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.

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.

RRH Elections AL-Sen R Primary Poll: Moore Leads Strange 31-29  —  Moore, Strange likely headed to runoff; Brooks likely to finish third; Race for first is tight and runoff may be very competitive  —  With less than two weeks until the closely-watched special Republican primary …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.

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 …

Republican donor from Virginia Beach sues GOP, accusing the party of fraud over failed Obamacare repeal  —  A retired attorney in Virginia Beach is so incensed that Republicans couldn't repeal the Affordable Care Act he's suing to get political donations back, accusing the GOP of fraud and racketeering.

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 …