“The Strategy Was to Try and Do Something Really Big”: Trump Wanted to Nuke Rosenstein to Save Kavanaugh's Bacon  —  But Trump allies are privately imploring him to cut Kavanaugh loose to save Republicans' electoral chances in the midterms.  —  BY - GABRIEL SHERMANSeptember 24, 2018,

Updated: Supreme Court nominee Kavanaugh defends himself against accusers  —  UPDATE 3 p.m. - additional reporting with excerpts from Kavanaugh's letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee and a letter from Dr. Ford to the judiciary committee  —  Embattled Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh …

Republican Party Favorability Highest in Seven Years  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. — Forty-five percent of Americans now have a favorable view of the Republican Party, a nine-point gain from last September's 36%.  It is the party's most positive image since it registered 47% in January 2011 …

How Russia Helped Swing the Election for Trump  —  A meticulous analysis of online activity during the 2016 campaign makes a powerful case that targeted cyberattacks by hackers and trolls were decisive.  —  Donald Trump has adopted many contradictory positions since taking office …

Rob Goldstone wishes he'd never set up that Trump Tower meeting with the Russians  —  Goldstone, who arranged the Trump Tower meeting at the request of a pop star, says Mueller's team wanted to know about links between Trump and Russia.  —  The British-born music publicist who helped arrange …

The Next Step for #MeToo Is Into the Gray Areas  —  As we near the one-year mark of the public accusations against Harvey Weinstein—that he serially assaulted women; that he used his power to avoid any consequences for doing so—and the subsequent spread of the nationwide #MeToo movement, we are also facing its backlash.

We Looked At Hundreds Of Endorsements.  Here's Who Republicans Are Listening To.  —  This story was produced in collaboration with ABC News and Ballotpedia.4  —  On the afternoon of July 18, President Trump tweeted his “full and total endorsement” of Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp …

Citing U.S. sanctions, Iranian president says he has no plans to meet Trump  —  Rouhani said Iran plans to stay in the nuclear deal — for now — despite U.S. withdrawal and sanctions.  —  Iranian President Hassan Rouhani told NBC News Monday that he had no plans to meet President Donald Trump during …

Dallas officer Amber Guyger fired after manslaughter charge for killing Botham Jean  —  Dallas Police Officer Amber Guyger, who fatally shot 26-year-old Botham Jean in his Cedars apartment Sept. 6, was fired Monday.  —  Guyger is facing a manslaughter charge and was arrested more than two weeks ago.

Views of Mueller's investigation - and Trump's handling of the probe - turn more partisan  —  As Justice Department special counsel Robert Mueller continues to investigate Russian involvement in the 2016 election, Americans' views of his investigation - and Donald Trump's handling of the matter - continue to grow more polarized.

Florida Democratic congressional candidate dies at 54  —  (Reuters) - A Florida Democrat running for the U.S. House of Representatives in a heavily Republican district has died a little more than six weeks before the November elections, the state's Democratic Party said on Monday.