Friday's Headlines: Interior secretary recommends Trump alter at least three national monuments, including Bears Ears

At CIA, a watchful eye on Mike Pompeo, Trump's ardent ally; Trump distances himself from GOP lawmakers to deflect personal blame if agenda stalls; Once a destination for sun and...

Democracy Dies in Darkness     The morning's most important stories, selected by Post editors   Top Stories Interior secretary recommends Trump alter at least three national monuments, including Bears Ears Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke's recommendation to alter monuments established by previous presidents will likely reshape federal land and water protections and is certain to trigger major legal fights. By Juliet Eilperin and Darryl Fears  •  Read more » At CIA, a watchful eye on Mike Pompeo, Trump's ardent ally The director's tendency to play down Russian interference in the 2016 election is seen as a nod to Trump, and Pompeo's interactions with the CIA's counterintelligence center have come under particular scrutiny. By Greg Miller  •   Read more »   Trump distances himself from GOP lawmakers to deflect personal blame if agenda stalls According to advisers, Trump is railing against Republicans because he thinks it will help protect him politically if the GOP loses the House. But Trump could face greater peril than a difficult 2020 election: a Democratic majority eager to pursue impeachment. By Philip Rucker, Sean Sullivan and Mike DeBonis  •   Read more »   Once a destination for sun and fun, Acapulco now is Mexico's murder capital For each of the past five years, Acapulco has been the deadliest city in Mexico, in a marathon of murder that has hollowed out the hillside neighborhoods and sprawling colonias that tourists rarely visit. This city's woes are emblematic of what Mexico faces as crime spreads and order disintegrates across growing swaths of this country. By Story by Joshua Partlow | Photos by Michael Robinson Chavez  •   Read more »   'Astounding' Hurricane Harvey catches Texas off guard as state braces for potentially catastrophic flooding and winds Harvey is expected to strike late Friday as a Category 3 hurricane, making it the most powerful storm to make landfall in the United States since Hurricane Wilma in 2005. By Joel Achenbach, Steven Mufson and Jason Samenow  •   Read more »   ADVERTISEMENT Opinions   Trump is exactly what Republicans are not By John C. Danforth  •   Read more »   Trump's rhetorical schizophrenia is easy to see through By Michael Gerson  •   Read more »   A politician wants to persecute 'dreamers' to distract from his own felony trial By Donald E. Graham  •   Read more »   It's time to start punishing public officials who disenfranchise voters By Catherine Rampell  •   Read more »   Could this be a game-changer for Middle East peace? By David Ignatius  •   Read more »   Don't play down a sinister attack on diplomats in Cuba By Editorial Board  •   Read more » ADVERTISEMENT More News   Samsung's heir apparent sentenced to five years in corruption case In a case that has gripped South Korea, Lee Jae-yong was on trial for five months on charges including bribery, embezzlement and perjury, all related to the scandal that led to the impeachment of former president Park Geun-hye. By Anna Fifield  •  Read more »     As Kushner leaves Mideast, U.S. calls talks 'productive' but doesn't commit to two-state solution Both sides agreed to continue with U.S.-led conversations, the State Department said. But some Palestinians voiced frustration that the Trump administration has not embraced the two-state idea that was the focus of peace efforts for decades.  By Loveday Morris  •   Read more »   Treasury Secretary Mnuchin viewed eclipse from roof of Fort Knox Treasury officials rejected the notion that Steven Mnuchin traveled there for the eclipse, noting that the trip was planned for earlier in the month but postponed when the Senate delayed its recess. By Drew Harwell and Beth Reinhard  •   Read more »   16 Americans suffered injuries while stationed at U.S. Embassy in Havana The State Department suspects that they were victims of a mysterious "acoustic attack" that deliberately targeted American diplomats. By Carol Morello  •   Read more »   Civil War submarine's crewmen killed by their own weapon, researchers say When the Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley was recovered from the seafloor in 2000, the skeletons of its crew were still at their stations. A new paper posits that their torpedo produced a blast wave that led to their deaths. By Sarah Kaplan  •   Read more »   Podcast What's lost when a president opts out of ceremonial duties? Dan Balz, chief political correspondent for the Post, helps answer the question of whether a president can fail to participate in tradition. By Allison Michaels  •   Read more »   A black man went undercover online as a white supremacist. This is what he learned. Theo Wilson knew he would come up against some unpalatable ideas, but some of his discoveries still came as a shock. By Peter Holley  •   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. 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