Axios

Sen. Mark Warner, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, told The Daily Beast that leaks of transcripts of President Trump's conversations with the leaders of Mexico and Australia were highly inappropriate and deserve a congressional inquiry:

A president of the United States, a governor would tell us they've got to be able to have confidential conversations. And I think it was disgraceful that those [came out].

The National Venture Capital Association led a coalition of investors, startups and tech industry groups to urge the Department of Homeland Security to reconsider its plan to scrap an Obama administration rule allowing foreign entrepreneurs to come to the U.S. to start companies.

What's happening: The so-called International Entrepreneur Rule was supposed to go into effect last month, but the Trump administration delayed the effective date until next March and signaled its plans to formally eliminate it. The tech and investment community are now making a last-ditch effort to urge DHS to use the extra time to prepare to accept applications.

Why it matters: Tensions between the tech industry and Trump are flaring again over the immigration issue.

• Scrapping visas for foreign founders was a blow to the tech community, which also came out against the White House-backed bill to significantly cut legal immigration and move to a merit-based system.
• While the letter itself isn't likely to sway the administration's opinion on the issue, public input is an important part of the formal process used to rescind agency rules, FWD.us just set up Save the International Entrepreneur Rule, a site where individuals can submit public comments to DHS by the Aug. 10 deadline.

Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation regarding possible collusion between President Trump's campaign and the Russian government has expanded to include Trump's finances and possible financial crimes, according to a new CNN report.

The reasoning: Mueller can investigate any matters that "arose or may arise directly from the investigation," and Trump's expansive real estate web — especially his prior dealings with Russia, including the 2013 Miss Universe pageant — leaves his finances open to investigation. It also allows Mueller to find leads to push Trump business associates to cooperate.

Why it matters: Trump has long resisted close inspections of his finances, and he told the New York Times it would be "a violation" if Mueller made his finances a focus of the investigation.

West Virginia Governor Jim Justice, a billionaire coal magnate, will announce that he's switching parties — from Democrat to Republican — during a rally in Huntington, West Virginia with President Trump this evening, per The New York Times.

Think back: Trump won West Virginia by 42 points in 2016, his biggest margin of victory of any state, and Justice refused to endorse Hillary Clinton. It's also worth noting that Justice has previously registered as a Republican, Democrat, and independent throughout his life.

Why it matters: West Virginia is the epicenter of the Trump shift in American politics — a battleground that's tended historically Democratic, but with an aging, white, working-class population focused on issues like coal, gun rights, and social issues it is increasingly allied with Trump's version of the Republican Party.

President Trump announced Thursday the rollout of a new health care initiative for U.S. veterans: an advancement in telehealth services. "We're expanding the ability of veterans to connect to their Veterans Affairs healthcare team from anywhere," said Trump, adding that he expects the new VA tools to make a big difference, "especially in the area of mental health and suicide prevention."

Bottom line: "It will make a tremendous difference for the veterans in rural locations in particular," said Trump. "We will not rest until all of America's great veterans can receive the care they so richly deserve."

• VA video connect: Health care providers can now treat their patients via video, regardless of location. (Trump and VA Secretary David Shulkin did a demo).
• A new telehealth website enables veterans to compare wait times and quality of care at VA facilities.
• Telehealth app lets veterans make appointments from their smartphones.

The Washington Post obtained transcripts of President Trump's calls with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull in the first days of his presidency back in January. In them, Trump expressed frustration over accepting refugees from Australian detention centers under a humanitarian deal negotiated by the Obama administration and candidly discussed the Mexican border wall:

If you are going to say that Mexico is not going to pay for the wall, then I do not want to meet with you guys anymore because I cannot live with that.

Two bipartisan senators on the Senate Judiciary Committee — Republican Sen. Thom Tillis and Democratic Sen. Chris Coons — plan to introduce a bill today designed to protect Special Counsel Robert Mueller from interference as his Russia probe continues, per CBS News.

What the bill would do: It would take the decision to fire a special counsel out of the hands of the president, granting the authority only to the most senior Department of Justice official heading the investigation. Additionally, it would allow a fired special counsel to challenge their removal in front of a panel of federal judges — with a guarantee that the case would be heard within two weeks.

Why it matters: The move shows that protecting the integrity of the government's Russia investigation is a rare issue that manages to bridge partisan divides in Washington. Additionally, it indicates the respect for Mueller on both sides of the aisle.

The tech industry came out swinging against Trump's latest push to restrict immigration, denouncing a White House-backed Senate bill that would cut legal immigration — i.e. green cards — in half and move to a merit-based system.

How it works: The bill, known as the RAISE Act, doesn't actually touch temporary employer-sponsored (H-1B) visas that the tech industry cares about most. Instead it would cut back on family visas and and cap permanent residency for refugees in favor of skilled workers that meet certain criteria. Senators Tom Cotton and David Perdue, the sponsors of the legislation, argue this approach will reduce the number of low-skilled immigrants that compete with Americans for low-wage jobs.

Tech vs Trump, again: Favoring skilled workers while leaving H-1B visas alone might seem like a decent deal for the tech industry. But instead, tech sees it as exacerbating the skills shortage while injecting more bureaucratic dysfunction.

Fifty-four percent of Syrian refugees aged 18-24 don't think they will ever return to Syria permanently, while 42% think they will, according to a new survey.

What would bring them home: 47% said that the war ending was the most important factor in returning to Syria. The second most popular choice was ISIS leaving Syria. 77% believe ISIS is getting weaker — 16% more than Middle Eastern youth on a whole.

New York federal prosecutors have subpoenaed Kushner Cos., the New York property development business owned by Jared Kushner's family, per the Wall Street Journal reports.

This is over a New Jersey development financed in part by a visa program. The company had solicited Chinese investment, saying up to 300 individuals who invested half a million dollars each into the project would be eligible for green cards through the EB-5 visa program.

Kushner Cos. general counsel, Emily Wolf, said the company "did nothing improper" and is cooperating with legal requests for information.

Jared Kushner resigned from his role in the business before joining his father-in-law's administration, but he reported receiving between $1-5 million in capital gains from the development in question. His White House role was mentioned in advertising pitches, but the family denies that it was using his position to draw investment.

Congressional investigators want phone records related to Donald Trump Jr.'s 2016 meeting with a Kremlin-linked lawyer, CBS News reports. There is also interest in obtaining email reports about the meeting. They want to know what was discussed before, during, and after the meeting.

Why it matters: This comes a day after Press Secretary Sarah Sanders confirmed that Trump helped craft Trump Jr.'s initial, misleading statement on the matter, after weeks of White House denials that Trump was involved. Now Trump is ensnared along with Trump Jr., Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort, who attended the meeting.