Behind the Senate GOP's high-stakes health-care gamble: Unrelenting criticism back home  —  (Michael Reynolds/European Pressphoto Agency/EFE/Rex/Shutterstock)  —  Senate Republicans have made a calculated decision: Better to fail again trying to repeal the Affordable Care Act then not to try at all.

Another potential Mueller honey pot: Spicer's notebooks  —  The Watergate resonance of the Bob Mueller probe rose this week with a CNN report that the special counsel has details of wiretaps of “former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort under secret court orders before and after the election.”

Manafort offered to give Russian billionaire ‘private briefings’ on 2016 campaign  —  FILE - In this July 17, 2016 file photo, then-Trump Campaign Chairman Paul Manafort talks to reporters on the floor of the Republican National Convention at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland as Rick Gates listens at back left.

Neighbors yell 'he can't hear you' before Oklahoma City officer fatally shoots deaf man  —  Neighbors yelled “he can't hear you!”  But the two officers kept shouting commands.  —  Sgt. Christopher Barnes and Lt. Matthew Lindsey ordered Magdiel Sanchez to drop a two-foot-long metal pipe.

Unsweet Home Alabama  —  The state's brutal primary runoff battle for the GOP Senate nomination enters its final days  —  In the midst of a grueling campaign for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate, Alabama's political sweet tea has acquired a distinctly sour taste.

NBC/WSJ Poll: Public Likes Trump's Bipartisan Move — But Little Else  —  WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump's approval rating has inched up, and more than 70 percent of Americans support his recent deal with Democratic leaders to provide hurricane relief and keep the government open for 90 days …

Study: Flint water killed unborn babies; many moms who drank it couldn't get pregnant  —  Babies born in Flint after switch to river water also nearly 150 grams lighter than those born in other areas of Michigan, and gained less weight.  —  CONNECT  —  The city of Flint saw fewer pregnancies …

Border Patrol Arrests Parents While Infant Awaits Serious Operation  —  When 2-month-old Isaac Enrique Sanchez was diagnosed with pyloric stenosis, a condition that causes vomiting, dehydration and weight loss in infants, his parents were told that their son's condition was curable.

Parents divided in opinion after gender neutral teacher sends home note with 5th graders  —  A new fifth grade teacher at Canopy Oaks Elementary is asking students to use gender-neutral pronouns in the classroom.  —  Math and science teacher Chloe Bressack sent the request home in a letter to parents headlined “About Mx.

Trump Leaning Toward Decertifying Iran Nuclear Deal, Say Sources  —  President Donald Trump is leaning toward decertifying the Iran nuclear deal and putting the decision of whether the United States withdraw from the accord in the hands of Congress, according to four sources …

LEAKED: Watch MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell's Unhinged Outtakes...for Eight Crazy Minutes (UPDATE)  —  Lawrence O'Donnell had a really bad night on August 29, 2017.  —  We draw that conclusion based on the above clip obtained by Mediaite, showing behind the scenes footage of a furious O'Donnell absolutely …

All Power Out as Hurricane Maria's Winds, Floods Crush Puerto Rico  —  SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Hurricane Maria is likely to have “destroyed” Puerto Rico, the island's emergency director said Wednesday after the monster storm smashed ripped roofs off buildings and flooded homes across the economically strained U.S. territory.

Mark Zuckerberg's Fake News Problem Isn't Going Away  —  Technically speaking, Mark Zuckerberg has been on paternity leave.  In late August his wife, Priscilla Chan, gave birth to their second child, a girl.  But though Zuckerberg, the chief executive officer of Facebook Inc. …

Ta-Nehisi Coates and the Politics of Contempt  —  The polemicist attributes Trump's election to ‘white supremacy,’ and liberals can't get enough.  —  The great jazz musician Miles Davis was known for his boorishness, especially toward his white fan base.  Davis would play his trumpet …

Trump is assembling the most male-dominated government in decades  —  A new analysis shared exclusively with the Guardian has found 80% of nominations for top jobs in the Trump administration have gone to men  —  They were military and business leaders, political insiders, novices and lords of finance.

‘The View’ co-host: Trump making ‘phallic reference’ with ‘Rocket Man’ talk  —  A co-host on ABC's “The View” weighed in on President Trump referring to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as “Rocket Man,” with one host theorizing that the characterization is actually a “phallic reference to masculine dominance.”