Democratic Insurgents Topple 6 New York Senate Incumbents  —  Years of anger at a group of Democratic state senators who had collaborated with Republicans boiled over on Thursday, as primary voters ousted nearly all of them in favor of challengers who had called them traitors and sham progressives.

Tentative deal reached between Manafort and special counsel: Sources  —  Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort has tentatively agreed to a plea deal with special counsel Robert Mueller that will head off his upcoming trial, sources familiar with the negotiations tell ABC News.

Nikki Haley's View of New York Is Priceless.  Her Curtains?  $52,701.  —  WASHINGTON — The State Department spent $52,701 last year buying customized and mechanized curtains for the picture windows in Nikki R. Haley's official residence as ambassador to the United Nations …

Lawyers “disgusted” by release of search warrant showing marijuana found in Botham Jean's apartment  —  DALLAS - Following the shooting death of Botham Jean by the hands of Dallas Police Officer Amber Guyger, multiple search warrants were executed at Jean's apartment as part of the investigation.

Kavanaugh Needs No Defense  —  Senate Democrats disgrace themselves again.  —  Every time a conservative jurist is nominated to the Supreme Court, he's accused of perpetrating some heinous deed or harboring some reprehensible opinion.  Neil Gorsuch was a plagiarist.  Sam Alito was a racist and a sexist.

“None of Them Is Where the President Is”: It's Trump vs. Trumpworld Over North Korea  —  Is this what today's “resistance” looks like inside the Trump Administration?  —  In the past few days, as a “tremendously big” and “tremendously wet” hurricane barrelled toward the Carolinas …

Michael Avenatti Is Winning the 2020 Democratic Primary  —  He won't be the nominee.  But he's setting the terms of the debate—and that could damage the rest of the field, and the country.  —  One month ago, Michael Avenatti—the Stormy Daniels lawyer, Donald Trump antagonist, and yes …

Bannon says right must support ‘RINOs’  —  's controversial former chief strategist Stephen Bannon is making an uneasy peace with the Republican establishment as he returns to the battlefield for the midterm elections.  —  Bannon, who made his name as a populist firebrand eager to attack GOP leaders …

The biggest threat to the GOP majority no one's talking about  —  Forty-four House Republicans are heading for the exits, and almost half of their seats have become top Democratic targets.  —  ISSAQUAH, Wash. — A glut of GOP retirements has House Republicans defending a record number …

Trump echoes far-right websites on Puerto Rico  —  For almost a year, conservative voices and publications on the internet have been casting doubt on the severity of Hurricane Maria's impact on Puerto Rico.  —  Trump falsely blames Democrats for inflating Hurricane Maria death toll

Barack Obama's return just reminds us how he fueled the distrust that led to Donald Trump  —  Who cares if Obama belatedly cheers for transparency and accountability?  He should admit that he made the government more dangerous at home and abroad.  —  Former president Barack Obama is back.

U.S. Spies Rush to Protect Defectors After Skripal Poisoning  —  WASHINGTON — When a suspected hit man for Russian intelligence arrived in Florida about four years ago, F.B.I. surveillance teams were alarmed.  —  The man approached the home of one of the C.I.A.'s most important informants …

Netanyahu Aide Steps Aside After Sexual Assault Allegations  —  JERUSALEM — A top aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel stepped aside Thursday after several women accused him of sexual assault, denouncing what they called his “predatory” behavior.

Hurricane Florence Has Made Landfall Near Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina; Catastrophic Flash Flooding to Hammer the Carolinas, Appalachia  — Florence is expected to crawl near or along the coast of the Carolinas through Friday.  — This will produce catastrophic flash flooding and major river flooding.

Willie Nelson is playing his first-ever political concert, for Beto O'Rourke.  Some fans are abandoning him.  —  On a muggy Fourth of July night just outside Austin, Rep. Beto O'Rourke walked on stage wearing a light blue button-down, with a Texas-size American flag in the background.

Sanders allies expect him to make second White House bid  —  say the Vermont Independent senator is increasingly likely to make a second bid for the White House in 2020 — once again as a Democrat.  —  “I expect him to run,” said Larry Cohen, the chairman of Our Revolution …

University announces “White Awake” safe space for white students  —  The University of Maryland at College Park announced Friday a new diversity support group to create a “safe space” for white students to discuss their feelings about “interactions with racial and ethnic minorities.”