Poll: 60 percent disapprove of Trump, while clear majorities back Mueller and Sessions  —  President Trump's disapproval rating has hit a high point of 60 percent, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll that also finds that clear majorities of Americans support the special counsel's …

Manafort Associate Sam Patten Is Charged With Lobbying Violation  —  A former associate of Paul Manafort, Sam Patten, was charged Friday with failing to register in the U.S. as a foreign agent for his work lobbying on behalf of a Ukrainian political party, Bloomberg News reports.

Sources: NBC Threatened Ronan Farrow if He Kept Reporting on Harvey Weinstein  —  Ronan Farrow had already left NBC News.  But a top lawyer at the network threatened to smear him if he continued to pursue the Hollywood mogul, multiple knowledgeable sources say.  —  Lachlan Cartwright

Neil Armstrong movie ‘First Man’ omits the American flag being planted on the moon, and star Ryan Gosling defended the decision  — The upcoming Neil Armstrong biopic “First Man” omits the American flag being planted on the moon.  — Star Ryan Gosling defended the decision …

Family members question Julia Salazar's claims  —  The state Senate candidate says she grew up in a ‘working-class immigrant family.’  —  State Senate candidate Julia Salazar has attracted significant, often fawning, media coverage, an army of enthusiastic volunteers, endorsements …

Police reports detail Beto O'Rourke's 1998 DWI arrest  —  WASHINGTON - U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke has long owned up to his drunken driving arrest 20 years ago, describing it in a Houston Chronicle/San Antonio Express-News op-ed piece earlier this week as a “serious mistake for which there is no excuse.”

Concern in White House over shortage of lawyers, press aides  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Increasingly convinced that the West Wing is wholly unprepared to handle the expected assault from Democrats if they win the House in November, President Donald Trump's aides and allies are privately raising alarm …

Chuck Todd Warns of Possible Mueller Bombshell: 'I Wouldn't Miss Work Tomorrow'  —  MSNBC's Chuck Todd issued a warning to the press on Thursday evening regarding the Russia investigation: Don't miss work tomorrow.  —  Todd's MTP Daily panel was discussing Special Counsel Robert Mueller's probe …

Bombshell leak to Toronto Star upends NAFTA talks: In secret ‘so insulting’ remarks, Trump says he isn't compromising at all with Canada  —  WASHINGTON—High-stakes trade negotiations between Canada and the U.S. were dramatically upended on Friday morning by inflammatory secret remarks …

How Much Hotter Is Your Hometown Than When You Were Born?  —  As the world warms because of human-induced climate change, most of us can expect to see more days when temperatures hit 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 degrees Celsius) or higher.  See how your hometown has changed so far and how much hotter it may get.

‘Tough decisions have to be made’: House Republicans prepare for pain  —  Party officials begin deciding which GOP lawmakers to save and which ones to cut loose.  —  With a massive field of vulnerable House incumbents to defend and limited resources to go around, Republicans are readying …

AP sources: Lawyer was told Russia had ‘Trump over a barrel’  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — A senior Justice Department lawyer says a former British spy told him at a breakfast meeting two years ago that Russian intelligence believed it had Donald Trump “over a barrel,” according to multiple people familiar with the encounter.

Critics say Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez can't hang with the intellectual heavyweights ... in Congress  —  Male politicians aren't told to put training wheels back on after a fact check.  —  Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez isn't just a House hopeful; she's an emerging Democratic star who's been barnstorming …

Why Mark Penn Is Sounding Trumpy  —  The longtime Clinton strategist insists his objection to the Mueller investigation is about principle, not opportunism.  His critics beg to differ.  —  Mark Penn recently moved into a brand new office on Washington, D.C.'s I Street …

This is the new GOP: Angry and afraid  —  One of the unpleasant surprises of your 50s (among many) is seeing the heroes and mentors of your 20s pass away.  I worked for Chuck Colson, of Watergate fame, who became, through his work with prisoners, one of the most important social reformers of the 20th century.

While Washington mourns McCain, Trump leaves town  —  Supporters at the raucous rally didn't seem to mind that Trump had been snubbed by the McCain family.  —  As Washington prepared a last hero's welcome for Sen. John McCain Thursday afternoon, President Donald Trump left town.

Trump Defends His Handling of McCain's Death  —  Opinion  —  Iran's Fake News Is a Fake Threat  —  If the Iranians were any good at social media trolling, it might be something to worry about.  —  August 31, 2018  —  Mark Gongloff  —  Nafta's Dying.  What Comes Next?

Transcript of President Trump's Interview With Bloomberg News  —  President Donald Trump was interviewed in the Oval Office on Thursday by Bloomberg News Editor In Chief John Micklethwait and reporters Jennifer Jacobs and Margaret Talev.  Below is a transcript of their conversation.

ER actress Vanessa Marquez shot and killed by police after brandishing BB gun: report  —  Vanessa Marquez, an actress who appeared on the popular TV drama ‘ER,’ was shot and killed by a South Pasadena Police Department officer after reportedly pulling out a BB-gun, reports the South Pasadenan.

Trump Won't Say When He Learned of Cohen's Stormy Daniels Payment  — Timing could affect president's risk of campaign finance woes  — 'I don't want to get into it,' the president tells Bloomberg  —  President Donald Trump refused Thursday to say whether he knew before the 2016 election …

I Worked With Avital Ronell.  I Believe Her Accuser.  —  The humanities are ablaze.  This month The New York Times reported that the Title IX office had found Avital Ronell, a professor of German and comparative literature at New York University and a superstar in literary studies …

Democrats, Beware of Falling in Love With Fundamentally Flawed Candidates  —  From Andrew Gillum to Keith Ellison, the party's heart is pulling harder than political reality.  —  BEAST INSIDE  —  The thing about political waves is that they sweep in sturdy and rickety boats alike.

Elon Musk Faces His Own Worst Enemy  —  The visionary entrepreneur seeks to ferry mankind to Mars and investors to prosperity—his ego may be all that stands in the way  —  During a tour this spring at Tesla Inc.'s electric-car factory in Fremont, Calif., Elon Musk asked why the assembly line had stopped.

Trump: ‘When you get good ratings, you can say anything’  —  leaned into his attacks against the news media Thursday night at a rally in Indiana, blasting news outlets for what he said was unfair coverage driven by ratings.  —  After mocking a protester who was escorted out at the beginning of his rally …

Fact-checking Republican attack ads in tight House races  —  Attack ads are our bread and butter at The Fact Checker — and, boy, are we swimming in butter this week.  —  The Congressional Leadership Fund, a super PAC aligned with House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.), has been running a series …