The Day Jeffrey Epstein Told Me He Had Dirt on Powerful People  —  Almost exactly a year ago, on Aug. 16, 2018, I visited Jeffrey Epstein at his cavernous Manhattan mansion.  —  The overriding impression I took away from our roughly 90-minute conversation was that Mr. Epstein knew …

U.S. Significantly Weakens Endangered Species Act  —  WASHINGTON — The Trump administration on Monday announced that it would change the way the Endangered Species Act is applied, significantly weakening the nation's bedrock conservation law credited with rescuing the bald eagle …

The Uneasiness Of Joe Biden's Presidential Campaign Is About More Than The Gaffes  —  DES MOINES — Joe Biden's fight for the soul of America often feels like a fight for the soul of Joe Biden.  —  His four-day swing through Iowa began with a confident rebuke of President Donald Trump's racist rhetoric.

U.S. Officials Suspect New Nuclear Missile in Explosion That Killed 7 Russians  —  American intelligence officials are racing to understand a mysterious explosion that released radiation off the coast of northern Russia last week, apparently during the test of a new type of nuclear-propelled …

Sarah Silverman fired from new movie for blackface photo  —  Sarah Silverman revealed that she was recently fired from a movie over an old photo of her in blackface.  —  She said the photo, which was snapped on the set of “The Sarah Silverman Show” in 2007, recently resurfaced and caught the eye of the film's producers.

Trump Policy Favors Wealthier Immigrants for Green Cards  —  WASHINGTON — The Trump administration will make it harder for legal immigrants who rely on government benefit programs, such as food stamps and subsidized housing, to obtain permanent legal status as part of a far-reaching …

Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris's controversial Michael Brown tweets, explained  —  Elizabeth Warren delivers a campaign speech at the Des Moines Register Political Soapbox at the Iowa State Fair on August 10, 2019.  Alex Wong/Getty Images  —  The tweets claimed a police officer “murdered” Michael Brown.

The Filibuster Is Suffocating the Will of the American People  —  To save our country's future, Democrats must abolish this arcane Senate rule.  —  Mr. Reid is a former Senate majority leader from Nevada.  —  I am not an expert on all of government, but I do know something about the United States Senate.

U.S. Budget Deficit Already Exceeds Last Year's Total Figure  —  The U.S. fiscal deficit has already exceeded the full-year figure for last year, as spending growth outpaces revenue.  —  The gap grew to $866.8 billion in the first 10 months of the fiscal year, up 27% from the same period a year earlier …

'Using the Lord's name in vain': Evangelicals chafe at Trump's blasphemy  —  Paul Hardesty didn't pay much attention to President Donald Trump's campaign rally in Greenville, N.C., last month until a third concerned constituent rang his cellphone.  —  The residents of Hardesty's district …

Did a Far-Right Star Recruit Jacob Wohl to Terrorize Women?  —  “I'll make it my mission to torture you so much that you end up killing yourself,” reads a text message from a phone number belonging to notorious smear merchant Jacob Wohl.  —  A perennial House candidate's alleged harassment …

How YouTube Radicalized Brazil  —  NITERÓI, Brazil — When Matheus Dominguez was 16, YouTube recommended a video that changed his life.  —  He was in a band in Niterói, a beach-ringed city in Brazil, and practiced guitar by watching tutorials online.

The Promise of Liberalism Is Alive in the Streets of Hong Kong  —  Thirty years ago, defying Mao Zedong's invasive gaze, pro-democracy demonstrators armed with foam and paper-mâché cobbled together an icon.  Combining the aesthetics of Soviet statuary with Western classicism …

What I learned about the Democrats at a family barbecue in North Carolina  —  Every second Saturday in August, my mother and her siblings host a family barbecue, a simple gathering under the enormous pecan tree in the side yard of the house where they grew up in Severn, N.C. In the mix …

Starbucks is bringing back the Pumpkin Spice Latte on its earliest launch date ever  — Starbucks' Pumpkin Spice Latte will return to menus on Tuesday, August 27, according to employees at the coffee giant.  — An August 27 debut would be the earliest Pumpkin Spice Latte launch date for Starbucks.

Trump is impeaching himself  —  Julian Zelizer is a professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University and author, with Kevin Kruse, of the new book “Fault Lines: A History of the United States Since 1974.”  Follow him on Twitter at @julianzelizer.  The opinions expressed in this commentary are his own.

Trump's (Almost) All-White GOP Emerges  —  We know the president prefers white people.  But a look at the percentages on his appointments gives new meaning to the phrase “White House.”  —  BEAST INSIDE  —  After the 2014 midterm election, there was a sense the GOP was becoming …

NYT Top Editor: Trump Racism Headline Was a ‘F*cking Mess’  —  In a lengthy town-hall meeting on Monday, the paper's top brass addressed a bevy of recent controversies centering around the Times' coverage of Trump, race, and politics.  —  New York Times executive editor Dean Baquet admitted Monday …

Tulsi Gabbard to report for active duty for 2 weeks  —  Tulsi Gabbard, Democrat from Hawaii and presidential candidate, will be taking a two-week absence from her campaign Monday to report for active duty with the Hawaiian Army National Guard in Indonesia, she said in an interview with CBSN's Caitlin Huey-Burns.