A Presidential Smear  —  Trump imitates the Steele dossier in attacks on Joe Scarborough.  —  By The Editorial Board  —  Donald Trump sometimes traffics in conspiracy theories—recall his innuendo in 2016 about Ted Cruz's father and the JFK assassination—but his latest accusation …

“Close them down”: Trump threatens action against social media platforms  —  President Trump threatened to shut down or regulate social media platforms due to anti-conservative bias in a pair of Wednesday tweets — the day after Twitter's first fact-check against the president's claims on its platform.

Trump's 2016 campaign brass warns he's in trouble in 2020  —  David Bossie and Corey Lewandowski, two key allies and former political advisers to Donald Trump, went to the White House last week to issue him a warning: The president was slipping badly in swing states, and he needed to do something to fix it.

Ex-Pompeo staffers asked to sign letter against ‘smear campaign’  —  Former House staffers to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo are being asked to sign a letter offering him support after a “smear campaign” that he and his wife asked staffers to carry out trivial tasks such as bringing him lunch or getting his dry cleaning.

“We're surging:” Alabama reports largest COVID-19 increases to date  —  Alabama saw its largest single-day increase in new COVID-19 cases Monday, according to the state, as daily case counts continue an upward trend and hospitals across the state report increasing hospitalizations.

Jennifer Carroll Foy Jumps Into Virginia Governor's Race, Hoping To Make History  —  If elected, she would be the first female governor of Virginia, and the first Black female governor of any state.  —  Jennifer Carroll Foy is jumping into the 2021 gubernatorial race in Virginia …

New research rewrites history of when Covid-19 took off in the U.S. — and points to missed chances to stop it  —  New research has poured cold water on the theory that the Covid-19 outbreak in Washington state — the country's first — was triggered by the very first confirmed case of the infection in the country.

Revealed: conservative group fighting to restrict voting tied to powerful dark money network  —  Honest Elections Project, part of network that pushed supreme court pick Brett Kavanaugh, is now focusing on voting restrictions  —  A powerful new conservative organization fighting to restrict voting …

Among Rumored Vice Presidential Candidates, Warren Would Give Biden the Biggest Boost  —  Electorate is split on the Massachusetts senator, but she would help Biden with minorities, voters under 45  — 26% say placing Warren on the ticket would make them more likely to vote for Biden; 23% say it'd make them less likely.

Cooped up: A shameful Central Park encounter demands all New Yorkers be better people  —  In the latest episode of the everyday-fresh-hell that is New York City under quarantine, one white female, Amy Cooper, was caught on video calling the cops on one black male, Christian Cooper.

4 Minneapolis Police Officers Fired Over George Floyd Death  —  The move comes after a video showed an officer kneeling on the neck of Floyd, an unarmed Black man, on Monday.  —  Four Minneapolis police officers were fired Tuesday following the death of George Floyd, a Black man who died …

Spike in South Korea virus cases shows perils of reopening  —  SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — As Mediterranean beaches and Las Vegas casinos laid out plans to welcome tourists again, South Korea announced a spike in new infections Wednesday and considered reimposing social distancing restrictions …

Is the Spell of Political Correctness Breaking?  —  Maybe we're finally getting ready to concede that we can't win a real war if we decide that every last hill of insensitivity is worth dying on.  —  It began, like most matters in this never-ending election cycle, with a tweet.

Marco Rubio zeroes in on Russia — not Obama  —  Donald Trump's allies on Capitol Hill are pushing aggressive new investigations targeting the president's political opponents.  Marco Rubio isn't joining the fray.  —  As Rubio assumes the acting chairmanship of the Senate Intelligence Committee …

D.C. will likely reopen Friday after city changes key thresholds for reopening  —  D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) is expected Wednesday to announce the gradual reopening of the capital, saying the city has been meeting key thresholds to contain new coronavirus infections.

Antibody tests for Covid-19 wrong up to half the time, CDC says  —  (CNN)Antibody tests used to determine if people have been infected in the past with Covid-19 might be wrong up to half the time, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in new guidance posted on its website.

Trump tweet throws House vote on government surveillance powers into doubt  —  Hurd slams FISA court abuses: ‘Absolutely outrageous’  —  (CNN)A House vote to reauthorize national security surveillance authorities that have been expired since March was thrown into doubt on Wednesday following …

AP-NORC poll: Half of Americans would get a COVID-19 vaccine  —  Only about half of Americans say they would get a COVID-19 vaccine if the scientists working furiously to create one succeed, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

Family separation returns under cover of the coronavirus  —  Dad lives about 10 miles from the White House, stringing together gardening jobs, not letting the kids touch him when he gets home for fear of contagion.  —  Mom lives in a makeshift refugee camp on the border in Matamoros, Mexico …

California DA launches investigation into Tara Reade testimony  —  The Monterey County District Attorney's office has launched an investigation into whether Tara Reade lied on the witness stand while acting as an expert witness.  —  Reade, under the name Alexandra McCabe …

Air Force admits ‘persistent and consistent racial’ bias against black airmen, records show  —  WASHINGTON - Air Force officials have privately acknowledged racial bias against young black airmen in judicial proceedings while also fighting the release of documents detailing the problem and their response …

‘Biden Center’ at UPenn named in complaint alleging undisclosed China funds  — A nonprofit watchdog has filed a complaint alleging that the University of Pennsylvania failed to accurately report foreign gifts.  — The complaint includes allegations against the university's Biden Center …

Justice Department Closing Insider-Trading Investigations Into Three U.S. Senators  —  Probe into trading earlier this year by Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina continues  —  The Justice Department is closing investigations into three U.S. senators for stocks trades made shortly …

Back to school? 1 in 5 teachers are unlikely to return to reopened classrooms this fall, poll says  —  Most Americans expect schools to reopen in the fall, but a stunning number of teachers and students may not be there.  —  In an exclusive USA TODAY/Ipsos poll, 1 in 5 teachers say they are unlikely …