GOP Operative Made “Suspicious” Cash Withdrawals During Pursuit Of Clinton Emails  —  In one of the most intriguing episodes of the 2016 presidential campaign, Republican activist Peter W. Smith launched an independent effort to obtain Hillary Clinton's emails to help defeat her and elect Donald Trump.

Rep. Chris Collins, fighting prosecution, seeks to end reelection bid  —  Rep. Chris Collins (R-N.Y.), who was charged this week as part of an insider trading scheme, is suspending his re-election campaign and will attempt to remove his name from the ballot.

Michael Avenatti Urges Democrats to Reject Michelle Obama's Advice on Trump  —  CLEAR LAKE, Iowa — Michael Avenatti, fresh off his declaration that he may run for president in 2020, used his first big speech as a prospective candidate to call on the Democratic Party to reject Michelle Obama's …

Twitter admits InfoWars violated its rules, but says it will remain on the platform  —  Twitter said Friday that the accounts belonging to far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and his fringe media organization InfoWars would, for now, remain online, one day after a CNN investigation found …

Omarosa Tells NPR She Heard Trump ‘N-Word Tape,’ Contradicting Her Own Tell-All Book  —  “Hearing it changed everything for me,” former White House aide Omarosa Manigault Newman told NPR on Friday.  —  Manigault Newman was referring to what she calls the “N-word tape” …

Are you still sure there's no need to worry?  —  “Don't worry, the institutions will stop him.”  Or: “Don't worry, he hasn't done any real damage yet, the institutions have stopped him.”  How many times have you heard some version of this analysis since the election of President Trump?

A Lifelong Political Scrapper, Roger Stone Is Fighting for His Own Legal Future  —  As a flamboyant veteran of Washington and New York City politics, the campaign strategist Roger J. Stone Jr. has been in any number of knock-'em-down scrapes over the years, reaching back four decades …

An Airline Employee Stole A Plane From Seattle Airport And Was Chased By Fighter Jets Before Crashing  —  “I'm just a broken guy.  I've got a few screws loose I guess, I never really knew it until now,” the rogue pilot said to air traffic control.  —  An airline employee stole a plane …

Of Course There Is Such a Thing as a ‘Perjury Trap’  —  And it's a legitimate reason for President Trump to decline to be interviewed.  —  Studies will someday be done on the deleterious effect Donald Trump has had on the brains of people who loathe him.  It drives them to say things …

Woman killed by neighborhood dogs  —  Montgomery County Sheriff Chris Watkins released this statement Friday, August 10.  —  a resident of a Lake Tillery development on the western side of Montgomery County went missing while taking her daily walk.  After several hours the 66 year old female did not return home.

The Flourishing Business of Fake YouTube Views  —  Plays can be bought for pennies and delivered in bulk, inflating videos' popularity and creating an environment ripe for manipulation.  —  Interactive illustration by Adam Ferriss for The New York Times.  Video footage by Scott Dalton, William Widmer, Joshua Lott and Martin Vassilev.

The inside story of a toxic culture at Maryland football  —  Several current University of Maryland football players and people close to the Terrapins program describe a toxic coaching culture under head coach D.J. Durkin before offensive lineman Jordan McNair's death in June after a football workout.

Study: 78,000 transgender Americans could be prevented from voting in 2018  —  Congressional races in 8 states could be affected by the absence of transgender people due to strict photo ID requirements  —  A new study estimates that approximately 78,000 transgender people in eight crucial states …

Once ‘No Longer a Nuclear Threat,’ North Korea Now in Standoff With U.S.  —  WASHINGTON — North Korea is insisting that the United States declare that the Korean War is over before providing a detailed, written disclosure of all its atomic weapons stockpiles, its nuclear production facilities …

Trump's Economy Might Not Be Enough to Save the House  —  With the November congressional elections only 87 days away, Donald Trump has added to his revolutionary use of tweets what might prove to be an outdated reliance on two old-fashioned electoral winners to pull Republican candidates …

Trump calls for unity on anniversary of Charlottesville rally  —  President Donald Trump on Saturday called for the nation to “come together” ahead of the one-year anniversary of a violent white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.  —  “The riots in Charlottesville a year ago resulted …

How Turkey Sees the Crisis With the U.S.  —  Unilateral actions against Turkey by the United States will undermine American interests and force Turkey to look for other friends and allies.  —  Mr. Erdogan is the president of Turkey.  —  ANKARA, Turkey — For the past six decades …

Democrats all but acknowledge Kavanaugh is headed toward confirmation to Supreme Court  —  ORONO, Maine — Democrats have all but acknowledged that they are unable to stop the Senate from confirming Trump nominee Brett M. Kavanaugh for the Supreme Court this fall.

Kamala Harris Unable to Name a Legislative Accomplishment When Asked  —  Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) told the Call Your Girlfriend podcast in an interview released Friday that serving on various congressional committees is her biggest “win.”  Awkwardly, Harris struggled to name …

At Carrier, the Factory Trump Saved, Morale Is Through the Floor  —  Twenty months after the president-elect reached a deal to keep blue-collar jobs from leaving the country, absenteeism plagues the Indiana plant.  —  By the time the sun comes up, Nicole Hargrove knows if it'll be a struggle …

U.N. says it has credible reports that China holds million Uighurs in secret camps  —  GENEVA (Reuters) - A United Nations human rights panel said on Friday that it had received many credible reports that 1 million ethnic Uighurs in China are held in what resembles a “massive internment camp that is shrouded in secrecy.”

Newly released video shows incredible Afghanistan heroics of Air Force sergeant, 36, killed in battle with Al Qaeda 16 years ago and he will finally receive a posthumous Medal of Honor  — A new video shows him taking on Al Qaeda fighters single-handedly after coming back from unconsciousness …