Trump's personal assistant fired after comments about Ivanka, Tiffany  —  Madeleine Westerhout, who left her White House job suddenly on Thursday as President Trump's personal assistant, was fired after bragging to reporters that she had a better relationship with Trump than his own daughters …

Trump says the US wasn't involved in apparent launch pad explosion in Iran  —  KEY POINTS  — President Donald Trump on Friday insisted that the U.S. had nothing to do with the apparent launch pad explosion of an Iranian rocket.  — Trump's denial also included what looked …

A Fox host's tirade against Trump exposes depths of the president's corruption  —  The impunity is the point.  —  For days now, President Trump has been embroiled in a public feud of sorts with Fox News, because he's angry that the network isn't functioning dutifully enough as his 24/7 propaganda channel.

KMOX EXCLUSIVE: Illinois GOP congressman John Shimkus will not run in 2020  —  He announced it Friday on the Mark Reardon Show.  —  ST. LOUIS (KMOX) — Illinois GOP Rep. John Shimkus announced Friday on the Mark Reardon Show that he will not run for reelection in 2020.

Bolton sidelined from Afghanistan policy as his standing with Trump falters  —  As the president's top aides prepared for a high-stakes meeting on the future of Afghanistan earlier this month, one senior official was not on the original invite list: national security adviser John Bolton.

Pro-Trump super PAC paid thousands to firm owned by Brad Parscale's wife  —  (CNN)A company owned by the wife of Brad Parscale, President 239; Donald Trump's campaign manager, has received hundreds of thousands of dollars from the President's flagship political action committee …

North Carolina 9: McCready Has Narrow Lead in New Bipartisan Poll  —  By Nathan L. Gonzales and Leah Askarinam  —  Democrat Dan McCready has a narrow advantage over Republican Dan Bishop heading into the final days of the Sept. 10 redo election in North Carolina's 9th District, according to a new bipartisan poll for Inside Elections.

Former Canadian prime minister roots for Dorian to hit Trump's Mar-a-Lago  —  Former Canadian Prime Minister Kim Campbell said she is hoping for a bull's-eye hit by Hurricane Dorian on Mar-a-Lago, President Trump's prized Florida resort and so-called Winter White House.  —  “I'm rooting for a direct hit on Mar a Lago!”

Comey IG report exposes the hypocrisy of the ‘Russia hoax’ crowd  —  To hear the Trump team tell it, the media's biggest sin was reporting on potential collusion and obstruction of justice.  When special counsel Robert S. Mueller III concluded there was no criminal conspiracy and punted on obstruction …

Diamond and Silk Lawyer Up  —  Plus, Santa Claus fanatics have opened up a civil war in QAnon, and the Iraqi dinar gets a rival scam.  —  NEWSLETTERS  —  Right Richter  —  See what's happening with the extreme right wing from the safety of your inbox.  —  Subscribe  —  This week:

World's ‘Saddest’ Rally?  Donald Trump Jr. Mocked For Speaking To Mostly Empty Arena  —  Just a couple hundred people turned out for the event meant to help Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin (R).  —  Don't expect to hear much bragging about this crowd.  —  Donald Trump Jr., son of President Donald Trump …

Pull it together, Joe Biden  —  As you may have heard, speaking to an audience in New Hampshire, Joe Biden told a very moving story about his interaction with a war hero.  The only problem is that he got just about every detail in the story wrong, as a Post investigation subsequently revealed.

Warren lovefest ending as 2020 competitors fear her rise  —  The Elizabeth Warren honeymoon may be coming to an end.  —  Warren's weak fundraising and Native American controversy out of the gate gave her the look of a second-rate candidate, and her rivals have treated her as such, even as she's rebounded from those early troubles.

Historic Asset Boom Passes by Half of Families  —  Scant wealth leaves families vulnerable if recession hits, economists say  —  The decadelong economic expansion has showered the U.S. with staggering new wealth driven by a booming stock market and rising house prices.  —  But that windfall has passed by many Americans.

How the Trump administration limited the scope of the USDA's 2020 dietary guidelines  —  The 80 topics that will be addressed do not include the health effects of consumption of red and processed meat. the dramatic increase in ultraprocessed foods and sodium levels.

Trial for Men Charged With Plotting 9/11 Attacks Is Set for 2021  —  WASHINGTON — A military judge on Friday set Jan. 11, 2021, as the start of the joint death-penalty trial at Guantánamo Bay of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and four men charged with plotting the Sept. 11, 2001 …

US spies say Trump's G7 performance suggests he's either a ‘Russian asset’ or a ‘useful idiot’ for Putin  — Current and former spies are floored by President Donald Trump's fervent defense of Russia at this year's G7 summit in Biarritz, France.  — “It's hard to see the bar anymore since it's …

DNC to recommend scrapping Iowa, Nevada virtual caucus plans  —  DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Democratic National Committee will recommend scrapping state plans to offer virtual, telephone-based caucuses in 2020 due to security concerns, sources tell The Associated Press.

Women voters spell trouble for Trump in 2020  —  Polls show President Trump losing women voters by huge margins, presenting his reelection campaign with a massive hurdle to overcome as he seeks a second term in office.  —  Perhaps most alarmingly for Trump, the president is losing support …

Longtime lobbyist and former congressman Vin Weber resigns from consulting firm  —  Vin Weber, the former Minnesota congressman who has provided guidance to Republican presidential candidates and corporate executives, resigned his position Friday as a partner in a prominent consulting firm …

Emily Yoffe Back on Her Bullshit—Here's What an Alleged Victim Says She Left Out in Her Latest Contested MeToo Story  —  Emily Yoffe, a current contributing editor at the Atlantic and Slate's former advice columnist, has a specialty, of sorts: as I wrote in the prehistoric days of 2015 …

China expels Wall Street Journal reporter over coverage of Xi's family  —  BEIJING — China effectively expelled a Wall Street Journal reporter from the country, one month after the newspaper published a report detailing allegations that a cousin of Chinese leader Xi Jinping was involved …

Iran's attacks on one U.S. think tank are a threat to all  —  For repressive regimes to preserve their power, they must snuff out all independent and critical voices inside their own countries, often through violence.  But when these regimes threaten to silence or harm independent …

The Man Trump Wishes He Were  —  Jim Mattis and the formation of character.  —  In the first few months of his presidency, Donald Trump surrounded himself with a certain sort of ramrod military man: John Kelly, Michael Flynn, H.R. McMaster and Jim Mattis.  These men had or appeared …

Man with links to neo-Nazi group charged with threatening to kill Jewish man and infant in L.A.  —  A Los Angeles man whose social media accounts had links to a neo-Nazi organization is facing hate crime charges after he yelled anti-Semitic slurs at a Jewish man and his infant and threatened …