A note to readers  —  I have been uncharacteristically silent these past ten months.  I had thought that silence would soon be coming to an end, but I'm afraid I must tell you now that fate has decided on a different course for me.  —  In August of last year, I underwent surgery to remove a cancerous tumor in my abdomen.

The Critic Whose Olive Garden Review Went Viral Remembers How Anthony Bourdain Spoke Up For Her  —  In 2012, then-88-year-old Marilyn Hagerty of Grand Forks, North Dakota, wrote arguably the most viral restaurant review ever written.  It was for Olive Garden.

Adam Putnam's office stopped concealed weapons background checks for a year because it couldn't log in  —  A state investigation found that the lapse covered a period that included the biggest spike in permit applications in Florida history.  —  For more than a year, the state of Florida failed …

Trump's call for Russia to join G7 faces swift backlash  —  President Donald Trump's call Friday for Russia to re-enter the G7 four years after the country was kicked out from the group of countries over its annexation of Crimea has resulted in a fierce backlash from foreign policy critics on both sides of the aisle.

Iran Admits To Facilitating 9/11 Terror Attacks  —  Top Iranian official admits for first time Iran aided al Qaeda terrorists  —  Iranian officials, in a first, have admitted to facilitating the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the U.S. by secretly aiding the free travel of al Qaeda operatives …

China hacked a Navy contractor and secured a trove of highly sensitive data on submarine warfare  —  Chinese government hackers have compromised the computers of a Navy contractor, stealing massive amounts of highly sensitive data related to undersea warfare — including secret plans to develop …

Mueller Adds Obstruction Charge on Manafort and Indicts His Right-Hand Man  —  WASHINGTON — The special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, brought new obstruction charges on Friday against President Trump's former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, and added allegations against a close associate …

I'm A US-Born Army Vet.  Why Did Border Patrol Just Try To Arrest Me And My Wife?  —  Editor's note: Before publication, Task & Purpose reached out to U.S. Customs and Border Protection for a comment on the experiences Dennis White recounts below.  A representative of the agency responded …

Trump says he is likely to support ending federal ban on marijuana … President Trump said he likely will support a congressional effort to end the federal ban on marijuana, a major step that would reshape the pot industry and end the threat of a Justice Department crackdown.

Four Reasons Scott Pruitt's Luck May Be Running Out  —  The scandal-prone EPA director seemed untouchable.  That could be changing.  —  Scott Pruitt has shown an astonishing ability to stay on as director of the Environmental Protection Agency through scandals that would have felled nearly anyone else.

John Kelly Instructed DHS Official Not To Email Staff To Avoid Public Scrutiny  —  “FOIA is real and everyday here in the cesspool, and even federal court action on personal accounts is real.”  —  When John Kelly was Secretary of Homeland Security, he instructed an official to refrain …

Trump's latest health care move squeezes Republicans  —  Striking protections for pre-existing conditions renews a fraught repeal fight.  —  Republicans who have tried to repeal Obamacare for nearly a decade believe the Trump administration is reviving a politically risky battle with a court filing …

Press Groups Criticize the Seizing of a Times Reporter's Records  —  The revelation that federal prosecutors seized years' worth of email and phone records from a New York Times reporter drew criticism on Friday from news organizations and press rights groups, which expressed outrage …

Truth Test: Was Stapleton ‘caught lying?’  —  Saying someone is lying is a strong accusation.  Is it fair to use against Walker Stapleton for an ad he's been airing for weeks?  —  KUSA— Republican frontrunner Walker Stapleton has been running a false ad in his campaign for governor for weeks now—and he's still running it.

Facebook Gave Some Companies Access to Additional Data About Users' Friends  —  Special deals gave a small number of companies access to data after shutting off access for other developers  —  Facebook Inc. FB 0.49% struck customized data-sharing deals with a select group of companies …

Roger Stone Encouraged Trump to Pardon Marcus Garvey … One of Donald Trump's longest and closest associates has encouraged the president to grant a posthumous pardon to Marcus Garvey, the pan-African advocate and black nationalist who became a forebearer of the modern civil rights movement.

Trump: First lady had ‘big operation,’ can't fly for a month  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said his wife, Melania, had a “big operation” to treat a kidney condition that lasted close to four hours, but that the first lady is “doing great” although she did not accompany him to Canada on Friday, per her doctors' orders.

Retired Secret Service agent had warned Stoneman Douglas about security failures  —  Two months before the massacre at Stoneman Douglas High School, a retired Secret Service agent warned administrators that the school could be vulnerable to a gunman.  —  Sun Sentinel  —  Privacy Policy

This family lived in a car stuffed with pizza boxes.  Three cops just changed their lives.  —  Dewayne Eason and Anieshea Dansby tried to make homelessness fun for their four kids.  —  The couple treated it like family time.  They would snuggle in the back of their blue Ford Taurus …