Tick tock tick tock: Special Counsel Robert Mueller has impaneled a grand jury in Washington to investigate Russia’s interference in the 2016 elections, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing two people familiar with the matter. That’s a sign that his inquiry is growing in intensity and entering a new phase, the report said. Legal experts quoted by the newspaper say …

Vice reports: After segments of that on-the-record call were published—including the Mooch slamming his colleagues at the upper echelons of Team Trump, threatening to “eliminate everyone in the comms team,” calling Reince Priebus a “fucking paranoid schizophrenic,” and accusing Steve Bannon of “trying to suck [his] own cock”—many people wondered a) Where’s the audio? and b) what the hell Lizza …

Politico reports: New Hampshire leaders reacted angrily Thursday to President Donald Trump’s description of their state as a “drug-infested den” in a leaked transcript of a phone call earlier this year with Mexico’s president. “Up in New Hampshire — I won New Hampshire because New Hampshire is a drug-infested den,” Trump told Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto in January, according …

Vanity Fair reports: Before he (temporarily) disappears from public view, however, Scaramucci had a few things to get off his chest. Which is why he promised to tell the American people what really went down during his week and a half on the job, in an “online event” Friday that could be the biggest spectacle in Washington since James Comey’s …

The list of honorees for the first Kennedy Center Honors of the Trump administration has been released and unsurprisingly, things have already gotten political. The New York Times reports: The 40th annual award recipients include the groundbreaking television writer and producer Norman Lear, the immigrant singer-songwriter and actress Gloria Estefan, and the hip-hop star, LL Cool J. They will be …

Via Qunnipiac Polling: American voters say 68 – 27 percent, including 55 – 39 percent among voters in military households, that transgender people should be allowed to serve in the military, according to a Quinnipiac University national poll released today. Republicans opposed transgender service 60 – 32 percent, but every other party, gender, education, age or racial group supports transgender …

“If, at the end of the day the state of Kentucky has to pay for attorney’s fees, whose responsibility is that? It’s not Kim Davis, it’s not Rowan Country, it’s not the current legislative body, it’s certainly not Gov. Matt Bevin. It is the former liberal Democratic Gov. Beshear. Had he [provided a religious liberty accommodation to Davis,] this case …

Just in from hate group leader Monica Cole: Alerting all parents! Many have found the animated program, “Doc McStuffins,” to be a clean show; 1MM has recently found that this to be no longer true. In a first for Disney Junior, an upcoming episode of “Doc McStuffins” airing this Saturday morning, August 5, 2017, will feature a family with two …

The Hill reports: Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) on Thursday put blame on Russian President Vladimir Putin and his actions for the U.S.-Russia relationship. His comments come after Trump on Thursday morning put blame on Congress for the current relationship the U.S. has with Russia. Besides imposing new sanctions on Russia in addition to Iran and North Korea, the bill would …

The Associated Press reports: Two members of the Senate Judiciary Committee are moving to protect Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s job, putting forth new legislation that aims to ensure the integrity of current and future independent investigations. Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Democratic Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware plan to introduce the legislation Thursday. The bill would allow …

Bloomberg reports: As Ivana Trump, the fashion model turned businesswoman and ex-wife of U.S. President Donald Trump, prepares for the October release of a new book about raising her children, she’s seeking approval from trademark officials to protect her name in various entertainment and business services. Trump filed a request with the U.S. trademark office in late June to safeguard …

The Washington Post reports: President Trump made building a wall along the southern U.S. border and forcing Mexico to pay for it core pledges of his campaign. But in his first White House call with Mexico’s president, Trump described his vow to charge Mexico as a growing political problem, pressuring the Mexican leader to stop saying publicly that his government …

On Tuesday, defense attorneys for former GOP House Rep. Aaron Schock accused the federal government of prosecutorial misconduct on several grounds, including interviewing witnesses as to whether they know if Schock is gay or not. Schock has been charged with 24 criminal counts, including misuse of government funds, and investigators are trying to determine, among other things, if his traveling …

The Hill reports: President Trump on Thursday blamed Congress for the current “very dangerous” relationship with Russia. The comments come on day after Trump signed legislation that imposes new sanctions on Russia. The bill — which was overwhelmingly approved by Congress — limits the president’s ability to lift sanctions on Russia or return diplomatic compounds seized by the Obama administration …

CNN reports: Anthony Scaramucci wants to tell his own story. Following his departure from the White House after less than 11 days as communications director, Scaramucci will be hosting an online event on Friday where he will address the American people directly. Scaramucci said this daytime event — which will be broadcast on various live platforms with help from former …

Agence France-Presse reports: A vote by the Haitian Senate to ban gay marriage as well as “public demonstration of support” for homosexuality reflects the will of the people, the chamber’s president has said. The Senate approved a bill late Tuesday that said “the parties, co-parties and accomplices” of a homosexual marriage can be punished by three years in prison and …

ABC News reports: President Donald Trump denied late Wednesday that he called the White House a “dump.” Trump responded on Twitter to an article posted Tuesday on the website golf.com. The story recounts a scene in which Trump was chatting with some club members at his golf course in Bedminster, New Jersey. Trump reportedly told the members he visits the …

NBC News reports: President Donald Trump has become increasingly frustrated with his advisers tasked with crafting a new U.S. strategy in Afghanistan and recently suggested firing the war’s top military commander during a tense meeting at the White House, according to senior administration officials. Trump repeatedly suggested that Defense Secretary James Mattis and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff …

PERFECT: The first Chinese-American woman elected to Congress clapped back at a top White House aide’s defense of legislation aimed at curbing legal immigration on Wednesday. Stephen Miller, a policy aide to President Trump, was responding to a CNN reporter quoting lines about “huddled masses yearning to breathe free” from the poem “The New Colossus,” which is found on the …

CBS Chicago reports: Chris Christie reminded people Wednesday that he didn’t dump nachos on a Chicago Cubs fan who heckled him. Speaking at an unrelated event in Trenton, the Republican governor said three days after he confronted a heckler at a Milwaukee Brewers-Cubs game that he won’t quit attending baseball games. “I didn’t dump the nachos on him or anything, …