National security adviser attempts to reconcile Trump's competing impulses on Afghanistan  —  In meeting after meeting with his national security adviser, H.R. McMaster, this spring and summer, President Trump angrily hammered home two questions:  —  He wanted to know why the U.S. military …

Sessions: DOJ reviewing policies on media subpoenas  —  The Justice Department is considering making changes to its policies on subpoenaing news organizations as part of its crackdown on government leaks, Attorney General Jeff Sessions said Friday.  —  At a news conference …

Keep the Trump Leaks Coming  —  The president is too incompetent to serve, and Congress must be pressured into removing him.  —  Both in content and in context, the official transcripts of Donald Trump's January phone calls with Australian Prime Minister Malcom Turnbull …

Poll: Americans in battleground districts would strongly oppose Trump firing special counsel Robert Mueller  —  WASHINGTON - Americans in 99 congressional battleground districts - primarily represented by Republicans - would disapprove by a two-to-one margin if President Trump fires Russia special counsel Robert Mueller.

This Trump real estate deal looks awfully like criminal tax fraud  —  Two tax lawyers break down the president's sale of two condos to his son. … President Trump clearly doesn't want to release his income tax returns to the public.  Members of the public and commentators …

TRUMP, AMERICA'S BOY KING: GOLF AND TELEVISION WON'T MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN  —  Now that he's president, Trump frequently departs the White House and spends the weekend golfing at either his South Florida resort, Mar-a-Lago, or his country club in the New Jersey suburb of Bedminster.

Wasserman Schultz Says Laptop She Sought To Keep From Police Was Awan's, Not Hers  —  Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz never actually saw the computer she fought to block the Capitol Police from examining as evidence in a criminal case against her IT aide by saying it was hers, she told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel Thursday.

US created 209,000 jobs in July, vs 183,000 jobs expected  — The U.S. economy added 209,000 jobs in July and the unemployment rate dipped to 4.3 percent, according to a government report Friday.  — The report comes with the economy at a crossroads as President Trump has promised 3 percent economic growth.

Hunt for Trump dossier author inflames Russia probe  —  Two Republican House Intelligence Committee staffers traveled to London earlier this summer to track down the former British intelligence operative who compiled a controversial dossier on President Donald Trump and Russia, according to three people familiar with the matter.

CNN insiders rip Jim Acosta's antics as ‘auditions’ for his own show  —  Jim Acosta is suddenly one of CNN's most controversial figures even among some of his CNN colleagues, who say his public battles with the Trump administration are going too far.  —  One of Acosta's colleagues …

How to avoid nuclear war with North Korea  —  There are no good options to curb Kim Jong Un.  But blundering into war would be the worst  —  IT IS odd that North Korea causes so much trouble.  It is not exactly a superpower.  Its economy is only a fiftieth as big as that of its democratic capitalist cousin, South Korea.

Forget scenic traditions — Trump vacations in the land of spray tans  —  WASHINGTON — There's been an unspoken norm among presidents that their vacations are glamorous, or at the very least, scenic.  —  In election years, they tend to bow more to the masses.  But most other years are set aside for mixing with elites.

Diplomats laughing at Trump over leaked Mexico transcript  —  When Jorge Guajardo, one of Mexico's most senior and seasoned foreign policy hands, got out of bed Thursday morning, a couple of interesting messages were waiting on his cell phone.  —  One was a link shared by a U.S. diplomat …

Senate blocks Trump from making recess appointments over break  —  The Senate blocked President Trump from being able to make recess appointments on Thursday as lawmakers leave Washington for their summer break.  —  Sen. Lisa Murkowski  —  (R-Alaska), doing wrap up for the entire Senate …

Blue Apron Plans to Cut 24% of Staff Barely a Month After IPO  —  Blue Apron Holdings Inc. is cutting almost a quarter of its staff barely a month after its initial public offering as the meal kit delivery company struggles to become a profitable business.  —  The company is cutting 1,270 jobs …

APNewsBreak: Flynn details tie to data firm, transition pay  —  https://www.apnews.com/a250d1088af44a3b 8b55275dc97de608  —  Link copied!  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, is revealing a brief advisory role with a firm related …

EXCLUSIVE: Boynton girl, 8, dead after dare to drink boiling water  —  A Boynton Beach girl has died months after she was injured drinking boiling water out of a straw on a dare, state authorities said.  —  The 8-year-old told her mother's “paramour” late Sunday she couldn't breathe …

Op-Ed Amanda Knox: Michelle Carter deserves sympathy and help, not prison  —  Michelle Carter was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter on June 16 for her 18-year-old boyfriend's suicide after she encouraged him to kill himself via text message.  (Aug. 3, 2017) (Sign up for our free video newsletter here http://bit.ly/2n6VKPR)

Obamacare Rage in Retrospect  —  I guess it ain't over until the portly golfer sings, but it does look as if Obamacare will survive.  In the end, Mitch McConnell couldn't find the votes he needed; many thanks are due to Senators Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski and John McCain …

COMPLAINT: TRUMP STRATEGIST MAY HAVE IMPROPER PR ARRANGEMENT  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Campaign Legal Center is complaining in a letter to the White House that a top adviser to President Donald Trump may be illegally accepting outside professional services.