Pruitt aides reveal new details of his spending and management at EPA  —  Two of Scott Pruitt's top aides provided fresh details to congressional investigators in recent days about some of his most controversial spending and management decisions, including his push to find a six-figure job …

Here Are The Documents Recovered From Michael Cohen's Shredder  —  “NEVER MET: Donald Trump, George Lucas, Harrison Ford, Steven Spielberg, Michael Jackson, The Jackson's family, Sony.”  —  When the Department of Justice announced this month that investigators had pieced together records found …

Donald Trump's dream casting for America's next SCOTUS justice: Amy Coney Barrett  —  (CNN)For Donald Trump, image is everything.  —  How you look is a major marker for how you will do in Trump's world.  You need to look the part for him to imagine you in the job.  Your personal story has to stand out in the crowd.

Trump declines request to lower flags in memory of Capital Gazette shooting victims  —  Mourners gathered in Annapolis to honor the five employees who were killed Thursday in a shooting at the Capital Gazette newsroom.  Their names are Gerald Fischman, Rob Hiaasen, John McNamara, Rebecca Smith and Wendi Winters.

Why Did the Rhode Island Democratic Party Endorse an Alt-Right Supporter Over a Progressive Incumbent?  —  Moira Jayne Walsh, a 27-year-old former waitress and labor organizer, captured a bit of national attention after she won a seat in the Rhode Island House in 2016.

News media paid Melania Trump thousands for use of photos in ‘positive stories only’  —  The First Lady earned six figures from an agreement with Getty Images that paid royalties to the Trumps and mandated photos be used in positive coverage.  —  Since her husband took office Melania Trump …

Trump Warns NATO Allies to Spend More on Defense, or Else  —  WASHINGTON — President Trump has written sharply worded letters to the leaders of several NATO allies — including Germany, Belgium, Norway and Canada — taking them to task for spending too little on their own defense and warning …

Russian charged with Trump's ex-campaign chief is key figure  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — During the special counsel's Russia investigation, Konstantin Kilimnik has been described as a fixer, translator or office manager to President Donald Trump's ex-campaign chairman Paul Manafort.

In U.S., Record-Low 47% Extremely Proud to Be Americans  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. — This Fourth of July marks a low point in U.S. patriotism.  For the first time in Gallup's 18-year history asking U.S. adults how proud they are to be Americans, fewer than a majority say they are “extremely proud.”

Congressman denied entry to California detention facility for children under age 14  —  PLEASANT HILL  —  The cry of a child could be heard just inside the nondescript, brown detention facility in Pleasant Hill, California, a San Francisco suburb, and Rep. Jeff Denham wanted to see for himself what was inside.

‘20 pounds of human waste’ dropped on San Francisco street corner  —  A foul odor permeated from a massive bag of human excrement sludge left on a street corner in San Francisco's Tenderloin district Saturday.  —  The horrendous smell and sight quickly gained notoriety when a Reddit user posted …

Nailed It  —  Speaking of conspiracy theories, I love this tweet from Dan Rather:  —  We know LeBron James has been outspoken about Trump.  So it makes sense to head to California, the heartland of the #resistance.  The fact that he will be trying to resist the dominance of the Warriors is an added plot twist.

Man allegedly threatens to chop up Rand Paul and his family with an ax  —  Matt Stone/Louisville Courier Journal  —  A man is accused of threatening to chop up U.S. Sen. Rand Paul and his family with an ax.  —  The man has been arrested.  He allegedly called in the threats to Paul's Bowling Green office.

Tech's ‘Dirty Secret’: The App Developers Sifting Through Your Gmail  —  Software developers scan hundreds of millions of emails of users who sign up for email-based services  —  Google said a year ago it would stop its computers from scanning the inboxes of Gmail users for information …

The Sad Delusion of Anthony Kennedy Conspiracy Theories  —  Justice Anthony Kennedy's retirement from the Supreme Court shocked liberals so deeply that some haven't quite accepted that his decision to step down was on the up and up.  A New York Times report on the Trump administration's quest …

Merkel, to Survive, Agrees to Border Camps for Migrants  —  BERLIN — Chancellor Angela Merkel, who staked her legacy on welcoming hundreds of thousands of migrants into Germany, agreed on Monday to build border camps for asylum-seekers and to tighten the border with Austria in a political deal to save her government.

Alan Dershowitz ‘Shunned’ By Friends In Martha's Vineyard For Defending Trump  —  Lawyer Alan Dershowitz is afraid that America is growing increasingly intolerant toward opposing views.  His proof, according to his recent op-ed in The Hill: Friends are ostracizing him in Martha's Vineyard.

Russia investigators likely got access to NRA's tax filings, secret donors  —  WASHINGTON  —  For months, the National Rifle Association has had a stock answer to queries about an investigation into whether Russian money was funneled to the gun rights group to aid Donald Trump's presidential campaign.

Another Lazy ‘Never Trump’ Screed  —  Emerald Robinson's ‘Never Trump’ analysis is equally deficient in fact and seriousness.  —  There's always a trade-off in calling attention to trollish, attention-seeking writers who don't deserve a response on the merits.

Facebook's disclosures under scrutiny as federal agencies join probe of tech giant's role in sharing data with Cambridge Analytica  —  A federal investigation into Facebook's sharing of data with political consultancy Cambridge Analytica has broadened to focus on the actions and statements …

Interviewer Asks Trump to Bring Country Together.  He Praises His Base.  —  In her interview with President Trump, Maria Bartiromo cited the polite protest of the Red Hen restaurant, along with the crass denunciations of a couple movie stars, to highlight the alleged incivility of Trump's opponents.

‘Tormented and traumatized’: Rage toward women fuels mass shooters  —  The alleged mass shooter's rage began — as it has so often before — with a woman.  —  Years before Jarrod Ramos sued the Capital Gazette for defamation, before he targeted a specific columnist at the Capital …

Judge sets hearing in Flynn case  —  The hearing would be the former Trump national security adviser's first court appearance since pleading guilty more than seven months ago.  —  A pair of legal filings suggesting that special counsel Robert Mueller's office is almost-but-not-quite ready …

Judge's order could undercut Trump's immigrant detention plan  —  An order a federal judge issued Monday requiring individualized decisions on whether some asylum-seekers can be released into the U.S. poses a new legal threat to President Donald Trump's effort to crack down on migrants crossing the border from Mexico.

Lake deputy shoots gator with AR-15, freeing girl trapped in tree — ‘please hurry!’ mom pleads to 911 operator  —  A Florida alligator was shot and killed by a Lake County deputy with an AR15 Bushmaster rifle that had trapped a girl in a tree.  —  Privacy Policy

Women Might Save America Yet  —  Erin Gabriel was already pretty busy before Donald Trump was elected president.  All three of her children are autistic, and her youngest, an 8-year-old girl named Abby, is also deaf, blind and nonverbal, and suffers from seizures.  “She has like 17 specialists,” Gabriel, 39, told me.

Trump Judicial Pick Who Blogged Favorably About the KKK Had to Withdraw.  Now He's at the Justice Department.  —  Brett Talley, who has also written horror novels and hunted ghosts, returned to a job overseeing other judicial nominations.  —  Brett Talley had already been voted …

The Senate Intel Committee Is In Regular Contact With The Trump-Russia Dossier Author  —  The committee's chair, Richard Burr of North Carolina, told BuzzFeed News that there are weekly contacts with Christopher Steele.  —  Reporting From Washington, DC  —  The head of the top congressional …