Emboldened Pelosi takes hard line as relief talks drag on  —  Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin stood up before a room full of Senate Republicans noshing on lunch Tuesday, compelled to make a declaration about Speaker Nancy Pelosi.  —  “There were press reports that Mark is indecisive and I'm owned by Nancy …

Trump's Bank Was Subpoenaed by N.Y. Prosecutors in Criminal Inquiry  —  The subpoena, sent to Deutsche Bank, suggests that the inquiry into President Trump's business practices is more wide-ranging than previously known.  —  The New York prosecutors who are seeking President Trump's tax records …

The Unique U.S. Failure to Control the Virus  —  Slowing the coronavirus has been especially difficult for the United States because of its tradition of prioritizing individualism and missteps by the Trump administration.  —  By David LeonhardtGraphics by Lauren Leatherby

For the first time, Facebook removes post by Trump containing coronavirus misinformation  —  The company is has faced pressure to better moderate its site amid a massive advertiser boycott.  —  Facebook on Wednesday said it removed President Trump's post of a video clip from a Fox News interview …

How to Steal an Election  —  Four ways Trump can still win, 89 days out.  —  If you want the bad news all at once, the TL/DR is this:  —  (1) Trump can use normal tactics to win outright or make the race closer.  —  (2) COVID problems with election administration can take up to 6 percent off of Biden's margin.

Trump singles out Texas and Florida for help with coronavirus response  —  (CNN)President Donald Trump agreed to continue paying for the full cost of National Guard troops deployed to help with the coronavirus response in just two states — Texas and Florida — after their Republican governors appealed directly to him.

Joe Biden launches new national ad aimed at Black Americans  —  DETROIT (AP) — Joe Biden's Democratic presidential campaign has launched a new national ad focused on Black Americans, urging them to stand up to President Donald Trump the way their ancestors stood up to “violent racists of a generation ago.”

Blame for Beirut Explosion Begins With a Leaky, Troubled Ship  —  The bleak tale of chronic negligence started over six years ago, when an indebted vessel and its volatile cargo pulled into port.  It ended on Tuesday in a giant explosion.  —  CAIRO — The countdown to catastrophe …

Facebook and Twitter restrict Trump accounts over ‘harmful’ virus claim  —  Facebook and Twitter have penalised Donald Trump and his campaign for posts in which the president claimed children were “almost immune” to coronavirus.  —  Facebook deleted the post - a clip from an interview …

Our nation is in a free fall.  But sure, let's talk about Hillary's emails again.  —  Nearly 5 million covid-19 cases in the United States.  One-hundred fifty-seven thousand dead.  Thirty-two million out of work.  Tens of millions facing eviction, foreclosure and hunger.  —  What do we do now?

Member of Conservative Think Tank Takes On Reporter Duties on Air Force Two  —  Instead of a member of the White House press corps, the role of pool reporter was filled by Robert B. Bluey, a vice president at the Heritage Foundation.  —  WASHINGTON — When Vice President Mike Pence traveled …

How inequality is changing the Republican Party — and breaking American politics  —  President Donald Trump shakes hands in 2017 with then-House Speaker Paul Ryan, as Vice President Mike Pence beams.  Bill Clark-Pool/Getty Images  —  A new book tries to untangle the relationship between …

Meghan McCain Won't Commit to Voting Biden Over Trump  —  “I'm not saying who I'm voting for, but I'm not voting for Trump,” “The View” host said nonsensically on “Watch What Happens Live” Wednesday night.  —  Meghan McCain officially signed off of The View for the summer last week.

Biden dominates the electoral map, but here's how the race could tighten  —  WASHINGTON — When you're leading a presidential race nationally by double digits, you're set to exceed 300 electoral votes.  —  And that's where we have Joe Biden in our first battleground map of 2020 …

The Trump campaign's latest contest is a scam.  Here's proof.  —  This week, the Trump campaign has been heavily promoting a contest to win a “VIP Dinner” with Trump in Southhampton, New York, on August 8th.  Advertisements on Facebook touted the dinner as a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” to share a meal with Trump.

Kanye West's bizarre ‘campaign’ is designed to help Trump  —  Kanye West announces he's running for president  —  John Avlon is a senior political analyst at CNN.  The views expressed in this commentary are his own.  Read more opinion on CNN.  —  (CNN)We need to talk about Kanye.

Davis Statement on His Positive COVID-19 Test  —  f t # e  —  U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Ill) released the following statement on his positive COVID-19 test:

How COVID-19 Changed Everything About the 2020 Election  —  In the 2020 that might have been, nobody is sick and politics is the center of the universe.  —  The Democratic Party has just nominated Joe Biden and his running mate at its mid-July convention in Milwaukee, while Republicans …

'I have no idea how I'm not dead': A Post correspondent recalls doomful night in Beirut  —  Sarah Dadouch, a Beirut-based correspondent for The Washington Post, shared her experience of Tuesday's explosions with The Post's Siobhán O'Grady.  The account was condensed and edited for clarity.

‘See you in court’: ACLU files nearly 400 cases versus Trump  —  NEW YORK (AP) — The day after Donald Trump's election in November 2016, the American Civil Liberties Union posted a message to him on its website: “See you in court.”  —  As president, Trump hasn't personally squared off …

Fauci Reveals He Has Received Death Threats And His Daughters Have Been Harassed  —  Dr. Anthony Fauci says that he has received death threats and his daughters have been harassed as a result of his high-profile statements about the coronavirus pandemic.  —  “Getting death threats …

Georgia second grader tests positive for coronavirus after first day of school, forcing class to quarantine  —  Two suburban Atlanta school districts that began in-person classes Monday with mask-optional policies face more questions about COVID-19 safety protocols after on-campus pictures showed students packed shoulder-to-shoulder.

WATCH: Biden Says He Wouldn't Stand In The Way Of A Trump Prosecution  —  Joe Biden says that he believes prosecuting a former president would be a “very unusual thing and probably not very ... good for democracy,” but he would not stand in the way of a future Justice Department pursuing criminal charges …