Tipsheet: McConnell challenger faces tougher path after rocky launch

View in your browser     McConnell challenger faces tougher path after rocky launch BY ALEXANDER BOLTON Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer’s (D-N.Y.) prize recruit to challenge Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) in 2020 faces new competition for the Democratic nomination after her rocky campaign launch.  Amy McGrath’s shaky start has Kentucky Democrats wondering if she’s the best candidate to take on McConnell. And they now have options. Read the full story here     Budget talks between White House, Pelosi spill into weekend BY JORDAIN CARNEY Negotiations between the Trump administration and Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on a two-year budget and debt ceiling deal are spilling over into the weekend amid growing signs of alarm from conservatives.  Read the full story here     Trump says Democrats shouldn't use debt ceiling as leverage BY BRETT SAMUELS President Trump said Friday that Democrats should not use the debt ceiling as leverage amid ongoing negotiations between his administration and Congress. Read the full story here     Trump says US will talk to UK about tanker Iran seized BY REBECCA KHEEL The United States will be speaking with the United Kingdom about Iran’s seizure of a British-flagged oil tanker, President Trump said Friday. Read the full story here       US moves forward on operation to counter Iran, begins sending troops to Saudi Arabia BY TAL AXELROD   The Pentagon on Friday laid out its plans to mount a multination maritime campaign in the Middle East and send additional troops to the region as tensions with Iran continue to rise. Read the full story here     Historic heat wave is double whammy for climate change BY MIRANDA GREEN Nearly two-thirds of the U.S. is expected to be hit by a massive weekend heat wave, forcing energy companies to brace for maxed out grids and potential blackouts. Read the full story here     Trump steps up attacks on 'Squad' BY BRETT SAMUELS President Trump on Friday stepped up his attacks on four progressive congresswomen one day after distancing himself from inflammatory chants at his campaign rally, making clear he has no intention of backing off the strategy. Read the full story here     Trump complains of 'crazed' media coverage over 'send her back' chants BY BRETT SAMUELS President Trump on Friday bemoaned the amount of media coverage devoted to supporters at his Wednesday night rally chanting "send her back" about Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) as he dug in on his attacks against the first-term congresswomen and three of her colleagues. Read the full story here     Trump says he doesn't care if attacks on 'Squad' hurt him politically BY BRETT SAMUELS President Trump on Friday dug in on his strategy of attacking four progressive minority congresswomen despite some backlash from within his own party, saying he doesn't care how it affects him politically. Read the full story here     Federal judge upholds Trump's expansion of non-ObamaCare plans BY JESSIE HELLMANN A federal judge on Friday upheld the Trump administration's expansion of health insurance plans that don't meet ObamaCare's coverage requirements.  Read the full story here     Media cried wolf: Calling every Republican a racist lost its bite BY JOE CONCHA Opinion | Once upon a time in the world of cable news, a guest or host or anchor calling anyone a racist would have considerable impact. Read the full story here     America deserves better than Trump's 'go back' message BY MARTIN FROST Opinion | Bigots of all types have been using this type of rhetoric against blacks, Jews and other minorities for years. Quite frankly, I never expected to hear that kind of blatant racism out of the mouth of any president of the United States. Read the full story here     NBC News: Trump admin weighs tightening restrictions on Iran's nuclear work BY DAN DE LUCE The Trump administration is weighing a decision to end waivers that allow Iran to operate a civilian nuclear program with international assistance, in a move that would dismantle a key pillar of the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers, according to two current U.S. officials and a former official familiar with the discussions. Read the full story here     The Washington Post: Trump tells aides to look for big spending cuts in second term, sowing confusion about budget priorities BY DAMIAN PALETTA, JEFF STEIN AND JOSH DAWSEY President Trump has instructed aides to prepare for sweeping budget cuts if he wins a second term in the White House, five people briefed on the discussions said, a move that would dramatically reverse the big-spending approach he adopted during his first 30 months in office. Read the full story here     The New York Times: Equifax is said to be near $650 million settlement for data breach BY STACY COWLEY AND PETER EAVIS The credit bureau Equifax is expected to pay around $650 million to settle federal and state investigations and consumer claims relating to a data breach that exposed sensitive information belonging to 145 million people, according to two people familiar with the settlement discussions. Read the full story here     CNN: Private investigator has spent a decade on Jeffrey Epstein's trail BY CURT DEVINE, DREW GRIFFIN AND SCOTT GLOVER When Detective Michael Fisten hung up his badge after 30 years in law enforcement and started a new career as a private investigator, he thought his first case wouldn't last more than a couple of weeks. "How hard could it be," he thought to himself. That was more than a decade ago.  Read the full story here     The Wall Street Journal: CBS goes dark on AT&T amid a dispute BY BENJAMIN MULLIN AND DREW FITZGERALD  Programming from CBS Corp. went dark for about 6.6 million viewers of AT&T’s DirecTV, DirecTV Now and U-verse packages Saturday morning after the two companies couldn’t come to terms on a new distribution agreement. Read the full story here   Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up for The Hill Tipsheet       Forward this Tipsheet     You might like         Privacy Policy  |  Manage Subscriptions  |  Unsubscribe  |  Email to a friend  |  Sign Up for Other Newsletters   The Hill 1625 K Street, NW 9th Floor, Washington DC 20006 ©2016 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc.