Top Items:


In Interview, Trump Expresses Anger at Sessions and Comey, and Warns Mueller — WASHINGTON — President Trump said on Wednesday that he never would have appointed Attorney General Jeff Sessions had he known Mr. Sessions would recuse himself from overseeing the Russia investigation that has dogged …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Vox, Weekly Standard, ABC News, Axios, Talking Points Memo, Politico, Baltimore Sun, The Hill, Lawfare, Media Matters for America, Geller Report, Just Security, The Week, CANNONFIRE, Conservative News Today, New York Magazine, Mediaite, CNBC, Joe.My.God., The Atlantic, The Guardian, Common Dreams, Business Insider, ThinkProgress, IJR, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Raw Story, Fusion, The Last Refuge, Little Green Footballs, The Daily Caller, NPR, The American Conservative, Mother Jones, RedState, BuzzFeed, The Root, TheBlaze, The Last Tradition, Politicus USA, Power Line, Balloon Juice, Washington Free Beacon and Althouse
RELATED:


Excerpts From The Times's Interview With Trump — President Trump spoke on Wednesday with three New York Times reporters — Peter Baker, Michael S. Schmidt and Maggie Haberman — in an exclusive interview in the Oval Office. Also in attendance was Hope Hicks, a White House spokeswoman.
Discussion:
Vox, Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, The Week, FiveThirtyEight, NBC News, Raw Story, Mediaite, Mashable, ThinkProgress, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Mother Jones, New York Times and The Local


Fox News Exclusive: Rosenstein says internal memos should stay ‘confidential,’ after Comey leak
Discussion:
Business Insider

Trump says he wouldn't have picked Sessions if he knew he'd recuse himself
Discussion:
Washington Post, Mediaite, Raw Story, ABC News, The Daily Caller and The Week

Trump turns against his attorney general over Russia
Discussion:
ABC News, Conservative News Today, Washington Post, Politico, Raw Story, Business Insider, The Week, IJR, Hullabaloo, Joe.My.God., Mediaite, Talking Points Memo and The Last Tradition


Republicans lament an agenda in ‘quicksand’ — Sen. David Perdue persuaded Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell last week to scrap two weeks of August recess to advance President Donald Trump's agenda. But since then, the GOP's Obamacare repeal effort has almost entirely collapsed …
Discussion:
Raw Story
RELATED:


As repeal and replace falters, more say GOP should abandon repeal plan — STORY HIGHLIGHTS — Washington (CNN)A new CNN poll conducted by SSRS finds a growing share of Americans want to see the GOP abandon its effort to repeal and replace the 2010 health care law known as Obamacare …
Discussion:
John Hawkins' Right Wing News, The Week and Talking Points Memo


GOP tax sources: will be hard to get corporate rate below 25% — Sources familiar with the Republican tax negotiations say there's an acknowledgment within the working group that setting the corporate rate at less than 25 percent may be unworkable if the tax reform is going to be revenue neutral.
Discussion:
Political Wire


Inspiring Little Fear in Senators, Trump Struggles to Sell Health Bill — WASHINGTON — President Trump thought he could sell balky Republican senators like Ron Johnson of Wisconsin on the Senate health care bill through pleasantries, cajoling and, ultimately, some Oval Office muscle.
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, HuffPost and Vox


Freedom Caucus to try to force vote on Obamacare repeal
Discussion:
The Resurgent, Balloon Juice, Daily Wire, The Hill, Axios, Political Wire and Talking Points Memo

Senate Republicans still at impasse after late-night health care meeting
Discussion:
Political Wire, The Week, Washington Post, Mother Jones, Talking Points Memo and Axios


Sen. John McCain has brain cancer, aggressive tumor surgically removed — Lab results from a surgery on Friday confirmed the presence of glioblastoma associated with the blood clot — (CNN)Sen. John McCain, 80, has been diagnosed with a primary glioblastoma, a type of brain tumor …
Discussion:
Raw Story, The Atlantic, The Root, The Last Refuge, IJR, Refinery29, BuzzFeed and Politicus USA
RELATED:


