Omarosa Secretly Recorded Trump and Played the Audio for People, Sources Say … Michael Cohen, Donald Trump's former personal attorney and fixer, isn't the only one with secretly recorded audio of the president.  —  Multiple sources with direct knowledge of the situation tell The Daily Beast …

Secret recording shows GOP's Nunes saying Rosenstein impeachment would delay Supreme Court pick  —  “Do you want them [the Senate] to drop everything and not confirm the Supreme Court justice?”  Rep. Devin Nunes said at a recent fundraiser.  —  Hard-line conservative Republicans …

Trump's Lawyers Counter Mueller's Interview Offer, Seeking Narrower Scope  —  WASHINGTON — President Trump's lawyers rejected the special counsel's latest terms for an interview in the Russia investigation, countering on Wednesday with an offer that suggested a narrow path for answering questions, people familiar with the matter said.

Ohio race just got closer after county finds hundreds of uncounted votes  —  A special election in Ohio's 12th Congressional District was too close to call early Tuesday.  It could produce an automatic recount for Democrat Danny O'Connor and Republican Troy Balderson, who was backed by President Donald Trump.

No law prevents Kris Kobach from overseeing the likely recount in his own race  —  No law requires Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach to recuse himself from a recount in the governor's race, but legal and political experts say that he should to maintain trust in the election.

Bill Nelson: The Russians have penetrated some Florida voter registration systems  —  Nelson amplified concerns about the 2018 midterms.  —  Russian operatives have “penetrated” some of Florida's election systems ahead of the 2018 midterms, Sen. Bill Nelson said Wednesday, adding new urgency about hacking.

Prosecutor: Man at N.M. compound trained kids for school shooting  —  AMALIA, N.M. (AP) — The father of a missing Georgia boy was training children at a New Mexico compound to commit school shootings, prosecutors said in court documents obtained Wednesday, as authorities waited to learn …

The Whole Republican Party Seems to Be Going to Jail Now  —  The entire Trump era has been a festering pit of barely disguised ongoing corruption.  But the whole sordid era has not had a 24-hour period quite like the orgy of criminality which we have just experienced.  The events of the last day alone include:

Corey Stewart praised southern secession in 2017 campaign appearance  —  Senate candidate takes personal shot at Cuomo  —  (CNN)Corey Stewart, the Republican nominee for a US Senate seat for Virginia, praised in a speech last year Virginia's decision in 1861 to secede from the Union …

Ken White The Manafort trial judge keeps yelling at prosecutors.  That's not good news for the defendant.  —  Trial lawyers know that judicial grumbling is not a reliable predictor of results.  —  For the last week, political junkies have been transfixed by the federal criminal trial of Paul Manafort …

The Case for Banning Alex Jones  —  There's no reason for conservatives to be defending this guy.  —  One of the downstream effects of Trumpism is that the fact of having a President Trump has given conservatives a hair-trigger on defending every marginal figure, no matter how stupid or malicious.

Alex Jones' Lawyer Seeks To Make Sandy Hook Parents' Home Addresses Public  —  “They're using an old, outdated law to intimidate these people and it's just sick,” said Mark Bankston, a lawyer for the parents.  —  When radio host Alex Jones published a video in 2017 titled “Sandy Hook Vampires Exposed …

Student accuses Santa Fe store clerk of racial profiling after police called  —  SANTA FE, N.M. (KRQE) - A college student visiting from out of state says he was racially profiled by a Santa Fe convenience store clerk who called police, calling the student “arrogant” and “black.”

Uber Hit With Cap as New York City Takes Lead in Crackdown  —  Even as Uber has become one of Silicon Valley's biggest success stories and changed the way people across the globe get around, the company has faced increased scrutiny from government regulators and struggled to overcome its image …

More than 40,000 Facebook users expressed interest in political protests with potential Russian ties  —  SAN FRANCISCO — Over the past 15 months, at least 40,000 people said they were interested in attending anti-Trump rallies hosted by a group that Facebook banned last week …

Emails show 2016 links among Steele, Ohr, Simpson — with Russian oligarch in background  —  Emails in 2016 between former British spy Christopher Steele and Justice Department official Bruce Ohr suggest Steele was deeply concerned about the legal status of a Putin-linked Russian oligarch …

Unfriended!  Democrat drives to man's house and shoots him after heated political disagreement on Facebook  — Brian Sebring, 44, of Tampa, Florida, was arrested for shooting Alex Stephens, 46, also of Tampa, in the thigh and buttocks after their online disagreement

Man beaten with bike lock by cyclist who screamed racist slur in Georgetown shares story  —  A local man is facing a hate crime charge for allegedly smashing an African American man in the head with a bicycle lock after repeatedly screaming the “N-word” at him.

ICE Crashed a Van Full of Separated Mothers, Then Denied It Ever Happened  —  On July 18, a cargo van transporting eight Central American mothers separated from their children under Trump's “zero tolerance” policy crashed into a pickup truck in San Marcos.  An ICE contractor was taking …

Commerce orders NOAA to prioritize water for firefighting over endangered species  —  Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross ordered the National Marine Fisheries Service to “facilitate access to the water” needed to fight ongoing wildfires, rather than continue to provide some of it for protecting endangered species, such as Chinook salmon.

Exclusive: Pompeo told North Korea to cut its nuclear arsenal by 60 to 70 percent  —  But North Korea has consistently rejected the secretary of state's proposal.  —  The Trump administration has presented North Korea with a formal timeline for starting the process of denuclearization — and Pyongyang has rejected it several times.

Giant shipload of soybeans circles off China, victim of trade war with US  —  Peak Pegasus became unlikely hit on Chinese social media as it tried to beat tariff deadline  —  A shipment of soybeans worth more than $20m (£15.5m) has been bobbing aimlessly in the Pacific Ocean for a month …