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 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 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.

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.

The Ocasio-Cortez Highlight Reel  —  The good people at the Washington Free Beacon have compiled a highlight reel of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's greatest hits, framed by DNC chairperson Tom Perez praising Ocasio-Cortez as “the future” of the Democratic Party.  I certainly hope so!  Occupy the Democratic Party!

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 …

Trump moves to silence critics  —  Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump's latest gambit to choke off the flow of information for past spy chiefs who have criticized him is a disturbing move that again exposes an imperious streak out of place in American democracy.

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 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 …

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

Offshore owners of British property to be forced to reveal names  —  Hiding identity to be punished with up to five years' jail in money-laundering crackdown  —  Offshore owners of British property will be forced to reveal their true identities or face jail sentences and unlimited fines under draft laws …

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 …

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.

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.

Florida Insider Poll: 'We've gone from being the party of Jeb, winning everywhere, to the party of Cletus, the slack-jawed yokel'  —  The Florida Insiders weigh in on Donald Trump's influence on the Florida GOP  —  Among the questions in this month's Florida Insider Poll …

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 …

LAPD officer fired bullet that killed Trader Joe's employee during weekend standoff, chief says  —  The Los Angeles Police Department announced Tuesday that one of its officers fired the bullet that struck and killed a Trader Joe's employee in the frantic moments they exchanged gunfire with an attempted murder suspect.

Dogs go out of their way to help upset owners, study shows  —  Sorry, that didn't work quite as expected.  Please try again.  —  Dogswill make a speedy effort to comfort their owners if they think they are upset, a study has shown for the first time.  —  Although anecdotally …

“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?

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.

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 …

Kremlin, coy on new summit idea, says Putin and Trump can meet at G20  —  MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Kremlin was reticent on Tuesday about whether it would accept an invitation from U.S. President Donald Trump to hold a summit with Vladimir Putin in Washington later this year, saying only that the two men had other chances to meet as well.

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 …

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?

Saltgrass COO, waiter say racism story made up  —  The Odessa waiter whose story about being called a terrorist by a customer spurred national attention last week now admits it was all a hoax.  —  The waiter, Khalil Cavil, 20, admitted he wrote the racist note himself in a Monday interview …

Raising The Chances Of A Government Shutdown This Fall To 60%  —  I added a government shutdown countdown clock to the homepage of thebudgetguy.blog this week because the threat of a government shutdown this October 1 is real, growing and needs to be taken very seriously.