Trump shakes up campaign, demotes top adviser  —  Donald Trump, following weeks of gnawing agitation over his advisers' attempts to temper his style, moved late Tuesday to overhaul his struggling campaign by rebuffing those efforts and elevating two longtime associates who have encouraged his combative populism.

Aetna's Retreat From Obamacare Is More Than It Seems  —  Aetna is pulling out of 11 of the 15 states it serves on the Obamacare exchanges.  Longtime readers of this column will be unsurprised at the reason: It's losing substantial amounts of money on its exchange policies.

AP Sources: Manafort tied to undisclosed foreign lobbying  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump's campaign chairman helped a pro-Russian governing party in Ukraine secretly route at least $2.2 million in payments to two prominent Washington lobbying firms in 2012, and did so in a way that effectively obscured …

Ex-Cruz spokesman: New Trump camp CEO ‘a little controversial’  —  Donald Trump's new campaign CEO Stephen Bannon is “a little controversial,” Ted Cruz's former campaign spokesman Rick Tyler said Wednesday.  —  “You probably hear from a lot of people who have worked with Bannon that he's not the easiest person to get along with.

NSA and the No Good, Very Bad Monday  —  Monday was a tough day for those in the business of computer espionage.  Russia, still using the alias Guccifer2.0, dumped even more DNC documents.  And on Twitter, Mikko Hypponen noted an announcement on Github that had gone overlooked for two days …

Trump accuses Clinton of ‘bigotry’ toward African-Americans  —  Donald Trump made a new and explicit plea for the support of black voters on Tuesday, saying the Democratic Party had “failed and betrayed” them and accusing Hillary Clinton of “bigotry” in the pursuit of minority voters.

An Open Letter to Reince Priebus, Chairman, Republican National Committee  —  In every election cycle, the Republican National Committee (RNC) must make difficult decisions in the closing months about where to allocate its limited resources—money, time, staff, and ads—to ensure the best possible opportunities for the Party's success.

Saying Goodbye to John McLaughlin, TV's Original Tough Political Talker  —  A panelist remembers the political priest turned talk-show host who brought strong opinions to Sunday mornings.  —  If there were a Mount Olympus for talk-show hosts, John McLaughlin would be on it.

Univision is buying Gawker Media for $135 million  —  Sold!  —  Asa Mathat  —  Univision has won the auction for Gawker Media.  —  The TV network and digital publisher has agreed to pay $135 million for the bankrupt blog network, according to a person familiar with the deal.

Trump Casinos' Tax Debt Was $30 Million.  Then Christie Took Office.  —  By the time Chris Christie became governor of New Jersey, the state's auditors and lawyers had been battling for several years to collect long-overdue taxes owed by the casinos founded by his friend Donald J. Trump.

Buildings burn, residents flee as out-of-control brush fire burns 15,000 acres in Cajon Pass  —  Paloma Esquivel, James Queally and Sarah Parvini  —  A brush fire exploded out of control Tuesday in the Cajon Pass, scorching 15,000 acres as walls of flame forced more than 80,000 people …

After Trump sign is stolen, supporter builds security measures  —  Capital Region home builder Robert Marini surrounds new sign in barbed wire after 5 thefts  —  COLONIE — Donald Trump wants to build that wall.  —  Robert Marini has emulated his preferred presidential candidate.

Clinton Could Have Cut Her Tax Bill in Half Under Trump's Plan  —  Her proposals would have increased her tax by $224,000 or more  —  Trump's business-tax plan would mean savings for pass-throughs  —  Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton could have cut her 2015 federal tax bill roughly …

Russian Military Forces StagingNear Ukraine  —  The Pentagon has identified eight staging areas in Russia where large numbers of military forces appear to be preparing for incursions into Ukraine, according to U.S. defense officials.  —  As many as 40,000 Russian troops, including tanks …

Please share and spread the word .  This is our family's official statement.  Thank you.  —  Jabara Family Statement on the Murder of Khalid Jabara  —  August 15, 2016  —  On Friday night, our world was shattered when our brother, Khalid Jabara, was murdered on the front porch of our family home.

Stop Saudi Arms Sales Until Carnage in Yemen Ends  —  A hospital associated with Doctors Without Borders.  A school.  A potato chip factory.  Under international law, those facilities in Yemen are not legitimate military targets.  Yet all were bombed in recent days by warplanes belonging …

Rick Perry Says Khizr Khan ‘Struck the First Blow’ in Trump Feud: ‘Shame on You’  —  F ormer Texas governor and former Republican presidential contender Rick Perry said on CNN Tuesday afternoon that the father of a soldier killed in Iraq “struck the first blow” against Donald Trump.

Pow: It's just a 2-point race, Clinton 38%, Trump 36%  —  The convention polling bumps for Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton and Republican Donald Trump are over, and they are practically even, according to a new poll of likely voters.  —  A Zogby Analytics survey provided to Secrets Tuesday shows:

The dangerous alliance between Hillary Clinton's Democrats and neocons: Fear of Trump is cementing a strange relationship  —  Earlier this month, Hillary Clinton's campaign released a TV ad that should give pause to anyone hoping to avoid foreign policy catastrophe in coming years.