US hits 5 million confirmed virus cases, Europe is amazed  —  ROME (AP) — With confirmed coronavirus cases in the U.S. hitting 5 million Sunday, by far the highest of any country, the failure of the most powerful nation in the world to contain the scourge has been met with astonishment and alarm in Europe.

9 cases of COVID-19 reported at North Paulding High School  —  The Paulding County high school that became infamous for hallways crowded with unmasked students reported a half-dozen students and three staffers in the school with COVID-19, the school district told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Saturday.

‘Christianity Will Have Power’  —  Donald Trump made a promise to white evangelical Christians, whose support can seem mystifying to the outside observer.  —  Photographs and Video by Jenn Ackerman and Tim Gruber  —  SIOUX CENTER, Iowa — They walked to the sanctuary in the frozen silence before dawn …

Biden leads in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania due to COVID concerns, country's direction — Battleground Tracker poll  —  Late on election night 2016, it was Wisconsin and Pennsylvania that put Donald Trump over the top and into the White House, thanks to late-deciding voters who went his way, and big margins among people who wanted change.

Trump's Go-It-Alone Stimulus Won't Do Much to Lift the Recovery  —  A series of executive actions will provoke lawsuits but is unlikely to stoke faster growth in an economy that has cooled this summer.  —  The executive actions President Trump took on Saturday were pitched as a unilateral jolt for an ailing economy.

New York Times: White House reached out to South Dakota governor about adding Trump to Mount Rushmore  —  Washington (CNN)White House aides reached out to South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem last year about the process of adding additional presidents to Mount Rushmore, the New York Times reported.

Donald Trump: If Reelected, I will “Terminate” Social Security  —  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  —  Contact: Linda Benesch, lbenesc[email protected]  —  (Washington, DC) — The following is a statement from Nancy Altman, President of Social Security Works, in response to Donald Trump's press conference …

Mnuchin warns Democrats against challenging Trump's executive orders  —  Trump on Saturday signed executive orders to defer payroll taxes and replace an expired unemployment benefit.  —  Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin warned Democrats on Sunday that any legal challenge …

Boycotted.  Criticized.  But Fox News Leads the Pack in Prime Time.  —  Led by Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity, the channel's pro-Trump lineup outranked every network from 8 to 11 p.m. in June and July.  —  In one sense, this has been a difficult period for Fox News …

At least 21 people shot, one fatally, at a party in Southeast Washington  —  A 17-year-old is dead and an off-duty police officer is fighting for her life after at least 21 people were shot when a dispute broke out early Sunday at a cookout attended by hundreds of people in Southeast Washington, authorities said.

Newly Declassified Document Indicates FBI Misled Congress on Reliability of Steele Dossier  —  “This document clearly shows that the FBI was continuing to mislead regarding the reliability of the Steele dossier.  The FBI did to the Senate Intelligence Committee what the Department of Justice …

How the Final Stretch of Biden's VP Search Is Playing Out  —  The women who might become Joe Biden's running mate entered their final week in contention without much of an idea of what that week would look like.  —  Each member of the group — thought to include a pair of senators …

The Spies Who Hijacked America  —  As a doctoral candidate at Cambridge working under “FBI Informant” Stefan Halper, I had a front-row seat for Russiagate  —  Global scandals now labeled Russiagate, Spygate, and what President Trump calls “Obamagate” shook the political world, but hit me closer to home.

Time to Sound the Alarm  —  Trump is trying to steal the election by messing with the mail  —  Given the current state of the pandemic and the economy, I do not believe Trump can win a free and fair election.  Apparently, Trump agrees with me.  —  In a classic Friday night news dump …

Kanye West's presidential bid bolstered by Republican operatives in at least five states  —  One elector trying to get rapper Kanye West on the presidential ballot in Wisconsin is married to a former chairwoman of a Republican county committee and was photographed with President Trump at his inaugural.

Ben Sasse emerges as GOP Trump critic ahead of November  —  Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) has dialed up his spicy slams of President Trump, including this swipe at yesterday's signing ceremony: “The pen-and-phone theory of executive lawmaking is unconstitutional slop.”

‘I felt like my chest was on fire’: Photo shows Dallas police officer shooting protester with pepper-ball gun  —  People of color say police harassed them while they protested historic police violence.  Police then arrested the man who captured the moment.  —  The photograph captures a police officer aiming a weapon at a woman.

A president ignored: Trump's outlandish claims increasingly met with a collective shrug  —  Shortly after a deadly explosion in Beirut this week, President Trump offered a theory — backed by no apparent evidence — that the devastating incident was “a terrible attack,” claiming …

A Church.  A Viral Video.  A Campaign To Discredit Black Lives Matter.  —  “What people need to know is we're not protesting churches.  We're protesting this church.”  —  Copy  —  The clip that was posted to Twitter — and subsequently viewed over 1.2 million times …