Montini: John McCain mocks Donald Trump's deferment ‘bone spurs’ (without naming him)  —  Sen. John McCain doesn't have to speak President Donald Trump's name to excoriate him.  —  He doesn't exactly call the president a draft dodger.  But... in a way... he does.

Trump's Boogeymen?  Women!  —  Donald Trump has a particular taste for the degradation of racial, ethnic and religious minorities and women — and God forbid those identities should overlap — as a way a playing out his personal sense of racial, sexist, and patriarchal entitlement.

Is tone of Trump-Russia probe changing?  —  Have you noticed?  In recent public comments, the lawmakers investigating the Trump-Russia affair, along with some of the commentators who dissect its every development, seem to be focusing more on the facts of Russia's attempts to interfere …

FBI watched, then acted as Russian spy moved closer to Hillary Clinton  —  was beginning her job as President Obama's chief diplomat, federal agents observed as multiple arms of Vladimir Putin's machine unleashed an influence campaign designed to win access to the new secretary of State, her husband Bill Clinton

Mueller Now Investigating Democratic Lobbyist Tony Podesta  —  WASHINGTON — Tony Podesta and the Podesta Group are now the subjects of a federal investigation being led by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, three sources with knowledge of the matter told NBC News.

EXCLUSIVE: US Preparing to Put Nuclear Bombers Back on 24-Hour Alert  —  If the order comes, the B-52s will return to a ready-to-fly posture not seen since the Cold War.  —  BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. — The U.S. Air Force is preparing to put nuclear-armed bombers back on 24-hour ready alert …

Why Is Bill Browder Banned from America?  —  Vladimir Putin keeps putting William Browder on Interpol's wanted list, or trying to.  As far as I'm concerned, these attempts are the equivalent of medals of freedom.  —  Remember who Browder is: He is the financier whose lawyer was Sergei Magnitsky …

The great dealmaker?  Lawmakers find Trump to be an untrustworthy negotiator.  —  President Trump campaigned as one of the world's greatest dealmakers, but after nine months of struggling to broker agreements, lawmakers in both parties increasingly consider him an untrustworthy …

Million dollar bracket in the works for GOP tax plan  —  The Republicans on the House Ways and Means Committee — engaged in a high-pressure, high-stakes tax policy rewrite — are currently exploring not cutting the income tax rate for people who earn $1 million or more per year.

National Democrats are jittery about Va. governor's race  —  Republican Ed Gillespie and Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam (D) at a debate last month in Washington.  The two are competing in the Virginia governor's race Nov. 7.  (Bonnie Jo Mount/The Washington Post)  —  LAS VEGAS — The Democratic …

Democrats' early money haul stuns GOP  —  Democratic candidates are reporting historic early fundraising totals, alarming GOP strategists and raising the prospect that 2018 could feature the most expansive House battlefield in years.  —  Animated by opposition to President Donald Trump …

‘I Was Willing to Do Everything’: Mothers Defend Sons Accused of Sexual Assault  —  Four women met late last month at a restaurant in a Twin Cities suburb, where they spoke for hours, so intently their waiter had trouble getting their drink orders.  —  Each had a son who had been accused at college of sexual assault.

A Presidential Bellwether Is Still Waiting to Start Winning Under Trump  —  TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — Nobody is tired of winning here.  —  Not at the Crossroads Cafe, where regulars pick at politics over breakfast.  Not at the Rotary Club, where the meeting dutifully opens with the invocation …

Still Waiting for FEMA in Texas and Florida After Hurricanes  —  HOUSTON — Outside Rachel Roberts's house, a skeleton sits on a chair next to the driveway, a skeleton child on its lap, an empty cup in its hand and a sign at its feet that reads “Waiting on FEMA.”