GOP considers cancelling August recess to salvage agenda  —  Alarmed by the stalemate on healthcare reform, lack of progress on tax reform and appropriations bills that are far behind schedule, Republican lawmakers across Congress are increasingly willing to consider cancelling the month-long August recess.

Spicer searching for candidates to take over White House briefing  —  White House press secretary Sean Spicer is leading a search for his own replacement at the briefing room podium as part of a larger plan to shake up the White House communications operations, according to two people with knowledge of the effort.

Supreme Court to hear potentially landmark case on partisan gerrymandering  —  The Supreme Court declared Monday that it will consider whether gerrymandered election maps favoring one political party over another violate the Constitution, a potentially fundamental change in the way American elections are conducted.

Megyn Kelly's Alex Jones interview got lots of attention, but not many viewers  —  Jones vs. Kelly: Battle between new and old media  —  Megyn Kelly's much talked about interview with Alex Jones got plenty of attention for Kelly and NBC, both good and bad, but not many viewers.

The Daily 202: Congressional shooting clouds final days of Georgia special election  —  THE BIG IDEA:  —  JOHNS CREEK, Ga.—When Republican congressional candidate Karen Handel went table to table greeting patrons at Marlow's Tavern on Friday night, almost everyone asked her about the letters.

Officials: 17-year-old Muslim girl assaulted and killed after leaving Virginia mosque  —  Police found remains Sunday thought to be those of a missing Virginia teenager who they say was assaulted and disappeared overnight after leaving a mosque in the Sterling area, and a 22-year-old man …

Russia to treat US jets in Syria as ‘targets’ after America guns down first regime warplane  —  Communication channel between Washington and Moscow to be suspended immediately  —  Russia has said it will treat US warplanes operating in parts of Syria where its air forces are present as …

The Trump Administration Has A New Plan For Dealing With Russia  —  A classified document by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson lays out a new path for Russia and the US.  But does the president, weighed down by scandal and investigation, support it?  —  As the White House fends off accusations …

We need a Robert Mueller resignation or a second special counsel  —  The only way to avoid a tainted investigation or a political explosion is another counsel to investigate possible obstruction of justice.  —  Special Counsel Robert Mueller has a problem: He has a disqualifying conflict of interest regarding a large part of his work.

Mother with knife killed by police was pregnant and had mental-health issues, family says  —  Seattle police on Sunday shot and killed a 30-year-old old woman who had called officers to report an attempted burglary and then displayed a knife, SPD said.  Police took three children from the home …

GOP Data Firm Accidentally Leaks Personal Details of Nearly 200 Million American Voters  —  Political data gathered on more than 198 million US citizens was exposed this month after a marketing firm contracted by the Republican National Committee stored internal documents on a publicly accessible Amazon server.

New Study Shows What Really Happened in the 2016 Election  —  The Democracy Fund Voter Study Group has a new survey of the electorate that explodes many of the myths that we believe about American politics.  Lee Drutman has a fascinating report delving into the data.