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 …

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.

Removing Bad Actors on Facebook  —  Today we removed 32 Pages and accounts from Facebook and Instagram because they were involved in coordinated inauthentic behavior.  This kind of behavior is not allowed on Facebook because we don't want people or organizations creating networks of accounts …

China Slams U.S. ‘Blackmailing’ as Trump Weighs Higher Tariffs  — U.S. may now seek 25 percent tariffs on $200 billion in goods  — Officials seeking ways to re-engage after talks stalled  —  China warned the U.S. against “blackmailing and pressuring” it over trade …

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 …

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.

‘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 …

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.

White House Weighs Another Reduction in Refugees Admitted to U.S.  —  The White House is considering a second sharp reduction in the number of refugees who can be resettled in the United States, picking up where President Trump left off in 2017 in scaling back a program intended to offer protection …

“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.

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 …

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 …

President Trump intends to nominate an extreme-weather expert as his first science and tech director  —  President Trump intends to nominate Kelvin Droegemeier, an expert in extreme weather from the University of Oklahoma, as his top science and technology adviser at the White House, according to an administration official.

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.

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 …

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.

Republicans abuzz over Schmidt's divorce from GOP  —  The onetime McCain strategist won't comment on his talks with potential 2020 Democrat Howard Schultz.  —  Steve Schmidt's public break from the GOP and quiet departure from his corporate PR gig earlier this summer are fueling speculation …

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 …

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 …

San Juan: The Venezuelan city where nothing works anymore  —  Venezuela's economic crisis has left residents in San Juan with a chronic water shortage  —  San Juan de los Morros (Venezuela) (AFP) - Power blackouts are daily fare, running water comes only once a month, cash machines are empty and waiting for a bus can take hours.

Austrian foreign minister: No ‘dirty Brexit’ if both sides honor schedule  —  If the U.K. and Brussels stick to the “clear-cut” negotiating schedule, Brexit can be handled in a transparent and predictable way, Austria's foreign minister said today, dismissing warnings the U.K. could accidentally crash out of the bloc without a deal.

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 …

The first black speaker?  —  Upheaval in the Democratic caucus could pave the way for a historic House leader — and some potential names are already being discussed.  —  The next speaker of the House could be a black Democrat.  And Congress would never be the same.