‘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 …

Russian Hackers Reach U.S. Utility Control Rooms, Homeland Security Officials Say  —  Blackouts could have been caused after the networks of trusted vendors were easily penetrated  —  Hackers working for Russia claimed “hundreds of victims” last year in a giant and long-running campaign …

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.

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.

The city that never sleeps finds that it's running out of reporters to report  —  New York City and its environs are home to 20 million people, Wall Street, Broadway, the fashion and media industries, and a mix of cultures unlike few cities on the planet.  —  And yet news organizations operating …

The Untold Story of Otto Warmbier, American Hostage  —  President Trump hailed him as a catalyst of the summit with Kim Jong-Un.  But what happened to Warmbier—the American college student who was sent home brain-damaged from North Korea—is even more shocking than anyone knew.  —  1. Homecoming

Haley tells high schoolers to avoid 'own the libs'-style online behavior  —  U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley  —  kicked off a conservative conference of high school students on Monday by urging attendees to avoid inflammatory language in favor of demonstrating real leadership.

“Did They Think I Was Just Going to Roll Over and Die?”:  The Cohen vs. Trump Battle Ratchets Up  —  What might Cohen know about the June 2016 meeting in Trump Tower between Don Jr., Kushner, Manafort, and a Russian lawyer with ties to the Kremlin who promised to provide them with “dirt” on Hillary Clinton?

Trump Proposes Mueller Interview With No Obstruction Questions  — Only questions on collusion with Russia would be allowed  — Mueller hasn't yet responded to proposal, Giuliani says  —  President Donald Trump would agree to an interview with Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigators …

NBC/WSJ poll: Support for Roe v. Wade hits new high  —  A majority of Republicans — 52 percent — say the Supreme Court decision should not be overturned.  —  As President Donald Trump's Supreme Court pick readies for his eventual confirmation hearing, support for the court's landmark ruling in Roe v. Wade has hit an all-time high.

Can the President Revoke Former Officials' Security Clearances?  —  White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders's announcement that President Trump is reviewing potential mechanisms by which to revoke the security clearances of several former senior government officials has …

Democrats Are Moving Left.  Don't Panic.  —  If you want to beat Trump, centrism is not the answer.  —  In November, several outright Nazis and white supremacists will appear on Republican ballot lines.  Arthur Jones, a founder of a neo-Nazi group called the America First Committee …

What the Latest Mueller Indictment Reveals About WikiLeaks' Ties to Russia—and What It Doesn't  —  When did Russian intelligence give WikiLeaks the e-mails that it hacked from the Democratic National Committee and John Podesta, and how did it transmit them?

A Sociologist Examines the “White Fragility” That Prevents White Americans from Confronting Racism  —  In more than twenty years of running diversity-training and cultural-competency workshops for American companies, the academic and educator Robin DiAngelo has noticed that white people are sensationally …

Alex Jones Threatens to Shoot ‘Pedophile’ Robert Mueller, Accuses Zuckerberg of Facebook ‘Shadow Ban’  —  Infowars conspiracy theorist Alex Jones ramped up threats against special counsel Robert Mueller on Monday, calling him a “monster” and described shooting the former FBI Director.

A Neoliberal Nightmare at OZY Fest 2018  —  Amid a split in the Democratic Party, Hillary Clinton headlined an event that was part music festival, part TED Talk.  We went with two hosts from Chapo Trap House to check it out.  —  On August 11th, 1999, the Dalai Lama brought thousands …

Government signals 463 parents of migrant children may have been deported  —  The Trump administration said in a court filing Monday that 463 parents of migrant children are no longer present in the United States, indicating that the number of mothers and fathers potentially deported without …

IDF shoots down Syrian fighter jet that entered Israeli airspace  —  Two Patriot missiles fired at Sukhoi aircraft that penetrated two kilometers into Israeli territory, military says  —  The Israeli Air Force shot down a Syrian fighter jet that traveled two kilometers into Israeli airspace on Tuesday afternoon, the military said.

Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren: ‘I am a capitalist’ - but markets need to work for more than just the rich  — Elizabeth Warren takes on Trump, the midterms and economic inequality in an interview with CNBC's John Harwood.  — On Trump: “What he wants to do is set working people …

Over four days, false claims dominated Trump's Twitter feed  —  President Trump tweeted a series of false or misleading claims over four days, ranging from the Russia investigation to NATO funding to North Korea to the price of soybeans.  —  From July 20 to July 23, accurate statements …

Hawley campaigns on quotes by mythical McCaskill staffer  —  WASHINGTON  —  A staffer for U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill said her boss “won't even consider voting yes” for President Donald Trump's Supreme Court pick, a conservative activist tweeted last week.  —  “She's in such a red state, but she doesn't even try.

How Is This Shit Legal  —  This past spring, Michael Ferro resigned as chairman of publicly traded media-looting hell-company Tronc, Inc., just ahead of the publication of sexual harassment allegations against him.  As a parting gift, Tronc paid him $15 million, voluntarily bundling …

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.

How U.S. intelligence agencies can find out what Trump told Putin  —  A top-secret Special Collection Service has extraordinary capabilities to hoover up intel from foreign adversaries.  —  President Donald Trump's insistence on holding a one-on-one meeting with Russian President Vladimir …

Harley-Davidson Cuts Profit Margin Forecast for This Year on Tariff Hit  — Company cuts 2018 profit margin forecast on impact of levies  — Suggests less of a hit than bike maker estimated previously  —  Harley-Davidson Inc. cut its forecast for profit margin this year by an amount …

Trump threatens more tariffs on US trading partners  —  President Donald Trump declared Tuesday that “Tariffs are the greatest!” and threatened to impose additional penalties on U.S. trading partners as he prepared for negotiations with European officials at the White House.