Trump sides with Democrats in debt limit, funding, Harvey deal  —  Donald Trump, who casts himself as a master negotiator, took the first offer Democrats put on the table.  —  Republicans left the Oval Office Wednesday stunned.  Trump had quickly sided with Democrats on a short-term debt ceiling increase …

Defiant Clinton looks to explain loss in new memoir  —  STORY HIGHLIGHTS  —  (CNN)A raw and aggrieved Hillary Clinton takes ownership — to a degree — for her stunning 2016 loss to Donald Trump in her upcoming book, which offers a revealing look at the campaign through the eyes of the contest's loser.

America's Changing Religious Identity  —  The American religious landscape is undergoing a dramatic transformation.  White Christians, once the dominant religious group in the U.S., now account for fewer than half of all adults living in the country.  Today, fewer than half of all states are majority white Christian.

The night before Hurricane Irma arrives  —  We have just experienced a night of howling wind and rain as Hurricane Irma edges ever closer towards us on Necker and the British Virgin Islands. … The strength of this hurricane is unheard of.  I've just been reading reports from the BBC …

Trump gets millions from golf members.  CEOs and lobbyists get access to president  —  Dozens of lobbyists, contractors and others who make their living influencing the government pay President Trump's companies for membership in his private golf clubs, a status that can put them in close contact …

Top Trump lawyer in private email exchange: ‘Me and Kelly’ are the ‘adults in the room’  —  White House special counsel Ty Cobb engaged in a lengthy email exchange in which he defended his decision to join President Donald Trump's legal team and appeared to refer to himself and White House Chief …

The First Six Months  —  How Americans are Reacting to the Trump Administration  —  In December 2016, analysts and scholars from across the political spectrum convened as the Democracy Fund Voter Study Group and helped construct the VOTER Survey.  This longitudinal survey interviewed 8,000 Americans …

Hurricane Irma just slammed into Trump's Caribbean estate — and is headed toward his Florida properties  —  A ferocious Hurricane Irma barreled early Wednesday morning across the Caribbean island of St. Martin, where President Trump owns a lavish waterfront estate, wrecking buildings …

Nunes vents anger at Sessions over subpoena, threatens to hold AG, FBI chief in contempt  —  House Intel subpoenas FBI, DOJ for Trump dossier documents  —  (CNN)House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes lashed out at Attorney General Jeff Sessions last week in a letter where he threatened Sessions …

I came to this country 41 years ago.  Now I feel like I don't belong here.  —  Max Boot is a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and author of the forthcoming book “The Road Not Taken: Edward Lansdale and the American Tragedy in Vietnam.”  —  I am white.  I am Jewish.  I am an immigrant.

A Second Look at the Steele Dossier—Knowing What We Know Now  —  [Editor's Note: In this special Just Security article, highly respected former member of the CIA's Senior Intelligence Service, John Sipher examines the Steele dossier using methods that an intelligence officer would to try to validate such information.

Senate resolution to force Trump's hand on condemning Charlottesville hate groups  —  The Senate is preparing to force President Donald Trump to go on record to officially condemn the deadly white supremacist rallies in Charlottesville last month.  —  Virginia Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine …

McCain backs Graham-Cassidy ObamaCare repeal effort  —  (R-Ariz.) said Wednesday that he supports a newer version of an ObamaCare repeal-and-replace bill, throwing some support behind the last-ditch effort.  —  McCain said he backs a bill from Sens. Lindsey Graham  —  (R-S.C.) and Bill Cassidy

Facebook says it sold political ads to Russian company during 2016 election … Representatives of Facebook told congressional investigators Wednesday that it has discovered it sold ads during the U.S. presidential election to a shadowy Russian company seeking to target voters …

The moral answer to North Korea threats: Take them out!  —  MORE FROM: … Better a million dead North Koreans than a thousand dead Americans.  The fundamental reason our government exists is to protect our people and our territory.  Everything else is a grace note.

The Ivanka Trump Guarantee  —  Ivanka Trump, first daughter, strode into Washington back in January with big promises: She was passionate about helping “working women,” she said, and she was going to close the gender wage gap even if it killed her.  —  Well, not if it killed her, not literally …

Holocaust Museum Pulls Study Absolving Obama Administration for Inaction in Face of Syrian Genocide  —  A major United States Holocaust Memorial Museum study of the Obama Administration's Syria policy was put on hold last night after portions of the study given to Tablet were greeted with shock …

Florida Sheriff Warns Fugitives They'll Be Jailed if They Seek Shelter  —  As Hurricane Irma churns towards Florida, the Polk County Sheriff's Department sent out a series of tweets Wednesday telling those with outstanding warrants that they will be sent to jail if they turn up at a storm shelter.

‘Shut up,’ judge tells Menendez lawyer  —  NEWARK — U.S. District Court Judge William H. Walls told a lawyer for Sen. Robert Menendez to “shut up for a moment” as the two engaged in a heated argument during the first moments of the New Jersey Democrat's corruption trial.

Charlotte Mayoral Candidate Says Vote For Her Because She's White  —  “Other people judge me.  What is the difference?  I say I'm white,” the Republican told a reporter.  —  Candidates for political office often tout their experience or intelligence as reasons why they're qualified.