Talking Points Brought to Trump Tower Meeting Were Shared With Kremlin  —  Natalia V. Veselnitskaya arrived at a meeting at Trump Tower in June 2016 hoping to interest top Trump campaign officials in the contents of a memo she believed contained information damaging to the Democratic Party and, by extension, Hillary Clinton.

Orrin Hatch Tells Friends He Plans to Retire  —  SALT LAKE CITY, Utah—Senator Orrin Hatch has privately told allies in Utah that he is planning to retire at the end of his term next year, and if he does, Mitt Romney intends to run for his seat, according to five sources familiar with the situation.

Conway confirms Trump wanted FBI informant's gag order lifted  —  Washington (CNN)In response to reporting that President Donald Trump personally pressed for an informant's gag order to be lifted, White House adviser Kellyanne Conway said Friday that he wanted the informant to be free to speak out.

Gaffes, TV ratings concerns dominated as NFL, players forged anthem peace  —  NOBODY KNEW WHERE to sit.  Side by side or across from one another?  —  It was the final question raised by a group of 11 NFL team owners as they mingled inside the sixth-floor conference room …

Whitefish Energy contract bars government from auditing deal  —  A deal reached between the government and a small Montana energy company located in Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke  —  's hometown prohibits the government from reviewing labor costs or profits related to the company's relief efforts …

British newspaper received mystery call minutes before JFK assassination  —  A British newspaper received a mystery call minutes before the assassination of John F Kennedy.  —  This is one of the most astonishing revelations from the JFK files, released on Thursday.

FLASHBACK: Watch Kellyanne Conway refuse to hug Mark Halperin — after she hugs all other men on his show  —  Then-Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway refused to hug journalist Mark Halperin on his Showtime documentary series, an incident that could be more significant in light …

This Is What the Trump Abyss Looks Like  —  The past week was another watershed, it seems to me, in the rising power of Donald Trump.  Flake is quitting; Corker is retiring; McCain is mortal.  Sasse, Murkowski, Collins, and Paul remain, but the odds are mounting against them.

Catalan parliament declares independence from Spain  —  The Catalan regional parliament has voted to declare independence from Spain, while the Spanish parliament has approved direct rule over the region.  —  Catalan MPs backed the motion 70-10 in a ballot boycotted by the opposition.

Puerto Rico Is Burning Its Dead, And We May Never Know How Many People The Hurricane Really Killed  —  People whose bodies are cremated are largely not being counted in the official death toll.  The government says it's the fault of funeral directors, while funeral directors say they've received no guidance from the government.

Dana Boente announces resignation as U.S. Attorney for Eastern District of Virginia  —  (Photo by Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post) (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)  —  Dana Boente, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, has submitted his resignation, a spokesman confirmed Friday.

Rep. Jackie Speier says she was sexually harassed on Capitol Hill  —  A Bay Area congresswoman said Friday that she was sexually harassed as a congressional staffer — and decided to go public with her story to shed light on what she described as a culture of harassment on Capitol Hill.

The Attempted Remaking of Michael Grimm  —  Steve Bannon looked at a convicted felon — and saw a populist.  —  It was Friday, which meant it was Michael Grimm's cheat day.  —  The muscle mass he carried during his time as a Marine, an undercover FBI agent, and even as a congressman has …

Unpacking Uranium One: Hype and Law  —  Hillary Clinton, as secretary of state, delivering remarks in 2010.  (Photo: Flickr/U.S. Embassy in New Zealand)  —  The latest instance of “what-aboutism” is the House Republican decision to open an investigation of the Uranium One transaction …

‘Terry Richardson Is Just the Tip of the Iceberg’  —  This week, in an apparently defensive move after a social media outcry, the biggest fashion magazines cut ties with the photographer Terry Richardson over his history of alleged sexual harassment.  —  On Monday, The Telegraph broke …

Leon Wieseltier: A Reckoning  —  It was never an “open secret” among me and my then-colleagues that Leon Wieseltier, the longtime literary czar of the New Republic, behaved inappropriately with women in the workplace.  It was simply out in the open.  This week, Wieseltier's previously …

Man locked in Kwik Trip beer cooler stays and drinks  —  MARSHFIELD - A 38-year-old Marshfield man who police say decided to buy beer but got locked inside a cooler is facing two citations for drinking the beer.  —  A manager at Kwik Trip, 101 N. Central Ave., Marshfield …

The Surrender  —  Everyone's talking about the civil war in the Republican party.  It seems more like a surrender to us.  —  The great bulk of elected Republicans have surrendered to the forces of Donald J. Trump.  And they didn't even put up much of a fight.

The Week Trump Won  —  One hundred years ago on Friday, John Reed was in St. Petersburg watching Lenin, Trotsky and the rest of the Bolsheviks take over Russia.  It was interesting to read his account, “Ten Days That Shook the World,” this week — the week when Donald Trump and Steve Bannon solidified …

This Company Added the Word ‘Blockchain’ to Its Name and Saw Its Shares Surge 394%  —  A British company that has been investing in internet and information businesses is having its best day on record.  —  On-line Plc jumped as much as 394 percent on Friday after announcing plans to change …

McConnell-linked group mocks Breitbart for falling traffic  —  A group linked to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell  —  (R-Ky.) echoed President Trump's tweeting style Friday to slam the Stephen Bannon-led site Breitbart News for falling traffic numbers.

‘Something fairly big is coming’: Ex-FBI double-agent predicts Russia bombshell after Trump evasions  —  MSNBC anchor Joy Reid investigated whether the latest revelations involving Cambridge Analytica and Wikileaks may be related to Republicans ‘hysteria’ to find a Russia-related story that tarnishes Democrats.

Outnumbered and outgunned, US troops got separated in Niger ambush  —  Niamey, Niger (CNN)Outnumbered and lightly armed, a Green Beret-led team that was ambushed by militants in Niger earlier this month became separated during the firefight, US officials and a Nigerien soldier told CNN Thursday.