With Tax Cuts on the Table, Once-Mighty Deficit Hawks Hardly Chirp  —  WASHINGTON — In 2001, when surging budget surpluses fueled hopes of extinguishing the national debt, a pitched battle broke out over President George W. Bush's proposed $1.6 trillion tax cut.

Exclusive: Kushner didn't disclose personal email account to Senate intel committee  —  Washington (CNN)In his closed interview with the staff of the Senate intelligence committee, White House senior adviser and presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner did not share the existence of his personal email account …

Mark Cuban, Pitbull step up, but Trump administration making Puerto Rico evacuees pay  —  Evacuees on U.S.-government-coordinated transport must sign IOUs for the cost — and give up their passports as collateral  —  A billionaire business shark and a “worldwide” pop star have donated the use …

Russian Interference in 2016 US Election, Bots, & Misinformation  —  Earlier this summer we outlined some of our work to combat bots and networks of manipulation on Twitter.  Since then, we have received a number of questions about how malicious bots and misinformation networks on Twitter …

Lindsey Graham on Obamacare Repeal: I Had No Idea What I Was Doing … Senate Democrats and their progressive allies spent the last week-and-a-half in a full-blown mobilization against an existential threat to the Affordable Care Act.  —  Now that it has fizzled out, the lead author of the measure …

Price says he'll repay taxpayers for his private jet travel  —  Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price said he will write a personal check to the federal government for his costs of traveling on private jets and will permanently halt his use of charter flights.

The Supreme Court's legitimacy problem  —  Neil Gorsuch, the man who occupies a seat on the Supreme Court because Senate Republicans held it open until Donald Trump could fill it, is on a bit of a victory tour.  —  Last week, the staunchly conservative judge spoke at the University …

The GOP Loses Again—and Moore  —  Trump and leaders in Congress should find the latest Republican failure sobering.  —  It was a disastrous day for the whole GOP—President Trump, congressional Republicans, grass-roots activists and anyone who wants progress on the party's agenda.

There Is No GOP Establishment or Base.  Just Massive Resistance.  —  In a new story at NBC News, Steve Kornacki says there is a new GOP uprising underway leading into the 2018 election.  It is a replay or the next stage of similar eruptions in 2010 and 2012 and to a lesser extent in 2014.

The Time Donald Trump Turned Away in Disgust While a Man Was Bleeding to Death in Front of Him … Howard Stern is the greatest celebrity interviewer alive, bar none.  He is possessed of an uncanny ability to induce self-revelation, stroking and feeding the ego until it swells up and bursts.

Rep. Steve Scalise breaks his silence on shooting  —  In his first interview since being shot and critically wounded, Rep. Steve Scalise describes the extent of his injuries and how surgeons put him back together  —  In his first interview since sustaining a life-threatening gunshot wound …

Elementary school librarian rejects books given by Melania Trump  —  A Cambridge, Mass., elementary school librarian said in a blog post this her school will not be keeping a collection of books from Melania Trump, though the school later denied her rejection of the gift.

Hugh Hefner Did Not Live the Good Life  —  Overnight, we learned of the death of Playboy founder Hugh Hefner.  Hefner is the iconic figure who not only made pornography socially respectable (and even more lucrative), but also spent a life constructing a “playboy philosophy” …

The Repressive, Authoritarian Soul of “Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends”  —  When I was a child, I could spend all day at Shining Time Station, the fictive train depot with its own eponymous TV show, where Thomas the Tank Engine and all his plate-faced locomotive friends worked and lived.

Russia warns U.S. over treatment of its media outlets  —  Russia bought Black Lives Matter ad on Facebook  —  Russia is warning the United States: Back off our media.  —  The country's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova issued a warning Thursday that Russia would retaliate …

Facing poverty, academics turn to sex work and sleeping in cars  —  Some, on the brink of homelessness, take desperate measures … here is nothing she would rather do than teach.  But after supplementing her career with tutoring and proofreading, the university lecturer decided …

Ikea has bought TaskRabbit  —  The Swedish home goods giant is looking for some digital help from the contract labor marketplace  —  Swedish home goods giant Ikea has bought TaskRabbit, according to sources close to the situation.  —  The price of the deal could not be determined …

NFL ticket sales plummet 17.9%  —  The National Football League is feeling the impact of the “Trump Effect.”  —  Ticket sales since he called on team owners to fire players who take a knee to protest the National Anthem have cratered.  —  The online ticket reseller TickPick told Secrets …