Rudy Giuliani just obliterated the goal posts on Trump-Russia collusion  —  President Trump's defense in the Russia investigation has been a study in goal-post moving — constantly watering down previous denials and raising the standard for what would constitute actual wrongdoing.

Study: ‘Medicare for all’ projected to cost $32.6 trillion  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. Bernie Sanders' “Medicare for all” plan would increase government health care spending by $32.6 trillion over 10 years, according to a study by a university-based libertarian policy center.  —  That's trillion with a “T.”

99 Days to Go, and the Midterm Elections Battleground Is Not What Was Expected  —  The most competitive districts are only somewhat better educated and somewhat more suburban than the country as a whole.  —  The battleground in the fight for control of the House is starting to come into focus …

Why Dean Baquet Skipped The New York Times' Meeting With Trump  —  When President Trump broke an off-the-record agreement after he met with New York Times publisher A.G. Sulzberger, some wondered why Dean Baquet, the executive editor in charge of the journalism Trump has openly criticized …

What is Bigfoot erotica?  A Virginia congressional candidate accused her opponent of being into it.  —  Our weird political era just got a little hairier.  For the first time, millions of Americans are asking, “What is Bigfoot erotica?”  —  That question has been inspired by Leslie Cockburn …

How to Talk to a Racist  —  White liberals, you're doing it all wrong.  —  NASHVILLE — There are still white Southerners who honestly believe that American culture worked better for everyone, white and black alike, under segregation.  There are still white Southerners who question how bad slavery really was.

‘Eye-popping’ payouts for CEOs follow Trump's tax cuts  —  The insider sales feed the narrative that corporate tax cuts enrich executives in the short term while yielding less clear long-term benefits for workers.  —  Some of the biggest winners from President Donald Trump's new tax law …

The Abortions We Don't Talk About  —  When Justice Anthony Kennedy, the Supreme Court's crucial swing vote on many matters, announced his plan to retire last month, it was suddenly clear that Roe v. Wade, the decision guaranteeing a woman's right to abortion, could be substantially eroded or even overturned.

Activist Publishes 11,000 Private DMs Between Wikileaks and Its Supporters  —  Emma Best, a freedom of information activist, has published a large cache of Twitter direct messages between Wikileaks and some of its most fervent supporters, including ones showing antisemitic sentiment from Wikileaks.

At Law Firms, Rainmakers Accused of Harassment Can Switch Jobs With Ease  —  Opaque hiring practices in legal industry often make prior sexual-harassment complaints easy to leave behind  —  The flowers arrived at Mayer Brown days after a prized new hire started at the law firm's New York office.

DNC Chair Tom Perez Spotted Carrying $1,840 Designer Bag At Airport After Calling Socialism ‘Future’ Of Party  —  A sharp-eyed sleuth snapped a picture Friday of Democratic National Committee chairman Tom Perez at DC's Reagan National airport.  The former Obama secretary of labor was standing in line …

Top Tennessee Dem Party official snubs ‘reaching out’ to Trump voters, calls them ‘idiots’  —  A top Tennessee Democratic Party's communications official made disparaging comments about President Donald Trump and lashed out against a suggestion to reach out to his voters, describing them as “idiots.”

What's going on with Donald Trump?  Psychologist explains the president's lies, reversals  —  Trump's lies and reversals are not due to mental illness but because he reacts to people and situations in the moment, with no thought of future or past.  —  CONNECT

G.O.P. Faces Another Midterm Threat as Trump Plays the Shutdown Card  —  WASHINGTON — Congressional Republicans, already facing a difficult election landscape, confronted a prospect on Sunday they had worked feverishly to avoid: a threat by President Trump to shut down the government over funding for a border wall.

Tariffs will cost Caterpillar $200 million, so it's going to raise its prices  — Caterpillar says it expects recently imposed tariffs to shave off $100 million to $200 million from its bottom line in the second half of the year.  —  Big exporter Caterpillar gave a figure on how much tariffs will affect its bottom line.

Why Are So Many Leftists Skeptical of the Russia Investigation?  —  As you move from the right to the left of the ideological spectrum, skepticism of the Russia scandal gives way to suspicions that it covers up something serious.  But somewhere on the left, right around the fault line …

Scoop: 20 ways Democrats could crack down on Big Tech  —  In a policy paper obtained by Axios, Sen. Mark Warner's office laid out 20 different paths to address problems posed by Big Tech platforms — ranging from putting a price on individual users' data to funding media literacy programs.

This Republican could hold onto his blue-district seat even if Dems sweep  —  HOMESTEAD, FLA.  —  Carlos Curbelo was fuming.  —  It was a sticky Friday afternoon in early July, and the Republican congressman had spent the last hour traipsing through a University of Florida research center …

MH370 Was ‘Manipulated’ Off Course to Its End, Report Says  — Difficult to attribute sudden turns to system failure: report  — Plane missing since March 2014 is aviation's biggest mystery  —  Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, missing since 2014, was probably steered off course deliberately …

How Alan Friedman, Italy's Professional American, Put Paul Manafort in Jail  —  FLORENCE, Italy — Alan Friedman is Italy's professional American.  A former journalist with a baritone voice and perfect, if heavily accented, Italian, he has for decades provided the American perspective to Italians.

Trump says head of Europe's lone fully populist government is ‘doing a fantastic job’  —  President Trump welcomed new Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte at the White House on Monday, eager to showcase the ascension in Europe of a like-minded populist with a get-tough approach to immigration.

Ginsburg suggests she has at least five more years on the Supreme Court  —  New York (CNN)Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said she hopes to stay on the Supreme Court until the age of 90.  —  “I'm now 85,” Ginsburg said on Sunday.  “My senior colleague, Justice John Paul Stevens …

More Drama, A Bloody Nose And Another Brawl At Donald Trump's Walk Of Fame Star  —  HOLLYWOOD (CBSLA) — President Donald Trump brings out those feelings in people — they love him or they hate him.  —  And his fans and his ... well, not fans have been clashing more and more at places like the former …

The Decline and Fall of the American Empire  —  Even if you don't think it's likely, it's always best to be prepared.  —  So what would the decline of America look like?  I don't ask the question because I think it's happening (yet?), but because even the most inveterate optimist …