Revoke my security clearance, too, Mr. President  —  William H. McRaven, a retired Navy admiral, was commander of the U.S. Joint Special Operations Command from 2011 to 2014.  He oversaw the 2011 Navy SEAL raid in Pakistan that killed al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.  —  Dear Mr. President:

“Death Spiral”: Why Omarosa Totally Triggered Trump  —  The perceived betrayal of a longtime female ally, and her perfectly executed Trumpian tactics, made the feud too personal to ignore.  —  In the days before Omarosa Manigault Newman rolled out her White House tell-all, Unhinged …

John Brennan: President Trump's Claims of No Collusion Are Hogwash  —  That's why the president revoked my security clearance: to try to silence anyone who would dare challenge him.  —  Mr. Brennan was director of the Central Intelligence Agency from 2013 to 2017.

Trump's military parade is now estimated to cost $92 million - $80 million more than earlier estimate  — President Donald Trump's military parade is estimated to cost $92 million, according to a U.S. defense official with firsthand knowledge of the assessment.

As ‘Access Hollywood’ Tape Surfaced, Michael Cohen Changed Tune on Paying Stormy Daniels  —  Federal prosecutors investigating former Trump lawyer view October 2016 tape as trigger for burying potentially damaging information, people familiar with the matter say

Detroit Rep. Bettie Cook Scott on Asian opponent: 'Don't vote for the ching-chong!'  —  More than a dozen community groups have called on Rep. Bettie Cook Scott (D-Detroit) to apologize for a series of racial slurs sources say she used to describe her primary election opponent, Rep. Stephanie Chang (D-Detroit).

Forecasting the race for the House  —  Our forecast for every district  —  The chance of each candidate winning, with all 435 House districts shown at the same size  —  CartogramMap  —  Dem.  —  Solid  —  Likely  —  Lean  —  Rep.  —  ≥95%  —  ≥75%  —  ≥60%  —  Toss-up

‘If they take the House, he wins big’: Trump loyalists see upside in impeachment  —  Why some Trump allies think his path to reelection runs through an effort to kick him out of the Oval Office.  —  There's a new way of demonstrating loyalty to Donald Trump and his Republican Party …

Terrified of the Blue Wave, Georgia Republicans Shut down 75% of Black Voting Sites  —  Republicans have little to no use for democracy.  We've known this for decades.  It's why we had to pass the Voting Rights Act in the first place and why the extremists of the Republican controlled Supreme Court gutted it.

CNN Poll: Brett Kavanaugh nomination has lowest public support since Robert Bork  —  Trump's SCOTUS pick could change America  —  Washington (CNN)Donald Trump's second Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, receives a cooler public reception than nearly every nominee for the last four administrations …

Fox News Mistakes Patti LaBelle for Aretha Franklin  —  Fox News apparently mistook singer Patti LaBelle for Aretha Franklin on Thursday, including a photo of LaBelle as part of the network's obituary image for Franklin, who passed away earlier this morning after a battle with pancreatic cancer.

Rick Scott killed a high-speed rail plan.  Then All Aboard rolled up and he bought it.  —  TALLAHASSEE  —  As one of his first acts in office in 2011, Gov. Rick Scott canceled a $2.4 billion federally funded and shovel-ready bullet train from Orlando to Tampa because it carried …

Corey Stewart used racist stereotypes to disparage NFL players in 2017 campaign event  —  (CNN)Corey Stewart, the Republican nominee for US Senate in Virginia, used racist stereotypes to disparage NFL players who protest during the National Anthem in an online exchange with his supporters last year.

How Michael Avenatti Got His Start In Political Dark Arts Under Rahm Emanuel  —  Many politicians spent their younger days working or volunteering for campaigns, and they now regale voters with stories about knocking on doors for a candidate whose virtue appealed to their young idealism.

‘Queer Eye’ Star Jonathan Van Ness Under Fire After Saying ‘Not All Republicans Are Racist’  —  “Ah, yes... ‘mutual understanding’ with racists,” says one commenter after Bravo reality star advocates for “center left candidates”  —  “Queer Eye” star Jonathan Van Ness had to defend himself …

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints issues new name guidelines, dropping term Mormon in most uses  —  SALT LAKE CITY — President Russell M. Nelson of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints issued the following statement Thursday afternoon regarding the name of the church:

Scientists have a forecast for the rest of California's fire season.  It isn't pretty.  —  WASHINGTON  —  Bad news for the West: Even after firefighters have already battled 101 large blazes this year, the remainder of wildfire season is expected to be hotter and drier than normal …

Democrats cautious about judging one of their own amid misconduct allegations  —  Democrats have found themselves once again in the uncomfortable position of trying to determine how to judge one of their own accused of misdeeds.  —  For now, at least, Rep. Keith Ellison's fellow Democrats …

Millennial Couple Bikes Through ISIS Territory to Prove ‘Humans Are Kind’ and Gets Killed  —  “Evil is a make-believe concept we've invented to deal with the complexities of fellow humans.”  —  An idealistic young American couple was killed in an Islamic State-claimed terrorist attack …

Couple Wearing ‘Abolish ICE’ Shirts Denied Access To Statue of Liberty  —  A pair of New Yorkers hoping to pay a visit to the Statue of Liberty last month say they were ordered by federal employees to change out of their “Abolish ICE” t-shirts before approaching the monument.

GOP leader criticizes Republican senators for not showing up to work  —  (R-Ky.) scolded Senate Republican colleagues on Thursday for skipping a Wednesday night vote, warning them that attendance needs to improve if anything is to get done in August, according to sources.

Beto O'Rourke and Ethan Hawke in Conversation  —  Two Texans discuss politics, fear, and the power of Willie Nelson to bring us back together  —  I met Beto O'Rourke after hearing him speak at a fundraising event for Texans in Man­hat­tan.  The room was hypnotized.  Everyone had been instantly impressed.