White House readies plan to extend about $12 billion in emergency aid to farmers caught in Trump's escalating trade war  —  An announcement could come as soon as Tuesday, according to two people briefed on the matter.  This is the latest sign that growing tensions between the United States and other countries will not end soon.

Burr breaks with Nunes: ‘Sound reasons’ for judges to approve FISA warrant  —  (CNN)Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr told CNN Tuesday he believed there were “sound reasons” for judges to approve the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act warrant on former Trump campaign …

Ivanka Trump, President Donald Trump's daughter, is closing her namesake fashion brand, more than a year after she formally separated herself from the company and entered the White House as a senior adviser.  —  Apparel sales at the brand, which Ms. Trump launched in its current form in 2014 …

Exclusive: White House stops announcing calls with foreign leaders  —  Washington (CNN)The White House has suspended the practice of publishing public summaries of President Donald Trump's phone calls with world leaders, two sources with knowledge of the situation tell CNN …

Two Trump Allies, Seeing Unlimited Opportunity, Instead Drew Scrutiny  —  WASHINGTON — Early one morning in October, Rick Gates, a Washington lobbyist who had been a top official in the Trump campaign, emailed family and friends warning them that he was about to be indicted …

‘The Briefing’ Review: Speaking for Himself  —  Donald Trump's rst White House spokesman compares the president to a rock star, the Energizer Bunny and a unicorn.  Jonathan Karl reviews “The Briefing” by Sean Spicer.  —  Early on a Saturday morning in January 2017, the day after the inauguration …

The Spy Who Drove Me  —  Last week, as America's top national security experts convened in Aspen, a strangely inquisitive Uber driver showed up, too.  And caused a minor freak-out.  Was the mystery woman some kind of covert agent—or simply a figment of these hyper-paranoid times?

Growing Partisan Differences in Views of the FBI; Stark Divide over ICE  —  Favorable views of FBI have fallen sharply among Republicans  —  A new survey of public attitudes toward federal agencies finds that partisan differences in views of the FBI have increased markedly over the past year.

Facebook Says Alex Jones' Threatening Rant Against Robert Mueller Doesn't Violate Its Rules  —  Jones accused the special counsel of participating in child rape and pantomimed shooting Mueller.  Facebook said the rant did not violate its community guidelines.

Tronc Exec Tells Daily News Staff to Their Faces: We Have No Strategy … When frugal newspaper giant Tronc was asked Tuesday about the specific strategy behind draconian cuts on the New York Daily News on Monday, the company's top executive in New York didn't have an answer.

U.S. appeals court: Constitution gives right to carry gun in public  —  (Reuters) - A federal appeals court ruled on Tuesday that the U.S. Constitution's Second Amendment protects a right to openly carry a gun in public for self-defense, rejecting a claim by Hawaii officials that the right only applies to guns kept at home.

Dem Has Advantage in CD17  —  Lamb leads Rothfus in nation's only two-incumbent House matchup  —  West Long Branch, NJ - The Democratic candidate has a sizable advantage in the race for Pennsylvania's newly drawn 17th Congressional District, the nation's only House contest that pits two incumbents against each other.

When Airline CEOs Try the Cheap Seats  —  The leaders of Delta and American defend the tightest sections of their planes while sitting in them  —  Have you ever been vacuum-packed into a shrunken coach seat wishing the airline CEO had to endure the same discomfort?  —  We did that for you, sort of.

Trump's latest demand is straight out of the pages of ‘1984’  —  In George Orwell's classic dystopian novel 1984, the “final, most essential command” of the ruling totalitarian regime is “to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears.”  —  On Tuesday, President Trump made that same request of his supporters.

The House Tilts Toward the Democrats  —  Big-picture factors help minority party, but battle far from over; 17 ratings changes in favor of Democrats  —  Editor's Note: This is a special Tuesday edition of the Crystal Ball.  We'll be back to our regular Thursday schedule next week.

Student with banned Trump shirt to get apology, $25,000 from school district  —  The principal of Liberty High School in Hillsboro has agreed to apologize to a student who was told to go home or cover up his “Donald J. Trump Border Wall Construction Co.” shirt in January.

