Health official: Trump rally ‘likely’ source of virus surge  —  FILE - In this March 17, 2020, file photo, Tulsa Health Department director Dr. Bruce Dart takes part in a news conference in Tulsa, Oklahoma.  President Donald Trump's campaign rally in Tulsa that drew thousands of people in late June …

FBI Probes Chinese Exile, Including Work With Former Trump Aide Steve Bannon  —  Feds question source of funds for media company tied to Guo Wengui  —  The FBI is examining exiled Chinese businessman Guo Wengui and the money used to fund his media efforts in the U.S., including his work with Steve Bannon …

Removing Coordinated Inauthentic Behavior  —  Today, we removed four separate networks for violating our policy against foreign interference and coordinated inauthentic behavior (CIB).  These networks originated in Canada and Ecuador, Brazil, Ukraine, and the United States.

As coronavirus surges, Houston confronts its hidden toll: People dying at home … HOUSTON — When Karen Salazar stopped by to check on her mother on the evening of June 22, she found her in worse shape than she expected.  Her mother, Felipa Medellín, 54, had been complaining …

Trump SHOCK election poll: Black Lives Matter protests will get Trump re-elected  —  THE FALLOUT from the Black Lives Matter protests in the US offers Donald Trump his best chance of winning the Presidential election, a shock poll for the Sunday Express has revealed.

Trump Pushed CIA to Give Intelligence to Kremlin, While Taking No Action Against Russia Arming Taliban  —  Why would the Russian government think it could get away with paying bounties to the Taliban to kill American soldiers?  One answer to that question may be the extraordinary response …

New July 2020 Electoral College Ratings  —  This election is looking more like a Democratic tsunami than simply a Blue wave.  President Trump, mired in some of the lowest job approval ratings of his presidency, is trailing Biden by significant margins in key battleground states like Pennsylvania …

On Some Planes, Empty Rows While Passengers Crowd Together  —  Airlines vowed to bring social distancing to the air.  In practice, some are and some aren't.  —  On a June 30 flight on American Airlines from Dallas to Newark, Joy Gonzalez, an aviation engineer based in Seattle …

Former Fox News Anchor Shepard Smith Joins CNBC to Host Evening Newscast  —  ‘The News with Shepard Smith’ will debut this fall on the cable news business channel  —  CNBC has signed former Fox News journalist Shepard Smith to anchor a new one-hour evening news program, the network said Wednesday.

New Transcripts Detail Last Moments for George Floyd  —  “They'll kill me.  They'll kill me,” Mr. Floyd said, according to a body camera transcript in court filings by Thomas Lane, a former officer who wants the charges against him dismissed.  —  George Floyd told officers more than 20 times …

Grave Shortages of Protective Gear Flare Again as Covid Cases Surge  —  Five months into the pandemic, the U.S. still hasn't solved the problem.  The dearth of supplies is affecting a broad array of health facilities, renewing pleas for White House intervention.

U.S. first lady Melania Trump statue set on fire in Slovenia  —  ROZNO, Slovenia (Reuters) - A wooden sculpture of U.S. first lady Melania Trump was torched near her hometown of Sevnica, Slovenia, on the night of July Fourth, as Americans celebrated U.S. Independence Day, said the artist who commissioned the sculpture.

Biden immigration plan grants citizenship to 11 million illegal immigrants  —  Says immigration enforcement infected by ‘systemic racism’  —  Democratic presidential candidate Joseph R. Biden on Wednesday formally embraced citizenship rights for 11 million illegal immigrants and a full erasure …

This year's Senate races spell disaster for the Republican Party  —  Republicans are beginning to gird themselves for a landslide defeat for President Trump that drags the entire party down.  It could be even worse than they think.  —  Elections in both the House and Senate are increasingly syncing with broader presidential races.

“We Have to Be Prepared for Trump Losing”: As Chaos Engulfs Trump Campaign, Ingraham, Other Loyalists Look For the Next Thing  —  Trump's COVID bungling and ugly rhetoric are baked in—and against all advice, he's thinking of commuting Roger Stone's sentence.  A campaign shake-up is still on the table—but can anything help?

Attorney General William P. Barr Announces Launch of Operation Legend  —  Today, Attorney General William P. Barr announced the launch of Operation Legend, a sustained, systematic and coordinated law enforcement initiative across all federal law enforcement agencies working in conjunction …

Jack Posobiec's Rise Tied to White Supremacist Movement  —  Jack Posobiec, a correspondent for One America News Network (OANN) whose work has been embraced by President Trump, collaborated for years with white supremacists, neo-fascists and antisemites, a Hatewatch investigation has determined.

