'DNC Hacker' Unmasked: He Really Works for Russia, Researchers Say The Daily Beast

The hacker who claims to have stolen emails from the Democratic National Committee and provided them to WikiLeaks is actually an agent of the Russian government and part of an orchestrated attempt to influence U.S. media coverage surrounding the presidential election, a security research group concluded on Tuesday.

The researchers, at Arlington, Va.-based ThreatConnect, traced the self-described Romanian hacker Guccifer 2.0 back to an Internet server in Russia and to a digital address that has been linked in the past to Russian online scams. Far from being a singly, sophisticated hacker, Guccifer 2.0 is more likely a collection of people from the propaganda arm of the Russian government meant to deflect attention away from Moscow as the force behind the DNC hacks and leaks of emails, the researchers found.

The controversy over Donald Trump's ties to Russia, explained VOX

On Wednesday, Donald Trump felt compelled to make big news: He called on a foreign power -- in this case Russia -- to launch an espionage operation against his chief political opponent, "hacking into Hillary Clinton’s email server to find 30,000 emails she allegedly deleted."

"Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing," Trump said. "I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press."'

Donald Trump's Most Chilling Comment on the DNC Has Nothing to do with Russia VOX

Vox's Timothy B. Lee gets it right. I listened to the Donald Trump press conference and was so dumbfounded, that I missed this statement. ~ Anne

"Everyone is talking about Donald Trump’s call for the Russian government to release emails it may have stolen from Hillary Clinton’s private email server. But that wasn’t the most chilling thing Trump said in his rambling answer to a question about who hacked the email server of the Democratic National Committee.

"Honestly, I wish I had that power," Trump responded. "I’d love to have that power."

The thing is, if Trump gets elected president, he probably will have the power to hack into the private communications of his political opponents. And that’s terrifying."

In Clinton's March to Nomination, Many Democrats Changed Their Minds Pew Research

Pew Research looks at both consistent support and evolving support for Hillary Clinton throughout the nomination process.

Ignoring the media's obsession with focusing on strife within the party -- choosing to focus almost exclusively on Berners who promise not to vote for Hillary -- reality is that Hillary has quietly and consistently lock down her support.

In the most recent, July 25 Pew Survey, the overwhelming shares of all Democratic and Democratic-leaning registered voters -- including 90% of Sanders supporters -- back Clinton.

Trump Deals From Strength With 'USA Freedom Kids,' Crushes Them New York Magazine

The “USA Freedom Kids,” a caught my eye at a Trump rally last summer and became an instant sensation. True, their perky, cheerleader enthusiasm seemed a bit out of sync with the quasi-fascistic undertones of their lyrics (such as “Deal from strength or get crushed every time”). "Jeff Popick, the group’s (adult) manager, told Claire Landsbaum he was attracted to Trump not only for reasons of customer synergy but also personal conviction — “[Trump] knows what he's doing, and he makes the right decisions,” Popick explained."

You’ll never guess what happened next. Trump lived up to his reputation. “My whole life I’ve been greedy, greedy, greedy. I’ve grabbed all the money I could get,” the Republican candidate said at a debate last year. “I’m so greedy. But now I want to be greedy for the United States.” Because for Trump, greed is good . . . the best form of winning.

Yes, the kids got stiffed, reports Philip Bump. The USA Kids were told they could have a free table to sell CDs instead of the $2,500 fee, and they accepted the deal. No such table was provided, according to Popick. When they were asked to fly to Iowa to support veterans at a Trump rally, not only were they not paid, but Trump stiffed the kids on the cost of their travel.

Nice guy, this man who wants to make America great again.