Wednesday's Headlines: FBI obtained secret warrant last summer to monitor Trump adviser Carter Page

Trump just made some very strange comments about Stephen Bannon; Republicans fend off strong challenge to hold on to House seat from Kansas; Famine now threatens more people than at any time since World War II; Spicer apologizes after receiving sharp criticism for saying Hitler didn't use chemical weapons; U.S. disputes Russia's claim on sarin attack ;   Democracy Dies in Darkness     The morning's most important stories, selected by Post editors   Top Stories EXCLUSIVE FBI obtained secret warrant last summer to monitor Trump adviser Carter Page The court order, issued by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, allowed agents to monitor Page's communications, officials said. The order is the first indication that the FBI had reason to believe during the 2016 presidential campaign that a Trump campaign adviser was in touch with Russian agents. By Ellen Nakashima, Devlin Barrett and Adam Entous  •  Read more » The Fix | Analysis Trump just made some very strange comments about Stephen Bannon "I like Steve, but you have to remember he was not involved in my campaign until very late," Trump said. And then the president appeared to threaten the job of his chief strategist. By Aaron Blake  •  Read more »   Republicans fend off strong challenge to hold on to House seat from Kansas State Treasurer Ron Estes was buoyed by an 11th-hour intervention from national Republicans, including President Trump, after polls showed him in a close race against a Democrat making his first run for office. He'll fill the seat vacated by Mike Pompeo, who is now the CIA director. By David Weigel  •  Read more »   WorldViews | Analysis Famine now threatens more people than at any time since World War II Protracted wars in four countries have left 20 million people on the brink of starvation. The threat of violence limits aid workers' access to affected regions, and in some cases, starvation may be a deliberate war tactic. Entire generations are at risk of lasting damage stemming from the crises. By Max Bearak and Laris Karklis  •  Read more »   Spicer apologizes after receiving sharp criticism for saying Hitler didn't use chemical weapons The White House press secretary had criticized Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's alleged use of chemical weapons, saying that even Adolf Hitler — who used gas chambers to kill millions of Jews — did not sink to that level of warfare and "was not using the gas on his own people in the same way that Assad is doing." By Jenna Johnson and Ashley Parker  •  Read more »   U.S. disputes Russia's claim on sarin attack The Trump administration declassified an intelligence report that, officials said, pointed to evidence that a Russian-made, Syrian-piloted aircraft dropped at least one munition carrying the nerve agent sarin. "I think it's clear that the Russians are trying to cover up what happened there," one official said. By Missy Ryan, Greg Jaffe and Dan Lamothe  •  Read more »   ADVERTISEMENT   Opinions   Julian Assange: WikiLeaks has the same mission as The Post and the Times By Julian Assange  •  Read more »   There's a quick and easy way to see Trump's tax returns By Daniel Hemel  •  Read more »   The Twitter mob serves a purpose. Bill O'Reilly and United prove it. By Kathleen Parker  •  Read more »   United’s new pre-flight checklist By Alexandra Petri  •  Read more »   Trump got Syria and China right last week. That's a start. By David Ignatius  •  Read more »   The White House is getting smarter on Russia — but still has a lot to learn By Editorial Board  •  Read more » ADVERTISEMENT   More News   White House to lift hiring freeze, but tells federal agencies to craft plans to shrink their workforces Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney said agency leaders must start "taking immediate actions" to save money and reduce their staffs. By Lisa Rein and Damian Paletta  •  Read more » United CEO orders review of policies after passenger was dragged screaming from plane After earlier conflicting explanations, chief executive Oscar Munoz announced the internal investigation, saying that "I continue to be disturbed by what happened." By Lori Aratani and Avi Selk  •  Read more » China's Xi calls Trump, urges peaceful approach to North Korea The call came after President Trump Trump warned that North Korea was "looking for trouble," and the United States would "solve the problem" with or without China's help. By Simon Denyer  •  Read more » Rural America's dying hospitals The demise of Haywood Park Community Hospital three years ago this summer added Brownsville, Tenn., to an epidemic of dying hospitals across rural America. Nearly 80 have closed since 2010, including nine in Tennessee. By Amy Goldstein  •  Read more » San Bernardino shooter was married 2 months and already separated from teacher he killed, police say When officers arrived Monday at the California elementary school, the couple were dead. Police said Cedric Anderson entered the classroom, raised a large-caliber revolver and, without saying a word, opened fire, apparently targeting his wife. Two students were also struck, one fatally. By Rob Kuznia, Lindsey Bever and Sandhya Somashekhar  •  Read more » Wonkblog | Analysis The new White House drug czar has quite an idea for where to put nonviolent drug users Rep. Tom Marino (R-Pa.) has previously called for a "hospital-slash-prison," or mandatory inpatient substance abuse treatment. By Christopher Ingraham  •  Read more » Trump promised an 'unpredictable' foreign policy. To allies, it looks incoherent. Anxious allies worry over Trump's lack of a clear direction for U.S. foreign policy — a dangerous tendency at a moment of high tension with Russia and Syria, and with U.S. warships heading toward the Korean peninsula. By Kevin Sullivan and Karen Tumulty  •  Read more »         Share Today's Headlines:       Twitter      Facebook Trouble reading? Click here to view in your browser. You received this email because you are signed up for Headlines. For additional free newsletters or to manage your newsletters, click here. We respect your privacy. 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