Comedian John Melendez ‘hoax calls President Trump on Air Force One and chats with him about controversial family separation policy while pretending to be a New Jersey senator’  —  A voice sounding very much like that of President Donald Trump is heard in a phone call a comedian claims …

North Korea has increased nuclear production at secret sites, say U.S. officials  —  “Work is ongoing to deceive us on the number of facilities, the number of weapons, the number of missiles,” said one U.S. official  —  WASHINGTON — U.S. intelligence agencies believe that North Korea …

The America We Thought We Knew Is Gone  —  Because countries are not people, it's tricky to translate whatever “loving one's country” means—it's quite abstract—into the language of heartbreak.  It sounds melodramatic.  What can heartbreak mean as a civic matter?  And yet it is what I feel.

‘Shaken’ Rosenstein Felt Used by White House in Comey Firing  —  WASHINGTON — In the days after the F.B.I. director James B. Comey was fired last year, the deputy attorney general, Rod J. Rosenstein, repeatedly expressed anger about how the White House used him to rationalize the firing …

G.M. Says New Wave of Trump Tariffs Could Force U.S. Job Cuts  —  General Motors warned Friday that if President Trump pushed forward with another wave of tariffs, the move could backfire, leading to “less investment, fewer jobs and lower wages” for its employees.

Summer of Rage  —  It shouldn't have been such a shock.  After all, many of those most painfully poleaxed by the news of Anthony Kennedy's retirement on Wednesday were the same ones who'd always understood the stakes; we knew that this was the risk, we've been scared for a long time.

U.S. assessing cost of keeping troops in Germany as Trump battles with Europe  —  The Pentagon is analyzing the cost and impact of a large-scale withdrawal or transfer of American troops stationed in Germany, amid growing tensions between President Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, according to people familiar with the work.

Russians Offered Business Deals to Brexit's Biggest Backer  —  LONDON — Arron Banks, a British financier who bankrolled the campaign for Britain to leave the European Union, has long bragged about his “boozy six-hour lunch” with the Russian ambassador eight months before the vote.

U.S. Ambassador to Estonia Resigns in Disgust After Trump Anti-Europe Rants  —  James Melville is the latest in a string of career diplomat resignations over Trump's comments and policies.  —  The U.S. ambassador to Estonia, James D. Melville Jr., a career diplomat and member …

Our Hate Mail  —  Are these trolls?  Actual threats?  How can anyone tell the difference, anyway?  —  Up until the moment on Thursday he allegedly murdered five Capital Gazette employees, Jarrod W. Ramos was in many ways a kind of media consumer known to every journalist in America.

Abolish ICE?  Not So Fast, Says Congressional Hispanic Caucus in New Talking Points. … The preeminent coalition of Hispanic lawmakers on Capitol Hill is pushing back against mounting calls for abolishing Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, arguing that lawmakers should instead focus …

Associated Press may have led FBI to Manafort storage locker  —  A meeting last year where Associated Press reporters discussed with federal officials the news outlet's investigation of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort's finances may have led the FBI to a storage locker the bureau raided, an FBI agent testified Friday.

Fundraisers set up for Capital Gazette shooting victims  —  5 killed in Maryland newspaper shooting  —  The owner of the Capital Gazette has set up a fundraiser for the victims of Thursday's newsroom shooting, and a GoFundMe charity page for victims has raised more than $150,000.

12-year-old black kid gets cops called on him for cutting neighbors' grass  —  A 12-year-old black child had the police called on him simply for mowing the lawn as part of his summer business.  —  News 5 Cleveland reports that 12-year-old Reginald Fields was mowing the lawn of Lucille Holt …

They Played Dominoes Outside Their Apartment For Decades.  Then The White People Moved In And Police Started Showing Up.  —  “This used to be a bad neighborhood.”  Two areas of New York City that have recently gentrified have a corresponding high rate of quality-of-life complaints, which sometimes draw the police.

Exclusive: Trump appointee guts UN document on racism, says leaders don't have duty to condemn hate speech  —  Washington (CNN)A Trump administration appointee to the State Department tore into standard UN documents that condemn racism as a threat to democracy.

Obama: ‘You are right to be concerned’  —  In his first public comments in months, the former president talks about anger, regrets — and what the Republicans are doing right.  —  LOS ANGELES — Barack Obama's message to Democrats: Stop dreaming of him.  —  Speaking at a Democratic National …

Congressman: Rosenstein Is Spying On Me  —  Republican Texas Rep. Louie Gohmert believes government personnel working for Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein are spying on his office, he told WMAL's “Morning on the Mall” Friday.  —  “I don't doubt for a minute that he has people who have been looking into my background.

Scoop: Trump's private threat to upend global trade  —  President Trump has repeatedly told top White House officials he wants to withdraw the United States from the World Trade Organization, a move that would throw global trade into wild disarray, people involved in the talks tell Axios.

Canada makes retaliatory tariffs official: ‘We will not back down’  — Canada's plan taking effect next week will include imports of U.S. products such as yogurt, caffeinated roasted coffee, toilet paper and sleeping bags.  —  Canada's foreign minister announced Friday that Ottawa plans …

Nunes calls for testimony from 17 FBI, DOJ officials on government surveillance abuse  —  House Intelligence Committee chair speaks out ahead of deadline for agencies to hand over materials on alleged informants inside the Trump campaign.  —  House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes …

The White House Is Becoming A Ghost Town.  Trump Loyalists Worry It's Going To Get Worse.  —  With high-profile departures and a dysfunctional hiring process, a former White House official jokes part of the building is a “barren wasteland” with rustling “tumbleweed.”  —  Reporting From Washington, DC

Death in a Hollywood Sex Dungeon: How a Top Agency Executive's “Mummification” Ritual Ended in Tragedy  —  For years, WME vp Skip Chasey has led an openly double life as a “master” in L.A.'s BDSM community.  But a role-playing encounter involving plastic wrap went horrifically wrong …

How to Be a Hoejabi  —  A couple of years ago, Nadia Ali made international news for being a Muslim porn star.  She was banned in Pakistan and began to receive death threats.  (How many porn stars can say that they have graced ISIS's personal hit list?)  So I don't think the conservative Muslim world liked her.

Comcast Blames Widespread Service Outage on Cut Fiber Line  —  The company, which has more than 29 million business and residential customers, said it was working to restore services  —  Cable giant Comcast Corp. CMCSA 0.55% is responding to a widespread outage Friday that has left customers without cable …