Shooter identified by law enforcement officials as James T. Hodgkinson  —  The shooter at the GOP congressional baseball practice this morning is James T. Hodgkinson of Belleville, Ill., according to law enforcement officials.  Hodgkinson, 66, owns a home inspection business.

Trump Pondered Firing Mueller; His Aides Pushed Back  —  WASHINGTON — Last month's appointment of Robert S. Mueller III as a special counsel to investigate possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia enraged President Trump.  Yet, at least initially, he holstered his Twitter finger and publicly said nothing.

NBC holding crisis meetings over Megyn Kelly … As families of the Sandy Hook victims continue to pressure NBC to ax Megyn Kelly's Sunday interview with conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, the network has been holding crisis meetings about how to handle the backlash.

AP sources: Trump tells senators House health bill ‘mean’  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump told Republican senators Tuesday that the House-passed health care bill he helped revive is “mean” and urged them to craft a version that is “more generous,” congressional sources said.

Rand Paul on Scalise Shooting: Capitol Police Prevented ‘Massacre’ in Virginia  —  In a dramatic eyewitness account, Sen. Rand Paul described Wednesday how he was just outside the perimeter of the baseball field when the first shot rang out — and then seconds later he saw Rep. Steve Scalise wounded.

Robert Mueller should recuse himself from Russia investigation  —  Former FBI director is too close to his successor, James Comey, to be impartial.  —  Robert Mueller is a man of integrity with a long record of public service.  In the abstract, he would be the right selection as special counsel in the Russia investigation.

Congressional Democrats to file emoluments lawsuit against Trump  —  Nearly 200 Democratic members of Congress agreed to file a lawsuit Wednesday against President Trump alleging that by retaining interests in a global business empire he has violated constitutional restrictions on taking gifts and benefits from foreign leaders.

London fire: 12 confirmed dead after Grenfell Tower blaze  —  A woman with six children who was attempting to escape from the 21st floor of the London tower block fire this morning got to the bottom to discover two of them were missing, it has been claimed.  —  Dozens of horrific eyewitness accounts …

Sessions could earn a ticket to the grand jury  —  Dems smell blood, but it's not necessarily Jeff Sessions'.  The attorney general held his own at his high-stakes Senate hearing, at one point raising his voice to declare he was “not stonewalling,” and resented the “secret innuendo being leaked out there about me.”

David Bonderman Resigns From Uber Board After Sexist Remark  —  SAN FRANCISCO — David Bonderman, an Uber board member and partner at private equity firm TPG, is resigning from the board of the ride-hailing company after he made a disparaging remark about women at an Uber meeting on Tuesday …

The Mortification of Jeff Sessions  —  The appearance of Jeff Sessions before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday didn't bring us much closer to understanding what did or didn't happen between Donald Trump and the Russians, or what the president has or hasn't done to cover it up.

Here Are Five Fake Stories CNN Pushed  —  President Trump tweeted about “fake news” Tuesday morning, saying it is at an “all time high,” and demanding an apology: … In response to that assertion, CNN's Chris Cillizza tweeted: … Here are five examples of CNN reporting or pushing false stories: