Talking Points Memo reports: President Donald Trump attempted to give a boost to Republicans’ stalled Obamacare repeal effort Wednesday. But he seemed to acknowledge that his party had lost the messaging battle on health care to Democrats, who the President said “scream death,” presumably referring to Democrats’ framing of Republicans’ proposed overhaul of the health care system. Trump has invited …

ABC News reports: A majority of Americans prefer to see the next Congress controlled by the Democrats to counter President Donald Trump rather than the Republicans to support him — but without the level of anti-Trump motivation the opposition party may be banking on. Despite Trump’s historically low approval rating, opposition to him is not producing appreciably more 2018 voting …

The Hill reports: Donald Trump Jr. is reportedly “miserable” and can’t wait for the next four years to end. A friend of President Trump’s sons told People that Trump Jr. and Eric Trump “never wanted this.” “Don can’t do any deals, because he’ll be overly scrutinized. He just goes to work every day and is miserable,” a source in their …

USA Today reports: A group of 20 House Democrats is calling on the FBI to review Ivanka Trump’s security clearance as her husband and presidential adviser, Jared Kushner, is under scrutiny for failing to disclose meetings with Russians during and after her father’s presidential campaign. Kushner has updated his disclosure forms multiple times, including to account for a meeting at …

Mediaite reports: Corey Lewandowski appeared on Fox & Friends Wednesday morning to offer optimistic words for President Donald Trump and his efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act.  Lewandowski opened by informing the Fox & Friends hosts that the “president is a great dealmaker,” and that he is “very, very close on this piece of legislation.” “I think this bill …

The Washington Post reports: Trump lashed out at the media for reporting on his undisclosed meeting with Putin, saying the “fake news” was “sick” and “dishonest.” But the president distorted what news outlets, including The Washington Post, had reported, saying the story was about a “secret dinner” when in fact it was reported as an undisclosed meeting with Putin at …

NBC News reports: President Donald Trump met with Russian President Vladimir Putin a second time during the G-20 summit earlier this month, a White House official confirmed to NBC News Tuesday. Trump spoke to Putin at the end of a couples-only social dinner at the summit in Hamburg, Germany, the official said, reiterating it was a social dinner. Pull-asides are …

The Hill reports: President Trump will hold a rally in Ohio scheduled for next Tuesday in the wake of Senate Republicans hitting a major roadblock in their ObamaCare repeal efforts. Trump will appear at a rally in Youngstown, Ohio at the Covelli Centre at 7 p.m on July 25. He has held a number of campaign-style rallies since his election …

The Associated Press reports: Callista Gingrich, Donald Trump’s nominee to be ambassador to the Vatican, told skeptical Democrats on Tuesday that the president wants the United States to be an environmental leader even after pulling the country out of the landmark accord aimed at combating global warming. Testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Gingrich said Trump is committed to …

Business Insider reports: Kansas senator Jerry Moran has been hounded by reporters since announcing Monday night that he wouldn’t vote for the Republican healthcare bill, the Better Care Reconciliation Act. When confronted by reporters on Tuesday on Capitol Hill, Moran opted to jump across the tracks of the Senate subway to get away from them. Moran, along with fellow Republican …

“I understand that we’re a nation of charged opinions and partisan rancor, but I do find that most of the vitriol comes from people who don’t know me, and who are very brave on social media. It’s unbelievable how if I say something on a television program, or if the president says something, the reaction is so disconnected from what …

The Texas Tribune reports: On the opening day of the special session of the Texas Legislature on Tuesday, over the cries of Senate Democrats, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick took a step to fast-track two bills reauthorizing the Texas Medical Board and four other state agencies jeopardized by inaction during the regular session. The Senate must first pass those bills before …

The Dallas Voice reports: Dallas businessman Jeffery Payne on Friday, July 14, announced that he is running for governor of Texas, challenging Republican incumbent Greg Abbott, who he characterizes as a “disaster for Texans” and a governor who “offers nothing in the way of new ideas.” “Texas needs a governor who believes in real Texas values, like integrity, honesty, freedom …

From the right wing Big League Politics: Pro-President Trump “America First” candidates across the country are banding together in the 2018 election to put up a united front against their Republican establishment and Democratic opponents. Big League Politics has learned that at least four major American nationalist candidates will appear together at a rally on August 26 in Pennsylvania to …

The Associated Press reports: The Trump presidential campaign has spent almost $1 million on legal fees since the beginning of the year, according to a campaign finance report filed Saturday with the Federal Election Commission. That includes a $50,000 charge for the law firm of Alan Futerfas, who is representing Trump Jr. The payment was made nearly two weeks before …

NBC News reports: President Donald Trump said Tuesday he would let Obamacare “fail” in the aftermath of his party’s botched efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. “I think we’re probably in that position where we’ll let Obamacare fail,” the president said at the White House. “We’re not going to own it. I’m not going to own it. …

CNN reports: The eighth person who attended the June 2016 meeting with Donald Trump Jr. at Trump Tower is a senior vice president at the company founded by the Russian oligarch who initiated the meeting, CNN has learned. Ike Kaveladze’s identity was confirmed by his attorney, Scott Balber. Kaveladze is a senior vice president at Crocus Group, the real estate …

Michael Musto writes for Out Magazine: My time spent on social networks has been way more gratifying since I decided to block anyone who’s tried to crawl out from under a rock and chirp about how Trump isn’t really bad to LGBTQs at all. (“After all, everyone said we’d be in death camps, and we’re not” is a typically lame-brained …

From a survey released today by Public Policy Polling: On Russia related issues we find a certain degree of willful ignorance among Trump voters that can possibly best be summarized by this finding: only 45% of Trump voters believe Donald Trump Jr. had a meeting with Russians about information that might be harmful to Hillary Clinton…even though Trump Jr. admitted …

“I imagine many Democrats were celebrating last night. I hope they consider what they’re celebrating. The American people are hurting, they need relief, and it’s regretful that our Democratic colleagues decided early on that they did not want to engage with us seriously in the process to deliver that relief.” – Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, blaming Democrats after the …