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.

Supreme Court unanimously reaffirms: There is no ‘hate speech’ exception to the First Amendment  —  From today's opinion by Justice Samuel Alito (for four justices) in Matal v. Tam, the “Slants” case: … Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote separately, also for four justices, but on this point the opinions agreed:

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.

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.

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 process.

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 …

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.

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 …

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.

Coalition Defends Partner Forces from Syrian Fighter Jet Attack  —  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  —  SOUTHWEST ASIA — At approximately 4:30 p.m. Syria time, June 18, Pro-Syrian regime forces attacked the Syrian Democratic Forces-held town of Ja'Din, South of Tabqah, wounding a number of SDF fighters and driving the SDF from the town.

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 …

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.

Senate GOP considers deeper Medicaid cuts than House bill  —  A leading option in the Senate's ObamaCare repeal debate is to make even deeper cuts to Medicaid spending than the bill passed by the House, according to lobbyists and aides.  —  The proposal would start out the growth rate …

Energy Secretary Rick Perry says CO2 is not the main driver of climate change  — Energy Secretary Rick Perry says he does not believe CO2 emissions from human activity are the primary driver of climate change.  — That view is at odds with the conclusions of the Environmental Protection Agency …