Exclusive: Mueller refers foreign agent inquiries to New York prosecutors  —  Trump assails Mueller ‘conflicts’ though evidence scant  —  (CNN)Special counsel Robert Mueller has referred a collection of cases to New York federal prosecutors concerning whether several high-profile American lobbyists …

‘We are Q’: A deranged conspiracy cult leaps from the Internet to the crowd at Trump's ‘MAGA’ tour  —  On Tuesday evening, the dark recesses of the Internet lit up with talk of politics.  —  “Tampa rally, live coverage,” wrote “Dan,” posting a link to President Trump's Tampa speech in a thread on 8chan …

Putnam supporters mull jumping ship as Trump rallies for DeSantis  —  TALLAHASSEE — Adam Putnam has tried to ride Donald Trump's coattails to the governor's office, but on Tuesday the president came to his backyard and dealt a potential death blow to the agriculture commissioner's campaign.

Accused Russian Spy Maria Butina Told American CEO: Send Cash to Moscow … Maria Butina, the accused Russian operative, didn't just allegedly cultivate the NRA on behalf of the Kremlin.  The 29-year-old Russian national also braced one of America's best-known businessmen …

Kobach promised cities help.  It cost them millions — and powered his political rise  —  Kris Kobach likes to tout his work for Valley Park, Mo. He has boasted on cable TV about crafting and defending the town's hardline anti-immigration ordinance.  He discussed his “victory” there at length on his old radio show.

This Is So Much Bigger Than Paul Manafort  —  On the eve of the Paul Manafort trial, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin casually announced that the Trump administration was considering a fresh $100 billion tax cut for the wealthy.  The two events—the trial and the tax cut—should be considered plot points in the very same narrative.

Alex Jones, Pursued Over Infowars Falsehoods, Faces a Legal Crossroads  —  AUSTIN, Tex. — In the five years since Noah Pozner was killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., death threats and online harassment have forced his parents, Veronique De La Rosa and Leonard Pozner, to relocate seven times.

Trump Calls on Sessions to ‘Stop the Rigged Witch Hunt Right Now’  —  WASHINGTON — President Trump called on Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Wednesday to end the special counsel investigation, an extraordinary appeal to the nation's top law enforcement official to end an inquiry directly in to the president.

Trump is leading a ‘hate movement’ against the media  —  THE MORNING PLUM:  —  When the owner of a Virginia restaurant asked the White House press secretary to leave out of dismay over the administration's policies, the civility refs threw a blizzard of flags onto the field.

White House Weighs Another Reduction in Refugees Admitted to U.S.  —  The White House is considering a second sharp reduction in the number of refugees who can be resettled in the United States, picking up where President Trump left off in 2017 in scaling back a program intended to offer protection …

North Korea is still producing ballistic missiles after summit  —  Satellite photos and U.S. intelligence show North Korea continues to work on its missile program, even after Trump and Kim Jong Un's meeting in Singapore.  —  WASHINGTON — Arms control experts confirm to NBC News …

Republicans abuzz over Schmidt's divorce from GOP  —  The onetime McCain strategist won't comment on his talks with potential 2020 Democrat Howard Schultz.  —  Steve Schmidt's public break from the GOP and quiet departure from his corporate PR gig earlier this summer are fueling speculation …

Google Plans to Launch Censored Search Engine in China, Leaked Documents Reveal  —  Google is planning to launch a censored version of its search engine in China that will blacklist websites and search terms about human rights, democracy, religion, and peaceful protest, The Intercept can reveal.

Poll: Biden leads Trump in early 2020 match-up  —  Former Vice President Joe Biden leads President Donald Trump by 7 percentage points in a head-to-head match-up, according to a new POLITICO/Morning Consult poll.  —  A plurality of registered voters, 44 percent, said they'd choose Biden …

Mich. Supreme Court: Redistricting plan goes on Nov. ballot  —  Lansing — A proposal to create an independent redistricting commission will appear on the November ballot, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled late Tuesday in a closely watched case.  —  The 4-3 decision is rife with political implications …

3D-printed guns: Nationwide restraining order granted after 8 states sue … Eight US states have just sued to stop the distribution of plans for 3D-printed weapons.  But it may already be too late.  —  A multistate lawsuit, filed Monday afternoon, seeks to block a federal government settlement …

President Trump has made 4,229 false or misleading claims in 558 days  —  Because of summer vacation schedules, we had fallen a month behind in updating The Fact Checker's database that analyzes, categorizes and tracks every suspect statement uttered by the president.

Poll: Senate race between Cruz, O'Rourke a dead heat  —  The Texas Senate race between Sen. Ted Cruz  —  (D-Texas) is neck and neck, according to a new poll released Wednesday.  —  The 2018 Texas Lyceum Poll showed Cruz leading O'Rourke by a hair — 41-39 percent among likely voters.

The Stakes Are High for ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ — And That's the Point  —  The new film's creators turned down a “gigantic payday” at Netflix to ensure the first Asian-American-focused studio movie in 25 years would be seen in theaters and, if all goes well, reshape the Hollywood landscape …

It's past time to learn from failures, adapt our laws to the internet age: Mark Warner  —  National conversation about privacy, data and social media is long overdue.  I've released 20 proposals on how to balance technology regulation and innovation.  —  CONNECT

‘Everyone talked with Woodward’: Trump White House braces for new book  —  Unlike previous administrations, this White House had no process for making officials available to the legendary reporter.  —  Bob Woodward, the legendary Washington Post journalist, was sitting on the couch …

Sanders, Warren question whether Dem primary is big enough for both of them  —  debated whether to enter the 2016 presidential race, one of the first people he consulted was Sen. Elizabeth Warren  —  (D-Mass.).  —  One of us has to run, Sanders (I-Vt.) told his Senate colleague at the time …

Losing Earth: The Decade We Almost Stopped Climate Change  —  Photographs and Videos by George Steinmetz  —  Editor's Note  —  This narrative by Nathaniel Rich is a work of history, addressing the 10-year period from 1979 to 1989: the decisive decade when humankind first came …

City has to pay $65K to white cop who says he was taunted for saying he was part black  —  (CNN)A white police officer in Michigan who says he was taunted by fellow officers when he told them that he was part black will receive a $65,000 settlement, his attorney said.

Trump declares ‘polls are fake’ right before touting his poll numbers  —  Trump says all poll numbers are fake — unless they're favorable, in which case they're real.  —  Speaking at a rally in Florida on Tuesday night, Trump told the crowd that “polls are fake” — just seconds before bragging …

A closer look at the Trump-EU natural gas plan  —  A new post at UPenn's Kleinman Center for Energy Policy breaks down the deal between the White House and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker that's aimed at bolstering U.S. liquefied natural gas exports to Europe.