victims of Saturday’s synagogue massacre, the head of the House Republican campaign arm all but jettisoned Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, from the House Republican Conference, declaring, “We must stand up against white supremacy and hate in all forms.” The highly unusual rebuke by Rep. Steve Stivers, R-Ohio, the chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, came after years of incendiary and racially charged comments by King, capped in recent days by his endorsement of a white nationalist running for mayor of Toronto and a meeting with Austrian white nationalists, which he funded through a trip to visit concentration camps.