Top Items:

Unwanted Truths: Inside Trump's Battles With U.S. Intelligence Agencies — Last year, intelligence officials gathered to write a classified report on Russia's interest in the 2020 election. An investigation from the magazine uncovered what happened next. — In early July of last year …
Discussion:
Raw Story

Trump antagonizes GOP megadonor Adelson in heated phone call — When President Donald Trump connected by phone last week with Republican megadonor Sheldon Adelson — perhaps the only person in the party who can cut a nine-figure check to aid his reelection — the phone call unexpectedly turned contentious.
Discussion:
Raw Story
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‘Like Groundhog Day’: Republicans fret over Trump's fading fortunes — President Donald Trump is in an August, coronavirus-induced slump — and his team is feeling it. — The White House's negotiations with Capitol Hill over a fourth economic stimulus package fell apart on Friday …
Discussion:
The Week, TheBlaze, Raw Story and Lawyers, Guns & Money

No Wrist Corsages, Please — Has America grown since 1984, or will the knives still be out for Biden's running mate? — WASHINGTON — On the cusp of Joe Biden teaming up with a woman, I am casting back to my time covering the first woman who was a serious contender for veep.
Discussion:
Twitchy, Althouse and Balloon Juice

Democrats call for investigation of postmaster general over mail delays — Lawmakers want the inspector general to examine Postmaster General Louis DeJoy's cost-cutting measures and investments — Congressional Democrats on Friday called for an investigation of newly installed Postmaster …
Discussion:
Raw Story, Greensboro, Vox and Common Dreams
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Unsanitized: Federal Benefit Extension Looks Remote as Anger Mounts — Plus, the post office tries to stick up states. This is The COVID-19 Daily Report for August 7, 2020. — Unsanitized-080720 — The public is fixing to get out their pitchforks. — First Response
Discussion:
Bloomberg

The postal service has become vital to America's elections — “The postal service”, said Donald Trump, as he signed covid-19 relief legislation in the spring, “is a joke.” He contended that the United States Postal Service (usps) is losing money by “handing out packages for Amazon …

Jerry Falwell Jr. will take an indefinite leave of absence from Liberty — Jerry Falwell Jr. will take an indefinite leave of absence from Liberty University after posting a racy photo to social media from his vacation where his pants were unzipped, his midriff was out, and he is standing next to a woman holding a glass of dark liquid.
Discussion:
Slate, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Raw Story
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Falwell placed on ‘indefinite leave’ from Liberty University
Discussion:
CNN, The Daily Beast, Rolling Stone, Breitbart and The Daily Caller
Will Wright / New York Times:
Jerry Falwell Jr. Taking Leave of Absence From Liberty University
Jerry Falwell Jr. Taking Leave of Absence From Liberty University
Discussion:
Axios, Liberty University, Christianity Today, NPR, The Hill, National Review, Raw Story and Just The News
Calum Best / The Bulwark:
Jerry Falwell's Zipper Has Been Down for Years
Jerry Falwell's Zipper Has Been Down for Years
Discussion:
Pulpit & Pen News and TheBlaze

AP sources: Whitmer met with Biden as he nears VP decision — LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer traveled to Delaware last weekend to meet with Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee's first known in-person session with a potential running mate as he nears a decision.
Discussion:
Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, NBC News, Washington Post and The Hill
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Katie Glueck / New York Times:
Why Joe Biden Keeps Missing His Own V.P. Deadlines
Why Joe Biden Keeps Missing His Own V.P. Deadlines
Discussion:
Althouse, The Daily Caller and Wall Street Journal

N.Y.P.D. Besieges a Protest Leader as He Broadcasts Live — A helicopter and dozens of officers, some in riot gear, were deployed for an arrest at a Manhattan apartment but withdrew after protesters arrived. — Derrick Ingram, an organizer of a group leading New York's Black Lives Matter protests …
Discussion:
The Hill
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Bill Gates on Covid: Most US Tests Are ‘Completely Garbage’ — The techie-turned-philanthropist on vaccines, Trump, and why social media is “a poisoned chalice.” — For 20 years, Bill Gates has been easing out of the roles that made him rich and famous—CEO, chief software architect …
Discussion:
The Verge and Marginal REVOLUTION, more at Techmeme »

