Politics

The Associated Press reports: The U.S. economy surged in the April-June quarter to an annual growth rate of 4.1 percent. That’s the fastest pace since 2014, driven by consumers who began spending their tax cuts and exporters who rushed to get their products delivered ahead of retaliatory tariffs. The Commerce Department reported Friday that the gross domestic product, the country’s …

The Huffington Post reports: The federal government has issued more than three dozen permits allowing hunters to import lion trophies from two African nations since 2016, according to copies of the applications obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request.  Thirty-three Americans were issued permits to import 38 lion trophies between 2016 and 2018, at least half of whom have …

The Associated Press reports: Michael Avenatti, the attorney for porn actress Stormy Daniels, said Thursday that he now represents three additional women who he says had relationships with President Donald Trump and were paid “hush money” before the 2016 presidential election. Avenatti disclosed the information at a community forum in West Hollywood, California, but he would not provide additional information. …

The Daily Beast reports: The Russian intelligence agency behind the 2016 election cyberattacks targeted Sen. Claire McCaskill as she began her 2018 re-election campaign in earnest, a Daily Beast forensic analysis reveals. That makes the Missouri Democrat the first identified target of the Kremlin’s 2018 election interference. McCaskill, who has been highly critical of Russia over the years, is widely …

NBC News reports: New polls in three key Midwestern states show Republican Senate and gubernatorial candidates trailing their Democratic counterparts in hypothetical matchups — particularly GOP Gov. Scott Walker in Wisconsin, where only a third of voters say he deserves to be re-elected and where he trails his leading Democratic challenger by more than 10 points. According to new polling …

“For those of you at home, if I may, journalists are not the enemies of the people. It’s quite the opposite. Our profession is enshrined in the Constitution and the fourth estate holds the essential job of being your eyes and often ears and, when appropriate, your voice. It’s a cornerstone of our republic. Over 22 years at this network, …

ABC News reports: When FBI counterintelligence agents plowed through the emails of alleged Russian agent Maria Butina’s networking around Washington, they discovered her plan to arrange “friendship and dialogue dinners” with influential Americans. At one dinner, ABC News has learned, in February 2017 at the tony French eaterie, Bistro Bis, one guest who dined with the then-28 year old Russian …

Chris Johnson reports at the Washington Blade: A Republican lawmaker in the U.S. House has introduced legislation that appears to be aimed at barring U.S. embassies from flying the Pride flag in recognition of the LGBT community. With little fanfare last week, Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.) quietly introduced the measure, which seeks to “prohibit the flying of any flag other …

ABC News reports: Pig prices are plunging – so, too, those of American soybeans. America’s heartland farmers, in states largely supportive of President Donald Trump, say they are starting to feel real financial pain from a tit-for-tat trade war Trump once promised will be “easy to win.” “We have loss of confidence in our products and we have loss of …

Politico reports: West Virginia’s secretary of state on Thursday denied Don Blankenship’s bid to appear on the Senate ballot as a third-party candidate, a victory for Republicans hoping to consolidate votes against Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin in the general election. Secretary of State Mac Warner said Blankenship’s bid would violate the state’s “sore loser law” preventing a candidate who lost …

The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports: House Freedom Caucus founder Jim Jordan – a conservative firebrand from Champaign County – announced Thursday that he’ll run for Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. “Should the American people entrust us with the majority again in the 116th Congress, I plan to run for Speaker of the House to bring real change to …

Reuters reports: U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Thursday defended his deputy, Rod Rosenstein, and took a swipe at fellow Republicans in Congress who moved to impeach Rosenstein, who oversees the federal probe of Russia’s role in the 2016 presidential election. “My deputy, Rod Rosenstein, is highly capable. I have the highest confidence in him,” Sessions said during an appearance …

Politico reports: Donald Trump Jr. and Vanessa Trump are closing in on a divorce agreement. The pair has worked out custody for their five children, a judge said Thursday, and they are nearing a financial agreement, according to a lawyer for Trump Jr., the oldest son of President Donald Trump. In a Manhattan courtroom, Judge Michael Katz commended the duo …

The Tallahassee Democrat reports: Calling it a “lopsided” burden on college students, a federal judge today told Florida that college and university campuses can be used as early voting sites in this year’s elections. In a scathing ruling, U.S. District Judge Mark Walker called the ban put in place by Secretary of State Ken Detzner [photo above] unconstitutional. He said …

The New York Post reports: A pair of hosts on one of New Jersey’s top radio stations have been bounced from the airwaves after they mocked the state’s attorney general — who is a Sikh-American — as “turban man” on the air, the station said early Thursday. “You know the new attorney general? I’m never going to know his name, …

The Hill reports: Former White House press secretary Sean Spicer was interrupted by a protester during a book signing in New York on Wednesday who called him a “garbage person.” “Hey Sean, you’re a real piece of garbage and I hope you look around and see all these empty seats,” a man shouted inside the Union Square Barnes and Noble …

Business Insider reports: President Donald Trump’s legal troubles with his former lawyer Michael Cohen took another, damaging twist on Thursday when Michael Avenatti, the attorney for porn star Stormy Daniels, alleged that multiple women had been paid off, and that Trump may even have covered up a pregnancy. Trump already stands accused of having paid off Daniels, and in tapes …

The Toledo Blade reports: A boat owned by the family of U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos was vandalized over the weekend while moored at a Huron dock, according to the Huron Police Department. The Seaquest was moored at the Huron Boat Basin, 330 Main St., according to a police report. The captain of the 163-foot yacht, worth a reported …

The Hill reports: A group of conservative House lawmakers on Wednesday introduced articles of impeachment against Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, the top Department of Justice (DOJ) official overseeing special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation. The impeachment document makes a series of charges against Rosenstein, the latest sign of escalating efforts among conservatives to oust the DOJ’s No. 2 official. …

TMZ reports: The OG Donald Trump Walk of Fame Star vandal is coming to the rescue of the latest guy to take a pickax to Trump’s star by bailing him out of jail. You might recall, James Otis attacked Trump’s star in 2016 — also with a pickax — and we’ve learned he’s now stepping up to pay the $20k …