Trimming the Times: Phone Hack Testimony; Island's Tale

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Now that the New York Times pay wall is live, you only get 20 free clicks a month. For those worried about hitting their limit, we're taking a look through the paper each morning to find the stories that can make your clicks count.

The News International phone hacking scandal leads the home page once again, with a report on the company higher-ups and police officials who are now facing questioning by police. If you want to check out the hearings, tune into the live blog on The Lede. Aside from the ever-fascinating media scandal, Carl Huse takes a stab at explaining Mitch McConnell's "legislative magic" in terms of the debt limit. And don't miss the op-ed by the president of Nauru, a tiny Pacific island devastated by mining and facing catastrophe by rising sea levels.

World: There's a quite good feature on Islamists in exile watching the unfolding revolution in Libya from their new homes in London. Also, the New Delhi Journal entry on a prison with a vocational training program gives good insight into the Indian prison system. And while it's not a scoop, the story of a 97-year-old Hungarian man who was acquitted of a World War II massacre he had previously been convicted for twice, is pretty interesting.

U.S.: Definitely check out the A.G. Sulzberger report on a mysterious mansion under construction in the Ozarks, and the wild speculation that accompanies it. There's also an interesting report on a boom in new graffiti in U.S. cities, and a wonderful Q&A with the victim of a man who shot people who looked Arab after Sept. 11, 2001.

Business: Don't miss the story on Delta Air Lines planning service cuts to 24 small towns, including the capital of North Dakota. And there's a good article looking at America's foreign creditors, especially China, who are watching our debt debate with interest.

Technology: The story on the Chinese search engine Baidu making a deal with three major music companies for free access, suggests a significant shift is on the way in Chinese consumption of pop culture. And a month after its 100th birthday, IBM celebrated by posting a second-quarter gain.

Science: Somewhere between scientific discovery and pure click bait, the report and slide show on animals enjoying themselves will certainly elicit "awws." Also, there's a very interesting read on how making playgrounds too safe may actually stunt children's emotional development.

Health: Meet Diana Nyad, a marathon swimmer planning to get herself from Cuba to Key West, a distance of 103 miles, without a shark cage.

Sports: On the tails of a thrilling Women's World Cup, the feature on game fixing in soccer reminds us that it's not all heroic goals and tense, last-minute victories. Also, check in with the Tour de France as the riders sweat through the Alps.

Opinion: The lead op-ed, by Nauru President Marcus Stephen, is a great, and sobering, cautionary tale from an island nation with "hard ecological limits."

Arts: At the height of festival season, check out the Critic's Notebook report from Chicago's Pitchfork Music Festival, where flutes weirdly ruled the day.

Style: Take a close look at Beyonce's newly understated fashion choices.

This article is from the archive of our partner The Wire.

The president’s lawyers are looking at multiple ways to undermine or curtail the Russia inquiry, including his issuing pardons.

President Trump is exploring steps to curtail Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s criminal investigation into the president’s campaign and business dealings, inching the country closer to uncharted constitutional waters.

The New York Times reported Thursday that Trump’s private legal team is scouring the backgrounds of Mueller and his prosecutors for potential conflicts of interest and damaging information to be used against them. According to the Times, that research is part of a broader effort by Trump to curtail and discredit the former FBI director’s probe into whether the Trump campaign colluded with the Russian government to influence the 2016 election.

The Times’s account depicted a president who is increasingly angered by the sprawling Russia investigation that has become a central feature of his young presidency. Trump displayed flashes of that anger during a lengthy interview Wednesday with the Times, in which he flitted between channeling his ire towards Mueller, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, and Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe, as well as James Comey, the former director of the FBI ousted by Trump in May.