Trump rejected plans for a White House statement praising McCain  —  President Trump nixed issuing a statement that praised the heroism and life of Sen. John McCain, telling senior aides he preferred to issue a tweet before posting one Saturday night that did not include any kind words for the late Arizona Republican.

APNewsBreak: Nation's top student loan official resigns  —  NEW YORK (AP) — The top government official overseeing the $1.5 trillion student loan market resigned Monday, citing what he says is the White House's open hostility toward protecting the nation's millions of student loan borrowers.

Scoop: Republicans secretly study their coming hell  —  Congressional Republicans are getting ready for hell.  Axios has obtained a spreadsheet that's circulated through Republican circles on and off Capitol Hill — including at least one leadership office — that meticulously previews …

Glenn Greenwald, the Bane of Their Resistance  —  A leftist journalist's bruising crusade against establishment Democrats—and their Russia obsession.  —  Like a man in the first draft of a limerick, Tennys Sandgren is a tennis player from Tennessee.  Last winter, after scraping his way onto …

Nuns Killed Children, Say Former Residents Of St. Joseph's Catholic Orphanage  —  Millions of American children were placed in orphanages.  Some didn't make it out alive.  —  It was a late summer afternoon, Sally Dale recalled, when the boy was thrown through the fourth-floor window.

Mexican official says NAFTA talks with the US have ‘concluded,’ deal announcement coming  — Officials were in Washington trying to hammer out the details as the Trump administration pushes to remake the 1994 agreement between the U.S., Mexico and Canada.  — There was some hope …

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette no longer prints a daily newspaper  —  Saturday and Tuesday papers are a thing of the past now.  —  Pittsburgh is now the largest city in America without a daily newspaper.  —  After many iterations, Pittsburgh's last remaining daily, the 232-year-old Pittsburgh Post-Gazette …

John McCain's Epiphany About Paul Manafort  —  A central feature of John McCain's biography was his capacity for change.  After he sullied himself in the Savings and Loan scandal of the late eighties, he self-consciously transformed into a warrior on behalf of the cause of political reform.

‘Sleeper’ case could torpedo Mueller report  —  It might even keep the special counsel from sending a report to Congress, shaking Democrats' hopes that such a document could provide the impetus for impeachment proceedings.  —  A little-noticed court case stemming from the apparent murder …

It Would Take Only a Single Senator  —  A few days ago I wrote a long item about changing assessments of Donald Trump: which first impressions had held up, and which had called for second thoughts over time.  —  The last part of the post concerned the main, and depressing, area where second thoughts were called for.

Hard Partying and a Corruption Scandal: Duncan Hunter's Political Life Unravels  —  SAN DIEGO — In Alpine, Calif., a suburban Southern California enclave, Duncan Hunter was a good neighbor.  He'd help people do yard work, or move heavy furniture.  He drove the same dented-up truck for years.

Bad News for U.S. Papers, but Tariffs Are Paying Off for One Rock Capital  —  Private-equity firm headed by a Washington and Wall Street veteran pushed for the tariffs on behalf of its North Pacific Paper and hope they are affirmed in a coming trace-commission vote

Democrats fret Nelson is choking in Florida Senate race  —  Nelson's laid-back style and fundraising deficit have left Democrats concerned that Rick Scott will trounce him.  —  When Sen. Claire McCaskill began to choke in a Democratic Caucus lunch in June, Sen. Bill Nelson stepped in to perform the Heimlich maneuver.

Rauner vetoes bill that would set minimum teacher salary at $40,000 within five years  —  Gov. Bruce Rauner takes questions from the media July 16, 2018.  Rauner on Aug. 26, 2018, vetoed legislation that would have raised the minimum salary for an Illinois teacher to $40,000 within five years.

Attorney for Michael Cohen backs away from confidence that Cohen has information about Trump's knowledge on Russian efforts  —  An attorney for Michael Cohen, President Trump's former lawyer, is backing away from confident assertions he made that Cohen has information to share with investigators …

Vigano letter exposes the putsch against Pope Francis  —  Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano's testimony proves one thing: The former Vatican ambassador to the United States is to the clergy sex abuse crisis what Oliver Stone is to the assassination of President John Kennedy …

Baltimore man identified as gunman in Jacksonville shooting  —  Federal authorities were at a home near in Baltimore's Inner Harbor on Sunday night as part of an investigation into the Jacksonville mass shooting.  (Justin Fenton / Baltimore Sun)  —  A Baltimore man has been identified …

Feminist-themed beer hall will be neighbors with new Playboy Club  —  This could get awkward.  —  A feminist-themed beer hall is opening next month on West 42nd Street — and it will be located just two doors down from the new Playboy Club.  —  Treadwell Park, a popular craft-beer joint …

Is Pam Bondi auditioning for Fox News while still working for Florida taxpayers?  —  Bondi sought ethics commission approval before spending three days co-hosting “The Five,” a news talk show.  —  Pam Bondi is still the attorney general of Florida, at least for another four months.

Kansans drank contaminated water for years.  The state didn't tell them.  —  The state allowed hundreds of residents in two Wichita-area neighborhoods to drink contaminated water for years without telling them, despite warning signs of contamination close to water wells used for drinking, washing and bathing.