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 just got off the phone with Chief of Staff General John Kelly and with the President of the United States of America.  —  They called me from the White House this morning and both assured me that the people of Guam are safe.  —  In the President's words they are behind us “1000 percent.”

Why I Was Fired by Google  —  James Damore says his good-faith effort to discuss differences between men and women in tech couldn't be tolerated in the company's ‘ideological echo chamber’  —  I was fired by Google this past Monday for a document that I wrote and circulated internally raising questions …

Manchin Emerges as Possible Pick for Energy Department  —  Move would let West Virginia's GOP governor to name successor  —  Idea in early stages of discussion, with Perry stance unclear  —  Some White House and Republican officials are exploring the idea of putting West Virginia Democratic …

The Bernie Bros and sisters are coming to Republicans' rescue  —  (Michael Reynolds/European Pressphoto Agency)  —  Things could go well for the Democrats in next year's midterm elections — if they don't Bern out.  —  President Trump is woefully unpopular, feuding with Senate Majority …

Scott Pruitt Is Carrying Out His E.P.A. Agenda in Secret, Critics Say  —  WASHINGTON — When career employees of the Environmental Protection Agency are summoned to a meeting with the agency's administrator, Scott Pruitt, at agency headquarters, they no longer can count on easy access …

Trump Won't Rule Out Military Option for Venezuela  —  ‘Venezuela is a mess,’ president says  —  President Donald Trump warned of possible military action in Venezuela on Friday, even as he amplified threats of an armed response to North Korea missile buildup.

Senate Inquiry Into Russian Meddling Could Wrap Up This Year, Burr Says  —  WASHINGTON — Senator Richard Burr, the initially reluctant but now determined leader of the Senate Intelligence Committee inquiry into Russian interference in the 2016 election, said the investigation had expanded beyond …

Charlottesville remains on edge ahead of ‘Unite the Right’ rally  —  (CNN)White nationalists and counterprotesters are expected to flood downtown Charlottesville Saturday as the Virginia city braces for the “Unite the Right” rally.  —  By noon, thousands are expected to gather in Emancipation Park …

Ship Monitoring Rescues of Migrants Refuses to Be Rescued  —  ROME — In the end, it was the gang that couldn't sail straight.  —  A group of hard-right white nationalists determined to keep migrants from reaching Europe garnered international attention this summer when they chartered a ship …

The General Services Administration removed Trump hotel data from its website.  You can read it here.  —  On Thursday afternoon, three documents providing detailed financial information about President Trump's D.C. hotel could be found posted on the website of the General Services Administration.

Kelly considers further shuffling of West Wing staff, officials say  —  White House chief of staff John Kelly spent this week in Bedminster, N.J., pondering changes in the West Wing, according to four White House officials.  —  Kelly summoned aides to President Donald Trump's golf club …