At the end of the month, there will be a referendum to decide if Britain should leave or remain in the European Union. The implications are radical for the United States: Following World War II, the EU brought stability and order to Europe, and as a single unit it has helped the U.S. with geopolitical responsibilities around the world. On the economic front alone, President Obama has urged against a Brexit, saying it could take as many as 10 years for Britain to negotiate new trade deals with the U.S.

"Brexit is not the source of Europe's trend of disintegration," Vox explains, "But if it happens, it could be the beginning of the end for the most successful U.S. foreign policy ever and a serious blow to U.S. efforts to maintain stability and order in Europe and therefore beyond."

In other words, it is a really big deal.

Enter Donald Trump:

"If there's any pattern to [Trump's] conversation, it's that he's vague on all subjects outside himself, his campaign, and the media. Everything else is mere distraction," Michael Wolff writes in The Hollywood Reporter. Perhaps Trump is so vague because he's just been called on and apparently hasn't done his homework. Read the entire profile of Trump in The Hollywood Reporter. Jeva Lange

Attorney General Jeff Sessions refused to discuss his conversations with President Trump at his Senate Judiciary Committee oversight hearing on Wednesday, citing executive privilege and frustrating Democrats. "I can neither assert executive privilege nor can I disclose today the content of my confidential conversations with the president," Sessions said, although Democrats have maintained that because Trump did not invoke the privilege himself, the attorney general is not required to adhere to it, The New York Times reports.

Sessions faced intense pressure from senators including Vermont's Patrick Leahy (D), who forced him to admit he has not yet been interviewed by Special Counsel Robert Mueller in the Russia investigation, and Minnesota's Al Franken (D), who challenged Sessions for "moving the goal posts" regarding his conversations with Russian agents during the presidential campaign.

"Not being able to recall what you discussed with him is very different than saying, 'I have not had communications with the Russians,'" Franken challenged Sessions over his inconsistent answers on what exactly happened. "The ambassador from Russia is Russian." Jeva Lange

Even the least cuddly of cats at this Philadelphia shelter can find a home.

While they won't become a little kid's birthday present, unadoptable felines at Philadelphia's Animal Care and Control Team get a job chasing mice at a barn or even a brewery through the shelter's "Working Cats" program, The Associated Press reported.

ACCT started the program four years ago, and it's been a win-win ever since: Not-so-friendly cats get a home, and local businesses get rid of mice. The Working Cats program realizes that not all cats make perfect pets, and cats who'd rather scratch than snuggle get to use their natural hunting abilities to help humans.

As a bonus, when given an outlet for their energy, some of these cats have grown to love people and did become cuddly mascots at their new homes.

You can read more working cat success stories at The Associated Press. Kathryn Krawczyk

In March, City of Miami Police Lt. Javier Ortiz was stripped of his gun, temporarily suspended, and forced to do desk work after a county judge granted a restraining order against him by a woman he'd harassed on Facebook. Over the last few years, Ortiz had also posted racially inflammatory content on social media, allegedly written improper police reports, and received several use-of-force lawsuits.

On Wednesday, he was promoted to the role of captain, the Miami New Times reports.

Although Ortiz is the head of Miami's police union, he has been accused of racism by the the city's oldest black police organization, the Miami Community Police Benevolent Association, and he is deeply unpopular even within the union he helms. A quick Google search on "Javier Ortiz Miami" yields almost exclusively bad press, which is a point of contention for officers who have anonymously complained to local media about the reputation Ortiz creates for the Miami Police Department.

Miami police chief Rodolfo Llanes, who technically retired in 2016 but still collects both a salary and pension, did not respond to a message from the Miami New Times asking about Ortiz's promotion. Kelly O'Meara Morales

The Trump National Golf Club Los Angeles used to claim it had contributed $5 million to charity. Then NPR started asking questions.

Just a few months ago, a philanthropy page on the Southern California club's website listed about 200 nonprofit groups, saying it had given them a total of about $5 million. Now, that page has been stripped of all those claims.

The redaction came soon after NPR started questioning the club's charitable giving. So far, NPR has only been able account for $800,000 of the supposed $5 million in donations, and 17 of the listed charities had no record of contributions from the club at all.

A producer from NPR's Embedded podcast discussed the team's findings on Wednesday's Morning Edition program:

The Embedded team cross-referenced the list on the golf club's website with a publicly-available list the Trump campaign put out detailing donations it had made over the years. Several organizations on the website weren't on the campaign's list, and upon calling these organizations, NPR found they had no record of Trump National donations on the books.

Need a little more proof of Trump National's backtracking? You can still see the $5 million claim if you hover over the "About" tab on its website. Kathryn Krawczyk

Starting Wednesday, Kohl's department stores in 10 locations across Los Angeles and Chicago will sell Amazon smart home products. The brick-and-mortar stores will also accept returns for Amazon online purchases.

Kohl's and Amazon have been working on this retail partnership since the spring. “I really do think it's an example of two companies that can leverage each other's strengths,” said Michelle Gass, Kohl's chief merchandising and customer officer.

More than 70 Kohl's locations will eventually accept Amazon returns, which will be handled by Kohl's employees, but the kiosks selling Amazon products within the department stores will be operated by Amazon. Kohl's joins Sears and Best Buy as prominent retailers who have entered into some type of partnership with Amazon.

Although Kohl's rejected speculation that it may get purchased by Amazon, the retailer's stock rallied 7.7 percent from announcement of their partnership until the end of September. Some traders are reportedly wagering on a stock price increase resulting from the company's potential sale. Amazon recently purchased the grocery chain Whole Foods and now sells Amazon smart home products in the high-end supermarkets. Kelly O'Meara Morales

There were probably important things said at the Senate Judiciary Committee's hearing with Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Wednesday, but the highlight was almost certainly a sheepish Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) apologizing for spilling his Dr Pepper on Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas):

"Sorry to have added to the drama and distracted you for a minute," Sasse told Sessions. "I was paying enough attention there that I dumped a Dr Pepper on Sen. Cruz." Suuuure.

There is unfortunately not yet any footage of Cruz actually getting showered in soda (we will post an immediate update if one becomes available), but there are plenty of jokes:

Cruz promptly retaliated — by cutting off Sasse's supply. Jeva Lange

On Monday, the FBI released a document containing 50 redacted pages that indicated that former FBI Director James Comey had decided not to charge Hillary Clinton with any crime related to her email server before even interviewing her.

In late August, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) announced that they had received partial transcripts showing that Comey had drafted a statement rejecting criminal charges for Clinton months before she was even interviewed in the FBI probe, and President Trump took Monday's reveal as validation of Grassley and Graham's claim. Early Wednesday morning, Trump tweeted, “Wow, FBI confirms reports that James Comey drafted letter exonerating Crooked Hillary Clinton long before investigation was complete."

In May, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein wrote a letter to Trump recommending he fire Comey, in which he criticized the former director's July 2016 press conference rejecting charges for Clinton. "We do not hold press conferences to release derogatory information about the subject of a declined criminal investigation," Rosenstein wrote.

On Wednesday morning, Trump seemed decidedly less concerned about Comey's release of "derogatory information" about Clinton. He tweeted: "As it turns out, James Comey lied and leaked and totally protected Hillary Clinton. He was the best thing that ever happened to her!" Kelly O'Meara Morales