White House communications director Hope Hicks retains lawyer in Russia probe  —  White House communications director Hope Hicks has retained a personal attorney, as the special counsel's investigation into the Trump campaign's ties to Russia is expected to heat up this fall.

A Requiem for Florida, the Paradise That Should Never Have Been  —  ORLANDO, Fla.—The first Americans to spend much time in South Florida were the U.S. Army men who chased the Seminole Indians around the peninsula in the 1830s.  And they hated it.  Today, their letters read like Yelp reviews …

New White House Chief of Staff Has an Enforcer  —  Lost in the scramble to cope with Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, the response to North Korea's nuclear provocations and the shock at President Trump's instant alliance with Democrats was a little-noticed bureaucratic earthquake that shook the White House this week.

More White, More Male, More Jesus: CIA Employees Fear Pompeo Is Quietly Killing the Agency's Diversity Mandate  —  CIA insiders worry reforms pushed by Brennan are languishing in his absence.  —  In early summer, Judy and Dennis Shepard bought plane tickets to give a speech to the workforce at CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia.

Mercurial Trump Rattles Republican Party Ahead of Midterms  —  WASHINGTON — President Trump's mercurial politics are already rattling Republicans heading into the 2018 midterm campaign, sparking Trump-like primary challenges in two high-profile Senate races and a host of lower-profile House contests …

Fox News Will Part Ways With Eric Bolling After Harassment Investigation  —  Fox News Channel will part ways with host Eric Bolling, a host and contributor whose on-air presence at the 21st Century Fox-owned network had been growing in recent months, after allegations surfaced …

What's Going to Happen When the Trumpists Realize the America They Yearn for Is Gone? … The latest NBC/Wall Street Journal poll—which shows a yawning cultural divide between Trump voters and Republicans on the one hand and everyone else on the other on everything from gay marriage to immigration …

GOP struggles to control its own agenda  —  President Donald Trump's flirtations with Democrats and fixation on divisive campaign promises have paved the way for hazardous, rolling deadlines over the next six months on spending, the debt ceiling and immigration.

Seriously, Equifax?  This Is a Breach No One Should Get Away With  —  Equifax, you had one job.  Your only purpose as a corporation, the reason you were created and remain a going concern, is to collect and maintain people's most private financial data.  —  Now you have fallen down on your only job — and spectacularly so.

Why Trump hopes the new Trump sticks  —  A Trump adviser says that after a tumultuous seven months in office, it had finally dawned on the president: “People really f@&@ing hate me.”  For someone who has spent his life lapping up adulation, however fake, it was a harsh realization.

Maria Sharapova's Vile, Racially Tinged Treatment of Serena Williams … To understand Maria Sharapova is to know that she had the gall to name her forthcoming memoir Unstoppable after she could not beat rival Serena Williams 18 times in a row, even with the aid of performance-enhancing drugs.

Facebook Wins, Democracy Loses  —  CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — On Wednesday, Facebook revealed that hundreds of Russia-based accounts had run anti-Hillary Clinton ads precisely aimed at Facebook users whose demographic profiles implied a vulnerability to political propaganda.

Hurricane Irma Rumor Control  —  Rumor: Pets in Shelters and Hotels  —  There are reports emergency shelters are required to accommodate pets and service animals belonging to people who have evacuated.  This is TRUE.  (September 8)  —  There are also reports hotels are required to accommodate pets for people who have evacuated.

$4M for tiny airport near golf course slipped into Wisconsin budget  —  Airport upgrades planned for 2021 moved up due to increased air traffic, Rep. Scott Krug said  —  HIDE TRANSCRIPT SHOW TRANSCRIPT  —  A tiny airport in central Wisconsin that's seen an influx of private jets since …

Fuji TV: Trump calls President Moon a “beggar” during phone call with Japanese PM  —  The remarks reportedly came as the US President discussed the North's ICBM launch on Aug. 29  —  US President Donald Trump allegedly disparaged South Korean President Moon Jae-in as acting “like a beggar” …

Ben Shapiro visit: Campus details logistics and resources  —  In advance of talk show host Ben Shapiro's appearance next Thursday, Sept. 14, at UC Berkeley, Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Paul Alivisatos today sent out this message detailing campus logistics for the event:  —  Dear UC Berkeley community,

Holy Crap.  Max Baucus Now Supports Single Payer?  —  “My personal view is we've got to start looking at single-payer.  I think we should have hearings.... We're getting there.  It's going to happen.”  —  That's former Senator Max Baucus at a talk last night at Montana State University.