John McCain diagnosed with brain cancer — DON'T MISS A BRIEF. SIGN UP FOR OUR DAILY EMAIL.
Discussion:
ABC News, Scared Monkeys, CNBC, The Gateway Pundit, Daily Wire and The Resurgent

Democrats, Republicans send well wishes to Sen. McCain
Discussion:
Politico

Sen. John McCain diagnosed with malignant brain tumor
Discussion:
Power Line, twitchy.com and The Gateway Pundit


Big German Bank, Key to Trump's Finances, Faces New Scrutiny — During the presidential campaign, Donald J. Trump pointed to his relationship with Deutsche Bank to counter reports that big banks were skeptical of doing business with him. — After a string of bankruptcies in his casino …
Discussion:
Raw Story and Balloon Juice


Trump ends covert CIA program to arm anti-Assad rebels in Syria, a move sought by Moscow — President Trump has decided to end the CIA's covert program to arm and train moderate Syrian rebels battling the government of Bashar al-Assad, a move long sought by Russia, according to U.S. officials.


Manafort Was in Debt to Pro-Russia Interests, Cyprus Records Show — Financial records filed last year in the secretive tax haven of Cyprus, where Paul J. Manafort kept bank accounts during his years working in Ukraine and investing with a Russian oligarch, indicate that he had been in debt …
Discussion:
The Guardian, New York Magazine, The Week, CNBC, Raw Story, Talking Points Memo, Balloon Juice and Political Wire


H.R. 1628, Obamacare Repeal Reconciliation Act of 2017 — CBO and JCT estimate that enacting this legislation would reduce federal deficits by $473 billion over the coming decade and increase the number of people who are uninsured by 32 million in 2026 relative to current law.
Discussion:
Axios, Vox, CNBC, Health Affairs Blog, Balloon Juice, Daily Kos, ACO Watch, The Daily Caller, The Week, Business Insider, Raw Story, Washington Monthly, IJR, NPR, Mediaite, Joe.My.God. and Political Wire


TRUMPCARE IS DEAD. “SINGLE PAYER IS THE ONLY REAL ANSWER,” SAYS MEDICARE ARCHITECT. — Thanks to a pair of defections from more GOP senators late yesterday, the Republican plan to repeal and replace or simply repeal the Affordable Care Act is dead — for now.
Discussion:
Bloomberg
RELATED:


How Democrats Won the Healthcare War
Discussion:
Bloomberg.com, Washington Free Beacon and Fusion


A reporter broke White House rules by streaming live audio of an off-camera briefing — It was only a matter of time. — At every White House news briefing since June 29 — and many before, too — President Trump's spokesmen have ordered a room full of smartphone-toting journalists …
Discussion:
Deadline, Mashable, Raw Story and Washington Free Beacon, more at Mediagazer »
RELATED:

Trump just nominated a climate skeptic to USDA's top science post … President Trump on Wednesday nominated Sam Clovis, a former college professor and talk radio host who has challenged the scientific consensus that human activity has been the primary driver of climate change …
Discussion:
Fusion


I'm a scientist. I'm blowing the whistle on the Trump administration. — Joel Clement was director of the Office of Policy Analysis at the U.S. Interior Department until last week. He is now a senior adviser at the department's Office of Natural Resources Revenue. — I am not a member of the deep state.
Discussion:
NPR and Shadowproof

The Democratic Party's Billion-Dollar Mistake — The Democratic Party is at risk of repeating the billion-dollar blunder that helped create its devastating losses of 2016. With its obsessive focus on wooing voters who supported Donald Trump, it is neglecting the cornerstone of its coalition …


RNC won't back NJ gubernatorial candidate over criticism of Trump: report — The Republican National Committee isn't spending big for New Jersey gubernatorial candidate Kim Guadagno because the RNC doesn't think she has been loyal to President Trump, NJ.com reported Wednesday.
Discussion:
RedState
RELATED:


Do-over: 1 in 8 people who voted for Trump want to change their vote - Reuters/Ipsos poll — 6 MIN READ — NEW YORK (Reuters) - About one in eight people who voted for President Donald Trump said they would not do so again after witnessing Trump's tumultuous first six months in office …