Former U.S. security officials issued scathing rebukes to President Donald Trump on Thursday, admonishing him for yanking a top former spy chief's security clearance in what they cast as an act of political vengeance. Trump said he'd had to do "something" about the "rigged" federal probe of Russian election interference. Speaking to reporters on the White House South Lawn Friday, Trump added that he's "gotten tremendous response" for revoking the security clearance of former CIA Director John Brennan. He also took aim at current senior Justice Department official Bruce Ohr, calling him a "disgrace" and saying he expects to "quickly" revoke his security clearance. Ohr's wife worked for the firm involved in producing the dossier on Trump's ties to Russia. "Security clearances are very important to me," Trump said. Get More

Social media feeds have been swamped by news that the advocacy organization Environmental Working Group found traces of the pesticide glyphosate, the main ingredient in Roundup, in certain popular breakfast cereals like Cheerios. While the headlines have alarmed parents, there are several reasons not to panic, NBC News reported. Research by the EWG, which actively campaigns against glyphosate, was not published in a peer-reviewed journal, the amounts found were far below the allowable limits, and most experts in the field say there’s very little evidence that glyphosate causes cancer or any other health problems. Glyphosate also made headlines because a California jury ordered Roundup maker Monsanto to pay $290 million in damages to a groundskeeper with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Still, American juries do not necessarily rule based on scientific evidence, and they are not required to. Click here for the full story on NBCNews.com. Get More at NBC News

President Donald Trump sounded off on the fraud trial of one of his campaign chairmen, Paul Manafort, during the jury's second day of deliberations. Trump wouldn't say if he would pardon Manafort when asked about it outside the White House Friday, but did reiterate that he thought the trial is sad. "It's a very sad day for our country. He worked for me for a very short period of time but you know what, he happens to be a very good person and I think it's very sad what they've done to Paul Manafort," Trump said. Trump also took aim at special counsel Robert Mueller, who brought the charges against Manafort, calling him "highly conflicted." Get More

Family and friends of Shanann Watts are wondering what could have driven her husband to kill her and their two daughters, which authorities suspect he did early this week, leading to his arrest on Thursday. NBC News reports that Shanann and Chris Watts had been under financial pressure, having filed for bankruptcy in June 2015. At the time, they had two savings accounts with less than $10 and a joint account with under $870. But by their fifth anniversary this November, Shanann gushed on Instagram: "Chris these have been the best years of my life! Our love just grows strong everyday!" This year she shared an image of a Lexus she said was awarded for her work. It's unclear how the family's financial fortunes improved, but her social media pages are covered with images of her wearing weight loss and health patches from Le-Vel, which encourages sellers to share customers' success stories. Get More at NBC News

The synthetic drug K2 suspected to have sent more than 100 people to the hospital in the New Haven area between Tuesday night and Thursday was contaminated with another synthetic drug called fubinaca, police said Friday morning. One form of fubinaca is an "ultrapotent" synthetic cannabinoid known to be 50 to 85 times more powerful than K2 and "poses a public health concern," according to a 2017 article in the New England Journal of Medicine that found the drug was involved in a 2016 outbreak in Brooklyn, New York, that resulted in dozens of hospitalizations and left the area looking like a "zombieland." “We want to get the word out to make sure people understand, please do not use this K2. It is clearly contaminated,” New Haven Police Chief Anthony Campbell said. Get More

President Donald Trump says he canceled the D.C. military parade he'd pushed for, blaming city politicians for jacking up the price even though officials told The Associated Press that more than half of the expenses would come from the Pentagon. Trump's tweeted announcement Friday came a day after CNBC reported that the parade, planned for Veterans Day, would cost $80 million more than initially estimated. The Pentagon revealed later Thursday that it would "explore opportunities in 2019" for the parade that CNBC revealed was expected to cost $92 million, a pricetag seen as too high by the American Legion. Trump left open the possibility of holding the event next year and said he planned to go watch the Paris parade commemorating the end of World War I instead — a French Bastille Day military parade last year appeared to inspire Trump to call for one in Washington. Get More

President Donald Trump is showing renewed interest in a proposal by Blackwater founder Erik Prince to privatize the war, current and former senior administration officials told NBC News. The idea envisions replacing troops with private military contractors who would work for a special U.S. envoy for the war who would report directly to the president. It has raised ethical and security concerns among senior military officials, key lawmakers and members of Trump's national security team. But a year after Trump approved boosting the U.S. troop presence in Afghanistan, his advisers are worried his impatience with the Afghanistan conflict will cause him to seriously consider proposals like Prince's or abruptly order a complete U.S. withdrawal, officials said. Prince, a staunch Trump supporter whose sister is Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, said he hasn't spoken directly to Trump about the plan, but told NBC News he plans to launch an aggressive media "air campaign" in coming days to try to get the president to embrace it. Get More at NBC News

Aretha Franklin, who was born and rose to fame during the segregation era and went on to sing at the inauguration of the first black president, often used her talent, fortune and platform to inspire millions of black Americans and support the fight for racial equality. Get More

In the history of California wildfires there has never been anything like it: A churning tornado filled with fire, the size of three football fields. An official report describes in chilling detail the intensity of the rare fire phenomenon and how quickly it took the life of Redding firefighter Jeremy Stoke, who was enveloped in seconds as he tried to evacuate residents on July 26. Three videos released with the report late Wednesday show the massive funnel of smoke and flames in a populated area on the edge of Redding, about 250 miles (400 kilometers) north of San Francisco. Get More

An environmental group sued President Donald Trump's administration Thursday to make officials move more quickly to protect the Pacific Northwest's endangered orcas. The recent grieving of one whale for her dead calf and scientists' extraordinary attempts to save another from starvation highlight the urgency of their plight, the Tucson, Arizona-based Center for Biological Diversity said as it filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Seattle. There are just 75 orcas remaining in the Pacific Northwest population, the lowest number in 34 years. They're struggling with a dearth of chinook salmon, their preferred prey, as well as toxic contamination and vessel noise. Get More

A dragon winds around a cherry tree in the tattoo across MJ Hegar's arm and back, over the shrapnel wounds she hadn't wanted to see with her young children around. But nine years after being shot down in Afghanistan, then winning a lawsuit against the federal government, writing a book and now running for a Texas congressional seat, Hegar isn't hiding much anymore. "I carry my service with me wherever I go," Hegar said. "We don't see my family and my childhood and my service as different chapters. It's all a package deal." Get More

The Trump administration is ending funding for Syria stabilization projects as it moves to extricate itself from the conflict. U.S. officials said the administration was notifying Congress Friday it would not spend some $200 million that had been planned for Syria programs and would instead shift that money elsewhere. They said the cut will be more than offset by an additional $300 million pledged by coalition partners, including $100 million from Saudi Arabia. Still, the move is a sign the administration is heeding President Donald Trump's demand to end U.S. involvement in Syria and reducing its commitment there. Get More

Brazilian prosecutors have filed a murder charge against celebrity plastic surgeon Denis Cesar Barros Furtado over the death of a patient who was given injections to enlarge her buttocks. Furtado was widely known in Brazil "Dr. Bumbum" — Brazilian slang for backside. He was arrested last month in Rio de Janeiro. Authorities announced late Wednesday that the charge was filed against Furtado, his mother and his girlfriend. Furtado has denied any wrongdoing. Get More