White House communications director Hope Hicks retains lawyer in Russia probe  —  White House communications director Hope Hicks has retained a personal attorney, as the special counsel's investigation into the Trump campaign's ties to Russia is expected to heat up this fall.

New White House Chief of Staff Has an Enforcer  —  Lost in the scramble to cope with Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, the response to North Korea's nuclear provocations and the shock at President Trump's instant alliance with Democrats was a little-noticed bureaucratic earthquake that shook the White House this week.

A Requiem for Florida, the Paradise That Should Never Have Been  —  ORLANDO, Fla.—The first Americans to spend much time in South Florida were the U.S. Army men who chased the Seminole Indians around the peninsula in the 1830s.  And they hated it.  Today, their letters read like Yelp reviews …

More White, More Male, More Jesus: CIA Employees Fear Pompeo Is Quietly Killing the Agency's Diversity Mandate  —  CIA insiders worry reforms pushed by Brennan are languishing in his absence.  —  In early summer, Judy and Dennis Shepard bought plane tickets to give a speech to the workforce at CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia.

Fox News Will Part Ways With Eric Bolling After Harassment Investigation  —  Fox News Channel will part ways with host Eric Bolling, a host and contributor whose on-air presence at the 21st Century Fox-owned network had been growing in recent months, after allegations surfaced …

What's Going to Happen When the Trumpists Realize the America They Yearn for Is Gone? … The latest NBC/Wall Street Journal poll—which shows a yawning cultural divide between Trump voters and Republicans on the one hand and everyone else on the other on everything from gay marriage to immigration …

Forecasters: Hurricane Irma to regain Category 5 strength  —  (CNN)Hurricane Irma battered parts of Cuba and the central Bahamas, and forecasters predicted Friday evening the massive storm will strengthen into a Category 5 storm again before it slams into the Florida Keys.

Seriously, Equifax?  This Is a Breach No One Should Get Away With  —  Equifax, you had one job.  Your only purpose as a corporation, the reason you were created and remain a going concern, is to collect and maintain people's most private financial data.  —  Now you have fallen down on your only job — and spectacularly so.

Hurricane Irma Rumor Control  —  Rumor: Pets in Shelters and Hotels  —  There are reports emergency shelters are required to accommodate pets and service animals belonging to people who have evacuated.  This is TRUE.  (September 8)  —  There are also reports hotels are required to accommodate pets for people who have evacuated.

Maria Sharapova's Vile, Racially Tinged Treatment of Serena Williams … To understand Maria Sharapova is to know that she had the gall to name her forthcoming memoir Unstoppable after she could not beat rival Serena Williams 18 times in a row, even with the aid of performance-enhancing drugs.

Mercurial Trump Rattles Republican Party Ahead of Midterms  —  WASHINGTON — President Trump's mercurial politics are already rattling Republicans heading into the 2018 midterm campaign, sparking Trump-like primary challenges in two high-profile Senate races and a host of lower-profile House contests …

Facebook Wins, Democracy Loses  —  CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — On Wednesday, Facebook revealed that hundreds of Russia-based accounts had run anti-Hillary Clinton ads precisely aimed at Facebook users whose demographic profiles implied a vulnerability to political propaganda.

GOP struggles to control its own agenda  —  President Donald Trump's flirtations with Democrats and fixation on divisive campaign promises have paved the way for hazardous, rolling deadlines over the next six months on spending, the debt ceiling and immigration.

Fuji TV: Trump calls President Moon a “beggar” during phone call with Japanese PM  —  The remarks reportedly came as the US President discussed the North's ICBM launch on Aug. 29  —  US President Donald Trump allegedly disparaged South Korean President Moon Jae-in as acting “like a beggar” …

$4M for tiny airport near golf course slipped into Wisconsin budget  —  Airport upgrades planned for 2021 moved up due to increased air traffic, Rep. Scott Krug said  —  HIDE TRANSCRIPT SHOW TRANSCRIPT  —  A tiny airport in central Wisconsin that's seen an influx of private jets since …

Baucus backs single-payer health system  —  It's time for America to consider seriously a single-payer, government-run health system, says Max Baucus, Montana's longest serving U.S. senator, former ambassador to China and one of the chief architects of Obamacare.

GOP bristles at Mnuchin's debt plea: Do it for me  —  House Republicans bristled Friday at Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin  —  's pitch for them to vote for a three-month debt and spending extension “for me,” exacerbating divisions between Capitol Hill and the White House.

Ben Shapiro visit: Campus details logistics and resources  —  In advance of talk show host Ben Shapiro's appearance next Thursday, Sept. 14, at UC Berkeley, Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Paul Alivisatos today sent out this message detailing campus logistics for the event:  —  Dear UC Berkeley community,