Bar Complaint Claims Kanye West's Campaign Lawyer is Violating the Rules by Simultaneously Working For Trump — A government watchdog group on Friday filed a complaint against Lane Ruhland with the Wisconsin Office of Lawyer Regulation (OLR) alleging the attorney has been violating ethics …
Discussion:
New York Magazine, The Hill and Newsy
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This Is Exactly What Susan Rice Feared — A few days before Donald Trump's inauguration, then-National Security Adviser Susan Rice held a press briefing in her office to talk about the threats she saw on the horizon as Barack Obama's presidency drew to a close.

Joe Arpaio loses sheriff's race in second failed comeback bid — PHOENIX — Joe Arpaio on Friday was narrowly defeated in his bid to win back the sheriff's post in metro Phoenix that he held for 24 years before being voted out in 2016 amid voter frustrations over his taxpayer-funded legal bills …
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Hank Stephenson / New York Times:
Joe Arpaio Loses Arizona Primary to Reclaim His Old Job as Sheriff
Joe Arpaio Loses Arizona Primary to Reclaim His Old Job as Sheriff
Discussion:
The Guardian and Axios

Identity Politics Conservatism — Conservative elites trying to come up with the next stage of Trumpism are out of touch with what Republican voters actually want. — Trumpism — I keep telling people that Trump is forever and no one believes me. — I get that. I don't want to believe me, either.
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Chris Dodd, an Insider From Biden's Past, Is Helping Him Pick His Future — As Biden works to win over progressive voters, he has empowered a Washington uber-veteran long trailed by allegations of personal and financial indiscretion. — Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. knew how to flatter an old friend.

The threat to U.S. elections is real, and frightening. The public has a right to know. — Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat, is a U.S. senator from Connecticut. — The warning lights are flashing red. America's elections are under attack. — This week, I reviewed classified materials …
Discussion:
CBS News

John Roberts' Stealth Attack on Abortion Rights Just Paid Off — The Supreme Court's recent decision in June Medical v. Russo was hailed by many liberal court watchers as a win for reproductive rights, as the court declined to overturn Roe v. Wade and formally eliminate the right to an abortion.
Discussion:
Lawyers, Guns & Money

Bernard Bailyn, Eminent Historian of Early America, Dies at 97 — On topic after topic he shifted the direction of scholarly inquiry, winning two Pulitzers and a Bancroft Prize for his innovative research and groundbreaking works. — Bernard Bailyn, whose award-winning books …

U.S. Intelligence Says Republicans Are Working With Russia to Reelect Trump — Two weeks ago, William Evanina, director of the United States National Counterintelligence and Security Center, published a somewhat vague warning about various forms of foreign interference in the upcoming election.
Discussion:
The US Sun, Mediaite and The Week
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I was a Republican, and I drew my red line too late. I'll answer for my choices for years to come. — Beth Fukumoto served three terms in the Hawaii House of Representatives and is a fellow at Harvard Kennedy School's Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation.

'I'm Not Scared': She Faces Life in Prison After Allegedly Buying Red Protest Paint — “I realized that in the eyes of the state, I had become an enemy for exercising what is supposed to be a protected right.” — Madalena McNeil is accused of buying red paint before a protest.
Discussion:
The Root, The Hill and The Daily Caller

A roar, an explosion, then a blank: An L.A. Times reporter's ordeal in the Beirut blast — A helicopter fights a fire after an explosion at the port of Beirut on Tuesday. (Getty Images) — A survivor is taken out of the rubble after a massive explosion in Beirut, Lebanon. (Hassan Ammar / Associated Press)