Trump's ‘marching orders’ to the Pentagon: Plan a grand military parade … President Trump's vision of soldiers marching and tanks rolling down the boulevards of Washington is moving closer to reality in the Pentagon and White House, where officials say they have begun to plan …

FBI lovers' latest text messages: Obama ‘wants to know everything’  —  Newly revealed text messages between FBI paramours Peter Strzok and Lisa Page include an exchange about preparing talking points for then-FBI Director James Comey to give to President Obama, who wanted “to know everything we're doing.”

In Conversation: Quincy Jones  —  In both music and manner, Quincy Jones has always registered — from afar, anyway — as smooth, sophisticated, and impeccably well-connected.  (That's what earning 28 Grammy awards and co-producing Michael Jackson's biggest-selling albums will do.)

No, Trump has not been ‘contained.’ He's still as big a threat as ever.  —  THE MORNING PLUM:  —  Here's where we are today: President Trump's allies fear that refusing an interview with the special counsel, as his lawyers want, could trigger a destructive showdown that could go all the way to the Supreme Court.

Democrats flipped a Missouri state legislature seat that Trump won by 28 points  —  Special elections are painting a bleak outlook for the GOP.  —  Democrats had another good Tuesday night of special elections, this time in Missouri, where Mike Revis won a 3-point victory in House District 97 …

Russian Trolls Ran Wild On Tumblr And The Company Refuses To Say Anything About It  —  Tumblrs run by Russian trolls generated hundreds of thousands of interactions with anti-Hillary Clinton, pro-Bernie Sanders content.  —  Russian trolls posed as black activists on Tumblr and generated hundreds …

Senate budget deal would bust budget caps, raise debt limit  —  It seems increasingly likely that a debt-ceiling increase will be attached to a budget deal that Senate negotiators from both sides hope to announce as soon as today.  —  The big picture: This means DACA will likely be dealt with …

Trump wants to talk to Mueller despite lawyers' concerns  —  (CNN)President Donald Trump's lawyers have aimed to hit the brakes on a potential sit-down with Robert Mueller, but Trump remains eager to speak with the special counsel, according to his allies.  —  One person familiar …

Republicans and those ‘attacks’ on the FBI … The news is filled with reports that Republicans in Washington are “attacking” the FBI over the Trump-Russia investigation.  —  The Washington Post recently compiled a collection of statements by GOP lawmakers under the heading, “Republicans launch attack after attack on the FBI.”

Cash for Coalition Against Trump Going Into Consultants' Pockets Instead … Omar Siddiqui couldn't make it to an August fundraiser in Beverly Hills for the Democratic Coalition Against Trump.  But he ponied up the $2,000 ticket price after the group's senior adviser, Scott Dworkin, sent him a personal invitation.

Billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong reaches deal to buy L.A. Times, San Diego Union-Tribune  —  Biotech billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong has agreed to purchase the Los Angeles Times from its parent company Tronc, restoring local ownership and perhaps ending a turbulent period for the storied 136-year-old institution.

Holder won't rule out presidential run  —  refused to rule out running for president while speaking to reporters at a Christian Science Monitor breakfast in Washington on Wednesday.  —  “We'll see,” Holder said in response to a question about whether he could run for the White House.

Here's what the critics are saying about “Black Panther” — it's a “masterpiece”  —  The first reviews of the Marvel film are streaming in, and they're even better than expected  —  “Black Panther,” the new Marvel film starring Chadwick Boseman, was always going to make history …

Openly gay figure skater Adam Rippon declined chance to speak with Vice President Pence  —  PYEONGCHANG, South Korea - Vice President Pence is set to arrive here soon to lead the official U.S. delegation to the 2018 Winter Olympic opening ceremony, a delegation that is making a strong political statement …

Pruitt suggests warming can help humans  —  Want access to the top energy and environment news?  —  Sign up for a free trial!  —  Enter your email to register or log in. … Already a subscriber?  Log in

Are Banks Worthless?  —  Why banks?  —  Here is a hilarious paper from Juliane Begenau of Stanford and Erik Stafford of Harvard called “Do Banks Have an Edge?”  No, is their answer.  You'd be better off just passively buying Treasuries than buying the complicated mix of stuff that banks actually own:

How the Republicans rigged Congress — new documents reveal an untold story  —  Exclusive: Insider documents unveil Republicans' years-long scheme to gerrymander America and undermine democracy  —  Delegates to the 2009 Republican Legislative Campaign Committee's national meeting stayed …

Democrats confront Kelly over DACA comments in closed-door meeting  —  Washington (CNN)White House chief of staff John Kelly was confronted by lawmakers in a closed-door meeting about comments he made Tuesday that some immigrants who didn't apply for protections under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program were “too lazy.”