Scott running for Senate in epic showdown with Nelson, test of Trump's popularity  —  TALLAHASSEE — Florida Gov. Rick Scott makes his long-awaited Senate candidacy official Monday, setting up an epic battle against incumbent Democrat Bill Nelson and testing the limits of whether a close alliance …

Israel blamed for missile strike in Syria; 14 reported dead  —  BEIRUT (AP) — Russia and the Syrian military blamed Israel for a pre-dawn missile attack Monday on a major air base in central Syria, saying Israeli fighter jets launched the missiles from Lebanon's air space.

Trump's top national security spokesman to leave White House  —  National Security Council spokesman Michael Anton said Sunday that he plans to leave the White House — a move that will leave President Donald Trump without one of the earliest and sharpest defenders of his “America First” foreign policy.

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak says he's left Facebook over data collection  —  SAN FRANCISCO — Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak told USA TODAY he's leaving Facebook out of growing concern for the carelessness with which Facebook and other Internet companies treat the private information of users.

The Sam Harris debate  —  Ezra and Sam Harris debate race, IQ, identity politics, and much more.  —  There's a lot of backstory to this podcast, which is covered in more detail in this piece.  —  The short version is that Sam Harris, host of the Waking Up podcast, and I have been going back and forth …

Facebook Launches New Initiative to Help Scholars Assess Social Media's Impact on Elections  —  By Elliot Schrage, Vice President of Communications and Public Policy, and David Ginsberg, Director of Research  —  Today, Facebook is announcing a new initiative to help provide independent …

Art Collector and Bon Vivant Dies in Trump Tower Home He Couldn't Sell  —  Todd Brassner, who died in a fire at Trump Tower on Saturday, loved fast cars, electric guitars, expensive watches and making long, erudite pronouncements about art and art history.  He was an art dealer with health problems …

To hell with it: Trump increasingly weary of staff advice  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — The speech was written.  A cast of relatable Americans with emotional stories was standing by to reinforce the message.  But President Donald Trump was in no mood to play along.

Trump Has Lost the Confidence of Investors  —  Equities, bonds and the dollar are showing anything but trust in the president's stewardship.  —  President Donald Trump likes to equate the rally in stocks since the November 2016 elections with confidence in him and his policies.

Exclusive: As elections near, many older, educated, white voters shift away from Trump's party  —  (Reuters) - Older, white, educated voters helped Donald Trump win the White House in 2016.  Now, they are trending toward Democrats in such numbers that their ballots could tip the scales …

Russian Stocks Take Worst Hit Since Crimea on Sanctions, Syria  —  Ruble falls most globally; stocks drop most since 2014  —  Analysts warn other companies could be next for penalties  —  Russian stocks headed for their biggest drop in four years and the ruble slumped the most in the world …

Trump Trillion Dollar Budget Deficits Officially Begin This Week  —  The new U.S. normal of $1 trillion or more annual federal budget deficits will officially begin this week when the Congressional Budget Office releases its economic and budget outlook report showing that the deficit …

On the cusp of 112, a whirlwind tour for World War II's oldest veteran … Richard Overton, the grandson of a slave, worked in a furniture store and as a courier for decades until he finally retired when he was 85.  That was more than 25 years ago.  —  Now, Overton — the country's oldest …

We're in a battle to defend democracy — and Trump is on the wrong side … What if the West found itself “engaged in a fundamental contest between our free and open societies and closed and repressive systems” — and the U.S. president was on the wrong side?  —  This is not a hypothetical question.

Top De Blasio Aide Arrested on Gun Charges in Queens  —  A high-level deputy director in Mayor de Blasio's Office of Criminal Justice was arrested on gun charges this weekend, police say.  —  Reagan Stevens, the deputy director of Youth and Strategic Initiatives, was charged along with two men …

Horror of Being Governed by ‘Fox & Friends’  —  During the early days of the Obama administration, I did a few appearances on “Fox & Friends.”  —  The conversations were predictably shallow, tilted and exploitive.  The hosts had a particular knack for asking the idiotic with chipper earnestness …

Trump Hotel to Employees: Don't Hire Relatives … Jared Kushner, President Trump's son-in-law, has presented all kinds of headaches for his White House.  Forget the multiple federal investigations into the Kushner family businesses; his manifold financial interests have presented scores …

In John Bolton, Trump Finds a Fellow Political Blowtorch.  Will Foreign Policy Burn?  —  WASHINGTON — Shortly after Ambassador John R. Bolton was sent to represent the United States at the United Nations, an institution he had long scorned as an anti-American citadel of corruption, he hosted President George W. Bush for a visit.

Trump vs Putin?  Time to Be ‘Scared’  —  In an early morning tweet exactly one year and 77 days into his presidency, Donald Trump on Sunday finally criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin by name.  —  It took a chemical weapons attack in Syria by Putin's ally ("Animal Assad," …

Cynthia Nixon Wants to Legalize It  —  What would you say is harder: appearing in two concurrent Broadway shows when you were a full-time college student, or running for governor of New York State when most people know you only from “Sex and the City”?  I think that running for office …

Betsy DeVos to Oklahoma teachers: ‘Serve the students’ … Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said Oklahoma teachers who walked out of their classrooms to protest school funding cuts should “keep adult disagreements and disputes in a separate place.”  —  “I think about the kids,” DeVos said Thursday, according to The Dallas Morning News.

Sessions Has Asked A Federal Prosecutor To Oversee Document Production From The Clinton Email Investigation After Trump Criticism  —  US Attorney John Lausch will be overseeing the production of documents to a House committee relating to the Justice Department's investigation into Hillary Clinton's use of a private server.

Has the California backlash against liberal craziness finally begun?  —  In a state consumed by conservation and environmental issues, one highly endangered species has long gone unnoticed and unprotected - the California Conservative.  Is it still possible to rescue them from the brink of extinction?

'I know I don't need it'  —  Fabian Rodriguez was cradling his new rifle when he stopped at one of the gun-show booths to purchase a $5 chicken fajita MRE.  —  The “Meal Ready to Eat” is a mainstay for troops on combat missions.  But Rodriguez, a 28-year-old San Antonio native who sells auto paint …

Cardi B's Money Moves  —  The rapper responsible for last year's most unexpected hit emerged from a singular New York City story of strip clubs, gangs, and below-board basement butt injections.  Navigating new fame and a new record, Invasion of Privacy, Cardi B is fighting to stay true …