Cohen, Trump's Ex-Lawyer, Investigated for Bank Fraud in Excess of $20 Million  —  Federal authorities investigating whether President Trump's former personal lawyer and fixer, Michael D. Cohen, committed bank and tax fraud have zeroed in on well over $20 million in loans obtained by taxi businesses …

Team Trump still isn't telling the truth about that 2016 Trump Tower meeting  —  First Read is your briefing from “Meet the Press” and the NBC Political Unit on the day's most important political stories and why they matter.  —  WASHINGTON — For all the attention to Rudy Giuliani's …

Asia Argento, Who Accused Weinstein, Made Deal With Her Own Accuser  —  The Italian actress and director Asia Argento was among the first women in the movie business to publicly accuse the producer Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault.  She became a leading figure in the #MeToo movement.

The Dangers in the Trump-Brennan Confrontation  —  President Trump's revocation of former CIA Director John Brennan's security clearance brings together in an unfortunate way two pathological trends in the Trump era, and highlights the conundrum of the former intelligence official who wishes …

“A blue wave is obscuring a red exodus”  —  Dave Wasserman, the Cook Political Report's House analyst, says the most under-covered aspect of 2018 is that “a blue wave is obscuring a red exodus.”  Republican House members are retiring at a startling clip — a trend that senior White House …

The Media Keeps Giving Trump the Benefit of the Doubt on Collusion  —  Throughout the Russia scandal, President Trump has acted flamboyantly guilty, most recently by comparing himself implicitly with Richard Nixon during Watergate, and dismissing informants as “rats.”

Here are the Lobbying Emails Cuomo Fought Hard to Keep Secret  —  ALBANY — In January 2016, as Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo was preparing his annual State of the State address, some high-placed state officials knew they had a problem.  —  A pair of business executives — partners in multimillion-dollar …

Brett Kavanaugh, now a Supreme Court nominee, proposed graphic questions for Bill Clinton about the Lewinsky affair in 1998 memo  —  A memo just released by the National Archives reveals that Brett Kavanaugh laid out in explicit language the questions President Clinton should have been asked …

Inside Trump's Judicial Takeover  —  How conservative operatives and Senate Republicans are helping the president pack the courts at a record pace  —  One evening last November, Don McGahn, the top lawyer in the Trump White House, walked onstage in an opulent ballroom at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington …

Zephyr Teachout Is the Right Choice as Attorney General for Democrats  —  The office is a potential firewall against an out-of-control president and a historically corrupt New York State government.  —  The editorial board represents the opinions of the board, its editor and the publisher.

Trump Says He Has ‘Obliterated’ ISIS.  The Terror Group Seems Not To Have Noticed.  —  New reports estimate as many as 30,000 ISIS fighters in Iraq and Syria about the same as a few years ago.  —  WASHINGTON While President Donald Trump claims he has “eradicated,” “wiped out” and even …

Korean Families, Separated for 6 Decades, Are Briefly Reunited  —  SEOUL, South Korea — For two hours on Monday, a 92-year-old woman held her son's hand and looked him in the eyes for the first time in more than 65 years, as family members from North and South Korea were permitted a rare chance …

Shots fired at gate of US Embassy in Turkey; no one hurt  —  ISTANBUL (AP) — Shots were fired from a moving car at the U.S. Embassy in Turkey before dawn on Monday, an attack that came during heightened tensions between the two NATO allies.  —  There were no casualties and no claim …

Congressman Alcee Hastings says ‘something is tragically wrong’ with Donald Trump's mind  —  U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings on stage at the Sunrise Civic Center Theater on Aug. 19, 2018, before he took over as emcee of a “Stronger Together” rally sponsored by 16 Broward County Democratic Clubs.

Northam calls Aug. 30 special session for legislature to redraw districts  —  Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) is calling the General Assembly into special session on Aug. 30 to redraw legislative districts in the House of Delegates.  —  A three-judge panel of the U.S. District Court …

Los Angeles Times Names Sewell Chan a Deputy Managing Editor  —  Chan joins editorial leadership team where he'll focus on news for digital and print audiences  —  The Los Angeles Times said that Sewell Chan has been named a deputy managing editor.  He will report directly to Times Executive Editor Norman Pearlstine.

Gavin Newsom criticized for flip-flopping on California's most pressing issues … While mayor of San Francisco, Democrat Gavin Newsom supported high-speed rail in California so strongly that he partnered with Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2008 to push for a $10-billion state bond measure to help build it.

One of my favorite parts of summer is deciding what to read when things slow down just a bit, whether it's on a vacation with family or just a quiet afternoon.  This summer I've been absorbed by new novels, revisited an old classic, and reaffirmed my faith in our ability to move forward together when we seek the truth.

The Sunday Shows Have a Renewed Sense of Purpose, Thanks to Trump  —  Millions of elite viewers still tune into the Sunday-morning talk shows, watching top Trump administration officials spin, spar, and set the agenda.  —  “I think, without any question, this is the biggest moment of the Trump presidency.”