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 …

Trump adviser 'can't guarantee' taxes won't go up for middle class  —  President Donald Trump's top economic adviser, Gary Cohn, said today that he can't guarantee that taxes won't go up for some middle-class families under the administration's sweeping tax overhaul.

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.

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 …

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 …

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” …

Supreme Court poised to deal a sharp blow to unions for teachers and public employees  —  Labor experts have predicted many employees would stop supporting their union if given a choice.  —  The Supreme Court is set to deal a sharp blow to the unions that represent millions of teachers …

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.

Trump: NFL owners ‘afraid’ to take action against kneeling players  —  President Trump, in an exclusive interview with “Fox & Friends,” said that NFL owners are “afraid” to act against their players protesting the national anthem at games across the country.

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.

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 …

ISIS Releases Recording Said to Be of Its Leader  —  The Islamic State has issued what appears to be the first recording in nearly a year of its reclusive leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, in a move that seems equally designed to silence rumors of his death and to rally his pummeled troops.

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 …

Deportations fall under Trump despite increase in arrests by ICE  —  An immigration detainee sits in a high-security unit in Orange, Calif. (Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images)  —  Despite President Trump's push for tougher immigration enforcement, U.S. agents are on pace to deport fewer people …