Las Vegas Strip shooter targeted aviation fuel tanks, source says  —  Fuel tanks near the Route 91 Harvest country music festival, pictured on Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2017, were targeted by Strip shooter Stephen Paddock when he fired on concert-goers from his Mandalay Bay room Sunday night.

‘Death spiral’: Tillerson makes nice but may not last long with Trump  —  The moment was as remarkable as it was unprecedented: A sitting U.S. secretary of state took to the microphone to pledge his fealty to the president — despite his well-documented unhappiness in the job and the growing presumption …

Jeff Sessions Just Reversed A Policy That Protects Transgender Workers From Discrimination  —  The Justice Department under Obama decreed that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 banned transgender discrimination in the workplace.  But in a new memo, the attorney general rescinded the policy.

Repeal the Second Amendment  —  I have never understood the conservative fetish for the Second Amendment.  —  From a law-and-order standpoint, more guns means more murder.  “States with higher rates of gun ownership had disproportionately large numbers of deaths from firearm-related homicides …

Harvey Weinstein Lawyers Battling N.Y. Times, New Yorker Over Potentially Explosive Stories (Exclusive)  —  The Hollywood mogul has enlisted a team of attorneys to fight planned articles that are said to be about his personal behavior.  —  Is The New York Times about to expose damaging information on Harvey Weinstein?

Secret Service: No visitor logs for Mar-a-Lago  —  There are no visitor logs or other system of tracking those who visited President Donald Trump at his winter retreat known as Mar-a-Lago, a Secret Service official confirmed Wednesday.  —  Responding to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit …

The Health of American Democracy: Comparing Perceptions of Experts and the American Public  —  Given wide­spread concern about the possible erosion of democracy in the United States, Bright Line Watch has conducted expert surveys since early 2017 asking thousands of pro­fes­sion­al …

Grassley: ‘No way of avoiding’ public hearing for Trump Jr  —  Grassley requests that Trump Jr. testify  —  STORY HIGHLIGHTS  —  (CNN)Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley signaled Thursday that Donald Trump Jr. will ultimately have to testify publicly before his panel, something Democrats have been demanding for weeks.

Inside North Korea, and Feeling the Drums of War  —  PYONGYANG, North Korea — To fly into North Korea on an old Russian aircraft is to step into an alternate universe, one in which “the Supreme Leader” defeats craven American imperialists, in which triplets are taken from parents to be raised by the state …

Angry GOP donors close their wallets  —  Republicans are confronting a growing revolt from their top donors, who are cutting off the party in protest over its inability to get anything done.  —  Tensions reached a boiling point at a recent dinner at the home of Los Angeles billionaire Robert Day.

Democrat Northam leads Republican Gillespie in race for Virginia governor, new poll finds  —  A relatively unified party base gives Democrat Ralph Northam a clear lead over Republican Ed Gillespie heading into the final month of the Virginia governor's race, according to a new Washington Post-Schar School poll.

The Partisan Divide on Political Values Grows Even Wider  —  Sharp shifts among Democrats on aid to needy, race, immigration  —  The divisions between Republicans and Democrats on fundamental political values - on government, race, immigration, national security, environmental protection and other areas …

Pro-Life Rep. Tim Murphy Will Not Seek Re-Election After Reports Of Urging Abortion  —  PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Congressman Tim Murphy, of Upper St. Clair, has reached a decision about his political future.  —  In a statement to KDKA's Jon Delano, the embattled anti-abortion Republican says he won't seek re-election.