The Latest: GOP eyeing $1B disaster funds cut to help wall  —  https://www.apnews.com/83e6782d48e04993 a741b834771c078b  —  Link copied!  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on President Donald Trump and Congress (all times local):  —  President Donald Trump is promising billions …

Legal challenge to Arpaio pardon begins  —  After President Trump's pardon of ex-sheriff Joe Arpaio, who had been convicted of criminal contempt for violating a court order designed to stop the violation of the constitutional rights of suspected illegal immigrants, conventional wisdom …

Google Critic Ousted From Think Tank Funded by the Tech Giant  —  WASHINGTON — In the hours after European antitrust regulators levied a record $2.7 billion fine against Google in late June, an influential Washington think tank learned what can happen when a tech giant that shapes public policy debates …

Texas paper nails Trump for lying about “witnessing” devastation of hurricane “first hand”  —  Hurricane Harvey was the first test of how Donald Trump would handle a domestic crisis — and he failed that test miserably.  —  On Tuesday, Trump traveled to Corpus Christi, Texas …

Sandra Bullock Donates $1 Million to Help Hurricane Relief Effort  —  Actress Sandra Bullock is pitching in to help victims of Hurricane Harvey — donating $1 million to the Red Cross relief effort, the relief organization confirms.  —  “This is an incredible gift.  We're so thankful.

NBC Insider: ‘Total Panic’ Over Megyn Kelly's Morning Show … Four weeks before the Sept. 25 debut of Megyn Kelly Today—the 9 a.m. replacement for the venerable morning show's third hour, Today's Take—some NBC insiders are expressing doubts, and even worries, about the network news division's plan …

The New York Times' Blackwater Op-Ed Is a Disgrace  —  Yesterday, a scarecrow made of mashed potatoes named Jamie Kirchick wrote an op-ed for the New York Times bemoaning how “transgender trumps treachery” for those who praise Chelsea Manning.  Kirchick lamented the attention …

Christopher Columbus Statue Beheaded in Yonkers  —  Police say it could have been juveniles or could be fallout from the deadly protests earlier this month in Charlottesville  —  A statue of celebrated explorer Christopher Columbus was found beheaded in a Yonkers park.

Trump pitches tax reform to ‘bring back Main Street’  —  STORY HIGHLIGHTS  —  (CNN)President Donald Trump on Wednesday delivered his opening pitch on tax reform, framing the effort in populist terms saying Republican plans to overhaul the tax code would be a boon for lower- and middle-class Americans.

Feinstein surprises SF crowd by expressing hope for Trump  —  U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein shocks an audience in San Francisco saying Trump could be a good president.  Elizabeth Keatinge (@elizkeatinge) has more.  —  Sen. Dianne Feinstein may be San Francisco's favorite politician …

How to Get Rich in Trump's Washington  —  His presidency has changed the rules of influence in the nation's capital — and spawned a new breed of lobbyist on K Street.  —  As for so many other people, election night did not pan out quite the way Robert Stryk expected.

Betsy DeVos's Hiring Of A Former For-Profit College Dean To Head Fraud Unit Spurs Anger  —  “This is a joke, right?”  —  Betsy DeVos has hired a former official at the for-profit college DeVry University to run a unit that investigates for-profit college fraud, according to an email obtained by BuzzFeed News.

King County deputy on leave after pulling gun during traffic stop  —  Raw: Deputy pulls gun during traffic stop.  Video: Alex Randall. … A King County Sheriff's deputy will be placed on administrative leave Tuesday after a video surfaced that shows the deputy confronting a motorcyclist with a gun during a traffic stop.

Arkema: No way to prevent explosion at flooded Texas chemical plant  — All residents within 1.5 miles of a chemical plant in southeast Texas were evacuated on Tuesday because of the rising risk of an explosion.  — The owner of the plant, Arkema, said in a statement the situation at its Crosby …

Clinton Hamptons ‘Summer Vacation Rental’ Sells For $29 Million  —  Bill and Hillary Clinton's summer vacation rental home in the Hamptons sold for $29 million after sitting under contract for nearly two years.  —  Apolonia Baptiste, the assistant to the seller Elie Hirschfeld …

The Search For Aaron Rodgers … Photographs by Randall Slavin  —  After the game, Aaron Rodgers got on the bus.  It was unusually cold in Arlington during the week leading up to Super Bowl XLV; a winter storm had barreled into Texas, blanketing Cowboys Stadium with so much snow that slabs of ice cascaded from the roof.

A fresh crisis may be emerging within Trump's administration  —  MORE FROM: … As horrible as it is, the Houston deluge eventually will fade from the headlines and the media's attention will return full-time to the rising waters around Donald Trump's presidency.

FDA approval brings first gene therapy to the United States  —  CAR T-cell therapy approved to treat certain children and young adults with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia … For Immediate Release … The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a historic action today making …

Fox News Signs Tomi Lahren as Contributor  —  Conservative media host Tomi Lahren has joined Fox News in a contributor role, the cable news network announced Wednesday.  —  She will make her debut as a contributor on tonight's edition of “Hannity” at 10 p.m. ET/PT. According to FNC …

Presidential Pardons Might Not End Russia Prosecutions  —  President Donald Trump's unusual pardon of former Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio, issued before his federal case was even finished, has sparked a debate over whether the president could end Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe with a spate of pre-emptive pardons.

Mattis responds to Trump: US ‘never out of diplomatic solutions’ on North Korea  —  on Wednesday sought to downplay President Trump's earlier assertion that seemed to rule out a diplomatic solution to North Korea's ongoing missile tests.  —  “The U.S. has been talking to North Korea, and paying them extortion money, for 25 years.

When a furniture showroom becomes a storm shelter  —  Richmond, Texas (CNN)David and Maria Parks sit for hours on a sofa, intently watching news footage of flooding in Houston.  This couch is the only place they have left to go for now.  —  The Parks and about 300 other evacuees are taking refuge …