Scott running for Senate in epic showdown with Nelson  —  TALLAHASSEE — Florida Gov. Rick Scott made 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 with President Donald Trump …

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.

White House has no plan for countering Comey  —  Former FBI Director James Comey is about to return to the national spotlight with the release of his memoir next week — but the White House is doing little to prepare for the onslaught, according to two officials.

In Letter to E.P.A., Top Ethics Officer Questions Pruitt's Actions  —  WASHINGTON — The federal government's top ethics official has taken the unusual step of sending a letter to the Environmental Protecting Agency questioning a series of actions by Administrator Scott Pruitt and asking the agency to take …

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.

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.

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 …

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 …

Bots in the Twittersphere  —  The role of so-called social media “bots” - automated accounts capable of posting content or interacting with other users with no direct human involvement - has been the subject of much scrutiny and attention in recent years.  These accounts can play a valuable part …

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 …

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 …

Pardon offers?  Trump Russia interference violates Constitution and his oath  —  In the Russia probe, Trump already has violated constitutional limits on interference for self-interest.  Pardon offers would be another flagrant example.  —  Political interference in a law enforcement matter …

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 …

The Silence: The Legacy of Childhood Trauma  —  “I never got any help, any kind of therapy.  I never told anyone.”  —  X—  Last week I returned to Amherst.  It's been years since I was there, the time we met.  I was hoping that you'd show up again; I even looked for you, but you didn't appear.

How the Assad Regime Tracked and Killed Marie Colvin for Reporting on War Crimes in Syria  —  It is a horrifying artifact of our digital era: a jumpy 18-minute-and-49-second cellphone video of a Skype call.  Glimpses of an Arabic-language keyboard and laptop screen can be seen as the audio plays through tinny speakers.

Sarah Palin Would Run For Office Again ‘In A Heartbeat’  —  Former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, who ran with Sen. John McCain's (R-AZ) in 2008, said Sunday she would fun for office “again in a heartbeat.”  —  Palin was asked about her 2008 bid by Fox News host Mark Levin during his show …

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.

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 …

Interior Official Compared Parkland Students To Nazis, Promoted Conspiracies  —  A high-ranking official at the Interior Department's Bureau of Reclamation has repeatedly shared conspiracy theories on his personal Facebook page, a review by TPM found, including posts calling the students …

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," …

'They Didn't Have To Kill Him': The Death of Lance Corporal Brian Easley  —  This article was published in collaboration with the editorial team at Longreads.  —  The thing that everyone remembered about the man in the light gray sweatshirt was how composed he was, how polite and respectful.

The intriguing new science explaining our expressive eyebrows  —  Foreheads are a canvas upon which our eyebrows can paint emotions.  —  If you were to run into our ancient ancestor Homo heidelbergensis on the street, the first thing you might notice is their small forehead and heavy brow.

'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 …

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 …

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.

A debt crisis is coming.  But don't blame entitlements.  —  Martin Neil Baily, Jason Furman, Alan B. Krueger, Laura D'Andrea Tyson and Janet L. Yellen are all former chairs of the White House Council of Economic Advisers.  —  The U.S. unemployment rate is down to 4.1 percent, and economic growth could well increase in 2018.

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.