Politics

Russian hackers trying to influence the 2018 elections made an unsuccessful attempt to breach the computer system of Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill, one of this fall's most vulnerable Democrats.

The Daily Beast reported that McCaskill is the first known target of the Kremlin's plot to interfere in this fall's midterm elections after targeting the U.S. in the 2016 presidential election.

Updated at 10:07 a.m. ET

The U.S. economy had a blockbuster second quarter, with growth surging to a 4.1 percent pace, the Commerce Department said Friday. That was nearly double the first quarter rate of 2.2 percent and the strongest pace in nearly four years.

President Trump has been steadfastly claiming that his policies will catapult the U.S. economy into a much higher rate of growth — 4 percent over the next few years.

Last week, the Cape Girardeau city council made strides toward the planning process of a new indoor aquatic center that would replace the Central Municipal Pool “Bubble” facility. They named a 6-person joint committee made up of city officials and representatives from the cape  public school district who will soon begin studying different possibilities in terms of attractions, and discussing revenue to be generated by the facility to help pay for operating costs.

Updated at 5:18 p.m. ET

President Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday to end his controversial policy that has resulted in thousands of family separations and brought criticism from Democrats and Republicans.

"We're going to keep families together but we still have to maintain toughness or our country will be overrun by people, by crime, by all of the things that we don't stand for and that we don't want," Trump said Wednesday morning, when he announced that he would sign the order.