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 …

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 …

'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.

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 …

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 …

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 …

Deaths of service members were ‘tough’ on Trump, Woodward book says  —  President Trump's reactions to the deaths of U.S. service members early in his presidency struck members of his staff, who noted the “how much time and emotional energy” he spent comforting the families, according to Bob Woodward's new book.

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 …

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.

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 …

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 …

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.

Conspiracy Theories Made Alex Jones Very Rich.  They May Bring Him Down  —  AUSTIN — More than ever before in his two-decade career built on baseless conspiracy theories, angry nativist rants and end-of-days fearmongering, Alex Jones is being called to account.

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.

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 …

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.

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 …

“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.

Cuomo Often Takes Taxpayer-Funded Planes and Helicopters, Far More Than Other Big State Governors  —  On a hot July day in 2017, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo visited a country club on Long Island to address business leaders about the future of rail lines that are the lifeblood of commerce and suburban commuters.

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 …