Trump calls Manafort prosecution ‘a hoax,’ says Sessions should stop Mueller investigation  —  President Trump on Wednesday said Attorney General Jeff Sessions should terminate the investigation into Russian election interference and called the prosecution of his former campaign chairman Paul Manafort “a hoax.”

‘We are Q’: A deranged conspiracy cult leaps from the Internet to the crowd at Trump's ‘MAGA’ tour  —  On Tuesday evening, the dark recesses of the Internet lit up with talk of politics.  —  “Tampa rally, live coverage,” wrote “Dan,” posting a link to President Trump's Tampa speech in a thread on 8chan …

Gap Narrows in CD12 Special  —  Motivated base and gains among independents boost Dem  —  West Long Branch, NJ - The race to fill the open seat in Ohio's 12th Congressional District has shifted from a Republican advantage last month to a toss-up now, according to the Monmouth University Poll.

President Trump Calls the Show!  —  RUSH: So I have this note on the call screener computer: “On the hotline...” We don't have a hotline.  “On the hotline, you're receiving a phone call in recognition of your anniversary broadcast.  You'll want to take this immediately.”  Okay.

Kobach promised cities help.  It cost them millions — and powered his political rise  —  Kris Kobach likes to tout his work for Valley Park, Mo. He has boasted on cable TV about crafting and defending the town's hardline anti-immigration ordinance.  He discussed his “victory” there at length on his old radio show.

Promoting voter ID, Trump says ID needed to buy groceries  —  TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump wrongly claimed that shoppers need to show photo identification to buy groceries and accused Democrats of obstructing his agenda and his Supreme Court nominee during a raucous rally aimed …

Hillary Clinton to bring female voting rights story to television  —  LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Hillary Clinton is adding a new skill to her resume: television producer.  —  The losing 2016 U.S. presidential candidate said on Wednesday she was working with director Steven Spielberg to bring …

Trump's approval ratings so far are unusually stable - and deeply partisan  —  Over the course of an eventful first 18 months in office, President Donald Trump's approval ratings have remained remarkably stable.  There has also been a wider gap between Republicans' and Democrats' views …

Google Plans to Launch Censored Search Engine in China, Leaked Documents Reveal  —  Google is planning to launch a censored version of its search engine in China that will blacklist websites and search terms about human rights, democracy, religion, and peaceful protest, The Intercept can reveal.

Correction: Paul Ryan story  —  In a story July 31 about the upcoming season of the PBS series “Finding Your Roots With Henry Louis Gates Jr.,” The Associated Press erroneously reported the name of Gates' wife.  Her name is Marial Iglesias Utset, not Sharon Adams.  —  A corrected version of the story is below:

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 …

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.

Top House Republican: Man Killed His Wife ‘Because The Woman Was Unfair’  —  One of the House's most powerful Republicans had some interesting things to say on domestic violence during a recent event back in his district.  —  Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX), the chairman of the influential House Rules Committee …

The Daily 202: Koch network warns of ‘McCarthyism 2.0’ in conservative efforts to harass professors  —  THE BIG IDEA:  —  COLORADO SPRINGS—Leaders of the donor network led by billionaire Charles Koch say they want college students to study Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin and Mao Zedong.

Democratic socialism, explained by a democratic socialist  —  It's not just New Deal liberalism.  —  “They are not traditional socialists.  There is no call for communal ownership of production,” said an MSNBC anchor while attempting to define “democratic socialism,” a term that has burst onto …

Poll: Senate race between Cruz, O'Rourke a dead heat  —  The Texas Senate race between Sen. Ted Cruz  —  (D-Texas) is neck and neck, according to a new poll released Wednesday.  —  The 2018 Texas Lyceum Poll showed Cruz leading O'Rourke by a hair — 41-39 percent among likely voters.

Of Course Trump Hates Brutalism  —  Washington is at last making its mark on Donald Trump.  On Sunday, Axios reported that the president had indulged in one of the inveterate hang-ups of D.C. society: complaining about the FBI headquarters on Pennsylvania Avenue.

Senate rejects effort to beef up states' election security spending  —  Senators on Wednesday rejected an a Democratic proposal to provide states with more election security funding ahead of the 2018 midterm elections.  —  Senators voted 50-47 against adding an amendment from Sen. Patrick Leahy

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 …

Wells Fargo to pay $2.09 billion fine in mortgage settlement  —  These companies are trying to win back your trust  —  Wells Fargo has agreed to pay a $2.09 billion fine for issuing mortgage loans it knew contained incorrect income information, the Justice Department announced Wednesday.

Corey Stewart aide compared GOP establishment to a ‘house negro,’ disparaged civil rights leaders  —  Senate candidate takes personal shot at Cuomo  —  (CNN)A top consultant and spokesman for Corey Stewart, the Republican nominee for US Senate in Virginia, has used the term “house negro” …

Meet the 81 candidates Obama is endorsing in 2018  —  President Obama released a list of 81 candidates he's endorsing ahead of the 2018 midterm election.  —  Why it matters: Obama is the left's answer to President Trump's continued presence in the primaries.

President Trump has made 4,229 false or misleading claims in 558 days  —  Because of summer vacation schedules, we had fallen a month behind in updating The Fact Checker's database that analyzes, categorizes and tracks every suspect statement uttered by the president.

Illinois lawmaker accused of releasing nude photos of ex-girlfriend to resign  —  CHICAGO — Illinois state Rep. Nick Sauer was expected to resign Wednesday after a former girlfriend filed an official complaint accusing the first-term Republican of creating a fake Instagram account and populating …

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 …

Hotline's Senate Power Rankings  —  A third Republican seat is now among the 10 most likely to flip.  —  With most primaries completed, a Supreme Court nomination on the table, and fewer than 100 days to go before the midterm elections, Republicans remain favored to hang on to or even grow their Senate majority.