Exclusive: Top Trump aide's email draws new scrutiny in Russia inquiry  —  Washington (CNN)Congressional investigators have unearthed an email from a top Trump aide that referenced a previously unreported effort to arrange a meeting last year between Trump campaign officials …

Good Riddance to Steve Bannon  —  The country is better off with him out of the West Wing, but now Trump has to step up.  —  After departing his post as White House chief strategist last week, Steve Bannon told the Weekly Standard that “the Trump presidency that we fought for, and won, is over.”

FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: White House rapid response director is out  —  W.H. RAPID RESPONSE DIRECTOR IS OUT — ANDY HEMMING left his job on Monday as the White House director of rapid response, according to multiple sources.  A source familiar with the move told us it was a “mutually agreed upon” …

Christopher Cantwell, White Nationalist, Surrenders to the Police  —  A white nationalist whose behavior at the violent gatherings this month in Charlottesville, Va., brought him notoriety after he was featured in a widely viewed documentary, has turned himself into the authorities in Virginia days …

Senate 2018: Republican Edge Runs Up Against Trump, History  —  Beyond president's poor numbers lies difficulty of beating out-of-power party incumbents  —  Ever since Donald Trump won the presidency, 2018's race for the Senate seemed to pit two powerful, competing forces against one another …

Trump clashed with multiple GOP senators over Russia  —  President Donald Trump privately vented his frustration over Russia-related matters with at least two other Republican senators this month, according to people familiar with the conversations — in addition to the president's public admonishments …

Trump retweets meme of his blocking Obama, labeled the ‘best eclipse ever’  —  President Donald Trump today retweeted a meme that showed a picture of his gradually blocking out an image of former President Obama with the caption “The Best Eclipse Ever.”  —  The meme was originally tweeted …

The Republican Establishment Stands Behind Trump  —  President Trump's response to the deadly white-supremacist protests in Charlottesville earlier this month sparked a fierce national backlash, drawing rebukes from elected officials, corporate executives, military leaders, clergy, and—according to a new poll—a majority of Americans.

Government shutdown chances rising by the day  —  Top White House and GOP leadership officials tell us the chances of a market-rattling government shutdown are rising by the day — and were even before Trump threatened at his raucous Phoenix rally on Tuesday night to use a shutdown as leverage to get funding for a border wall.

Trump huddled Tuesday to plot primary against Sen. Jeff Flake  —  (CNN) President Donald Trump huddled privately with potential Republican primary challengers to Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake before taking the stage in Phoenix on Tuesday night.  —  The backstage meeting included former state GOP …

Federal judge blocks further implementation of Texas' voter ID law  —  Updated at 7:15 p.m. with more from the ruling and reaction.  —  A federal judge in Corpus Christi blocked further implementation of Texas' controversial voter identification law, after finding for a second …

ST. LOUIS  • Police and a witness gave differing versions of how protesters were injured when a driver pulled into a group that had blocked an intersection on Wednesday night.  —  The witness, Keith Rose, said the driver had his middle fingers raised before he accelerated through the group …

Wall Street Journal Editor Admonishes Reporters Over Trump Coverage  —  Gerard Baker, the editor in chief of The Wall Street Journal, has faced unease and frustration in his newsroom over his stewardship of the newspaper's coverage of President Trump, which some journalists there say has lacked toughness and verve.

Rabbis Protest Trump's Comments by Boycotting Conference Call  —  For years, the presidential conference calls were a nonpartisan holiday tradition: President Barack Obama would speak by phone with hundreds of rabbis in advance of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, in what participants described …

Does Anybody Understand What These Never Trump Republicans Think They're Achieving?  —  What's the end game for these preening, posturing doofuses who call themselves Republicans, but who can't pass a CNN camera without slamming their party's president?  There is a lot of blue falconry …

Gingrich: Left's treatment of Trump is like ‘slave newspapers’ attacking Lincoln  —  Former Speaker Newt Gingrich on Wednesday compared liberals who are critical of President Trump to “slave newspapers” attacking Abraham Lincoln.  —  Speaking on Fox News's “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” …

Fashion brands turn their backs on Steve Mnuchin's wife  —  MORE FROM: … Luxury fashion labels are distancing themselves from Louise Linton, wife of Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, after she posted a picture of herself stepping off a government plane in designer clothes and then went …

Gregg Jarrett: Trump vs. crooks, liars and the liberal media  —  President Trump's speech in Phoenix brought out the usual cast of misfits and miscreants.  —  And no, I'm not just referring to the “Antifa” anarchists who were, for the most part, denied their typical practice of wielding clubs …

‘White supremacists by default’: How ordinary people made Charlottesville possible  —  ‘White advocate’ made same arguments as Trump  —  (CNN)Blame President Trump for his tepid moral response.  Call the neo-Nazis and white nationalists thugs.  Fill your Facebook and Twitter accounts with moral outrage.

We're Journalists, Mr. Trump, Not the Enemy  —  Sigh.  If only President Trump denounced neo-Nazis as passionately and sincerely as he castigates journalists.  —  What could be an easier task than distancing oneself from Nazis or violent white supremacists?

He wore Confederate dress to Charlottesville.  He got two middle fingers and possible expulsion from college.  —  The following is a retelling based on contemporary accounts of a confrontation in Charlottesville between two middle fingers and a Confederate flag.

Russia's Sudan Ambassador Found Dead  —  Russia's ambassador to Sudan, a career diplomat with decades of service, was found dead at his Khartoum home on Wednesday, Russian and Sudanese officials reported.  —  The death of the ambassador, Mirgayas Shirinsky, who was in his early 60s …

Georgia governor expects lawmakers to plunge into Civil War debate next year  —  Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal said he's leaving it up to lawmakers next year to decide how to handle the growing debate about the more than 100 Civil War monuments scattered across the state.