The Spectacular Failure of the Trump Wranglers  —  Kurt Volker and many others tried to manage the President.  Impeachment is the result.  —  On Tuesday, nearly seven hours into the marathon third day of public impeachment hearings, Kurt Volker tried to explain to the House Intelligence Committee …

How Republicans' star impeachment witness turned on them  —  (CNN)Former US Special Envoy to Ukraine Kurt Volker was widely seen as Republicans' impeachment ace in the hole.  On Tuesday on Capitol Hill, it didn't work out that way.  —  Volker's opening statement repeatedly acknowledged …

Ukrainian gas executive cooperating in US probe of Giuliani  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal prosecutors are planning to interview an executive with Ukraine's state-owned gas company as part of an ongoing probe into the business dealings of Rudy Giuliani and two of his Soviet-born business associates.

Navy Wants to Eject From SEALs a Sailor Cleared by Trump, Officials Say  —  Chief Petty Officer Edward Gallagher is expected to be formally notified of the action on Wednesday.  —  The Navy SEAL at the center of a high-profile war crimes case has been ordered to appear before Navy leaders Wednesday morning …

Obama's aides left notes in White House offices for Donald Trump's staff reading ‘You will fail’ and 'You're not going to make it', says press secretary Stephanie Grisham  — White House press secretary says Obama aides left mean notes behind when they departed the West Wing on January 20, 2017

An Interview With the Woman Who Strongly Needed Her Coffee During a Live Impeachment Hearing  —  Tuesday's award for the most amusing diversion from the minutia of the impeachment hearings goes to McClatchy congressional reporter Emma Dumain, who went minorly viral for chugging coffee …

They're Blue Collar, and They Like That Biden Is an Average Joe  —  Joseph R. Biden Jr. has durable support from a multiracial coalition of working-class voters who view him as one of their own.  —  WEST POINT, Iowa — They are white and nonwhite alike, prefer Facebook over Twitter …

Trump Takes Aim at His Own White House Aides  —  “On July 25th, along with several of my colleagues, I listened to a call between President Trump and President Zelensky, the content of which has since been publicly reported.  I found the July 25th phone call unusual because in contrast …

There Are Two Rhodes Scholars Running For President.  Only One Gets Mentioned.  —  Media outlets mention that Pete Buttigieg was a Rhodes scholar far more often than they mention that Cory Booker was one too.  —  A major part of Pete Buttigieg's appeal is his brain.

Julia Roberts was suggested to play Harriet Tubman by studio exec, says Harriet screenwriter  —  “When someone pointed out that Roberts couldn't be Harriet, the executive responded, ‘It was so long ago.  No one is going to know the difference.’”  —  FB  —  TYPE

Republicans keep lying about me at impeachment hearings  —  Ukrainian journalist and then-member of parliament Sergii Leshchenko holds pages showing alleged payments to Donald Trump's then-presidential campaign chairman Paul Manafort from a a secret ledger of the political party …

Mike Pompeo Is Searching for a Safe Exit from State Ahead of Senate Run, GOP Sources Say  —  Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has told three prominent Republicans in recent weeks that he plans to resign from the Trump Administration to run for the U.S. Senate from Kansas in next year's elections.

Documents reveal massive ‘dark-money’ group boosted Democrats in 2018  —  The “green wave” of campaign cash that boosted Democrats and liberal causes in 2018 included an unprecedented gusher of secret money, new documents obtained by POLITICO show.  —  The Sixteen Thirty Fund …

What's Really Happening At The New York Times  —  If you're following the news these days, you'll notice that a high percentage is about the New York Times — the headlines, the opinions, the tweets, the deeper question of what it is to cover the news straight in a twisted time.

Poll: Opposition by independents to impeachment inquiry jumps 10 points  —  Opposition by independent to the House's ongoing impeachment inquiry jumped 10 percentage points in the last week, according to a Politico-Morning Consult poll released Tuesday.  —  The poll showed 47 percent …

$35 million in Pentagon aid hasn't reached Ukraine, despite White House assurances  —  More than $35 million of the roughly $400 million in aid to Ukraine that President Trump delayed, sparking the impeachment inquiry, has not been released to the country, according to a Pentagon spending document obtained by the Los Angeles Times.

U.S. breaks off talks with South Korea over costs of military alliance  —  SEOUL — The United States broke off talks with South Korea on Tuesday over how to share the cost of the two nations' military alliance, injecting fresh tension into the relationship over Washington's demands that Seoul pay sharply more.

Children are being locked away, alone and terrified, in schools across Illinois.  Often, it's against the law.  —  This investigation is a collaboration between the Chicago Tribune and ProPublica Illinois.  —  The spaces have gentle names: The reflection room.  The cool-down room.  The calming room.

Lt. Col. Vindman's uniform spoke loud.  His humanity spoke louder.  —  The uniform did what uniforms are designed to do.  —  When Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman appeared before the House Intelligence Committee, his striking presence in his serviceable eyeglasses and his military uniform exuded authority, ferocity and patriotism.