Trump's Threat to North Korea Was Improvised  —  BRIDGEWATER, N.J. — President Trump delivered his “fire and fury” threat to North Korea on Tuesday with arms folded, jaw set and eyes flitting on what appeared to be a single page of talking points set before him on the conference table at his New Jersey golf resort.

FBI conducted predawn raid of former Trump campaign chairman Manafort's home … FBI agents raided the Alexandria home of President Trump's former campaign chairman late last month, using a search warrant to seize documents and other materials, according to people familiar …

Unarmed Russian Air Force jet overflies the Pentagon, Capitol, CIA  —  (CNN)An unarmed Russian Air Force aircraft overflew the US Capitol, the Pentagon, Central Intelligence Agency and Joint Base Andrews at low altitude on Wednesday as part of a longstanding treaty that allows the militaries …

GOP Sen. Ron Johnson: McCain's brain tumor might have been factor in no vote on health care  —  STORY HIGHLIGHTS  —  (CNN)Republican Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin said Tuesday that he thinks that Sen. John McCain's brain tumor and the early morning hours may have affected the Arizona Republican's …

Inflatable chicken resembling Trump placed near White House  —  A large inflatable chicken meant to resemble President Trump was placed near the White House on Wednesday.  —  The inflatable chicken, which features a golden coif of hair and hand gestures similar to Trump's …

Top Trump donor ponies up to take out Flake  —  One of Donald Trump's most generous political benefactors is providing a six-figure donation to a super PAC devoted to unseating Sen. Jeff Flake, an Arizona Republican who has been fiercely critical of the president.

Atlanta gym owner makes no apologies for ‘No Cops’ sign … A shocking and vulgar sign about police officers has been posted in front of a local business in Atlanta.  The sign could be seen from the street with the curse word blurred out, but the message is clear: It says no cops allowed.

Trump Advisor Sex Scandal — Paul Manafort's Sick Affair  —  Target in FBI-Russia probe also cheated with woman half his age!

Trump allies are taking aim at Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell  —  “Why not done?” the president tweeted about the health bill.  —  President Donald Trump's allies are looking at his lack of legislative success so far, and they think they've found the problem: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

The First Amendment (Literally) Banned in DC  —  Can the government ban the text of the First Amendment itself on municipal transit ads because free speech is too “political” for public display?  —  If this sounds like some ridiculous brain teaser, it should.  But unfortunately it's not.

GOP And Trump's Transgender Attacks Backfire In Iowa Special Election  —  In the midst of a new national debate on transgender soldiers serving in the military, voters in Southeast Iowa were seeing their TVs inundated with campaign ads about transgender bathrooms.

Eric Bolling initiates lawsuit against reporter behind sexting story  —  Fox News host Eric Bolling has initiated a lawsuit against the reporter behind the report that led to his suspension.  —  Yashar Ali, a contributing writer for HuffPost, reported on Friday that several years ago Bolling …

McMaster and the Commander  —  The NSC adviser is the latest target of Steve Bannon's media friends.  —  National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster listens during the daily press briefing at the White House, July 31.  —  Chief of Staff John Kelly is by all accounts imposing more discipline …

Conservative Koch Brothers Are Secret Investors in ‘Wonder Woman’ (Exclusive)  —  Steven Mnuchin brought in the right-wing power brokers, as well as Bill Gates, to help fund such Hollywood projects as ‘Dunkirk’ and Steven Spielberg's upcoming ‘Ready Player One.’

AP Interview: DeVos says she didn't decry racism enough  —  https://apnews.com/c48492774a0a4f6185e3 ef208ef83dd5  —  Link copied!  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on Wednesday distanced herself from her comment earlier this year about the nation's historically black colleges …

Senate Republican leader raises questions on Foxconn deal, says he doesn't have votes yet … CONNECT  —  MADISON — The leader of the state Senate said Wednesday that he does not yet have the votes to approve a $3 billion incentive package to lure Foxconn Technology Group of Taiwan …

Has James O'Keefe Accidentally Stung Himself Again?  —  James O'Keefe III, the conservative activist famous for undercover stings, has dedicated his life to exposing the “misconduct” of others.  But he's developed a side business in accidentally exposing his own.

White House pitches deal for wall money — and no shutdown  —  The White House is pushing a deal on Capitol Hill to head off a government shutdown that would lift strict spending caps long opposed by Democrats in exchange for money for President Donald Trump's border wall with Mexico, multiple sources said.

Google's diversity efforts fall flat  —  In 2014, Google started publishing employee demographic data and pledging to invest in major initiatives to recruit a more diverse workforce, spending at least $265 million on the efforts.  —  Why it matters: Google has been thrown into the controversy …

Hillary's Plea Bargain  —  The Justice Department has reopened the investigation of Hillary Clinton's mishandling of classified material on her private email system while she was secretary of state, and is considering offering her a plea bargain if she will agree to plead guilty to charges …

EXCLUSIVE: Freedom Foundation sues Seattle over controversial new income tax  —  The Freedom Foundation sued Seattle Wednesday over its controversial new income tax on the rich, which critics call “an assault” on the law that sets a dangerous precedent.  —  The tax, passed by the Seattle City Council …

Why I'm leaving the N.Y. Senate  —  On election night 2008, as our taxi crept through Times Square's spontaneous celebration, my fiance and I whooped out the window.  We were inspired by Barack Obama's election and excited about my own.  I had defeated a 30-year incumbent to become …