I don't know Kavanaugh the judge.  But Kavanaugh the carpool dad is one great guy.  —  Julie O'Brien lives in Chevy Chase.  —  Much has been written about Brett Kavanaugh as President Trump's nominee for the Supreme Court, but the discussion has focused on his record as a federal judge and in his legal career.

Mike Flynn Joins Global Consulting Firm  —  Former Trump adviser is awaiting sentencing for lying to federal investigators  —  Former national security adviser Mike Flynn has a new job: He has joined a global lobbying and investment advisory firm.  —  As he awaits sentencing for lying …

GOP Senators Tell Contradictory Stories About Moscow Trip … A top Republican senator shocked his colleagues when he suggested, after returning from a trip to Moscow with fellow GOP lawmakers, that U.S. sanctions targeting Russia were not working and the Kremlin's election interference was really no big deal.

Russian company had access to Facebook user data through apps  —  Not just another Facebook data scandal  —  A Russian internet company with links to the Kremlin was among the firms to which Facebook gave an extension which allowed them to collect data on unknowing users of the social network …

Trump Is Training His Base to Hate NATO and Like Putin  —  President Trump tweeted today that America's NATO allies have been “delinquent for many years in payments” and should “reimburse the U.S.” That is not how NATO works.  It is not a protection scheme where the allies pay the United States.

Brutal poll: Democrats' Senate dream slips away  —  To win the Senate, Democrats need to keep all 10 seats they're defending in states that President Trump won in 2016 — plus pick up two more seats.  —  Why it matters: That's not happening.  A new Axios/SurveyMonkey poll of key states shows Dems …

“Trump Is Too Chickenshit to Fire Kelly Himself”: With Bill Shine Producing His West Wing Reality Show, Trump Prepares to Dump His Chief of Staff  —  Now that Shine is in the saddle, it's Mooch 2.0: Kelly is being humiliated, Sarah Sanders has been deemed low energy, and the biggest winner of all is, naturally, Sean Hannity.

Trump targets $200B more Chinese goods for tariffs  —  The Trump administration escalated a mounting trade war with China on Tuesday by publishing a list of $200 billion worth of Chinese goods that it proposes to hit with an additional 10 percent tariff.  —  “Rather than address …

Government Told Immigrant Parents to Pay for DNA Tests to Be Reunited With Kids: Advocate … DALLAS—The government recently told four immigrant women that they must pay for DNA tests to prove they are related to the children they were separated from in order to be reunited, according to the shelter that housed the women.

Shopping struggles: These 11 retailers may not survive 2018  —  The retail apocalypse isn't over yet.  —  The retail apocalypse is entering its ninth year.  —  Many North American retailers were wiped out in the “retail apocalypse” which started in 2010.

Trump's Office of Refugee Resettlement Is Budgeting for a Surge in Child Separations  —  The Office of Refugee Resettlement is preparing for the possibility of another surge in family separations.  Internal documents obtained by Slate show that ORR has modeled a scenario …

Business Insider Pulls Conservative Column About Scarlett Johansson Playing Trans Man … Business Insider removed a post about portrayals of trans individuals in Hollywood after staff complained internally about the column, saying the article did not meet the publication's standards.

What we buy can be used to predict our politics, race or education — sometimes with more than 90 percent accuracy  —  The cultural divide is real, and it's huge.  Americans live such different lives that what we buy, do or watch can be used to predict our politics, race, income …

Man, 92, beaten with brick on street, told to ‘go back’  —  “A 92-year-old senior citizen, what can he do to anybody?  There's no harm that he meant,” the grandson of Rodolfo Rodriguez asked.  —  A 92-year-old man who was thrown to the ground, stomped on by strangers on the Fourth of July …

Senator King: US lacks defense against Russian cyber attacks  —  CAMDEN — U.S. Senator Angus King cited threats posed to American democracy by Russia's cyber interference in the 2016 Presidential Election, the likelihood Russia will interfere with U.S. elections again, and President Donald Trump's lack …

Trump Officials Slash Funds to Help Consumers Sign Up for Health Insurance  —  WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has announced, for the second year in a row, that it is slashing grants to nonprofit organizations that help people get health insurance under the Affordable Care Act.

Elon Musk Leaves Unused Mini-Sub in Thai Cave  —  THAM LUANG CAVE, THAILAND — As the world watched rescuers struggle to save 12 boys and their soccer coach trapped in a cave in northern Thailand, the tech billionaire Elon Musk dreamed up a “kid-size” submarine to help.  It turns out they didn't need it.

Democrats ready ‘Abolish ICE’ legislation  —  A Democratic proposal to abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement would shutter the agency, probe whether its agents had flouted international law, and create a special commission to rethink how the federal government handles asylum seekers and undocumented immigrants.

The Fast and Furious Michael Avenatti  —  In representing the porn star Stormy Daniels, the lawyer thinks he can bring down a president — one cable-news hit at a time.  —  The attorney Michael Avenatti stands just under six feet tall, with blatant blue eyes and thinning hair he shaves down to stubble …

A Landmark Legal Shift Opens Pandora's Box for DIY Guns  —  Cody Wilson makes digital files that let anyone 3-D print untraceable guns.  The government tried to stop him.  He sued—and won.  —  FIVE YEARS AGO, 25-year-old radical libertarian Cody Wilson stood on a remote central Texas gun range …