Thursday's Headlines: Manafort offered ‘private briefings’ on 2016 race to Putin ally

Mueller request for records includes Trump's private talks on Comey and Flynn; Hurricane Maria leaves Puerto Rico without power and lacking information; The ugly past and fraught...

Democracy Dies in Darkness     The morning's most important stories, selected by Post editors   Top Stories Manafort offered 'private briefings' on 2016 race to Putin ally Less than two weeks before Donald Trump accepted the Republican nomination, his campaign chairman made the offer in an email, according to people familiar with the discussions. The emails are among tens of thousands of documents given to officials probing whether Trump associates worked with Russia as part of Moscow's efforts to interfere in the 2016 U.S. election. By Tom Hamburger, Rosalind S. Helderman, Carol D. Leonnig and Adam Entous  •  Read more » Mueller request for records includes Trump's private talks on Comey and Flynn The special counsel investigating Russian election meddling made a broad request for documents from the White House, which is working to turn over internal documents that span 13 categories, according to two people briefed on the requests. Robert S. Mueller III's team is also eyeing whether the president sought to obstruct the earlier Russia probe. By Carol D. Leonnig and Rosalind S. Helderman  •   Read more »   Hurricane Maria leaves Puerto Rico without power and lacking information The most violent tropical cyclone to hit the island in more than 80 years knocked out Puerto Rico's electrical grid and decimated communities. The Category 4 storm also disabled radar, weather stations and cell towers, leaving an information vacuum in which officials could only speculate about damage, injuries or deaths. By Samantha Schmidt, Joel Achenbach and Sandhya Somashekhar  •   Read more »   Retropolis • The Past, Rediscovered The ugly past and fraught future of the biggest Confederate monument White supremacists are still drawn to Stone Mountain, Ga., where the modern Klan was born and where carved images of rebel leaders loom over a park. Now, calls to remove the monument have roiled the state's gubernatorial election and sparked what could be the most complex of the hot-button Confederate memorial fights erupting across the country. By Steve Hendrix  •   Read more »   Republicans tweak Sen. Sanders on health care, but Cassidy-Graham could create a path for his bill If the astoundingly unpopular block-grant proposal at the center of Cassidy-Graham becomes law, it might create enough incentive for Democrats to pass a sweeping Medicare expansion the next time they have 50 votes in the Senate. By David Weigel  •   Read more »   All eyes are on this Republican senator Another effort to replace the Affordable Care Act has begun and Sen. Lisa Murkowski is at the center of it all, with Republican leaders seeking her support. President Trump said the bill has a "very good chance," with "47 or 48" senators already on board. By Sean Sullivan  •   Read more »   Jimmy Kimmel slams his critics The late-night host didn't hold back, and also responded to Sen. Lindsey Graham and Gov. Chris Christie. By Emily Yahr  •   Read more »   Fact Checker: Cassidy fires back at Kimmel Rebutting Jimmy Kimmel, Sen. Cassidy says his plan will boost health-insurance coverage. But the evidence is slim. By Glenn Kessler  •   Read more »   ADVERTISEMENT Opinions   The president who could change Trump's mind By Fred Hiatt  •   Read more »   Police officers are bypassing juries to face judges By Daniel Epps  •   Read more »   Our dangerous, idiotic national conversation By George F. Will  •   Read more »   Trump shows 'America First' is utterly incoherent By E.J. Dionne Jr.  •   Read more »   What is it with Trump's Cabinet and airplanes? By Jennifer Rubin  •   Read more »   The White House's preposterous policy analysis on refugees By Editorial Board  •   Read more » ADVERTISEMENT More News   Urgent search for survivors presses on as death toll reaches 230 in Mexico earthquake Across Mexico City, thousands volunteered to provide aid or to pick through buildings destroyed by Tuesday afternoon's 7.1 magnitude quake, the second major temblor in the past month and the deadliest in three decades. By Joshua Partlow  •  Read more »     With sharp words and stealth strikes, Israel sends a message to Hezbollah and U.S. Israel is flexing its military muscles as it attempts to curb expansion by Iran and Hezbollah. By Loveday Morris and Louisa Loveluck  •   Read more »   In a turbulent world, Germans set to reward Angela Merkel for country's stability She's expected to win Sunday elections as attention turns to her legacy after 12 years in power. By Griff Witte  •   Read more »   SEC reveals it was hacked, information may have been used for illegal stock trades The agency detected the breach last year, but didn't learn until last month that it may have been used for improper trading. By Renae Merle  •   Read more »   Votes for independence in Catalonia and Iraqi Kurdistan face the point of no return Many people in both regions celebrate their right to cast a ballot, but it's far from certain that the outcome will be happy. By Ishaan Tharoor  •   Read more »   Tillerson was startled that Trump told reporters he had made up his mind on Iran deal The secretary of state looked sheepish after a reporter told him what Trump had said earlier in the day. By David Nakamura and Anne Gearan  •   Read more »   Did Hurricane Irma spell doom for orange juice? The powerful storm decimated a Florida industry that was already in big trouble. By Caitlin Dewey  •   Read more »         Share Today's Headlines:    Twitter     Facebook Trouble reading? Click here to view in your browser. You received this email because you signed up for Today's Headlines or because it is included in your subscription. For additional free newsletters or to manage your newsletters, click here. We respect your privacy. If you believe that this email has been sent to you in error or you no longer wish to receive email from The Washington Post, click here. Contact us for help. ©2017 The Washington Post, 1301 K St NW, Washington DC 20071