WikiLeaks proposes Assange to lead Trump's US-Russia cyber security unit  —  WikiLeaks suggested on Sunday that its founder, Julian Assange, should lead the U.S.-Russian cyber security unit after President Trump announced the idea on Twitter.  —  “Why not put @JulianAssange in charge of it?

BRUTAL: Australian Journalist Sums Up Trump's G20 Visit In 2 Minutes  —  This is the most brutal and succinct analysis of Donald Trump, the man and the scripted, fake President*, I have seen since election day.  Take 2 minutes and watch this.  Then, pick your jaw up and wipe your tears.

Donald Trump Jr. gathered members of campaign for meeting with Russian lawyer before election  —  Shortly before his father was formally nominated for president last summer, Donald Trump Jr. was approached by a Russian lawyer who set up a meeting to discuss a Russian policy, according to interviews with Trump family lawyers.

Glum House leaders begin search for fallbacks  —  House Republican leaders are beginning to give significant thought to what their exit-for-August bills look like if they don't have healthcare to leave on.  — What we're hearing: House members are super-anxious about health care …

At Private Dinners, Pence Quietly Courts Big Donors and Corporate Executives  —  WASHINGTON — Vice President Mike Pence has been courting scores of the country's most influential donors, corporate executives and conservative political leaders over the past several months in a series of private gatherings and one-on-one conversations.

Republicans voice growing doubts on U.S. healthcare bill's fate  —  Republicans expressed increasing pessimism on Sunday about the prospects for the healthcare bill in the U.S. Senate as lawmakers prepared to return from a week-long recess.  —  One prominent Republican lawmaker …

U.S. officials say Russian government hackers have penetrated energy and nuclear company business networks  —  Russian government hackers were behind recent cyber-intrusions into the business systems of U.S. nuclear power and other energy companies in what appears to be an effort to assess their networks …

Senate Cancel August Recess Alabama GOP Asks Leaders ObamaCare Tax Work  —  A freshman Republican senator said he sent a letter to GOP leadership asking them to cancel the annual August recess because there is a lot left to do on Capitol Hill.  —  “We need to work as hard as President Trump is working …

The Foolishness of Never Trumpers  —  Note: On January 22, 2017 I wrote a column that made clear that the claim 17 intelligence agencies agreed that Russia was responsible for the interference in the election was a lie.  Last week, both the NYT and AP retracted their statements and stated …

Why People Hate The Media, Chapter MDCXIII  —  I had dinner tonight with a friend who knows Congressman Steve Scalise, the Republican from Louisiana who was critically injured in last month's assassination attempt.  He told me a story that's personal, that almost nobody knows, but that reflects very well on Scalise's character.

The New York Times Is In Trouble  —  We have noted here and elsewhere Sarah Palin's libel case against the New York Times.  In a June 14 editorial, the Times accused Palin of being responsible for Jared Loughner's murder of six people in Tucson, Arizona.  Since then, the Times has issued two corrections to the editorial.

The Congressional War on Expertise  —  Talk about a lousy recess.  —  Even as members of Congress were sprinting out of town for the July 4th holiday, the hard-working nerds at the Congressional Budget Office were handed the number-crunching equivalent of a colonoscopy …

These Coloradans say Earth is flat.  And gravity's a hoax.  Now, they're being persecuted.  —  The Flat Earth movement is growing in Colorado, thanks to technology and skepticism about science … Every Tuesday at 6 p.m., three dozen Coloradans from every corner of the state assemble …

Iraqi Prime Minister Arrives in Mosul to Declare Victory Over ISIS  —  MOSUL, Iraq — Dressed in a military uniform, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi arrived here in Mosul on Sunday to congratulate Iraq's armed forces on its victory over the Islamic State and mark the formal end of a bloody campaign …