Fox News announces candidate line-up for prime-time debate  —  Fox News has announced the line-up for the prime-time Republican presidential debate this Thursday, and here's who qualified:  —  Real estate magnate Donald Trump; former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush; Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker …

McConnell eyes fall talks to avert shutdown  —  Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Tuesday said he would begin negotiations with Democrats to prevent a government shutdown in September.  —  The majority leader vowed there would not be another shutdown on his watch — but it could be difficult to avoid …

Jeb Bush's ad-lib offers Dems another gift  —  Another ill-advised ad lib from Jeb Bush, another opportunity for Democrats.  —  Looking to curry favor with religious conservatives at the outset of a competitive primary fight, Bush on Tuesday repeated his call to cut off funding for Planned Parenthood …

Robert Conquest, historian - obituary  —  Historian who played a leading role in stiffening western resolve in the Cold War by chronicling the horrors of Soviet communism  —  Robert Conquest, the writer on Soviet Russia who has died aged 98, was a polemicist and a serious, published poet …

2 Men Open Fire On Soldiers At Jade Helm Training Site In Mississippi  —  HATTIESBURG, Miss. (AP) — A sheriff in Mississippi says authorities are searching for two men who fired gunshots from a vehicle at soldiers at a military facility.  No injuries were reported.

FBI looking into the security of Hillary Clinton's private e-mail setup  —  Hillary Rodham Clinton has said that the private e-mail server she used as secretary of state “had numerous safeguards.  It was on property guarded by the Secret Service.  And there were no security breaches.”

Free Diver Natalia Molchanova Descends for Fun, Then Vanishes  —  Natalia Molchanova, widely regarded as the greatest free diver in history, wore her favorite purple wet suit Sunday on a chartered boat off the coast of Formentera, an island near Ibiza.  Only 1.5 millimeters thick …

You May Have Seen My Face on BART  —  Hi, my name is Isis.  I'm a full-stack engineer at OneLogin.  They asked me to be one of four others participating recruiting campaign that was hastily planned and executed in 1 day.  I was not personally ready for the amount of attention that it has brought me.

Alabama officer kept job after proposal to murder black man and hide evidence  —  Secret recording played for local officials, in which police officer says resident ‘needs a god damn bullet’, resulted in $35,000 payout to prevent man from suing  —  A police officer in Alabama proposed murdering …

Sarasota officer resigns after video of his interaction with homeless man goes viral  —  SARASOTA, FL (WFLA) - The Sarasota police officer at the center of a jailhouse controversy has resigned.  Surveillance video, shot on July 18 in the Sarasota County Jail, shows Officer Andrew Halpin tossing peanuts …

4 Uber drivers cited at LAX have serious criminal records  —  At least four men ticketed by Los Angeles International Airport police while driving for Uber's low-cost car service have criminal convictions that would bar them from operating a taxi in Los Angeles, records show.

Walker, Clinton lead in Minnesota- General Looks Like 2004  —  Donald Trump may be running the table in national polls these days, but PPP's new Minnesota poll finds that Scott Walker is continuing to hold his own in the Midwest.  Walker narrowly leads the GOP field in the state with 19% to 18% for Trump …

Hear Trump's Message on His Leaked Cellphone  —  Donald Trump has turned the tables on Gawker.  After the online site released one of Donald Trump's cellphone numbers, the GOP presidential candidate changed his voicemail this morning.  —  “Hi, this is Donald Trump and I'm running …

Prison drone dropped heroin, marijuana and tobacco  —  MANSFIELD - The package dropped by a drone at Mansfield Correctional Institution last week contained 144.5 grams of tobacco, 65.4 grams of marijuana, and 6.6 grams of heroin, according to JoEllen Smith, spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction.

Woman claiming to be real-life Cookie Lyon is suing ‘Empire’ creators  —  Sophia Eggleston (left) is suing “Empire” creators, saying she is the real-life Cookie Lyon (played by Taraji P. Henson, right).  —  Detroit woman Sophia Eggleston claims she is the real-life version of “Empire” …

Kosovo agrees to war crimes tribunal  —  Court will be funded by the EU to prevent witness intimidation and corruption.  —  After a lengthy political fight, Kosovo has agreed to a special tribunal in a foreign country to try ex-Kosovo Liberation Army members accused of war crimes during the war against Serbia in the late 1990s.

Racial graffiti written on Haley grave  —  The tombstone of a relative of author Alex Haley was defaced in a cemetery in Savannah earlier this week, according to Savannah Police Chief Gary Will.  —  Will said Queen Haley, a black woman and grandmother of Alex Haley, author of “Roots,” had …

Obama Begins Campaign in Congress for Iran Nuclear Deal  —  WASHINGTON — President Obama is rolling out a multipronged campaign of private entreaties and public advocacy over the next several weeks to build support in Congress for the nuclear deal with Iran, an effort to counter …

Obama to call for Voting Rights Act restoration on law's anniversary  —  President Obama will call for the restoration of the Voting Rights Act on its 50th anniversary Thursday, the White House said.  —  Obama will hold a teleconference to commemorate the landmark legislation and call for its renewal …

Darker outlook for EU economy  —  S&P changes EU outlook to negative, blaming bailouts.  —  Standard & Poor's downgraded its outlook for the European Union to “negative” from “stable” on Tuesday as Greece's economic problems weigh on the region.  —  The U.S. ratings agency reaffirmed …

Climate-Change Putsch  —  States should refuse to comply with Obama's lawless power rule.  —  Rarely do American Presidents display the raw willfulness that President Obama did Monday in rolling out his plan to reorganize the economy in the name of climate change.