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 …

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 …

Nation's largest oil refinery forced to shut down as Harvey floods Port Arthur  —  See dramatic rescues as Harvey flooding spreads  —  The largest oil refinery in the country is shutting down as Hurricane Harvey causes more catastrophic flooding.  —  Early Wednesday, Motiva said it started closing …

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 …

Trumka: Some White House trade backers ‘turned out to be racist’  —  AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said Wednesday morning that some White House aides who support protectionist trade policies “turned out to be racist,” after President Donald Trump held a news conference blaming both sides …

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.

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.

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.

The incredible shrinking president  —  As President Trump formally launches his tax-reform drive this afternoon with a no-details, “vision-casting” speech in Springfield, Missouri, the self-inflicted wounds of the past 222 days are adding up.  (Speech preview here, off embargo at 6 a.m.)

IVANKA BACKS TRUMP ADMINISTRATION'S PLAN TO SCRAP OBAMA RULES PREVENTING PAY DISCRIMINATION  —  The White House, with the backing of Ivanka Trump, will end an Obama-era policy that would have required business owners to document how much they pay their workers alongside their gender, race and ethnicity.

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.

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.

How Apple Plans to Change the Way You Use the Next iPhone  —  Premium device is said to come with new gesture controls to replace home button, taller screen with rounded corners.  —  Apple Inc. plans to transform the way people use its next high-end iPhone by eliminating the concept …

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.

Joel Osteen's Megachurch Says It Didn't Open Its Doors To Houston Evacuees Because The City Didn't Ask It To  —  Hundreds of evacuees and volunteers filled Lakewood Church within hours of its doors opening for relief efforts, leaving many still wondering what took so long in the first place.

ESPN Football Analyst Walks Away, Disturbed by Brain Trauma on Field  —  LONG BEACH, Calif. — If Ed Cunningham had not already seen enough, he would be back in a broadcast booth on Saturday afternoon, serving as the color analyst for another top college football game televised on ABC or ESPN.

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 …

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 …