As we get a look at President Trump with Russian President Vladimir Putin there wasn't even a hint of trouble. No mention of election meddling and not much tension to detect. In fact it seemed quote the opposite as Trump said:

"President Putin and I have been discussing various things. I think it's going very well. We have had very, very good talks. We are going to have a talk now and obviously that will continue. We look forward to a lot of positive things happening between... Russia and the United States and for everybody concerned. It's an honor to be with you."

President Trump is still insisting Mexico will pay for a border wall. At the same time he's also acting like he's now chummy with Mexico's president. We have to wonder whether President Nieto would agree?

Here's more from the Associated Press:

President Donald Trump is hailing Mexico’s president as his “friend” in their first face-to-face meeting.

Of all the GOP senators who returned home for the 4th of July recess, only one has held an unscreened town hall. The Washington Post reports on Jerry Moran's reception at a meeting with constituents in deep red western Kansas where Donald Trump received more than 70% of the vote.

"Until this year, the voters who cast those ballots had confidently favored repealing the ACA. Like Trump, Moran ran on “full repeal,” claiming to be the first Republican member of Congress to do so....

The Education Secretary should be a champion for education, right? Tell that to the 18 states suing Betsy DeVos.

POLITICO reports:

Eighteen states and the District of Columbia have filed suit against Education Secretary Betsy DeVos over her delay of regulations meant to provide new protections for federal student loan borrowers, particularly those at for-profit colleges.

This morning, in Poland, the President was asked YES OR NO did Russia interfere in the election? As he, once again, danced around the answer, Donald Trump also put blame on his predecessor. Here's what he said:

"I think it could very well have been Russia, but I think it well could have been other countries, and I won't be specific, but I think a lot of people interfere. I think it's been happening for a long time. It's been happening for many, many years.

The thing I have t...o mention is that Barack Obama, when he was President, found out about this, in terms of if it were Russia, found out about it in August. Now, the election was in November. That's a lot of time. He did nothing about it. Why did he do nothing about it? He was told it was Russia by the CIA as i understand it. It was well reported and he did nothing about it. They say he choked."

How do the Democrats change the balance of power in Congress in 2018? Party officials are fielding a number of military veterans to run.

From The New York Times:

In many cases, those veterans say they feel called to run for public office in response to Mr. Trump himself, whose policies they see as a threat to the country’s values and security.

Salon highlights how Betsy DeVos is turning the Department of Education onto a more corporate-friendly path and, in the process, creating the potential for a crisis for those with student loan debt. Many students mistake loans taken out from the Federal Family Education Loan Program for having an extra level of legitimacy because they are issued by a government program, while in reality, they’re private loans given by profit-driven companies. In fact, back in 2008, the FFELP ...took a page out of Lehman Brothers’ book and started bundling loans together to discreetly sell them to private corporations that charge crushing interest rates. To make matters worse, although the Department of Education previously offered borrowers working in public service for at least 10 years some amount of loan forgiveness, Betsy DeVos recently decided to void those agreements. So, in other words, the Education Department told some people they didn’t have to pay a percentage of their student loans, only to come back later and rescind the offer. If the Federal Student Loan program continues on its current path, we could end up with a situation on par with the housing crisis.

North Korea is making big trouble, again. Overnight it launched an intercontinental ballistic missile.

From The New York Times:

"The missile took off from the Banghyon airfield in the northwestern town of Kusong and flew 578 miles before landing in the sea between North Korea and Japan, the South Korean military said in a statement....
The Japanese government said the missile landed in its so-called exclusive economic zone off its western coast. Under a series of United Nations Security Council resolutions, North Korea is prohibited from developing or testing ballistic missiles."