APNewsBreak: Beyond bluster, US, NKorea in regular contact  —  https://apnews.com/686ac7c761694b28b677 93a1d8297145  —  Link copied!  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Beyond the bluster, the Trump administration has been quietly engaged in back channel diplomacy with North Korea for several months …

I'm a woman in computer science.  Let me ladysplain the Google memo to you.  —  I'm a lecturer in computer science at Stanford.  I've taught at least four different programming languages, including assembly.  I've had a single-digit employee number in a startup.  Yes, I'm a woman in tech.

Combative Trump Pulls His Punches for One Man: Putin  —  BRIDGEWATER, N.J. — The roster of villains in President Trump's world is legion.  The list of people he has been willing, even eager, to publicly attack includes not just Mitch McConnell, his latest target, but Jeff Sessions …

Sundar Pichai Should Resign as Google's C.E.O.  —  There are many actors in the whole Google/diversity drama, but I'd say the one who's behaved the worst is the C.E.O., Sundar Pichai.  —  The first actor is James Damore, who wrote the memo.  In it, he was trying to explain why 80 percent of Google's tech employees are male.

Congressional investigators want to question Trump's longtime secretary, Rhona Graff, in Russia probe  —  Congressional investigators want to question President Donald Trump's longtime personal secretary as part of their ongoing probe into a controversial meeting between Trump campaign officials …

MELANIA, IVANKA AND IVANA TRUMP WEAR HIGH HEELS, A SYMBOL OF EVERYTHING THAT IS BEAUTIFUL AND HORRIFYING ABOUT THEM  —  U.S. IVANKA TRUMP MELANIA TRUMP FIRST LADY DONALD TRUMP SHOES  —  There's been no rest for the wicked just a week into President Donald Trump's 17-day vacation …

Kaiser Health Tracking Poll - August 2017: The Politics of ACA Repeal and Replace Efforts  —  KEY FINDINGS:  — The August Kaiser Health Tracking Poll finds that the majority of the public (60 percent) say it is a “good thing” that the Senate did not pass the bill that would have repealed and replaced the ACA.

Clapper: Trump likes ‘selective’ intelligence  —  The former director of National Intelligence says President Trump chooses to receive intelligence “on a selective basis.”  —  James Clapper on Thursday told CNN that Trump accepts intelligence about countries he doesn't like, but won't do the same when the subject of intel is Russia.

Mitch McConnell-backed group ‘very interested’ in Kid Rock for Senate … The head of a group backed by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., revealed Friday that they are “very interested” in Kid Rock launching a Senate campaign to take on Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., in 2018.

Breitbart's war on McMaster bites Bannon  —  The conservative news site Breitbart has waged a nonstop campaign against national security adviser H.R. McMaster, but so far it seems to have done the most damage to someone else: Steve Bannon.  —  A Wall Street Journal editorial earlier …

Obama to re-emerge in ‘delicate dance’ with Dems  —  Former President Obama will re-emerge on the national scene this fall, though Democrats expect him to do so with caution.  —  One aide describes the beginning of a “delicate dance” that aims to put Obama in the Democratic fray, but prevent him from remaining the face of the party.

Daniel Loeb, a Cuomo Donor, Makes Racial Remark About Black Leader  —  The hedge fund manager Daniel S. Loeb, a prominent supporter of charter schools and a major financial backer of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and congressional Republicans, accused the African-American woman who leads the Democrats …

Steve Bannon's Tall Tale About How He Visited Pakistan in the Navy and Saw the Muslim Threat  —  If you ask Steve Bannon how he got the idea that Muslims in the Middle East are a civilizational threat to America, he will say that his eyes were first opened when he served on a Navy destroyer in the Arabian Sea.

Former Mueller deputy on Trump: ‘Government is going to kill this guy’  —  CNN counterterrorism analyst Phil Mudd warned that President Trump is agitating the government, saying during a Thursday afternoon interview with CNN anchor Jake Tapper that the U.S. government “is going to kill this guy.”

At raucous town halls, Republicans have faced another round of anger over health care  —  BRUNSWICK, Ga. — The long August congressional recess, which Republicans hoped would begin a conversation about tax reform and must-pass budget measures, has so far seen another round of angry town halls focused …

The NFL cowards who aren't signing Colin Kaepernick  —  John Feinstein is a Post contributor and author of “Next Man Up: A Year Behind the Lines in Today's NFL.”  His book “The First Major: The Inside Story of the 2016 Ryder Cup” will be published in October.

Navy secretary on transgender troops: ‘Any patriot’ should be allowed to serve  —  The recently confirmed secretary of the Navy says he will follow any order the president gives on transgender troops, but that “any patriot” should be allowed to serve.  —  “We will process and take direction …

SoundCloud saved by emergency funding as CEO steps aside  —  SoundCloud has just closed the necessary funding round to keep the struggling music service afloat.  CEO Alex Ljung will step aside though remain chairman as former Vimeo CEO Kerry Trainor replaces him.

This Unknown Democrat Has Emerged As Nancy Pelosi's Most Aggressive Critic  —  Rep. Filemon Vela isn't a well-known member of Congress, but recently he's punched through the noise on Capitol Hill in an unusual way — by taking jabs at his own leadership.  —  Reporting From Washington, DC

Special Report: Vladimir's Venezuela - Leveraging loans to Caracas, Moscow snaps up oil assets  —  CARACAS/HOUSTON (Reuters) - Venezuela's unraveling socialist government is increasingly turning to ally Russia for the cash and credit it needs to survive - and offering prized state-owned oil assets in return …