Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh piled up credit card debt by purchasing Nationals tickets, White House says  —  Supreme Court nominee Brett M. Kavanaugh incurred tens of thousands of dollars of credit card debt buying baseball tickets over the past decade and at times reported liabilities …

When Trump attacked Germany in Brussels, his aides pursed their lips and glanced away  —  President Trump kicked off his trip to Europe with a biting critique of the United States' longtime allies, declaring at a breakfast meeting that Germany “is captive to Russia.”

Wife of top Trump aide had radio show where she said women in military should expect sexual harassment  —  (CNN)Darla Shine, the wife of new White House deputy chief of staff for communications Bill Shine, hosted a radio show in the late 2000s where she once mocked victims of sexual harassment …

Obama Tops Public's List of Best President in Their Lifetime, Followed by Clinton, Reagan  —  Reagan is top choice among Boomers, Silents  —  When asked which president has done the best job in their lifetimes, more Americans name Barack Obama than any other president.

Beto O'Rourke to report huge $10.4 million fundraising haul in second quarter of 2018  —  Beto O'Rourke, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, says he raised a stunning $10.4 million in the second quarter of 2018. … Beto O'Rourke, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Texas …

Judge to Manafort: Don't Worry, the Jail You're Going to Knows How to Handle Terrorists, Traitors and Spies  —  The legal saga of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort took another turn Wednesday as Eastern District of Virginia (EDVA) Judge T.S. Ellis has denied his bid to stay put at the jail he is currently residing at.

Vern Buchanan bought yacht after voting for House version of GOP tax bill  —  A recently filed financial disclosure shows U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan celebrated passing the House version of the Republican tax bill in quite the lavish way.  —  According to the disclosure, Buchanan spent between $1 million …

Trump administration separated a 3-year-old from his father who crossed the border legally  —  ELOY, Arizona — Two days after asking for asylum at the bridge connecting Reynosa, Mexico, with McAllen, Texas, Jose was sitting in a freezing-cold holding room with his 3-year-old son, when immigration officials came in.

Battling Fake Accounts, Twitter to Slash Millions of Followers  —  Twitter will begin removing tens of millions of suspicious accounts from users' followers on Thursday, signaling a major new effort to restore trust on the popular but embattled platform.  —  The reform takes aim at a pervasive form of social media fraud.

After Backlash, Fox News' Jeanine Pirro Doesn't Appear on Bill O'Reilly's Show  —  Pirro had been scheduled to appear on the former Fox News host's digital show Tuesday night.  —  Former Fox News host Bill O'Reilly, who now runs an eponymous website and hosts a daily online news show …

Tower of secrets: the Russian money behind a Donald Trump skyscraper  —  One October day in 2007, a celebrity real estate developer in a greatcoat and powder-blue tie alighted from a stretch limousine in Toronto's financial district.  Before a bank of photographers, he took hold of a golden shovel.

Woman arrested in assault of 91-year-old Mexican man who was told to ‘go back to your country’  —  The Fourth of July fireworks display was just beginning when Erik Mendoza realized that his 91-year-old grandfather was missing.  Thinking he might have gone for his daily walk …

Once partners, ‘Game Change’ authors feuding over their shattered franchise  —  Until their split last year, Mark Halperin and John Heilemann were the golden boys of American political journalism.  Their collaboration led to a best-selling book about the 2008 presidential campaign, “Game Change …

‘You call the police’: Man who took Tom Reed sign charged after GPS tracks him down  —  A leader of a group that regularly protests against U.S. Rep. Tom Reed has been charged with petit larceny after being accused of stealing campaign signs.  —  Following the disappearance of campaign signs …

Meet The Man — And Propaganda Machine — Behind Trump's Latest Pardon  —  How Forrest Lucas — the little-known millionaire whose company name is plastered on the home stadium of the Indianapolis Colts — wields power, propaganda, and even Sharon Stone to protect Big Agriculture.

Walmart's Newly Patented Technology For Eavesdropping On Workers Presents Privacy Concerns  —  “The sound sensors can capture audio data based on interactions between the employee and the guests, interactions between the guests, and sounds resulting from movement and/or actions of the employees and/or guests.”

Border Protection says NYC mayor crossed border illegally  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and his security detail violated both Mexican and U.S. immigration laws by crossing the border on foot during a visit near El Paso, Texas, U.S. Customs and Border Protection alleges …

Papa John's founder reportedly used racial slur in conference call  —  A media agency working with Papa John's International Inc. decided to cut ties after the pizza maker's founder and chairman, John Schnatter, allegedly used a racial slur and graphic descriptions of violence against minorities …

House GOP appropriators block funding for gun violence research  —  House Republican appropriators Wednesday rejected a proposal to designate millions of dollars for the CDC for gun violence research, voting 32-20 to keep the language out of a fiscal 2019 spending bill.

German Wobbliness on Russia Is Real  —  And it long predates Trump.  —  The latest NATO summit got underway in Brussels this week, and President Trump brought all of his signature rhetorical subtlety to the Belgian capital.  Off the bat at a meeting Wednesday with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg …

Former Obama Officials Are Riding Out The Trump Years By Cashing In  —  The revolving door takes a spin.  —  The last 18 months have been difficult for former members of the Obama administration.  They've been replaced by a regime, which, in the words of former Domestic Policy Council …

‘Ranting and raving’: The time Kavanaugh knocked Chris Ruddy  —  Records from Kenneth Starr's office suggest Kavanaugh didn't think much of Ruddy, who has become one of Trump's top surrogates.  —  Two decades ago, as Brett Kavanaugh labored on independent counsel Ken Starr's team …