Congress has long been at odds when it comes to addressing the rising number of mass shootings in the U.S. Negotiations over gun control measures frequently grind to a halt, so Capitol Hill staffers have officially begun preparing for the worst.

Congress' Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, an initiative led by House Democrats, is hosting "Stop the Bleed" sessions, where congressional staffers will learn to control bleeding and potentially save lives, BuzzFeed News reported Wednesday. The goal is that Hill staff will be able to treat gunshot wounds and keep victims from bleeding out, should tragedy strike.

"It's unfortunate, and it's a very sad state of America that we have to come to prepare for a mass shooting in our neighborhoods, but it's the reality of the situation," said Rep. Raul Ruiz (D-Calif.).

More than 100 staffers will attend a Monday session, just days after the one-year anniversary of the shooting that severely injured House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.). Scalise has said that Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio), who served as a medic in the Army, saved his life by quickly working to apply a tourniquet, a technique that is taught in the "Stop the Bleed" trainings.

March's spending bill opened the door for federal agencies to study gun violence, which was previously prohibited, and provided more money to strengthen background checks for firearms. Aside from that, Congress hasn't passed any major gun control measures, but at least members of Congress are preparing their staffers to effectively use their bleeding control kits. Read more at BuzzFeed News. Summer Meza

Before Sen. Bernie Sanders (I) officially won his Democratic nomination in Vermont on Tuesday, he sat down with Stephen Colbert on The Late Show. Colbert asked why he wasn't in Vermont — Sanders said he'd voted that morning — and what democratic socialism means for Sanders and his allies. Sanders said it mean a $15-an-hour minimum wage, a national right to health care, tuition-free public college, and clean energy.

"Other people have espoused those ideas without calling themselves socialists," Colbert noted. The Democratic Party has been "socialist-curious" since the New Deal, he added, so why adopt "socialist," a label "freighted with so much negativity"? Sanders said his ideas are now "mainstream" and broadly popular, "and I think also people, in their gut, understand that we're living in a very strange moment in American history, above and beyond Donald Trump — which is very strange." Colbert asked what could be stranger than Trump, and Sanders said the unbelievably voracious "greed of the people on top," America's yawning wealth inequality, and the limitless dark money in politics.

Colbert brought up the 2020 election, noting that a betting site has Sanders tied with Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) as the likely Democratic presidential nominee. "You want to lay a bet on who gets to face Donald Trump in 2020?" he asked Sanders, who said absolutely not. So Colbert asked if Sanders would "announce to the people here that you are not running in 2020," and Sanders said "no" to that, too. He added that he's focusing on ending the GOP's grip on power in Washington this year, and "it is too early to be talking about 2020." Watch below. Peter Weber

When reporters asked White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Tuesday about allegations that President Trump used the N-word and it was captured on tape, Sanders said she "can't guarantee" such a tape doesn't exist, and then she pivoted to jobs. "When President Obama left after eight years in office — eight years in office — he had only created 195,000 jobs for African Americans," Sanders claimed, incorrectly. "President Trump in his first year and a half has already tripled what President Obama did in eight years."

On Tuesday night, Sanders acknowledged her mistake on Twitter: "Correction from today's briefing: Jobs numbers for Pres. Trump and Pres. Obama were correct, but the time frame for Pres. Obama wasn't. I'm sorry for the mistake, but no apologies for the 700,000 jobs for African Americans created under President Trump." The White House Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) took responsibility for her error. According to government statistics, The Washington Post reports, nearly 3 million jobs were created during former President Barack Obama's two terms in office. Politico's Ben White has the graph:

The CEA explained that it looked at jobs numbers from Obama's election in 2008, during the peak of the Great Recession, and Trump's election in 2016. "The selection of dates is somewhat unusual because it takes into account job gains or losses before Trump and Obama took office," the Post notes. "In any event, economists generally regard a president's ability to shape employment trends as limited." Peter Weber

On Tuesday, Jahana Hayes, the 2016 national Teacher of the Year and a first-time candidate, beat longtime regional politician and presumptive frontrunner Mary Glassman in the Democratic primary for Connecticut's 5th congressional district. Hayes will face former Meriden Mayor Manny Santos (R) in the general election; Cook Political Report rates the district solidly Democratic. If Hayes wins, she will be the first African-American Democrat from Connecticut in Congress and the first black congresswoman from New England.

