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Health Care Overhaul Collapses as Two Republican Senators Defect — WASHINGTON — Two more Republican senators declared on Monday night that they would oppose the Senate Republican bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act, killing, for now, a seven-year-old promise to overturn President Barack Obama's signature domestic achievement.
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GOP health care bill collapses — President Donald Trump's top legislative priority was dealt a potentially fatal blow Monday night as two more Republican senators announced their opposition to the party's health care overhaul. — Trump quickly called on Republicans to simply repeal Obamacare …

House GOP unveils budget plan that attaches major spending cuts to coming tax overhaul bill — House Republicans unveiled a 2018 budget plan Tuesday that would pave the way for ambitious tax reform legislation — but only alongside a package of politically sensitive spending cuts that threaten …
Discussion:
1A


After O'Care Plan Falters, McConnell Says He'll Push For Vote On Repeal Only — Not long after the defections of two more Senate Republicans made the GOP Obamacare replacement bill dead in the water, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) announced Monday night he would let members vote for a …


Sen. Mike Lee to Vote No on Senate Health Bill — WASHINGTON - Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) issued the following statement Monday regarding the Better Care Reconciliation Act: — “After conferring with trusted experts regarding the latest version of the Consumer Freedom Amendment …
Discussion:
Fox News, New York Magazine, Vox, twitchy.com, The Daily Caller, Mediaite, Refinery29, TheBlaze, IJR and ABC News


BCRA is dead but Obamacare repeal is still alive — Conservative defections can't really kill repeal. — Sens. Mike Lee (R-UT) and Jerry Moran (R-KS) said they will join Rand Paul (R-KY) and Susan Collins (R-ME) in opposing the motion to proceed on Mitch McConnell's Obamacare repeal bill.
Discussion:
The Texas Observer


Two more GOP senators defect on healthcare bill
Discussion:
Politicus USA, Axios, Talking Points Memo, The Gateway Pundit, ThinkProgress, FOX31 Denver and RedState

The fallout: Admit defeat, move on to bigger defeat?
Discussion:
CNBC and Political Wire

Republicans scramble for new direction on health care
Discussion:
Washington Post and Politico


Two more Senate Republicans oppose health-care bill, leaving it without enough votes to pass
Discussion:
Weekly Standard, FiveThirtyEight and Mother Jones


Trump's Campaign Conceded in a Memo That Comey Was Having Major Impact … Donald Trump's presidential campaign acknowledged in an internal memo that former FBI Director James Comey's 11th hour decision to reopen an inquiry into Hillary Clinton's use of private email helped shift the results.
Discussion:
Mother Jones
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Trump Jr. attorney offers details about 8th person at meeting — Trump shifts focus from Russia investigation — (CNN)Donald Trump Jr.'s attorney, Alan Futerfas, has told CNN he has spoken by phone to the eighth person in the room during the meeting at Trump Tower in June 2016.
Discussion:
The Daily Caller and Little Green Footballs


Let's outline Trump's achievements during his first six months in office — President Donald Trump's first six months have been defined by his often angry and tasteless tweets, his ham-handed efforts to denigrate and undercut the multiple investigations into Russian influence in the 2016 election …
Discussion:
Raw Story



Who was the 8th person in Trump Jr.'s meeting with Russians?
Discussion:
The Daily Caller

What Did Trump Know About His Son's Meeting, and When Did He Know It?
Discussion:
Raw Story, Vox, NPR and Talking Points Memo

Christie on Trump Jr. meeting: 'None of it's positive'
Discussion:
AMERICAblog NewsAMERICAblog …, Axios, Mediaite and ABC News


The Trumps and the Truth — The best defense against future revelations is radical transparency. — Even Donald Trump might agree that a major reason he won the 2016 election is because voters couldn't abide Hillary Clinton's legacy of scandal, deception and stonewalling.
Discussion:
Raw Story


EXCLUSIVE: Trump the foul-mouthed germophobe fired Chris Christie because New Jersey governor arranged for Obama to call his phone NOT The Donald's on election night — A new book reveals how Trump fell out with his then transition boss Chris Christie over whose cellphone to use on election night
Discussion:
Raw Story, Axios, New York Magazine, Hullabaloo, Mediaite and Business Insider


GOP Seeks to Close Federal Election Agency — House Republicans are pressing to defund the sole federal agency that exclusively works to ensure the voting process is secure — WASHINGTON—House Republicans are seeking to defund the U.S. Election Assistance Commission …
Discussion:
electionlawblog.org

Former Clinton and Romney campaign chiefs join forces to fight election hacking — The former managers of Hillary Clinton and Mitt Romney's presidential campaigns are leading a new initiative called “Defending Digital Democracy” in the hopes of preventing a repeat of Russia's 2016 election interference.


New York Seeks Bank Records of Former Trump Associate Paul Manafort — Loans issued by a bank run by former campaign adviser Steve Calk are focus of subpoena — New York prosecutors have demanded records relating to up to $16 million in loans that a bank run by a former campaign adviser …
Discussion:
Political Wire


Liberals can win again if they stop being so annoying and fix their ‘hamburger problem’ — I've been haunted by a claim my KCRW colleague Rich Lowry made on our radio show a few weeks ago: Democrats keep coming up short in elections because they won't give any ground on “cultural issues” …


Trump Recertifies Iran Nuclear Deal, but Only Reluctantly — WASHINGTON — President Trump agreed on Monday to certify again that Iran is complying with an international nuclear agreement that he has strongly criticized, but only after hours of arguing with his top national security advisers …
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U.S. certifies that Iran is meeting terms of nuclear deal
Discussion:
Weekly Standard


Coast Guard wants to kick boats off Potomac River when president is golfing — The Trump family has offended many sectors of establishment Washington since their arrival in the nation's capital, from Langley's spymasters to mansion-dwellers in the District's Kalorama neighborhood.
Discussion:
Shareblue


Tillerson to Shutter State Department War Crimes Office — Critics charge top U.S. diplomat with giving the green light to perpetrators of mass atrocities. — Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is downgrading the U.S. campaign against mass atrocities, shuttering the Foggy Bottom office …
Discussion:
Just Security


Trump Says He Has Signed More Bills Than Any President, Ever. He Hasn't. — WASHINGTON — To hear President Trump tell it, his first six months in the White House should be judged in part by the legislation he has signed into law. — At rallies, in speeches and on Twitter …
Discussion:
ABC News and Politicus USA


As Paperwork Goes Missing, Private Student Loan Debts May Be Wiped Away — Tens of thousands of people who took out private loans to pay for college but have not been able to keep up payments may get their debts wiped away because critical paperwork is missing.


Republicans Aren't Turning on Trump—They're Turning on Each Other … The House is mad at the Senate. The Senate is mad at the House. Various factions in the House and Senate are mad at each other or mad at their leaders. — Republican lawmakers have yet to turn on President Trump in any meaningful way.
Discussion:
Fox News


Apple previews new emoji coming later this year — In celebration of World Emoji Day, Apple is sharing some of the new emoji coming to iOS, macOS and watchOS later this year. — The new emoji make it easier for users to express themselves with greater diversity, additional animals and creatures, new smiley faces and more.
Discussion:
CNNMoney, New York Times, Engadget, KTLA, Refinery29, The Daily Caller, Hyperallergic, AOL and The Verge


Finally, a Poll Trump Will Like: Clinton Is Even More Unpopular — Views on Democratic nominee harden since exit from spotlight — Obama now as popular as he was in first year in White House — For a president with historically low poll numbers, Donald Trump can at least find solace in this: Hillary Clinton is doing worse.
Discussion:
Politicus USA