White House readies plan to extend about $12 billion in emergency aid to farmers caught in Trump's escalating trade war  —  An announcement could come as soon as Tuesday, according to two people briefed on the matter.  This is the latest sign that growing tensions between the United States and other countries will not end soon.

Ivanka Trump, President Donald Trump's daughter, is closing her namesake fashion brand, more than a year after she formally separated herself from the company and entered the White House as a senior adviser.  —  Apparel sales at the brand, which Ms. Trump launched in its current form in 2014 …

‘The Briefing’ Review: Speaking for Himself  —  Donald Trump's rst White House spokesman compares the president to a rock star, the Energizer Bunny and a unicorn.  Jonathan Karl reviews “The Briefing” by Sean Spicer.  —  Early on a Saturday morning in January 2017, the day after the inauguration …

When Airline CEOs Try the Cheap Seats  —  The leaders of Delta and American defend the tightest sections of their planes while sitting in them  —  Have you ever been vacuum-packed into a shrunken coach seat wishing the airline CEO had to endure the same discomfort?  —  We did that for you, sort of.

The House Tilts Toward the Democrats  —  Big-picture factors help minority party, but battle far from over; 17 ratings changes in favor of Democrats  —  Editor's Note: This is a special Tuesday edition of the Crystal Ball.  We'll be back to our regular Thursday schedule next week.

U.S. appeals court: Constitution gives right to carry gun in public  —  (Reuters) - A federal appeals court ruled on Tuesday that the U.S. Constitution's Second Amendment protects a right to openly carry a gun in public for self-defense, rejecting a claim by Hawaii officials that the right only applies to guns kept at home.

Facebook Says Alex Jones' Threatening Rant Against Robert Mueller Doesn't Violate Its Rules  —  Jones accused the special counsel of participating in child rape and pantomimed shooting Mueller.  Facebook said the rant did not violate its community guidelines.

Trump moves to silence critics  —  Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump's latest gambit to choke off the flow of information for past spy chiefs who have criticized him is a disturbing move that again exposes an imperious streak out of place in American democracy.

Growing Partisan Differences in Views of the FBI; Stark Divide over ICE  —  Favorable views of FBI have fallen sharply among Republicans  —  A new survey of public attitudes toward federal agencies finds that partisan differences in views of the FBI have increased markedly over the past year.

Haley tells high schoolers to avoid 'own the libs'-style online behavior  —  U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley  —  kicked off a conservative conference of high school students on Monday by urging attendees to avoid inflammatory language in favor of demonstrating real leadership.

I'm A Conservative, And I Went To An Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Rally  —  On Saturday evening, Democratic congressional candidate Cori Bush held a rally in celebration of her birthday.  Bush, who is running in the Aug. 7 primary against seven-term incumbent William “Lacy” …

Dem Has Advantage in CD17  —  Lamb leads Rothfus in nation's only two-incumbent House matchup  —  West Long Branch, NJ - The Democratic candidate has a sizable advantage in the race for Pennsylvania's newly drawn 17th Congressional District, the nation's only House contest that pits two incumbents against each other.

Kremlin, coy on new summit idea, says Putin and Trump can meet at G20  —  MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Kremlin was reticent on Tuesday about whether it would accept an invitation from U.S. President Donald Trump to hold a summit with Vladimir Putin in Washington later this year, saying only that the two men had other chances to meet as well.

Businesses linked to McCaskill's husband get $131 million in federal dollars  —  WASHINGTON  —  Businesses tied to U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill's husband have been awarded more than $131 million in federal subsidies since the Missouri Democrat took office in 2007, an analysis by The Kansas City Star found.

Russian Hackers Reach U.S. Utility Control Rooms, Homeland Security Officials Say  —  Blackouts could have been caused after the networks of trusted vendors were easily penetrated  —  Hackers working for Russia claimed “hundreds of victims” last year in a giant and long-running campaign …

Raising The Chances Of A Government Shutdown This Fall To 60%  —  I added a government shutdown countdown clock to the homepage of thebudgetguy.blog this week because the threat of a government shutdown this October 1 is real, growing and needs to be taken very seriously.

Sugarman cracks down on former-IDC campaign accounts  —  Enforcement division calls for refunding contributions  —  ALBANY — The state's top election enforcement officer has issued demands that could throw a wrench in the re-election efforts of the state Senate's former Independent Democratic Conference members.

Trump Proposes Mueller Interview With No Obstruction Questions  — Only questions on collusion with Russia would be allowed  — Mueller hasn't yet responded to proposal, Giuliani says  —  President Donald Trump would agree to an interview with Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigators …

Only a quarter of the country identifies as Republican.  There are two reasons the party keeps winning anyway.  —  The general understanding of the American electorate is that it's about a 50-50 split, half Democrat and half Republican.  There are third parties, of course …

Next step: House Intel asks Trump to declassify rest of FISA application; tantalizing clues about pages 10-12 and 17-34  —  The release of a heavily-redacted version of the FBI's application for a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act warrant to wiretap onetime Trump foreign policy adviser Carter Page …

A Sociologist Examines the “White Fragility” That Prevents White Americans from Confronting Racism  —  In more than twenty years of running diversity-training and cultural-competency workshops for American companies, the academic and educator Robin DiAngelo has noticed that white people are sensationally …

Offshore owners of British property to be forced to reveal names  —  Hiding identity to be punished with up to five years' jail in money-laundering crackdown  —  Offshore owners of British property will be forced to reveal their true identities or face jail sentences and unlimited fines under draft laws …

Florida Insider Poll: 'We've gone from being the party of Jeb, winning everywhere, to the party of Cletus, the slack-jawed yokel'  —  The Florida Insiders weigh in on Donald Trump's influence on the Florida GOP  —  Among the questions in this month's Florida Insider Poll …

Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren: ‘I am a capitalist’ - but markets need to work for more than just the rich  — Elizabeth Warren takes on Trump, the midterms and economic inequality in an interview with CNBC's John Harwood.  — On Trump: “What he wants to do is set working people …