President Trump pressured Attorney General Jeff Sessions to reclaim control of the Russia investigation on at least four separate occasions, three times in person and once over the phone, according to sources familiar with the conversations.
Why it matters: The fact that there were multiple conversations shows that Trump's pressure on Sessions to stop recusing himself was heavier than previously known. The sustained pressure made several officials uncomfortable, because they viewed it as improper and worry that it could be politically and legally problematic.
Immigrants helped found more than half of the U.S.'s 87 startup companies valued at more than a billion dollars in 2016, according to a study by the National Foundation for American Policy, with the 11 biggest of those companies employing more than 17,000 people.
Why it matters: The Trump administration recently proposed to cancel an Obama-era visa aimed at helping foreign entrepreneurs start new businesses in the U.S. The president and other advocates for cutting immigration levels argue that immigrants are taking jobs from U.S. workers, but in many instances, immigrants not only contribute to the U.S. economy, but create more jobs for Americans.
President Trump has pardoned Dinesh D'Souza, a convicted felon who has been a prominent conservative pundit and activist since the 1980s.
The big picture: D'Souza, who pled guilty in 2014 to violating campaign finance laws, served in the Reagan administration and worked at both the American Enterprise Institute and the Hoover Institution. He became prominent after publishing Illiberal Education in 1991, has written 16 books critiquing the liberal world-view, and gradually transitioned into film projects.
Independent voters now surpassed registered Republicans in California, making the GOP fall to third-party status as Democrats seek to flip seats to take control of the House this November, according to new data reported by Politico.
Reality check: Registration doesn’t guarantee significant voter turnout. But the surge of independents could help Democrats since the group is more likely to vote Democratic than Republican. However, Politico notes that "Republicans still stand to play an outsized role in next week’s primary despite the registration erosion. GOP voters typically vote at higher rates in nonpresidential year primary elections than Democrats."
There has been a 22% increase in migrant children in Health and Human Services's custody from last month — 10,852 children are currently in shelters at 95% capacity, NBC News reports. The number of unaccompanied children crossing the border typically rises this time of year, such as 2017's April to May jump from 997 to 1,473 children.
Why it matters: This comes after a new Trump administration policy calling for prosecution of anyone who crosses the U.S. border illegally, which is expected to lead in an uptick of children being separated from their parents and sent to HHS.
President Trump went after Attorney General Jeff Sessions again on Wednesday, saying he wishes he had picked someone else to head the Department of Justice because of Jeff Sessions' recusal from the Russia probe.
Why it matters: This is not the first time Trump has expressed frustration over Sessions' recusal, and it isn't even the first time he's said he regrets appointing him because of it. But it does follow a string of other grievances the president has with his own attorney general.
In a string of tweets on Wednesday morning, President Trump stated that he wished he picked someone else other than Jeff Sessions to be his attorney general after quoting an appearance by Rep. Trey Gowdy on CBS' "This Morning."
Rep. Trey Gowdy, “I don’t think so, I think what the President is doing is expressing frustration that Attorney General Sessions should have shared these reasons for recusal before he took the job, not afterward. If I were the President and I picked someone to be the country’s chief law enforcement officer, and they told me later, ‘oh by the way I’m not going to be able to participate in the most important case in the office, I would be frustrated too...and that’s how I read that - Senator Sessions, why didn’t you tell me before I picked you. There are lots of really good lawyers in the country, he could have picked somebody else!” And I wish I did!
— President Trump's three Wednesday morning tweets
Why it matters: Just one day after Trump said he wouldn't be focusing his energy "on the Rigged Russia Witch Hunt," his tweets show that the subject is still very much on his mind, rekindling fears that he might choose to fire Sessions and derail Special Counsel Robert Mueller's probe.
There's been lots of coverage of the surge of women running in House races, but it's also true of the Senate.
By the numbers: While 23 women are currently senators, there is a record 42 women from major parties running for 19 seats in the Senate, according to AP.
"House Republican candidates are blanketing the airwaves with TV ads embracing a hard line on immigration — a dramatic shift from the midterm elections in 2014," USA Today reports.
Why it matters: "The competing messages demonstrate how far apart the two parties are. They’re not just talking about issues differently; they’re touting completely different issues to motivate activists and win hotly contested primaries."
There are at least 43 Democratic black women running as challengers for U.S. House seats, but only one — Lauren Underwood of Illinois — has the backing of the national campaign organization.
Why it matters: Black women are a powerful voting bloc for the Democratic Party as they work to capture the House and Senate. In 2016, 94% of black women voted for Clinton over Trump. In Alabama's special election, they helped Doug Jones win — 98% of them voted for him, compared to just 34% of white women. Now they're running for office in overwhelming numbers, but some feel the party isn't investing in them.
U.S. Small Business Administrator Linda McMahon is unable to say why the Trump administration wants to end the International Entrepreneur Rule, which helps people starting businesses come to the U.S. When asked to respond by Axios while she was on stage at the Code Conference, McMahon replied:
"I cant speak to that. I'm not familiar with it."
Why it matters: The person charged with overseeing U.S. small businesses seems unaware of a program designed to create more U.S. small businesses.
