The Note: Reality closing in on Trump with grand jury investigation  —  WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY  — A new development, and maybe a new phase: Special counsel Robert Mueller impaneled a grand jury in Washington, D.C., a few weeks ago, allowing Mueller's team to issue subpoenas in its Russia probe.

John Kelly Quickly Moves to Impose Military Discipline on White House  —  WASHINGTON — In his six months as Homeland Security secretary, John F. Kelly often described the White House as one of the most dysfunctional organizations he had ever seen, complained to colleagues and allies about its meddling …

Keep the Trump Leaks Coming  —  The president is too incompetent to serve, and Congress must be pressured into removing him.  —  Both in content and in context, the official transcripts of Donald Trump's January phone calls with Australian Prime Minister Malcom Turnbull …

Exclusive: Wasserman Schultz talks about arrested aide Imran Awan  —  “I believe that I did the right thing, and I would do it again,” Wasserman Schultz said in an interview with the Sun Sentinel about her decision to keep Imran Awan employed as information technology aide for six months …

This Trump real estate deal looks awfully like criminal tax fraud  —  Two tax lawyers break down the president's sale of two condos to his son. … President Trump clearly doesn't want to release his income tax returns to the public.  Members of the public and commentators …

Poll: Americans in battleground districts would strongly oppose Trump firing special counsel Robert Mueller  —  WASHINGTON - Americans in 99 congressional battleground districts - primarily represented by Republicans - would disapprove by a two-to-one margin if President Trump fires Russia special counsel Robert Mueller.

TRUMP, AMERICA'S BOY KING: GOLF AND TELEVISION WON'T MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN  —  Now that he's president, Trump frequently departs the White House and spends the weekend golfing at either his South Florida resort, Mar-a-Lago, or his country club in the New Jersey suburb of Bedminster.

U.S. Added 209,000 Jobs in July, Beating Expectations  —  The Labor Department released new hiring and unemployment figures on Friday morning.  This is the latest official snapshot of the state of the American economy.  —  The Numbers  —  • 209,000 jobs were added in July, somewhat above Wall Street economists' expectations.

Obamacare Rage in Retrospect  —  I guess it ain't over until the portly golfer sings, but it does look as if Obamacare will survive.  In the end, Mitch McConnell couldn't find the votes he needed; many thanks are due to Senators Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski and John McCain …

Hunt for Trump dossier author inflames Russia probe  —  Two Republican House Intelligence Committee staffers traveled to London earlier this summer to track down the former British intelligence operative who compiled a controversial dossier on President Donald Trump and Russia, according to three people familiar with the matter.

Diplomats laughing at Trump over leaked Mexico transcript  —  When Jorge Guajardo, one of Mexico's most senior and seasoned foreign policy hands, got out of bed Thursday morning, a couple of interesting messages were waiting on his cell phone.  —  One was a link shared by a U.S. diplomat …

APNewsBreak: Flynn details tie to data firm, transition pay  —  https://www.apnews.com/a250d1088af44a3b 8b55275dc97de608  —  Link copied!  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, is revealing a brief advisory role with a firm related …

CNN insiders rip Jim Acosta's antics as ‘auditions’ for his own show  —  Jim Acosta is suddenly one of CNN's most controversial figures even among some of his CNN colleagues, who say his public battles with the Trump administration are going too far.  —  One of Acosta's colleagues …

How to avoid nuclear war with North Korea  —  There are no good options to curb Kim Jong Un.  But blundering into war would be the worst  —  IT IS odd that North Korea causes so much trouble.  It is not exactly a superpower.  Its economy is only a fiftieth as big as that of its democratic capitalist cousin, South Korea.

COMPLAINT: TRUMP STRATEGIST MAY HAVE IMPROPER PR ARRANGEMENT  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Campaign Legal Center is complaining in a letter to the White House that a top adviser to President Donald Trump may be illegally accepting outside professional services.

Senate blocks Trump from making recess appointments over break  —  The Senate blocked President Trump from being able to make recess appointments on Thursday as lawmakers leave Washington for their summer break.  —  Sen. Lisa Murkowski  —  (R-Alaska), doing wrap up for the entire Senate …

Blue Apron Plans to Cut 24% of Staff Barely a Month After IPO  —  Blue Apron Holdings Inc. is cutting almost a quarter of its staff barely a month after its initial public offering as the meal kit delivery company struggles to become a profitable business.  —  The company is cutting 1,270 jobs …

EXCLUSIVE: Boynton girl, 8, dead after dare to drink boiling water  —  A Boynton Beach girl has died months after she was injured drinking boiling water out of a straw on a dare, state authorities said.  —  The 8-year-old told her mother's “paramour” late Sunday she couldn't breathe …

Sen. John McCain aims to revive immigration reform when he returns to Congress  —  A week after his dramatic call for bipartisanship on Capitol Hill, Sen. John McCain says he wants to revive a long-standing attempt to reform the nation's immigration system when he returns to Washington.