Farewell For Now  —  In which I bid farewell to Tesla analysis at Seeking Alpha.  —  And explain why I am departing.  —  A victory for Elon Musk?  Perhaps.  Of a dubious sort.  —  Yesterday, July 23, I decided to cease writing about Tesla (TSLA) here at the Seeking Alpha web site.

Montana Governor Sues I.R.S., Warning of ‘Foreign Money’ in Elections  —  Gov. Steve Bullock of Montana, a Democrat who has crusaded against the loosening of campaign finance rules, is suing the Trump administration to block it from eliminating a mandate that politically active nonprofit groups disclose …

Attorney General Jeff Sessions repeats ‘lock her up’ chant  —  Washington (CNN)Attorney General Jeff Sessions, the top law enforcement officer in the country, participated in a chant of “Lock her up” Tuesday, reviving a rallying cry from Donald Trump campaign events calling to jail Hillary Clinton.

Businesses linked to McCaskill's husband get $131 million in federal dollars  —  WASHINGTON  —  Businesses tied to U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill's husband have been awarded more than $131 million in federal subsidies since the Missouri Democrat took office in 2007, an analysis by The Kansas City Star found.

Russia slams US general, says he ‘discredited’ Trump  —  Washington (CNN)The Russian Ministry of Defense slammed US Gen. Joseph Votel Tuesday, accusing America's top military commander in the Middle East of discrediting President Donald Trump's position after Votel expressed hesitancy about working with Russia in Syria.

Whirlpool shares plunge 14.5%, post worst day since 1987 as tariffs wreak havoc with costs and suppliers  — The U.S. based washing machine giant who was once in favor of stricter trade controls for its own industry.  — Whirpool shares plummeted Tuesday after executives blamed rising steel …

Court records show duck boat in Missouri disaster was designed by entrepreneur with no engineering training  —  The duck boat that sank in a Missouri lake last week, killing 17 people, was built based on a design by a self-taught entrepreneur who had no engineering training, according to court records reviewed by the Los Angeles Times.

A million Facebook users watched a video that blurs the line between bad satire and ‘fake news’  —  A conservative news outlet spliced together a “satirical” interview with Democratic congressional candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, published it on Facebook without noting it was satire …

Rattled by string of violent attacks, Toronto wonders if city is unraveling  —  As residents grapple with the latest attack to hit the city in recent months, some are asking whether it was becoming less safe  —  Detectives in Canada are still seeking a motive for a mass shooting which left three dead …

She warned America that Russia hacked our voting rolls.  Why is she in jail?  |  Will Bunch  —  Last week's news that special counsel Robert Mueller had the goods on 12 high-level Russian spies whose job was to hack computers and muck up America's 2016 presidential election was a political bombshell …

Demi Lovato Suffers Apparent Heroin Overdose, ‘Awake and Responsive’ in Hospital  —  3:13 PM PT — Demi's aunt, Kerissa Dunn, posted on social media that Demi is “awake and responsive.”  —  1:48 PM PT — Paramedics found Demi unconscious when they arrived at her home.

Fox News Goes to War Against Its Own: Kimberly Guilfoyle … In the past few days, staffers at Fox News have waged a covert war and hostile whisper campaign against one of their most prominent former colleagues.  —  For Fox News—with its seasoned and often ruthless public-relations shop …

Top Trump-appointee at Veterans Affairs spread conspiracy theories, made anti-Muslim comments  —  (CNN)A senior Trump administration appointee at the Department of Veterans Affairs spread birther conspiracy theories about then-President Barack Obama and made anti-Muslim comments on social media …

Justice Department: Use ‘illegal aliens,’ not ‘undocumented’  —  Sessions defends Trump on immigration policy  —  Washington (CNN)The Justice Department has instructed US attorneys offices not to use the term “undocumented” immigrants and instead refer to someone illegally in the US as …

Real Mass Hysteria, American Style  —  My friend Dennis Prager writes, “You and I are living through the greatest mass hysteria in American history.  For many Americans, the McCarthy era held that dubious distinction, but what is happening now is incomparably worse.”

Outspoken Federal Judge Launches Amazingly Dumb Twitter Tirade  —  When it comes to maturity, these clerks are showing a lot more than this senior status judge.  —  In the wake of the allegations of years of sexual misconduct by Judge Alex Kozinski (and, by extension, years of failure …