Postal Service warns 46 states their voters could be disenfranchised by delayed mail-in ballots  —  Anticipating an avalanche of absentee ballots, the U.S. Postal Service recently sent detailed letters to 46 states and D.C. warning that it cannot guarantee all ballots cast by mail …

Ex-F.B.I. Lawyer Expected to Plead Guilty in Review of Russia Inquiry  —  Prosecutors did not reveal any evidence of the kind of broad anti-Trump conspiracy among law enforcement officials that the president has long alleged.  —  WASHINGTON — A former F.B.I. lawyer intends to plead guilty …

House GOP candidate known for QAnon support was ‘correspondent’ for conspiracy website  —  Before running for office, Republican congressional candidate Marjorie Taylor Greene wrote dozens of articles as a “correspondent” for a conspiracy news website, according to archived web pages uncovered by NBC News.

Dear White Vegans, Stop Appropriating Food  —  Veganism is going through its own racial reckoning that's a long time coming, considering white vegan influencers have appropriated traditional foods forever.  —  Anya Zoledziowski  —  When Afia Amoako became a vegan five years ago …

Top DHS officials Wolf and Cuccinelli are not legally eligible to serve in their current roles, congressional watchdog agency finds  —  The appointments of the top two officials at the Department of Homeland Security violated federal law, the Government Accountability Office said on Friday.

‘The President Was Not Encouraging’: What Obama Really Thought About Biden  —  Behind the friendship was a more complicated relationship, which now drives the former vice president to prove his partner wrong.  —  The way Joe Biden explained it on the campaign trail in Iowa …

How QAnon rode the pandemic to new heights — and fueled the viral anti-mask phenomenon  —  In February, five months before she became known as “QAnon Karen,” there was no one more terrified of the coming pandemic than Melissa Rein Lively.  —  “I bought the N-95 masks.  I bought the hazmat suit,” she said.

Trump's Win Is a Loss for the Middle East  —  The Trump administration announced a deal this week between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, which was immediately hailed as “an historic day for peace in the Middle East” by Mike Pompeo's State Department.  A flurry of similar analyses framed the deal as …

Trump brother hospitalized in New York: Sources  —  President expected to visit brother, Robert Trump, sources said.  —  Robert Trump, the younger brother of President Donald Trump, has been hospitalized in New York, sources told ABC News, a development confirmed by the White House.

A Black Marxist Scholar Wanted to Talk About Race.  It Ignited a Fury.  —  The cancellation of a speech reflects an intense debate on the left: Is racism the primary problem in America today, or the outgrowth of a system that oppresses all poor people?  —  Adolph Reed is a son of the segregated South …

Mitt Romney slams politicians attacking mail-in voting  —  SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Sen. Mitt Romney said Friday that politicians attacking the vote by mail system are threatening global democracy but stopped short of criticizing President Donald Trump, who has been openly against an expected surge of mail-in ballots.

ICE Guards “Systematically” Sexually Assault Detainees in an El Paso Detention Center, Lawyers Say  —  ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power.  Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they're published.  —  This article is co-published with The Texas Tribune …

HBO Max Adds “Proper Social Context” Intro to ‘Blazing Saddles’  —  The disclaimer is similar to the one the streamer added before ‘Gone With the Wind.’  —  Blazing Saddles is currently streaming on HBO Max, along with a new introduction that automatically plays before the Mel Brooks classic begins.

No Bathroom Relief in Sight for Thousands Living on the Streets  —  Jared Mitchell waited several minutes in line to use a bathroom in Penn Station only to be told he was not allowed inside.  —  Amtrak workers close the bathrooms — a lifeline for people like 24-year-old Mitchell who live on the streets …

Poll: Biden Expands Lead; A Third Of Country Says It Won't Get Vaccinated  —  Toggle more options  —  Democrat Joe Biden's lead has expanded to double-digits against President Trump in the presidential election, an NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll finds.  Biden now leads Trump 53% to 42%, up from an 8-point advantage at the end of June.

Under Trump, SEC Enforcement Of Insider Trading Dropped To Lowest Point In Decades  —  The government agency responsible for policing Wall Street brought the fewest number of insider trading cases in decades, according to the most recent available data.  —  That decline came just before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

Establishment of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force  —  On Aug. 4, 2020, Deputy Secretary of Defense David L. Norquist approved the establishment of an Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) Task Force (UAPTF).  The Department of the Navy, under the cognizance of the Office of the Under Secretary …

Michael Cohen predicts that Trump will ‘never leave office peacefully’ because he's terrified of being sent to prison  —  Foto: Reuters Michael Cohen, the former lawyer for President Donald Trump, arriving back at home after being released from prison in New York on May 21.

CDC's chief of staff, deputy chief of staff jointly depart  —  A pair of senior Trump appointees departed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Friday, a change at an agency that's been heavily scrutinized for its response to the coronavirus.  —  Kyle McGowan, the CDC's chief of staff …

9th Circuit ends California ban on high-capacity magazines  —  SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday threw out California's ban on high-capacity ammunition magazines, saying the law violates the U.S. Constitution's protection of the right to bear firearms.

‘Little brown girl’: Australian Biden-Harris cartoon sparks furore  —  MELBOURNE (Reuters) - A cartoon in Australia's biggest national newspaper drew condemnation on Friday as being racist for portraying U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden describing his new running mate, Kamala Harris, as “this little brown girl”.

Note From Elie: The Lunacy of the McGahn Saga Says It All  —  A weekly Note from Elie is part of the CAFE Brief.  An audio recording of the note is part of the CAFE Insider membership.  Please enjoy Elie reading this week's note, “The Lunacy of the McGahn Saga Says It All” and read his note in your inbox every Friday.

How To Vote In The 2020 Election  —  A state-by-state guide to voting in the age of COVID-19  —  How easy — or difficult — absentee voting is in each state  —  Everyone can vote absentee, and ballots are automatically mailed to voters Everyone can vote absentee, and absentee-ballot applications …