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 …

Special Counsel Mueller Impanels Washington Grand Jury in Russia Probe  —  Expansion beyond Flynn grand jury is a sign the investigation in election meddling is ramping up  —  Special Counsel Robert Mueller has impaneled a grand jury in Washington to investigate Russia's interference in the 2016 elections …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.”

The Ugly History of Stephen Miller's ‘Cosmopolitan’ Epithet  —  When TV news viewers saw Trump adviser Stephen Miller accuse Jim Acosta of harboring a “cosmopolitan bias” during Wednesday's news conference, they might have wondered whether he was accusing the CNN White House reporter …

Researcher Who Stopped WannaCry Ransomware Detained in US After Def Con  —  On Wednesday, US authorities detained a researcher who goes by the handle MalwareTech, best known for stopping the spread of the WannaCry ransomware virus.  —  In May, WannaCry infected hospitals in the UK …

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:

50 bikers escort bullied middle school student to school  —  DEKALB COUNTY, Ind. (WANE) - A sixth grader from DeKalb County who said he was being bullied got some help from a group of bikers.  —  More than 50 bikers escorted Phil Mick to school on his first day.

West Virginia Governor to Switch from Democrat to Republican  —  WASHINGTON — Gov. Jim Justice of West Virginia, a Democrat who was elected last year even as President Trump carried the state by 42 points, is expected to announce Thursday night at a rally with Mr. Trump that he is changing parties …

Why leftists don't trust Kamala Harris, Cory Booker, and Deval Patrick  —  The contest for control of the Democratic Party between left and center is continuing apace.  The latest battleground is over a handful of minority Democrats being groomed by the centrist establishment to run for office …

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 …

This is not how Mitch McConnell wanted to head into recess  —  It's as if the summer turned into the perfect storm against the best-laid plans of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.  —  Soon after Memorial Day, McConnell (R-Ky.) drew up a game plan around approving a rewrite of the Affordable Care Act by the end of June.

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.”

Half of Detroit's 8 mayoral candidates are felons  —  Detroit — Half of the eight mayoral hopefuls on Detroit's primary ballot next week have been convicted of felony crimes involving drugs, assault or weapons, a Detroit News analysis shows.  —  Three were charged with gun crimes and two for assault with intent to commit murder.

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.