Ukraine's Zelensky Bowed to Trump's Demands, Until Luck Spared Him  —  Aides to Ukraine's leader, Volodymyr Zelensky, decided that military aid and support for peace talks outweighed the risks of appearing to take sides in American politics.  —  KIEV, Ukraine — It was early September …

APNewsBreak: Steyer aide offered money for endorsements  —  DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A top aide to Democratic presidential candidate Tom Steyer in Iowa has privately offered campaign contributions to local politicians in exchange for endorsing his White House bid, according to multiple people with direct knowledge of the conversations.

Michael Bloomberg Is Expected to File for the Alabama 2020 Presidential Primary  —  Mr. Bloomberg is actively preparing to enter the Democratic presidential primary and is expected to file paperwork this week designating himself as a candidate in at least one state.

Donald Trump to pay $2 million to settle New York Attorney General civil lawsuit against Trump Foundation and his children  —  (CNN)A judge ordered President Donald Trump to pay $2 million to a collection of nonprofit organizations as part of a settlement with the New York state attorney general's office …

‘Campaign of lies’: What George Kent told impeachment investigators  —  House Democrats on Thursday released another deposition transcript ahead of public hearings scheduled for next week.  This time, the deposition was that of George Kent, a deputy assistant secretary at the State Department whose portfolio includes Ukraine.

Could Matt Bevin Steal the Kentucky Governor's Election?  —  Will the Kentucky Legislature assist Matt Bevin in stealing the governor's race from Democrat Andy Beshear, who appeared to have won Tuesday's election by about 5,000 votes?  Ordinarily, I would consider the possibility preposterous.

Bolton willing to defy White House and testify if court clears the way, according to people familiar with his views  —  Former national security adviser John Bolton is willing to defy the White House and testify in the House impeachment inquiry about his alarm at the Ukraine pressure campaign …

“The Booing Is F***ing Us Up”: ‘The View’ Melts Down Over Donald Trump Jr. Visit  —  Guests clashed with hosts and hosts clashed with audience members at the ABC show on Thursday.  —  “The booing is fucking us up,” The View co-host Whoopi Goldberg told the morning show's audience during a commercial break on Thursday.

Jordan: Republicans to subpoena whistleblower to testify in public hearing  —  Republicans intend to subpoena the government whistleblower to testify in the House's impeachment investigation into President Trump's dealings with Ukraine, according to Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio).

Trump and ‘Apprentice’ Creator Mark Burnett Are Discussing Their Next TV Show  —  The president misses his reality TV days and is thinking of what show he can create once he's out of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.  —  He's signed a massive tax cut into law, stacked the federal courts …

A Far-Right Journalist Took A Swing At Glenn Greenwald On A Live Radio Show  —  Glenn Greenwald got into a fistfight with Augusto Nunes, a far-right Brazilian journalist, during the live taping of a radio show in Brazil. … The two journalists had a heated exchange over Nunes' previous comments …

Rep. Matt Gaetz Mocks Media as ‘Kale and Quinoa’ Eaters Who Look Down Upon ‘Fried Food’ Eating ‘Real America’  —  Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) mocked the media as a group of “kale and quinoa” eaters who look down upon those that eat “fried foods” in “real America,” Sunday.

Emails Show Government Agency Melting Down Over Trump's Hurricane Fiasco: ‘This Has Really Gotten Out of Hand’  —  The president was insistent that Alabama was, in fact, endangered by Dorian.  Employees at NOAA and NWS took the brunt of it.  —  In early September, as Hurricane Dorian battered …

Blue Wall Voices Project  —  A COLLABORATION BETWEEN KFF AND THE COOK POLITICAL REPORT … - There are many undecided voters and a few persuadable swing voters.  One year out from the 2020 presidential election and without a clear frontrunner in the Democratic primaries, a large share of voters …

U.S. Envoy in Syria Says Not Enough Was Done to Avert Turkish Attack  —  In an internal memo, the senior American diplomat in northern Syria criticized the Trump administration for failing to try harder to deter Turkey from invading northern Syria last month.

Republicans Railed Against Secret Impeachment Hearings, But Now Say They Won't Watch The Public Ones  —  WASHINGTON — Despite loudly criticizing the closed-doors secrecy of the impeachment inquiry, Senate Republicans widely say they will not watch the public hearings next week.

Trump's Top Aides Clash Over Impeachment as House Probe Expands  — Chief of staff Mulvaney, White House lawyer Cipollone at odds  — Animosity threatens to complicate Trump's impeachment defense  —  Two of Donald Trump's most senior aides, Acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney …

Jeff Sessions Will Run for His Old Alabama Senate Seat.  Trump Does Not Approve.  —  WASHINGTON — Jeff Sessions, the former senator from Alabama whose tumultuous tenure as President Trump's attorney general lasted less than two years, plans to announce on Thursday that he will enter the race …

The Death of the Rude Press  —  In April, Great Hill Partners, a private equity firm, purchased Gizmodo Media Group, the collection of websites formerly known as Gawker Media, from Univision.  Great Hill's leaders also acquired The Onion, changed the parent company's name to G/O Media …

CBS News fires staffer who had access to leaked Amy Robach audio  —  CBS News has fired a female staffer believed to have had access to the tape of Amy Robach raging against ABC, Page Six understands.  —  The staffer previously worked at ABC News and had access to audio of ABC anchor Robach caught …

Nobody is buying Mark Halperin's book.  The disgraced journalist's publisher lambastes ‘cancel culture.’  —  The new book by former NBC senior political analyst Mark Halperin, “How to Beat Trump,” sold just 502 copies in its first week — and his publisher is blaming “cancel culture.”

Emmanuel Macron warns Europe: NATO is brain-dead  —  America is turning its back on the European project.  Time to wake up, the French president tells The Economist  —  EMMANUEL MACRON, the French president, has warned European countries that they can no longer rely on America to defend NATO allies.

America's Original Identity Politics  —  Rich Lowry's Flawed Case for Nationalism  —  “You know what I am?”  U.S. President Donald J. Trump said at a rally in October 2018.  “I'm a nationalist.”  Rich Lowry's The Case for Nationalism can be seen as a way of working through, and defending, what the president meant.

Exclusive: Rollback of China tariffs faces fierce opposition in White House - sources  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An agreement between the United States and China to roll back existing tariffs as part of a ‘phase one’ trade deal faces fierce internal opposition at the White House and from outside advisers …

Trump: We should keep Syria's oil.  The Pentagon: Nope.  —  “The revenue from this is not going to the US.  This is going to the SDF,” the top Pentagon spokesperson said.  —  What exactly the US military's new mission is in Syria keeps changing depending on whom you ask.

Trump brags that his landmark law is freeing these inmates.  His Justice Department wants them to stay in prison.  —  The five former inmates assembled on the White House stage weren't scheduled to speak, but President Trump couldn't help himself.  “Where's Gregory?  Greg?” he said.

1 in 4 Americans uncertain about impeachment as public hearings near, poll finds  —  Americans are divided about the impeachment inquiry into President Trump, and as the House prepares for public hearings next week, roughly 1 in 4 remain uncertain, providing a large audience that could be especially swayed …

Tap Water at Trump National Golf Course Contaminated With Toxic ‘Forever Chemicals’  —  The Environmental Working Group has found that high levels of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and other perfluorinated chemicals (PFAS) have been detected in tap water at Trump National Golf Course in Bedminister, New Jersey.