“You Seem To Have No Conscience”: Activists Stop Crown Heights Landlords From Evicting Tenants  —  Community activists staved off an attempted eviction in Crown Heights on Tuesday, following a lengthy stand-off with a landlord who tenants say had illegally harassed them into moving out during the pandemic.

I Cited Their Study, So They Disavowed It  —  If scientists retract research that challenges reigning orthodoxies, politics will drive scholarship.  —  The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences is a peer-reviewed journal that claims to publish “only the highest quality scientific research.”

NYPD limits retirement applications amid 400 percent surge this week  —  New York's Finest are putting in for retirement faster than the NYPD can handle — citing a lack of respect and the loss of overtime pay, The Post has learned.  —  A surge of city cops filing for retirement during …

Oregon man driving stolen car crashes into woman driving another stolen car  —  A police chase in Oregon ended when a driver fleeing authorities in a stolen car crashed into a woman driving another stolen car.  —  The debacle took place Monday when police responded to a report …

32% of U.S. households missed their July housing payments  —  As the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic continues, almost one-third of U.S. households, 32%, have not made their full housing payments for July yet, according to a survey by Apartment List, an online rental platform.

Exclusive: Vindman to retire from military.  His lawyer blames White House ‘campaign of bullying, intimidation and retaliation’  —  (CNN)Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, a key witness in President Donald Trump's impeachment inquiry, is retiring from the US Army after more than 21 years …

Reopened Theme Parks Ban Screaming on Roller Coasters.  Riders Are Howling.  —  Japan's park recommendations aim to prevent the spread of Covid-19, but thrill seekers find keeping quiet isn't easy  —  TOKYO—At the Fuji-Q Highland amusement park recently, the chief executive …

NYPD's own stats debunk claims of bail reform leading to spike in gun violence  —  State bail reform and coronavirus-related releases from city jails are not driving this year's surge in shootings, the NYPD's own data shows — despite the insistence of department brass to the contrary.

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner directs city to explore legal options for canceling in-person GOP convention  —  The Republican Party of Texas' in-person convention is scheduled to happen in Houston next week.  —  As the Republican Party of Texas moves forward with plans …

Widow of Trump's friend pushes back against Mary Trump SAT allegation, calls it false  —  Pam Shriver, widow of Joe Shapiro, says allegation is “unfair.”  —  In the new book from Mary Trump, the niece of President Donald Trump, one of the most explosive allegations is that the president hired …

Kanye West Says He's Done With Trump—Opens Up About White House Bid, Damaging Biden And Everything In Between  —  Kanye West's Fourth of July declaration, via Tweet, that he was running for president lit the internet on fire, even as pundits were trying to discern how serious he was.

Supreme Court set to decide who can see Trump's tax returns, financial records  —  The Supreme Court is set to unveil its decision on Thursday about whether Congress gets to see President Donald Trump's tax returns and financial records, a ruling that could reshape the balance of power between lawmakers …

As COVID cases spike in Florida, Trump now says he's ‘flexible’ on convention format in Jacksonville  —  With coronavirus cases exploding in Florida, President Trump said he is “flexible” about the need for a traditional indoor Republican National Convention in Jacksonville next month.

DeVos ‘very seriously’ considering withholding funding from schools that don't reopen  —  Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said Tuesday that she is “very seriously” considering withholding federal funding from schools that don't reopen in the fall.  —  “We are looking at this very seriously.

Mike Pence's Plan to Save Trump—And Himself  —  In private moments, Donald Trump has told aides that he rescued Mike Pence from a potentially embarrassing defeat by pulling him out of a tough reelection bid in the 2016 Indiana governor's race and putting him on the ticket, a former White House official told me.

I No Longer Believe in a Jewish State  —  For decades I argued for separation between Israelis and Palestinians.  Now, I can imagine a Jewish home in an equal state.  —  Mr. Beinart is editor at large of Jewish Currents.  —  I was 22 in 1993 when Yitzhak Rabin and Yasir Arafat shook hands …

Stop saying Trump is ‘in denial.’ The truth is much worse.  —  To paraphrase George Orwell, when it comes to President Trump's bottomless malevolence and depravity, accurately describing what's right in front of our noses is a constant struggle — and a perfect example of this is the ubiquitous claim …