Michele Bachmann aide Javier Sanchez arrested after Rayburn thefts  —  Capitol Police arrested an aide to Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) after a series of thefts from the Rayburn House Office Building.  —  Javier Sanchez, 37, was arrested last Thursday, a Capitol Police spokesman said.

Zimmerman Juror Decides Not To Write Book About Trial  —  Intense and immediate backlash apparently changed the mind of Juror B37 — and her agent.  “I have realized that the best direction for me to go is away from writing any sort of book and return instead to my life as it was before ...”

McCain Suggests Letting GOP Pick Nominees  —  Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) said he and Republicans are trying to strike a deal with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) to avoid his threat of triggering the “nuclear option” and would either allow up-or-down votes on seven contentious nominees or at least find …

Modest Public Interest in Close of Zimmerman Trial  —  Wider Race Gap in Interest than for Rodney King, O.J. Simpson  —  OVERVIEW  —  The final days of the trial of George Zimmerman, which concluded July 13 with a verdict of not guilty, attracted relatively modest public interest overall.

Rand Paul, Ted Cruz join Kirsten Gillibrand push on military sexual assault  —  Sens. Rand Paul and Ted Cruz have joined an upstart effort to remove the chain of command from military sexual assault cases, POLITICO has learned.  —  The tea party favorites give the bill's lead sponsor …

Deadly clashes erupt in Cairo after U.S. diplomat's visit  —  CAIRO — Deadly clashes erupted on the streets of Cairo on Monday night not long after a visiting U.S. diplomat hailed what he called a “second chance” for Egyptian democracy after the ouster of the country's elected president this month.

EXCLUSIVE: Feds admit improper scrutiny of candidate, donor tax records  —  Justice has declined to prosecute any of the cases  —  The Treasury Department has admitted for the first time that confidential tax records of several political candidates and campaign donors were improperly scrutinized …

Witness claims youths yelled ‘this is for Trayvon’ in beating  —  Police still investigating claim in beating of Hispanic man  —  Baltimore police say they are investigating a witness account that a group of black youths beat a Hispanic man near Patterson Park Sunday while saying, “This is for Trayvon.”

Hispanics of All Ages Tilt Democratic  —  Younger Hispanics, though more independent, still lean to Democratic Party  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Hispanics of all ages in the U.S. today are more than twice as likely to identify with or lean to the Democratic Party rather than the Republican Party.

Rachel Jeantel Explains The Difference Between ‘N*gga’ And ‘N*gger’ To Piers Morgan  —  In the third part of Piers Morgan's extensive, exclusive interview with Trayvon Martin's friend Rachel Jeantel about her testimony in the George Zimmerman trial, the host asked his guest if there was anything she wished she'd said on the stand.

BREAKING NEWS: Nueces County sheriff confirms judge found dead at courthouse  —  CORPUS CHRISTI — State District Judge Tom Greenwell was found dead from a gunshot wound Monday night in his chambers, Nueces County Sheriff Jim Kaelin confirmed.  —  Corpus Christi police …

Graham says he expects a GOP primary test  —  “I'm a Ronald Reagan conservative,” U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham told reporters before speaking to a few hundred people at the Columbia Rotary Club on Monday.  “You get 80 percent of what you want, that's a good day.”

In Second Term, Obama Is Seen as Using ‘Hidden Hand’ Approach  —  WASHINGTON — In the nearly two weeks since Egypt's military seized power, President Obama has promoted a better federal bureaucracy, given a medal to George Lucas of “Star Wars” fame and had former President George Bush to the White House for lunch.