Exclusive: Mueller refers foreign agent inquiries to New York prosecutors  —  Trump assails Mueller ‘conflicts’ though evidence scant  —  (CNN)Special counsel Robert Mueller has referred a collection of cases to New York federal prosecutors concerning whether several high-profile American lobbyists …

Accused Russian Spy Maria Butina Told American CEO: Send Cash to Moscow … Maria Butina, the accused Russian operative, didn't just allegedly cultivate the NRA on behalf of the Kremlin.  The 29-year-old Russian national also braced one of America's best-known businessmen …

Facebook Has Identified Ongoing Political Influence Campaign  —  WASHINGTON — Facebook is preparing to announce that it has identified a coordinated political influence campaign, with dozens of inauthentic accounts and pages that are believed to be engaging in political activity ahead …

Alex Jones, Pursued Over Infowars Falsehoods, Faces a Legal Crossroads  —  AUSTIN, Tex. — In the five years since Noah Pozner was killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., death threats and online harassment have forced his parents, Veronique De La Rosa and Leonard Pozner, to relocate seven times.

Mich. Supreme Court: Redistricting plan goes on Nov. ballot  —  Lansing — A proposal to create an independent redistricting commission will appear on the November ballot, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled late Tuesday in a closely watched case.  —  The 4-3 decision is rife with political implications …

The Justice Department Finds ‘No Responsive Records’ to Support a Trump Speech  —  President Donald Trump delivering an address to a joint session of the U.S. Congress on February 28, 2017 (Source: Wikimedia/Office of the Speaker)  —  “According to data provided by the Department of Justice …

‘Everyone talked with Woodward’: Trump White House braces for new book  —  Unlike previous administrations, this White House had no process for making officials available to the legendary reporter.  —  Bob Woodward, the legendary Washington Post journalist, was sitting on the couch …

“Don McGahn Hates Rudy with Intensity of 1,000 Burning Suns”: Is Trump Ready to Cook Giuliani?  —  Inside the West Wing, Giuliani's recent wacko media appearances have attracted the wrong kind of notice.  “Trump thinks he's saying too much,” one Republican close to the White House told me.

Trump says Americans need ID to buy groceries while making case for voter ID  —  President Trump, telling his supporters why he wanted Americans to be required to show identification before casting their votes, claimed that they needed their I.Ds “to buy groceries.”  —  He did not elaborate.

US says driving would be riskier if fuel standards tougher  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration says people would drive more and be exposed to increased risk if their cars get better gas mileage, an argument intended to justify freezing Obama-era toughening of fuel standards.

U.S. Workers Get Biggest Pay Increase in Nearly a Decade  —  Employment cost index, which measures wages and benefits, grew 2.8% in the 12 months to last month  —  WASHINGTON—U.S. workers received their biggest pay increases in nearly a decade over the 12 months through June …

Berkeley zoning board says latest 2701 Shattuck proposal is ‘still excessive’  —  A proposal for a five-story, 57-unit building in South Berkeley has come back in its latest iteration after a failed attempt in 2013 to get city approval.  —  The project, at 2701 Shattuck Ave., at Derby Street …

U.S. Considers Higher Tariffs on $200 Billion in Chinese Imports  — U.S. may now seek 25 percent tariffs on $200 billion in goods  — Officials seeking ways to re-engage after talks stalled  —  The Trump administration will propose raising to 25 percent its planned 10 percent tariffs …

What ‘Interracial’ Cuckold Porn Reveals About White Male Insecurity  —  The genre, in which a Black man has sex with a white man's wife, represents the ultimate threat to white manhood and racial purity.  And it's loaded with racist undertones that have real-world implications.

The stark contrast of the Maryland governor's race: Centrist or liberal?  —  MARYLAND GOV. Larry Hogan owes something of his popularity to his penchant for centrism, caution and political small ball — a shrewd strategy for a Republican chief executive in a heavily Democratic state.

Martha McSally and Kelli Ward clashed at The Arizona Republic.  Here's what we learned.  —  In the first and apparently only debate of the U.S. Senate Republican primary, U.S. Rep. Martha McSally and former state Sen. Kelli Ward sparred Monday over the future of border security, the national debt …

BBC, Fox News, PBS ranked as TV's most trusted news brands  —  The BBC, Fox News and PBS are the most-trusted TV news brands in the U.S., according to an analysis released Tuesday.  —  Research Intelligencer by Brand Keys surveyed 4,012 viewers who rated broadcast and cable brands that they watch …

A Federal Judge Launches a Futile, Unconstitutional Effort to Block Blueprints for 3D-Printed Guns  —  If there's a hall of fame for futile, symbolic, and ultimately unconstitutional federal court orders, the temporary restraining order just issued in Seattle blocking Defense Distributed …

Watch: Top Trump Officials Refuse to Raise Hands to Defend Family Separation … Top Trump administration officials were asked in a Senate hearing on Tuesday to raise their hands if they thought that the “zero tolerance” immigration and family separation policies were good ideas.

Will Democrats lurch to the left?  Watch Michigan.  —  This state has long been known as an early indicator of emerging trends in politics — and for upending expectations.  —  In 2016, Michigan voters dealt Hillary Clinton two stunning upsets: first in the Democratic primary …

Grieving mother orca falling behind family as she carries dead calf for a seventh day  —  Researchers are keeping vigil over the orca mother for a seventh day.  Now she's falling behind her pod.  “I am so terrified for her well-being,” said researcher Deborah Giles.

Ordinary Iranians on Trump Talks Offer: ‘Why Not Try the Americans?’  —  TEHRAN — Iran's leaders cannot stand the thought of talking to the United States and say President Trump cannot be trusted.  But Jamshid Moniri, a 45-year-old building contractor sweating under the Tehran summer sun, summed up what many ordinary Iranians think.

L.A. City Councilman Wants Ban on Electric Scooters  —  LOS ANGELES (CNS) - A Los Angeles city councilman introduced a motion today to ban the operation of electric scooters until the city drafts full regulations on their use.  —  The move by Councilman Paul Koretz comes as the City Council …

Chinese Surveillance Expands to Muslims Making Mecca Pilgrimage  —  Some pilgrims from China are wearing ‘smart cards’ to ensure their safety, but rights activists say the tracking devices are government overreach  —  BEIJING—China's close watch over its Islamic minority is being extended abroad …