Republicans Lead Senate Races in Alabama, Kentucky and Texas, With South Carolina Tied  —  Polling underscores roadblocks to a filibuster-proof majority for Democrats  — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) leads Democrat Amy McGrath by 17 points, 53% to 36%.

Watch the full “Axios on HBO” interview with President Trump  —  In this episode of “Axios on HBO”, President Trump discusses his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, the upcoming election and much more with National Political Correspondent Jonathan Swan.  The interview was filmed on Tuesday, July 28 and aired Monday, Aug. 3 on HBO.

Personal news: why I'm now leaving MSNBC  —  “Just quit.”  —  That's the advice Alec gave a year and a half ago when I expressed concerns about my job.  —  “You just quit.  It's that simple.”  —  “Stay at MSNBC at least until the midterms,” Jeffrey said a couple years back.

Colorado police apologize over viral video of officers handcuffing Black girls in a mistaken stop  —  Sunday morning was meant to be a girls outing for the Gilliams, as cousins, sisters, aunts and nieces piled into an SUV to go get their nails done together in suburban Denver.

Census Cuts All Counting Efforts Short By A Month  —  The Census Bureau is ending all counting efforts for the 2020 census on Sept. 30, a month shorter than previously announced, the bureau's director confirmed Monday in a statement.  That includes critical door-knocking efforts …

Trump's bag of tricks comes up empty against Biden  —  On a Saturday in late July, Rudy Giuliani was having lunch with Donald Trump at the president's golf course in Virginia.  Both men were in unusually good spirits.  Giuliani, the president's sometimes lawyer who is representing Trump …

Michigan ballots tangled in mail delays in advance of Tuesday primary  —  Mail problems marred the delivery of absentee ballots in Michigan in the run-up to Tuesday's primary in the state, testing election administrators and ramping up fears of political pressure on the U.S. Postal Service just three months before Nov. 3.

N.Y.C. Health Commissioner Resigns After Clashes With Mayor Over Virus  —  The resignation of Dr. Oxiris Barbot, the commissioner since 2018, came after Mayor Bill de Blasio stripped her agency of a key virus tracing program.  —  New York City's health commissioner, Dr. Oxiris Barbot …

Two People Linked to Kanye West's Campaign Are Active in GOP Politics  —  At least two people with links to Kanye West's nascent presidential campaign are also active in Republican Party politics.  —  One of West's electors in the state of Vermont will also be a delegate to the Republican National Convention in Charlotte.

Who, in 2020, is a “Good Republican”?  —  In  —  July 2018, conservative writer David French argued in National Review that NeverTrump conservatives should support “Good Republicans” — candidates who are competent and ethical (i.e. not Trumpy) — in the midterm elections.

American Views 2020: Trust, Media and Democracy  —  OVERVIEW  —  There is a widening gulf between American aspirations for and assessments of the news media.  With each passing benchmark study, the American people render deeper and increasingly polarized judgments about the news media …

When Covid Subsided, Israel Reopened Its Schools.  It Didn't Go Well.  —  As countries consider back-to-school strategies for the fall, a coronavirus outbreak at a Jerusalem high school offers a cautionary tale.  —  JERUSALEM — As the United States and other countries anxiously consider …

Trump Is Under Increasing Pressure to Blow Up His China Deal Before Election Day  —  The president's China hawks are telling him this is the bold move he needs to change his election fate.  —  President Donald Trump bet the house that getting a sweetheart trade deal with the Chinese government …

EXCLUSIVE: Karen Bass Denies Links To Nation Of Islam, Despite Photos And Event Appearances, But Doesn't Disavow Radical Group  — California Rep. Karen Bass, a top contender to be presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden's 2020 running mate, denied having ties to the Nation of Islam …

Mary Trump has a stark warning about the political ambitions of Ivanka and Don Jr - and the possibility of a Trump dynasty  —  In an interview with The Independent, the president's niece says that she expects Donald Jr to try for office, but Ivanka could end up as vice president

U.S. Satisfaction at 13%, Lowest in Nine Years  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. — Americans' satisfaction with the way things are going in the U.S. continues to tumble since it started trending downward at the beginning of the novel coronavirus pandemic.  Currently, 13% of U.S. adults are satisfied …

Kansas set to decide Kobach's fate — and possibly the Senate's  —  Republicans are about to learn if they have a serious problem in Kansas — and another major threat to their teetering Senate majority.  —  In Tuesday's primary, GOP voters will decide between hard-line conservative Kris Kobach …

‘Shame on all of you’: Viral obit blames Trump and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott for man's covid-19 death  —  Much of David W. Nagy's obituary, which ran in his local paper in Jefferson, Tex., on July 30, recounted his painful death from the novel coronavirus at age 79 and named his surviving family members.

All the COVID safety rules are little more than theater  —  If you go to a restaurant in Gotham right now, you might be subjected to a temperature check.  It's no big deal, it takes a second — but it's pointless; plenty of COVID-positive people don't have a fever.  So why do we do it?

Hugh Hewitt Has Always Been a Hack  —  Over the last four years, the conservative pundit Hugh Hewitt has gone to extraordinary lengths to pretend that Donald Trump does not exist.  Hewitt does acknowledge the existence of some version of Trump.  This Trump is a serious and sober-minded fellow …

The US sent Brazil millions of hydroxychloroquine doses.  Months later, they're still in storage  —  What happened to 2M doses of hydroxychloroquine US sent Brazil  —  Sao Paulo (CNN)It was the kind of gift that should have come with a return slip.  —  The Trump administration's donation …

House Democrats target Midwestern GOP seats  —  The House Democrats' main campaign arm has reserved almost $1.5 million worth of television air time meant to target three Midwestern Republicans whose seats are suddenly up for grabs in a tumultuous political climate.

Two Black moms took their kids to the Mall.  Secret Service officers confronted them with guns, they said.  —  It was a hot Thursday afternoon, so India Johnson, 26, and Yasmeen Winston, 25, decided to take their babies to splash in the fountains at the World War II Memorial.

Massive coronavirus outbreak envelops Rutgers football team  —  The number of COVID-19 cases connected with the Rutgers University football team nearly has doubled from 15 to 28 players, plus multiple staff members, three people with knowledge of the situation told NJ Advance Media on Monday night.

Trump's base starting to erode, new poll shows  —  President Trump's support among Republicans and other conservative voters has begun to erode amid the continued coronavirus pandemic and its associated economic havoc, a new poll from UC Berkeley's Institute of Governmental Studies shows.

The Princeton Faculty's Anti-Free-Speech Demands  —  Princeton University is consumed from top to bottom with what seems to be the question of the moment: How should it reorder itself to fight racism?  —  The school's president, Christopher L. Eisgruber, ordered 23 of the institution's …