Being the first nonwhite Democrat elected to Congress in Connecticut "absolutely plays into everything," Hayes, 46, tells The New York Times. "Because while I see myself as someone who can be a representative of all people, I'd be lying if I didn't say that it would be important to so many people in my community. So many people in this state, and not just blacks, but for all people who want to show that we are a community that welcomes everyone." Peter Weber

July 16 was a big day for Jeremiah Dickerson.

Not only was the 4-year-old adopted by his foster parents, Jordan and Cole Dickerson, but he also got to announce to the world that he's going to be a big brother, with his sister due in January. "It was an emotional day," his mom, Jordan, told Good Morning America. "In the end, Jeremiah has blessed our family more than we could ever imagine."

Jordan Dickerson is a pediatric nurse at Le Bonheur Children's Hospital in Memphis, and that's where she met Jeremiah in January 2017. She "fell in love with his smile and joy," she said. He needed to go to a foster home where the parents knew how to take care of his tracheal tube, and Jordan said she couldn't shake the feeling that he was supposed to be with her family. Jeremiah was placed with another foster family, but he soon returned to the hospital, and Jordan and Cole knew they couldn't let him go this time.

They went through training for foster parents and background checks, and in June 2017, Jeremiah was living in their home. A year later, surrounded by friends and family, he was officially adopted, and outside of the Tennessee courthouse he posed for photos holding a picture of his sister's sonogram behind a sign reading, "Today I became a Dickerson. Up next ... big brother." He said he already plans on teaching his sister how to dance and play basketball and baseball. Catherine Garcia

Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty lost the Republican gubernatorial primary Tuesday night to underdog Jeff Johnson, the Hennepin County commissioner.

Pawlenty served two terms as governor, winning elections in 2002 and 2006, and after he left office he went to work as a lobbyist for banks. Pawlenty entered the race late and did not go to the state party convention in June, but he still raised a lot of money. With 94 percent of precincts reporting, Johnson had 53 percent of the vote to Pawlenty's 44 percent.

On Tuesday night, Johnson said he believes his win is "just further indication that the rules have changed, not just in Minnesota, not just in our party. People are expecting something different from candidates." He will face the winner of the Democratic primary, Rep. Tim Walz, in November. Catherine Garcia

"America is still reeling from the troubling reminders that Omarosa is still out there," Stephen Colbert said on Tuesday's Late Show. He compared Omarosa Manigualt Newman's brand-new book, Unhinged, to "day-old sushi," then turned to her most salacious claim, that she has heard President Trump say the N-word on Celebrity Apprentice outtakes. "If this shocking allegation is true, it would undeniably make some of his fans very happy," Colbert said. "Others would go, 'Eh, I don't like that he's a racist, but you know, taxes.'"

Trump is fighting back on Twitter, denying such a tape exists and calling Omarosa a "dog." "That is so weird that Trump uses 'dog' as an insult," Colbert said. "He should love dogs — you don't have to pay to watch them pee." Still, "that's it, the president categorically denies saying the N-word," he added, and White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders ... was more equivocal.

"Omarosa continued her Trumpapalooza world tour this afternoon," Colbert said, and he wasn't super sympathetic about her whistle-blowing: "Be careful, Omarosa, you wouldn't want to damage your relationship with the president — he might not hire you four more times." But she did actually drop a bombshell, claiming Trump had advance notice about the leaked Hillary Clinton campaign emails. "That is a massive revelation!" he said. "The emails that Russia hacked, that WikiLeaks leaked, Donald Trump somehow knew before they were actually released. Somewhere in Washington, Robert Mueller is yelling, 'Uh, spoiler alert! Come on!' But Omarosa didn't just accuse the president of being a traitor to his country — she also accused him of being a bad friend," tarring allies with mean nicknames behind their backs. Colbert cut deep: "Yes, he had derogatory names for everybody. Some of them are really cruel. I hear he called this one guy 'Donald Trump Jr.'" Watch below. Peter Weber

Ironworker Randy Bryce won Wisconsin's 1st congressional district Democratic primary on Tuesday night, beating Janesville School Board member Cathy Myers.

House Speaker Paul Ryan (R) has represented the district since 1998, and Democrats are hoping that this is their year to flip the seat blue. Bryce will take on Bryan Steil, the winner of the Republican primary, in November. Steil is a lawyer and former Ryan staffer who comes from a prominent Janesville Republican family, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

Ryan announced in April that he would not be seeking re-election, and four other Republicans ran against Steil in the primary, including Paul Nehlen, known for making racist and anti-Semitic statements. Catherine Garcia