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 …

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 …

Papadopoulos breaks silence, 'can't guarantee' he didn't tell Trump campaign about Russian dirt  —  Watch Jake Tapper's exclusive interview with the ex-Trump campaign aide in CNN Special Report “The Mysterious Case of George Papadopoulos” Friday at 11 p.m. ET.

Manafort Weighing Plea Deal to Avoid New Criminal Trial, Source Says  — Talks said to center on possible admissions, sentencing length  — Ex-Trump campaign chief was convicted in Virginia last month  —  Paul Manafort's lawyers have talked to U.S. prosecutors about a possible guilty plea …

Elliott Broidy's Mistress Shera Bechard Says He Demanded She Get Abortion  —  Shera Bechard also accused Elliott Broidy of having unprotected sex with her—'without telling her he had genital herpes.' Broidy denies the claims.  —  Lachlan Cartwright  —  A major Republican fundraiser allegedly demanded …

Trump Executives Face U.S. Campaign-Finance Probe, Source Says  — Manhattan prosecutors continue inquiry after Cohen guilty plea  — What did Weisselberg know and sign off on as company's CFO?  —  Federal prosecutors in Manhattan are investigating whether anyone …

Michael Cohen seeks to tear up Stormy Daniels deal, wants money back  —  (CNN)Michael Cohen's shell company, Essential Consultants, filed a status report Friday evening agreeing to tear up the original 2016 agreement with adult film star Stormy Daniels, in which Cohen arranged to pay her $130,000 …

Apple Just Permanently Banned Infowars' App From The App Store  —  A day after being banned from Twitter, Alex Jones and Infowars have been booted from yet another platform: Apple's popular App Store.  As of Friday evening, searches on the App Store for Infowars return no results.

HE'S BACK!  Obama refers to himself 102 times during 64-minute speech  —  Former President Barack Obama visited The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Friday to accept the school's ethics in government award, and to offer his take on “the state of our democracy.”

We Found the ‘Plaid Shirt Guy’ Who Trolled Trump's Rally With Hilarious Faces  —  The plaid-clad man who flashed puzzled grins behind Trump's back is a 17-year-old student and self-described social democrat.  The Daily Beast spoke with him about his wild night.

None of You Idiots Is Spartacus  —  Our politics are getting dumber because we're defining ourselves by the caricatures of our enemies. … Dear Reader (Including all of you at Kasowitz, Benson & Torres to whom I may or may not have spoken about the Mueller investigation),

DNC Lawyers Raise Prospect That Papadopoulos's U.K. Contact May Be Dead  —  On the day Donald Trump's former foreign-policy adviser George Papadopoulos was sentenced to two weeks in jail for lying to investigators about his contacts with a U.K. professor peddling dirt from Russian officials …

A Mutiny Amid the Republican Party? … One man does not a revolution make, even when that man is the president of the United States.  Donald Trump has shaken up Washington as no one else has in living memory.  But within his own administration, he faces stiff resistance.

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 …

Colin Kaepernick Campaign Gives Nike a Big Sales Boost  —  Nike's selection of Colin Kaepernick as one of the new faces of the company has certainly brought media attention and controversy, but it's also having a noticeable effect on the bottom line.  —  A new report from Edison Trends …

Dallas police seek manslaughter warrant against officer who killed neighbor  —  Dallas police said the officer called for help and told responding officers that “she entered the victim's apartment believing that it was her own.”  —  Dallas police: Off-duty cop enters wrong apartment, fatally shoots man

Trump warns he could cause the ‘ruination’ of Canada  —  WASHINGTON— Returning to his bellicose trade rhetoric, U.S. President Donald Trump warned Friday that he would cause the “ruination” of Canada if he imposed tariffs on Canadian-made cars.  —  Trump issued the threat during another …

I Refused to Write Steve Bannon's Bio for The New Yorker Festival  —  I've been on this planet for 33 years, and I have had more than that many jobs.  Most recently, I worked on the upcoming season of The New Yorker Festival.  —  When you have many jobs, you get asked to do many strange things.

Vatican officials knew of McCarrick allegations in 2000, letter confirms  —  VATICAN CITY (CNS) — A top official from the Vatican Secretariat of State acknowledged allegations made by a New York priest in 2000 concerning Archbishop Theodore E. McCarrick, according to a letter obtained by Catholic News Service.

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.

Trump says he could use MILITARY to build his wall if Congress won't fund it through DHS  —  Trump says he could use the MILITARY to build his wall if Congress won't fund it through Homeland Security's budget - and he won't rule out another government shutdown to get his way

The Perfectionist Mac Miller is finally making the music he's always wanted to make  —  Mac Miller died on Friday, September 7.  This profile was reported in mid-August.  —  Mac Miller is nervous.  He's pacing, running scales and planning outfits in the Late Night With Stephen Colbert green room during …

Ryan, McConnell try to coax Trump away from shutdown — using props and flattery  —  The top two Republicans in Congress arrived at the White House this week armed with props aimed at flattering and cajoling President Trump out of shutting down the government at the end of this month.

Academic Activists Send a Published Paper Down the Memory Hole  —  In the highly controversial area of human intelligence, the ‘Greater Male Variability Hypothesis’ (GMVH) asserts that there are more idiots and more geniuses among men than among women.  Darwin's research on evolution …