Exclusive: Mueller Enlists the IRS for His Trump-Russia Investigation … Special counsel Bob Mueller has teamed up with the IRS.  According to sources familiar with his investigation into alleged Russian election interference, his probe has enlisted the help of agents from the IRS' Criminal Investigations unit.

Outgoing sheriff Clarke expected to take job in Trump administration  —  David Clarke, the controversial outgoing sheriff of Milwaukee County, Wis., is expected to take a job in the Trump administration, according to two sources familiar with the matter.  —  Clarke resigned as sheriff on Thursday.

Trump Attorneys Lay Out Arguments Against Obstruction-of-Justice Probe to Mueller  —  In meetings and memos, lawyers argue president didn't obstruct justice by firing former FBI Chief Comey  —  WASHINGTON—Lawyers for Donald Trump have met several times with Special Counsel Robert Mueller …

Trump expected to halt Obama's program but allow some Dreamers to stay temporarily  —  WASHINGTON  —  President Donald Trump is expected to end an Obama-era program that shielded young people from deportation, but he will likely let the immigrants known as Dreamers stay in the United States until …

Manafort Notes From Russian Meet Contain Cryptic Reference to ‘Donations’  —  WASHINGTON — Paul Manafort's notes from a controversial Trump Tower meeting with Russians during the 2016 presidential campaign included the word “donations,” near a reference to the Republican National Committee …

Pence shows Trump how to sweat it out with Texas victims  —  Vice President Mike Pence on Thursday offered up a playbook for President Donald Trump's follow-up visit to hurricane-ravaged Texas this weekend, hugging storm victims, directly offering words of encouragement, and dripping sweat as he helped clear debris.

Yes, Google Uses Its Power to Quash Ideas It Doesn't Like—I Know Because It Happened to Me  —  The story in the New York Times this week was unsettling: The New America Foundation, a major think tank, was getting rid of one of its teams of scholars, the Open Markets group.

Trump Weighs Tying Debt Limit Increase to Harvey Aid  —  Approach intended to spur quick action to avoid U.S. default  —  Request for $5.95 billion aid package may come Friday  —  President Donald Trump is considering attaching an increase in the U.S. debt limit to an initial $5.95 billion …

During a summer of crisis, Trump chafes against criticism and new controls … President Trump spent the final days of August dutifully performing his job.  He tended to the massive recovery from Hurricane Harvey.  He hit the road to sell his tax cut plan.

CONFIRMED: Comey Decided He Wasn't Going to Refer Hillary For Prosecution Long Before FBI Investigation Was Over  —  According to new transcripts released by the Senate Judiciary Thursday afternoon, former FBI Director James Comey made the decision not to refer then Democrat presidential …

Trump is slashing Obamacare's advertising budget by 90%  —  The White House will also cut the in-person outreach program by $23 million.  —  The Trump administration plans to deeply cut Obamacare outreach and advertising, officials announced Thursday.  They will reduce Obamacare advertising …

The CEO of Laura Ingraham's LifeZette Won't Stop Talking About His Employees' ‘Boobs and Butts’ … LifeZette, the politics and culture website founded by prominent ally of President Donald Trump and longtime talk-radio host Laura Ingraham, is in trouble.  —  Traffic to the site …

Kushners' China Deal Flop Was Part of Much Bigger Hunt for Cash  —  Jared Kushner, Donald Trump's son-in-law and top adviser, wakes up each morning to a growing problem that will not go away.  His family's real estate business, Kushner Cos., owes hundreds of millions of dollars on a 41-story office building on Fifth Avenue.

RNC chief of staff resigns amid rash of departures  —  Sara Armstrong, the top staffer at the Republican National Committee, is departing, according to three people familiar with the move — the latest in a string of exits from the committee.  —  Armstrong, the RNC's chief of staff …

Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin just put Harriet Tubman's role on the $20 bill in question  —  Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin put Harriet Tubman's role on the $20 bill in question.  —  Mnuchin told CNBC on Thursday: “Ultimately we will be looking at this issue.  It's not something I'm focused on at the moment.”

Was Barack Obama President During Hurricane Katrina?  —  Twitter users tried to pin the blame for Katrina relief issues on Obama, though he wasn't even president when it hit New Orleans. … CLAIM  —  Barack Obama was president when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005.  —  RATING  —  FALSE

Trump Energy official who said controversial comments were result of hacking resigns  —  STORY HIGHLIGHTS  —  (CNN)William C. Bradford, a Trump administration appointee who heads the Energy Department's Office of Indian Energy, resigned Thursday after claiming this week inflammatory comments …

A message from Glenn Beck: A heavy heart and the road ahead  —  What happened?  My heart is heavy today.  —  You might have noticed that recently something has been bothering me.  —  Today, we said goodbye to just over 20 percent of the combined workforce of Mercury Radio Arts and TheBlaze …

Kevin Swanson: Hurricane Harvey Is God's Judgment On Houston For Having A ‘Very Aggressively Pro-Homosexual Mayor’  —  Extremist anti-LGBTQ pastor Kevin Swanson is joining other radical Religious Right activists in declaring that Hurricane Harvey is God's judgment on Houston and other cities …

Texas Republicans Helped Chemical Plant That Exploded Lobby Against Safety Rules  —  UPDATE at 4:13pm ET: Arkema originally reported that there were two explosions at its Crosby facility.  Law enforcement authorities have since said that there were no explosions.

Owners must surgically ‘debark’ loud dogs, court rules  —  Gallery: Owners must debark dogs, court rules  —  The Oregon Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday that a southern Oregon couple must quiet their incessantly barking dogs by sending them to the vet to have their voices surgically squelched.

Trump civil rights official listed Clinton attacks as qualification on resume: report  —  An official who now works for the Trump administration listed attacking former President Bill Clinton  —  as some of her “top five qualifications” to work in the Trump administration …