Ted Cruz's claim that two-thirds of the Hurricane Sandy bill ‘had nothing to do with Sandy’  —  “The problem with that particular bill is it became a $50 billion bill that was filled with unrelated pork.  Two-thirds of that bill had nothing to do with Sandy.”  —  Hypocrisy watch!

Trump Punishes Longtime Aide After Angry Phoenix Speech, Sources Say  —  George Gigicos removed as president's rally organizer  —  Sparse crowd put Trump in foul mood before delivering remarks  —  Donald Trump was in a bad mood before he emerged for a confrontational speech in Arizona last week.

Trump says ‘all options on table’ after North Korea launches missile over Japan  —  Sirens blare over Japan after North Korea missile  —  STORY HIGHLIGHTS  —  Tokyo (CNN)US President Donald Trump has warned that “all options are on the table” after North Korea launched a missile over Japan early Tuesday.

How Does Hurricane Harvey Compare With Katrina?  Here's What We Know  —  A late August hurricane menacing the Gulf Coast.  Residents plucked from rooftops.  A convention center repurposed as an emergency shelter.  A test of a presidency.  —  Although it is still unfolding, Harvey …

Mueller Team Asking If Trump Tried to Hide Purpose of Trump Tower Meeting  —  WASHINGTON — Federal investigators working for Special Counsel Robert Mueller are keenly focused on President Donald Trump's role in crafting a response to a published article about a meeting between Russians …

How Trump Kills the G.O.P.  —  It's ironic that race was the issue that created the Republican Party and that race could very well be the issue that destroys it.  —  The G.O.P. was founded to fight slavery, and through most of its history it had a decent record on civil rights.

After melees, Berkeley mayor asks Cal to cancel right-wing Free Speech Week  —  In the aftermath of a right-wing rally Sunday that ended with anarchists chasing attendees from a downtown park, Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguin urged UC Berkeley on Monday to cancel conservatives' plans …

How the Swamp Sold Its Soul to Donald Trump  —  “Your heart tells you that he's bad for the country,” one Republican strategist said.  “Your head looks at polling data.”  —  “From a personal standpoint, I think this president f**king sucks.  He's not even a Republican,” …

Lurid Trump allegations made by Louise Mensch and co-writer came from hoaxer … Explosive allegations about Donald Trump made by online writers with large followings among Trump critics were based on bogus information from a hoaxer who falsely claimed to work in law enforcement.

Republicans Divided in Views of Trump's Conduct; Democrats Are Broadly Critical  —  In their own words: How people describe Trump's presidency  —  In his first seven months as president, Donald Trump has generally drawn high job approval ratings among Republicans.

Too Much Of A Good Thing?  Candidate Glut Means Primary-palooza For House Dems  —  Katie Porter and Dave Min are the type of candidates House Democrats dreamed of recruiting in past cycles.  Both are Harvard-educated law professors with impressive biographies, connections to powerful lawmakers and strong fundraising capabilities.

Exclusive: White House staff warned not to admit Gorka  —  Thing 1/Thing 2: All In has obtained emails sent the night the news broke that Sebastian Gorka was leaving the White House - emails that are not remotely normal, according to two former White House staff members. ...  more Duration: {{video.duration.momentjs}}

10 legal experts on why Trump can't pardon his way out of the Russia investigation  —  “It may prove to be one of the stupidest things he has yet done.”  —  Last Friday, President Trump pardoned former Maricopa County, Arizona, Sheriff Joe Arpaio.  Arpaio was convicted in July of criminal contempt …

Republican floats measure to kill Mueller probe after 6 months  —  Rep. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) is pushing an amendment to severely curtail special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into the Trump campaign's ties to Russia.  —  DeSantis has put forward a provision that would halt funding …

Members of Cajun Navy resuscitate Houston resident found floating lifeless  —  Members of the Cajun Navy found 73-year-old Wilma Ellis' lifeless body floating in floodwaters near Houston Monday morning.  (Photo by Joshua Lincoln)  —  Three members of the Cajun Navy who went …

The New Front in the Gerrymandering Wars: Democracy vs. Math  —  Sophisticated computer modeling has taken district manipulation to new extremes.  To fix this, courts might have to learn how to run the numbers themselves.  —  In the late spring of 2011, Dale Schultz walked the short block …

Rep. Duncan Hunter gives President Trump a profane compliment  —  Rep. Duncan Hunter in his Rayburn office in January.  (Tom Williams / CQ Roll Call)  —  Rep. Duncan Hunter, one of Donald Trump's first allies in Congress, described the president in profane terms to a group of Republicans on Friday …

Goodbye, Columbus?  —  The Christopher Columbus statue in Manhattan's Columbus Circle  —  All together now: Will the far-left play into Steve Bannon's hands?  —  My conversation with Stephen Bannon persuaded me that, if nothing else, he is a deadly serious political strategist.

BotSpot: Twelve Ways to Spot a Bot  —  Some tricks to identify fake Twitter accounts  —  “Bots”—automated social media accounts which pose as real people—have a huge presence on platforms such as Twitter.  They number in the millions; individual networks can number half a million linked accounts.