Trump urged Mexican president to end his public defiance on border wall, transcript reveals  —  President Trump made building a wall along the southern U.S. border and forcing Mexico to pay for it core pledges of his campaign.  —  But in his first White House call with Mexico's president …

Exclusive: top FBI officials could testify against Trump  —  The acting head of the bureau told top officials to prepare.  —  Shortly after the appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller in May, acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe told several of the highest-ranking managers of the bureau …

Trump Says U.S.'Losing' Afghan War in Tense Meeting With Generals  —  WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has become increasingly frustrated with his advisers tasked with crafting a new U.S. strategy in Afghanistan and recently suggested firing the war's top military commander during …

Ryan Lizza Revisits His Phone Call with Anthony Scaramucci  —  Anthony Scaramucci placed the phone call that ended his career late at night; he reached Ryan Lizza, The New Yorker's Washington correspondent, at home.  During their conversation, parts of which are available here …

PODCAST: The story behind our Trump golf story (and a certain explosive quote)  —  The real Donald Trump is revealed through his golf game  —  Of the 7,424 words in Alan Shipnuck's deep dive into President Trump's ties to golf in this week's issue of Sports Illustrated, seven words have caused a media frenzy:

Reporter says ‘Russian propaganda outlet’ pushed him to cover conspiracy theory at the center of a White House lawsuit  —  WASHINGTON — Reporter Andrew Feinberg says a Russian state-owned news site he once worked for pressured him to advance a conspiracy theory about the fatal shooting …

Oh, Wait.  Maybe It Was Collusion.  —  Did the Trump campaign collude with Russian agents trying to manipulate the course of the 2016 election?  Some analysts have argued that the media has made too much of the collusion narrative; that Jared Kushner and Donald Trump Jr.'s meeting …

Trump set to embark on 1st vacation since inauguration  —  Donald Trump once questioned the wisdom of taking vacations.  “What's the point?” he asked.  —  But now the president is getting ready to join the annual August exodus from this town he calls “the swamp.”

You Can Thank Leakers for New Russia Sanctions  —  A good policy outcome, but “unmasking” helped set a troubling precedent that forced Trump to capitulate.  —  If you are inclined, as I am, to see the new congressional sanctions on Russia as a positive development, then take a moment to thank …

Trump's New Top Aide Assures Sessions His Job Is Safe  —  New White House chief of staff John Kelly, in one of his first acts in his new post, called Attorney General Jeff Sessions to reassure him that his position was safe despite the recent onslaught of criticism he has taken from President Donald Trump.

Marco Rubio: We Need Real Tax Reform that Empowers Families  —  The cornerstone of pro-family economic policy is per-child tax relief.  —  In the 1994 midterm elections, conservative Republicans were swept into Congress after a campaign centered on the “Contract with America.”

The Clarence Thomas Takeover  —  The justice has spent his career pushing a fringy, right-wing ideology.  Now, he has an army of acolytes who can make his vision a reality.  —  There's a reason Clarence Thomas writes so many solo dissents and concurrences.

Auto workers' union rolls the dice at Nissan's Mississippi plant  —  CANTON, Miss. (Reuters) - For nearly a decade, the United Auto Workers union has tried to organize workers at Nissan Motor Co Ltd's (7201.T) assembly plant here, challenging the company's wages, safety record and commitment to treating African-American workers fairly.

U.S. Attorney Subpoenas Kushner Cos.  Over Investment-For-Visa Program  —  Records sought from development firm owned by family of White House adviser Jared Kushner  —  Kushner Cos., the New York property development business owned by the family of White House senior adviser Jared Kushner …

Montreal's Olympic Stadium used to house surge in asylum seekers crossing from U.S.  —  Outreach worker estimates more than 1,000 migrants travelled from U.S. to Canada in July alone  —  A temporary welcome centre has been opened at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal to house a new wave …

A Vatican Shot Across the Bow for Hard-Line U.S. Catholics  —  VATICAN CITY — Two close associates of Pope Francis have accused American Catholic ultraconservatives of making an alliance of “hate” with evangelical Christians to back President Trump, further alienating a group already out of the Vatican's good graces.

Fearless Conservative Firebrand Laura Loomer Has Car Tires Slashed (Updated)  —  Fearless Conservative Firebrand Laura Loomer Has Car Tires Slashed  —  Earlier today, Laura Loomer, Rebel Media journalist and former Project Veritas operative, had a tire to her car slashed in what appears to be a pretty clear act of vandalism.

Zuckerberg hires former Clinton pollster Joel Benenson  —  Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, have hired Democratic pollster Joel Benenson, a former top adviser to President Barack Obama and the chief strategist for Hillary Clinton's failed 2016 presidential campaign …

Bondi synagogue ban over terrorism risk leaves Jewish community shocked and furious  —  A LOCAL council has banned the construction of a synagogue in Bondi because it could be a terrorist target, in a shock move that religious leaders say has caved in to Islamic extremism and created a dangerous precedent.

Roman Britain in Black and White  —  I have been in something of a Twitter storm over the past few days, all because of an argument about the ethnic diversity of Roman Britain (sounds harmless enough you think, well... just see).  I have decided by the way not to include Twitter screen shots …