The Associated Press reports: The ousted Iowa Department of Human Services director will pursue a wrongful termination lawsuit, alleging he was let go after objecting to a pay arrangement for the governor’s deputy chief of staff, his lawyer said Wednesday. Jerry Foxhoven, a 67-year-old legal scholar known for his frequent workplace praise of the late rapper Tupac Shakur, will file …

CNBC reports: U.S. President Donald Trump offered his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin help in putting out vast wildfires that are raging in Siberia, the Kremlin said late on Wednesday, a move it said Putin took as a sign that battered ties can be restored. The Kremlin said the two leaders had spoken by phone at Washington’s initiative, hours after Putin …

The Guardian reports: The pound fell below $1.21 for the first time since January 2017 as concerns mounted that the UK is heading for a no-deal Brexit. Sterling fell to $1.2085 before edging up to $1.2104, down 0.45% against a stronger US dollar. Against the euro the pound fell 0.01% to €1.0978. Sterling’s fall will be felt immediately by holidaymakers …

Reuters reports: Britain is doubling spending on preparations for a no-deal Brexit this year as Prime Minister Boris Johnson sets his sights on leaving the European Union with or without a divorce deal at the end of October. Johnson’s finance minister Sajid Javid has set aside an extra 2.1 billion pounds of new spending to stockpile medicines, hire more border …

The Hill reports: Democratic presidential candidate Tom Steyer is airing an ad centered around President Trump’s record as “failed” businessman during “Fox and Friends” and “The Sean Hannity Show” on Fox News, his campaign said. “Unlike other candidates, I can go head to head with Donald Trump on the economy and expose him for what he is — a fraud …

The Associated Press reports: All eyes will be watching both the Ohio crowd’s behavior — and how Trump reacts. Even his closest advisers seem uncertain as to what may transpire. “If it happened again, he might make an effort to speak out about it,” Vice President Mike Pence said recently. Republican Rep. Steve Chabot, who represents a Cincinnati-area district, said …

The most talked about exchange from last night. Politico reports: The Hawaii congresswoman dug up a thick opposition file on Harris and dumped it on the debate stage. For several minutes, Gabbard detailed some unsavory accusations against Harris during her tenure as California state attorney general. Harris pushed back, but the unexpected assault left some bruises that other candidates are …

ABC News reports: President Trump on Wednesday pushed back against Democratic presidential candidates decrying the treatment of migrants under his administration, blaming his predecessor for the construction of “cages.” The president repeated his claim that former President Obama implemented a policy of “child separation” and that he ended it. The Obama administration did not have a sweeping policy of prosecuting …