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.

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 …

NSC official who attended key Ukraine meetings to leave post  —  Earl Matthews, a senior National Security Council official who attended several of the meetings now at the center of the congressional impeachment inquiry, will depart from his job on Friday, according to two people familiar with his plans.

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 …

Trump wanted Barr to hold news conference saying the president broke no laws in call with Ukrainian leader  —  President Trump wanted Attorney General William P. Barr to hold a news conference declaring the commander in chief had broken no laws during a phone call in which he pressed …

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 …

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.

“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.

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.

Dems Warn Against Calling Bidens to Testify: It ‘Would Be Literally Rolling a Grenade Down’ the Senate  —  Trump allies have urged Republicans to haul the Bidens to the Hill.  Not everyone thinks it's a good idea.  —  Senate Democrats issued stark warnings on Wednesday that Republicans …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.

Alex Jones Goes on Tirade Against Roger Stone Jurors  —  “We've got her name, and we're going to release it,” the conspiracy theorist said of one potential juror—but in his rush to defend his ally he appears to have got the wrong person.  —  InfoWars conspiracy theorist …

One Big Thing the Dems Get Wrong About Warren  —  Washington journalists these days are having many conversations with Democratic operatives and veterans of previous administrations that go something like this: … These downbeat Democrats are talking generally about what they regard …

Exclusive: Book Claims Senior Officials Believed Pence Would Support Use Of 25th Amendment  —  The anonymous author of “A Warning,” reportedly a current or former White House official, said talk of removing Trump escalated after Comey was fired.  —  The much-anticipated book “A Warning,” …

Jeff Sessions dares Trump to flex his kingmaking abilities in Alabama  —  After being fairly timid amid the president's attacks on him throughout his tenure as attorney general, Jeff Sessions is challenging President Trump in a bold way on his path back to power.

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 …

GOP senator rips into Pelosi at Trump rally: ‘It must suck to be that dumb’  —  Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) launched into a blistering attack against Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) while speaking at a Trump campaign rally in Louisiana late Wednesday, stating that it “must suck” to be as “dumb” as her.

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).

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 …

Saudis Back Travis Kalanick's New Startup  —  The sovereign-wealth fund—also an early investor in Uber—poured $400 million into CloudKitchens in January  —  Saudi Arabia's sovereign-wealth fund has pumped $400 million into Travis Kalanick's new company CloudKitchens …

How a former senator and defense secretary explains Republican spinelessness  —  “I think it's either fear or complicity.”  That is how former Maine Republican senator and secretary of defense William S. Cohen tries to explain Republicans' subservience to President Trump and willful disregard for replete evidence of corruption.

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 …

Bercow speaks out on Trump, dubs Brexit a ‘historic mistake’  —  LONDON (AP) — John Bercow is not a man of few words.  —  And now that he has been freed from the enforced neutrality of his job as speaker of Britain's House of Commons, he has quite a few things to say.  Brexit?  A historic mistake.

Trump's Twitter War Room Aims Its Punches at Decorated Colonel  —  Days after a decorated Army lieutenant colonel offered damaging testimony about President Trump's conduct on a July phone call with Ukraine's leader, Mr. Trump stood on the South Lawn and issued a vague but ominous warning.

Trump campaign contest to win a meal with Trump was a fraud  —  This is the online version of the Popular Information newsletter.  You can get independent accountability journalism in your inbox every week.  Sign up here:  —  Subscribe  —  A heavily-promoted contest to win breakfast …

Long Island Tech Firm Accused of Selling Chinese Equipment to US Military  —  Feds Raid NY Tech Firm Amid Alleged Fraud Concerns  —  Federal agents raided a Long Island tech firm early Thursday and arrested its top executives amid concerns the company was selling Chinese-made equipment …