When Trump attacked Germany in Brussels, his aides pursed their lips and glanced away  —  President Trump kicked off his trip to Europe with a biting critique of the United States' longtime allies, declaring at a breakfast meeting that Germany “is captive to Russia.”

Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh piled up credit card debt by purchasing Nationals tickets, White House says  —  Supreme Court nominee Brett M. Kavanaugh incurred tens of thousands of dollars of credit card debt buying baseball tickets over the past decade and at times reported liabilities …

Judge to Manafort: Don't Worry, the Jail You're Going to Knows How to Handle Terrorists, Traitors and Spies  —  The legal saga of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort took another turn Wednesday as Eastern District of Virginia (EDVA) Judge T.S. Ellis has denied his bid to stay put at the jail he is currently residing at.

Battling Fake Accounts, Twitter to Slash Millions of Followers  —  Twitter will begin removing tens of millions of suspicious accounts from users' followers on Thursday, signaling a major new effort to restore trust on the popular but embattled platform.  —  The reform takes aim at a pervasive form of social media fraud.

Obama Tops Public's List of Best President in Their Lifetime, Followed by Clinton, Reagan  —  Reagan is top choice among Boomers, Silents  —  When asked which president has done the best job in their lifetimes, more Americans name Barack Obama than any other president.

Wife of top Trump aide had radio show where she said women in military should expect sexual harassment  —  (CNN)Darla Shine, the wife of new White House deputy chief of staff for communications Bill Shine, hosted a radio show in the late 2000s where she once mocked victims of sexual harassment …

Border Protection says NYC mayor crossed border illegally  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and his security detail violated both Mexican and U.S. immigration laws by crossing the border on foot during a visit near El Paso, Texas, U.S. Customs and Border Protection alleges …

Papa John's founder reportedly used racial slur in conference call  —  A media agency working with Papa John's International Inc. decided to cut ties after the pizza maker's founder and chairman, John Schnatter, allegedly used a racial slur and graphic descriptions of violence against minorities …

Vern Buchanan bought yacht after voting for House version of GOP tax bill  —  A recently filed financial disclosure shows U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan celebrated passing the House version of the Republican tax bill in quite the lavish way.  —  According to the disclosure, Buchanan spent between $1 million …

VP Pence tears into McCaskill, shrugs off disruptions at KC event  —  Vice President Mike Pence repeatedly tore into U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill at a raucous event Wednesday in Kansas City that highlighted both the stark political division in the country and the role the region will have in deciding …

Once partners, ‘Game Change’ authors feuding over their shattered franchise  —  Until their split last year, Mark Halperin and John Heilemann were the golden boys of American political journalism.  Their collaboration led to a best-selling book about the 2008 presidential campaign, “Game Change …

Former Obama Officials Are Riding Out The Trump Years By Cashing In  —  The revolving door takes a spin.  —  The last 18 months have been difficult for former members of the Obama administration.  They've been replaced by a regime, which, in the words of former Domestic Policy Council …

Walmart Just Patented Audio Surveillance Technology For Listening In On Employees  —  “The sound sensors can capture audio data based on interactions between the employee and the guests, interactions between the guests, and sounds resulting from movement and/or actions of the employees and/or guests.”

Kushner's Firm Deepens Ties to Those With Business in Washington  —  Eighteen months into Jared Kushner's White House tenure, his family's real estate firm is deepening its financial relationships with institutions and individuals that have a lot riding on decisions made by the federal government.

Here Is the Column That Business Insider Spiked  —  Defending an actress for being hired to do a job is apparently beyond the pale these days. … Scarlett Johansson is the latest target of the social-justice warrior mob.  The actress is being chastised for, well, acting.

While America Sleeps: Trump's Treachery and the Russia Scandal  —  With a summit ahead, Trump works with Putin to cover up Moscow's attack on the US. … Listen to David discuss the president's cover-up of the Russia scandal on the Mother Jones Podcast.  —  In 1938, Winston Churchill published …

The Professor At The Center Of The Trump-Russia Probe Was A No-Show In Court  —  At a hearing in Palermo, Italy, Joseph Mifsud was described as “a ghost.”  —  Reporting From Palermo, Italy  —  PALERMO, Italy — Joseph Mifsud, the mysterious professor at the center of the Trump-Russia probe, was due in court in Italy on Wednesday.

Rick Scott and family made $550M in one transaction.  How ‘blind’ is his blind trust?  —  TALLAHASSEE  —  The reason Gov. Rick Scott's net income rose 55 percent in 2017 has to do with electric cars, China partnerships, a company turnaround, and a single transaction that resulted …

Croatia Stuns England in Extra Time to Advance to World Cup Final  —  Mario Mandzukic's 109th-minute shot into the left corner of the net sealed a 2-1 comeback win  —  MOSCOW—Rewriting history isn't supposed to be easy.  —  But from the moment they arrived at the 2018 World Cup …

Croatia one step away from making history  —  The image of goalkeeper Jordan Pickford sprawled on the turf after the game against Croatia will find a permanent place in England's picture-book of heartbreak.  As will the images of his gutted team-mates who slumped to their knees wherever the final whistle found them.

Nabbed at airport, ex-Apple engineer was fleeing with secrets to self-driving cars, FBI says  —  Most new cars come with a range of connected options, from Bluetooth to Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.  Here's how to distinguish among them and how to determine what you need.  Kim Komando, Special for USA TODAY