First on CNN: Feds investigate Manafort firm as part of Ukraine probe  —  Washington (CNN)FBI and Justice Department prosecutors are conducting an investigation into possible US ties to alleged corruption of the former pro-Russian president of Ukraine, including the work of Paul Manafort's firm …

Donald Trump Slams President Obama for Vacationing Instead of Visiting Flood-Ravaged Louisiana  —  Donald Trump today slammed President Obama for not interrupting his vacation to visit Louisiana after deadly flooding in Baton Rouge and parts of Lafayette.  —  While speaking with volunteers …

Road to 270: Electoral College map  —  If Donald Trump was to win all the remaining battleground states on the map, he'd still be shy of the 270 votes needed to win the White House which means he is going to have to pick off at least one of the states currently leaning in Hillary Clinton's direction …

Hillary Clinton Told F.B.I. Colin Powell Advised Her to Use Private Email  —  Pressed by the F.B.I. about her email practices at the State Department, Hillary Clinton told investigators that former Secretary of State Colin L. Powell had advised her to use a personal email account

New jobs report is an utter disaster for Kansas and Brownback  —  The new July jobs report released Friday is an utter disaster for Kansans and embattled Gov. Sam Brownback.  —  Here are the lowlights.  —  The state lost 5,600 jobs from June to July.  —  The unemployment rate jumped to 4.1 percent from 3.8 percent in June.

Breitbart Editor Milo Yiannopoulos Takes $100,000 for Charity, Gives $0  —  The alt-right icon promised to give scholarships to white men, but almost a year later he still hasn't filed with the IRS or handed out a penny.  —  Months after he was supposed to give away more than $100,000 …

Donald Trump's New Chief Steve Bannon Called Republican Leaders ‘C**ts’  —  Donald Trump's new campaign boss—the guy white supremacists are so excited about—once described D.C.'s top Republicans as “c**ts.”  —  Stephen Bannon, the Trump campaign's new chief executive as of Wednesday …

Did I Kill Gawker?  —  Or was it Nick Denton?  Hulk Hogan?  Peter Thiel?  Or the internet?  —  It feels a bit strange to say this now, but in the spring of 2014 there was no better place to work than Gawker.  For a certain kind of person, at any rate — ambitious, rebellious, and eager for attention, all of which I was.

Trump's ugly and dishonest new TV ad shows he isn't changing a thing  —  THE MORNING PLUM:  —  Last night, Donald Trump delivered a speech in which he spoke in soothing tones about the need to unify the country and expressed “regret” about any remarks that have caused “personal pain,” …

Dog dies after shielding infant from fire  —  Firefighters rescue child from second floor of home  —  An 8-month-old infant is in serious condition after a fire late Sunday in Baltimore.  —  The girl is alive today thanks to an act of heroism and a heart-breaking loss for her family.

The NSA Leak Is Real, Snowden Documents Confirm  —  On Monday, a hacking group calling itself the “ShadowBrokers” announced an auction for what it claimed were “cyber weapons” made by the NSA.  Based on never-before-published documents provided by the whistleblower Edward Snowden …

The Justice Department Is Done With Private Prisons.  Will ICE Drop Them Too?  —  The Justice Department's announcement on Thursday that it would seek to end the use of private contractors to run its federal prisons was a monumental one that quickly sent private prison stocks plunging …

Clinton leads Trump by eight points: Reuters/Ipsos poll  —  Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton leads Republican rival Donald Trump by 8 percentage points among likely voters, according to a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll released on Friday.  —  The Aug. 14-18 survey showed 42 percent …

GOP preps tough perjury case against Clinton  —  House Republicans are doubling down in their effort to bring perjury charges against Hillary Clinton  —  over her testimony last year to the House Select Committee on Benghazi.  —  GOP lawmakers have claimed that the Democratic presidential nominee broke …

Hillary Clinton's Ethics Problems Are Worse Than She Understands  —  “Give a man a reputation as an early riser,” said Mark Twain, “and he can sleep 'til noon.”  Hillary Clinton finds herself in the opposite situation: She has a reputation for venality — the merits of which we can set aside momentarily …