Ohio race just got closer after county finds hundreds of uncounted votes  —  A special election in Ohio's 12th Congressional District was too close to call early Tuesday.  It could produce an automatic recount for Democrat Danny O'Connor and Republican Troy Balderson, who was backed by President Donald Trump.

Devin Nunes, in secretly recorded tape, tells donors GOP majority is necessary to protect Trump: 'We're the only ones'  —  Republican Rep. Devin Nunes of California, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, appears to have moved from criticizing the investigation into Russian interference …

Puerto Rico concedes Hurricane Maria deaths more than 1,400  —  SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Puerto Rico has conceded that Hurricane Maria killed more than 1,400 people on the island last year and not just the 64 in the official death toll.  —  The government acknowledged the higher death toll …

Laura Ingraham Doesn't Love Her Country Anymore  —  The Fox News commentator Laura Ingraham declared on a recent episode of her cable-television show that “in some parts of the country, it does seem like the America that we know and love doesn't exist anymore.”  What ended it?

Saudi Coalition Bombs School Bus in Yemen, Killing Dozens  —  IBB, Yemen — An airstrike from the Saudi-led coalition struck a school bus in northern Yemen on Thursday and killed dozens of people, many of them children, local medical officials and international aid groups said.

Rules Won't Save Twitter.  Values Will.  —  The platform won't ban the dangerous liar Alex Jones because he “hasn't violated our rules.”  Then what's the point of these rules?  —  This week, Alex Jones, the persistently mendacious conspiracy-theory spouter — yeah, that's a real job in 2018 …

Kaine leads Stewart by 23 points in poll from VCU's Wilder school  —  Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., led GOP rival Corey Stewart by 23 percentage points in a July poll of likely voters released Wednesday.  —  Kaine had 49 percent to 26 percent for Stewart, chairman of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors …

Rudy's Mueller demand: No questions on Flynn, Comey  —  With his constant commentating and public negotiating, Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani is setting up unmeetable expectations for special counsel Robert Mueller — a kind of insurance policy with the president's base.

Pentagon, Vice President Pence tout groundwork for future ‘Space Force’  —  The Pentagon is laying the groundwork for a future Space Force, moving closer to an order from President Trump earlier this summer to create a sixth branch of the armed forces.  —  Speaking at the Pentagon on Thursday …

The Demography of the Alt-Right … Divorce does seem to increase the likelihood a respondent will believe whites suffer discrimination and the likelihood that a white person will agree with all three of the basic premises of white identity politics.  —  Higher incomes are associated …

Judge in Manafort Trial Is a ‘Caesar’ in His Own Rome  —  ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Judge T. S. Ellis III had dismissed the jury for the day, but he was not quite finished opining about what he saw as irrelevant and repetitive questioning of a witness in the financial fraud trial of Paul Manafort.

Tribune Terminates $3.9 Billion Sinclair Merger, Sues Broadcast Rival  —  FCC Chairman Ajit Pai had concerns about Sinclair's submissions and sent it to an administrative-law judge, a blow to the merger's approval chances  —  Tribune Media Co. TRCO .99% terminated its merger agreement …

Hope Hicks getting sucked back into Trump's orbit  —  Hope Hicks had no intention of traveling on Air Force One when she arrived at President Donald Trump's Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club to hang out with White House friends including Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump.

Emails show 2016 links among Steele, Ohr, Simpson — with Russian oligarch in background  —  Emails in 2016 between former British spy Christopher Steele and Justice Department official Bruce Ohr suggest Steele was deeply concerned about the legal status of a Putin-linked Russian oligarch …

How one failed drug ensnared so many GOP lawmakers  —  One Australian drug company — with only one (failed) product in one (failed) clinical trial — just keeps tripping up current and former House Republicans.  —  Driving the news: Federal prosecutors in New York indicted Rep. Chris Collins yesterday …

Sikh man beaten, spat on.  ‘Devastated’ police chief says suspect is ‘my 18-year old son’  —  A surveillance video of the brutal attack began circulating widely across social media earlier this week, drawing anger from the large Sikh community in California's Central Valley.

Why the Left Is So Afraid of Jordan Peterson  —  Two years ago, I walked downstairs and saw one of my teenage sons watching a strange YouTube video on the television.  —  “What is that?”  I asked.  —  He turned to me earnestly and explained, “It's a psychology professor at the University of Toronto talking about Canadian law.”

The Marines Didn't Think Women Belonged in the Infantry.  She's Proving Them Wrong.  —  MOUNT BUNDEY TRAINING AREA, Australia — First Lt. Marina A. Hierl watched a dozen Marines charge toward human silhouettes made of paper atop a nearby hill.  Despite the early hour …