When I challenge the president, I do it directly.  My anonymous colleague should have, too.  —  Nikki Haley is U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.  —  We have enough issues to deal with in the world, so it's unfortunate to have to take time to write this, but I feel compelled to address …

I Wrote Some of the Stolen Memos That Brett Kavanaugh Lied to the Senate About  —  Much of Washington has spent the week focusing on whether Judge Brett Kavanaugh should be confirmed to the Supreme Court.  After the revelations of his confirmation hearings, the better question is whether …

Obama delivers full-throated rebuke of Trump's presidency  —  URBANA, Ill. — The night before the 2016 election, Barack Obama said Donald Trump was “uniquely unqualified” on the economy, “temperamentally unfit” on foreign policy, couldn't be trusted with the nuclear codes and had …

'I Don't Talk' That Way, Trump Says.  Except When He Does.  —  President Trump said he has never used terms like “mentally retarded” or “dumb Southerner,” as he is quoted in Bob Woodward's new book.  But the record shows he has.  —  Numerous Trump officials denied writing the anonymous Op-Ed published by The New York Times.

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Announces Extradition Of Alleged Russian Hacker Responsible For Massive Network Intrusions At U.S. Financial Institutions, Brokerage Firms, A Major News Publication, And Other Companies  —  Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York …

Tesla shares crash after Elon Musk smokes joint on live web show  —  Two senior executives quit electric carmaker as market value falls 8%  —  Play Video  —  Tesla shares crashed 8% on Friday as two of its senior executives quit, just hours after the electric carmaker's chief executive …

Opioid billionaire granted patent for addiction treatment  —  A billionaire pharmaceuticals executive who has been blamed for spurring the US opioid crisis stands to profit from the epidemic after he patented a new treatment for drug addicts.  —  Richard Sackler, whose family owns Purdue Pharma …

Beto O'Rourke's Campaign Requests VFW Hall Take Down American Flags Before His Rally There  —  Ted Cruz's Challenger, Beto O'Rourke has made a name for himself by saying that he can think of “nothing more American” than kneeling during the National Anthem.  We can now add stripping American flags …

Scott Walker's Anthem-Flag Bitmoji Is Republicanism Under Donald Trump  —  To understand what has happened to the Republican Party under Donald Trump, consider the case of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker.  —  There was a time, not too many years ago, when Walker looked like a plausible …

Fearful mother in ad attacking Sharice Davids is a Kansas GOP official  —  A fearful mother stares into a camera and warns that Democratic candidate Sharice Davids will put her four children at risk.  —  In a new ad from a super PAC linked to House Speaker Paul Ryan, Alana Roethle of Leawood …

White House in chaos — what's new?  —  The president decided the entire staff was working against him, running their own agenda, not his or the nation's.  Poll ratings had plummeted, with job approval in the 30s.  Leaks were commonplace as staffers hyped their own policy positions, even brazenly floated them in trial balloons.

Economy adds more jobs than expected in August, and wage growth hits post-recession high  — Nonfarm payrolls grew by 201,000 in August.  Economists surveyed by Reuters expected a 191,000 increase.

This Space Available  —  New York City's streetscape has been transformed — visually and economically — by the staggering numbers of vacant storefronts now dotting its most popular retail corridors.  The Times set out with a panoramic camera to capture what this commercial blight feels like on the ground.

State Widens Probe Into Trump Administration's Alleged Retaliation Against Career Officials  —  Mari Stull, a wine blogger-turned-Trump appointee, is the subject of two investigations into allegations of reprisals and bullying at the State Department.  —  The U.S. State Department's Office …

The Trade Slowdown Has Already Begun  —  As tariffs pile up, the world economy is starting to look holed below the waterline.  —  One of the paradoxes of this year's trade tensions is that in many parts of the world, it doesn't yet feel like a crisis.  —  For all the turmoil …

Yes, Democrats do have a legitimate path to win back the Senate  —  First Read is your briefing from “Meet the Press” and the NBC Political Unit on the day's most important political stories and why they matter.  —  WASHINGTON — The takeaway from the trio of NBC/Marist polls we released this week is that …

I, Too, Grew Up in the Crime-Ridden Streets of Bethesda, Maryland  —  “I'm a native of this area.  I'm a native of an urban-suburban area.  I grew up in a city plagued by gun violence and gang violence and drug violence.”  - Judge Brett Kavanaugh, on the second day of his Senate hearings …

“I'm Tired of America Wasting Our Blood and Treasure”: The Strange Ascent of Betsy DeVos and Erik Prince  —  Since the 1970s, the DeVos family has been quietly advancing a plan to make government act more like a private business.  Now, they appear ready to take the next step.

Eagles' Winning NFL Kickoff Game Falls To 9-Year Viewership Low  —  UPDATE, 12:02 PM: The final numbers of the first official game of the NFL's new season are in and the league and NBC looked to have been drenched by more than the rain that delayed the Eagles and Atlanta Falcons match-up in Philadelphia last night.