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 …

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 …

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.

At Paul Manafort Trial, Defense Puts The Blame On Mueller Witness Rick Gates  —  The first trial of Trump's former campaign chairman is now underway in Virginia.  —  ALEXANDRIA, Va. An attorney for former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort told jurors during opening arguments in his tax …

‘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 …

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 …

“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.

Collins Sides With GOP Leaders in Kavanaugh Documents Fight  —  While Democrats are crying foul after Republican leaders angled to limit disclosures of documents related to Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh's past work, one of the GOP senators whose vote may be pivotal to his confirmation says she's just fine with it.

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 …

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.

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.

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 …

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.

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 …

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 …

Flynn, Comey, and Mueller: What Trump Knew and When He Knew It  —  Previously undisclosed evidence in the possession of Special Counsel Robert Mueller—including highly confidential White House records and testimony by some of President Trump's own top aides—provides some of the strongest evidence …

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 …

Republican Supreme Court justices have ties to Michigan gerrymandering group  —  Michigan Republican Supreme Court justices weighing a ballot proposal to end gerrymandering in the state have ties to a group founded to perfect the practice.  —  The link: Mary Doster, a GOP insider who is treasurer …

Kushner Family Newspaper Cuts Ties With A Writer Who Attacked Kremlin Foes  —  The Kushner family-owned New York Observer has cut ties with a writer who has, since 2014, authored dozens of pro-Kremlin articles for the website, the most recent a story in April offering Russia's spin …

Here's How America Uses Its Land  —  There are many statistical measures that show how productive the U.S. is.  Its economy is the largest in the world and grew at a rate of 4.1 percent last quarter, its fastest pace since 2014.  The unemployment rate is near the lowest mark in a half century.

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 …

WATCH: Safeway calls cops on black mother for giving food to the homeless because they thought she was a shoplifter  —  Altruism can now be added to the list of benign activities black people apparently can't engage in without being treated like criminals.  —  Sunnyvale, California resident …

WATCH LIVE: ICE, Border Patrol testify at Senate hearing on family separations  —  The hearing is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. EDT today.  Watch the immigration officials' remarks in the player above.  —  But a hearing scheduled for Tuesday on the topic may have a wider focus …

President Trump holds rally in Florida … GO DEEPER  —  CONTENT BY LENDINGTREE  —  How To Pay Off Your House ASAP (It's So Simple)  —  Need $50k for a renovation?  Try a cash-out refi  —  Forget your 401k if you own a home (Do This)  —  Reverse mortgages: Worth the risk?

How chyrons took on a life of their own  —  In the age of Trump, cable news banners have become a medium for presidential fact-checking  —  They've become a facet of almost every news broadcast, as familiar as the anchor sitting behind a desk.  Within moments of the start of a newscast or panel discussion …