Exclusive: CNN obtains secret Trump-Cohen tape  —  (CNN)Presidential candidate Donald Trump is heard on tape discussing with his attorney Michael Cohen how they would buy the rights to a Playboy model's story about an alleged affair Trump had with her years earlier, according to the audio recording …

Spotting CNN on a TV Aboard Air Force One, Trump Rages Against Reality  —  WASHINGTON — On the first couple's recent trip overseas, Melania Trump's television aboard Air Force One was tuned to CNN.  President Trump was not pleased.  —  He raged at his staff for violating a rule …

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 …

Amid grumbling, Republicans quietly relieved about Trump's farm aid package  —  Republicans on Tuesday quietly exhaled after President Trump announced $12 billion in subsidies to rescue farm country, fretting that a trade war could bankrupt the agriculture industry and cost the party seats in the midterm elections.

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 …

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 …

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?

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 …

Without the Russians, Trump wouldn't have won  —  President Trump is willing, under duress, to briefly and begrudgingly admit that Russian “meddling” took place in 2016 before reverting to calling it a “big hoax.”  But he always maintains that the plot against America had no impact …

FUREY: Meet the spin doctor behind the Hussain family statement  —  The man who has presented himself as the point of contact for the family of Faisal Hussain is a professional activist who has reportedly committed himself to “framing a new narrative of Muslims in Canada” and creating a “national political movement.”

Swedish student's dramatic plane protest stops man's deportation ‘to hell’  —  Elin Ersson refused to take her seat on flight at Gothenburg airport until man being sent to Afghanistan was removed  —  Play Video  —  A lone student activist on board a plane at Gothenburg airport has prevented …

I reported alongside soldiers in foxholes.  The president can't take that away.  —  Martha Raddatz is chief global affairs correspondent for ABC News, co-anchor of ABC's “This Week” and author of “The Long Road Home: A Story of War and Family.”  —  Like so many of my colleagues …

Femen co-founder Oksana Shachko found dead in Paris flat  —  Suicide note found next to body of 31-year-old feminist activist, say Femen members  —  Oksana Shachko, one of the founders of the Femen feminist protest movement, has been found dead in her Paris apartment, the group has said.

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.

NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist Poll: Americans Don't Think Trump Is Tough Enough On Russia  —  Loading...  Americans don't think President Trump has been tough enough on Russia, according to a new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll conducted after Trump's summit in Helsinki last week with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

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 …

How the Fleece Vest Became the New Corporate Uniform  —  A focus of a snarky Instagram account, the uninspired grey fleece vest is an inescapable presence in cubicles around the country.  So how did this ho-hum uniform overtake the suit as the corporate outfit of choice?

Pro-Confederate Birther Introduced Maria Butina's Handler to NRA Chief … The first American to introduce two of the major players at the heart of a shocking Russian spy scandal has such deep ties to Moscow that he has doubted Barack Obama's American citizenship in the course of demonstrating his affinity for Vladimir Putin.

As Gillibrand Pushes Left, Her Economic Agenda Tilts to Populism  —  WASHINGTON — Standing before a crowd of a thousand union members and progressive activists last month at a conference here that served as a 2020 audition for aspiring Democrats, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand was asked …

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.

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.”

Democrat Senators Won't Meet With Kavanaugh  —  Press Secretary Sarah Sanders conducted a briefing yesterday.  It featured the usual anti-Trump hysteria by members of the White House press corps, but I thought the most interesting point to emerge was the one that Sanders began with:

After a fake interview of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez went viral, its maker said it was satire  —  The video traveled quickly after being shared Monday on Facebook, gathering more than 1.5 million views in less than a day.  —  In it, Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, the congressional candidate …

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.

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.

Europeans offer Trump 2 options to diffuse trade war  —  On the cusp of a trade war with the European Union, President Donald Trump meets Wednesday with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, who comes armed with options to diffuse the threat of a 20 percent tariff on European cars.

As Greek Wildfire Closed In, a Desperate Dash Ended in Death  —  MATI, Greece — They nearly reached the water.  —  As wind-fueled wildfires that killed at least 76 people in vacation areas outside Athens bore down on their seaside resort, 26 men, women and children gathered in the hope …

Facebook's top lawyer is leaving as the company still grapples with election aftermath and a federal investigation  —  General Counsel Colin Stretch is leaving at the end of the year.  —  Colin Stretch, Facebook's top lawyer and the man who led Facebook's investigation into Russian election …

Jeff Sessions Laughs and Echoes ‘Lock Her Up’ Chant With Conservative High Schoolers  —  Attorney General Jeff Sessions repeated the phrase “lock her up” during a speech to conservative high school students on Tuesday, chuckling as the crowd began a chant that Trump supporters used during …

AG Ferguson investigation leads to Facebook making nationwide changes to prohibit discriminatory advertisements on its platform  —  Advertisers of housing, credit, employment, insurance and public accommodations can no longer discriminate by excluding protected groups

Finally: House Unanimously Passes Response To Kelo  —  It took the House of Representatives sixteen months to pass HR 1689, the Private Property Rights Protection Act, which finally happened yesterday by acclamation.  It took Congress thirteen years to act on this issue after the execrable Kelo v City …

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 …