Biden campaign puts VP team in place ahead of announcement  —  WILMINGTON, Del. — With Joe Biden's long-awaited decision on a running mate set to be revealed this week, his campaign has assembled a veteran roster of strategists to help navigate the crucible of a fall campaign.

Retail Chains Abandon Manhattan: 'It's Unsustainable'  —  Some national chains, both retail and restaurants, are closing outlets in New York City, which are struggling more than their branches elsewhere.  —  For years, Bryant Park Grill & Cafe in Midtown Manhattan has been one of the country's …

The Revolt of the Republican Strategists  —  What the Trump era has revealed about the people who used to run Republican campaigns.  —  Last week I found myself reading “It Was All a Lie: How the Republican Party Became Donald Trump,” the new book by Stuart Stevens, the longtime Republican operative …

A Bible Burning, a Russian News Agency and a Story Too Good to Check Out  —  WASHINGTON — For some of President Trump's loudest cheerleaders, it was a story too good to check out: Black Lives Matters protesters in Portland, Ore., had burned a stack of Bibles, and then topped off the fire with American flags.

New York's true nursing home death toll cloaked in secrecy  —  NEW YORK (AP) — Riverdale Nursing Home in the Bronx appears, on paper, to have escaped the worst of the coronavirus pandemic, with an official state count of just four deaths in its 146-bed facility.

Exclusive: Facebook cracks down on political content disguised as local news  —  Facebook is rolling out a new policy that will prevent U.S. news publishers with “direct, meaningful ties” to political groups from claiming the news exemption within its political ads authorization process, executives tell Axios.

Russia clears virus vaccine despite scientific skepticism  —  MOSCOW (AP) — Russia on Tuesday became the first country to clear a coronavirus vaccine and declare it ready for use, despite international skepticism.  President Vladimir Putin said that one of his daughters has already been inoculated.

Election Meddling Concerns  —  Democrats suspect Russia, Republicans point finger at the Democrats  —  West Long Branch, NJ - American voters are simultaneously confident and concerned about the integrity of the upcoming election.  While many Democrats are worried about Russian meddling …

Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best announces resignation  —  Best's resignation comes after the Seattle City Council voted to cut spending for the Seattle Police Department on Monday.  —  SEATTLE — Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best has announced that she will be resigning next month.

An economic crisis in Kentucky has workers, businesses furious with McConnell  —  Joblessness is high, benefits are running out and local leaders say they need the kind of aid that the Senate's most powerful figure has yet to endorse  —  The parade of cars honked incessantly as they crawled past …

Trump Teases a Gettysburg Convention Speech.  Experts Say It's an Ethics Breach.  —  If he accepts his nomination at the Civil War battlefield, the president will be conducting partisan business on federal property.  —  After repeatedly throwing a wrench into plans for the Republican National Convention …

Exclusive: US rudely unpacks official furniture ordered by Chinese Mission to UN  —  The US has brutally unpacked a container with 60 pieces of furniture (official supplies) ordered by the Chinese delegation to the United Nations and dismantled the wrappings of 12 pieces, the Global Times learned.

Appeals court likely to let judge decide whether to drop Michael Flynn charges  —  Members of a federal appeals court signaled Tuesday that they will likely let a lower court judge decide whether to dismiss criminal charges against former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn.

Trump unloads in morning interviews as U.S. struggles to tame virus  —  President Donald Trump let loose in a pair of lengthy radio interviews Tuesday morning, weighing in on foreign affairs and cultural flashpoints while continuing to speak dismissively of the rampant coronavirus threat.

Help!  I Can't Believe My Son's Friend Fed Him Indian Food Without Calling Me First.  —  Slate is now asking those who read the most to support our journalism more directly by subscribing to Slate Plus.  Learn more.  —  Danny is online weekly to chat live with readers.

Dems Say Sexist Attacks Are Wrong.  Someone Tell Sarah Palin!  —  Liberals are busy pre-butting expected sexist attacks on Biden's vice-presidential choice.  Gee, I remember a different time...  BEAST INSIDE  —  Joe Biden's campaign, in conjunction with influential women's groups …

Kanye West's campaign says he belongs on the ballot even if nomination papers were 14 seconds late  —  Kanye West's presidential campaign in Wisconsin may be coming down to a matter of crucial seconds.  —  West's campaign is arguing he belongs on the presidential ballot in Wisconsin …

Can majority rule survive America's widening political divide?  —  (CNN)If Joe Biden maintains his steady lead in national polls over President Donald Trump through Election Day, Democrats will win the popular vote for the seventh time in the past eight presidential elections …

About One-in-Four U.S. Hispanics Have Heard of Latinx, but Just 3% Use It  —  Young Hispanic women among the most likely to use the term  —  For this analysis we surveyed 3,030 U.S. Hispanic adults in December 2019 as part of the 2019 National Survey of Latinos.

How to Foil Trump's Election Night Strategy  —  To keep the president from claiming victory on Nov. 3, Biden supporters who can vote in person may well have to.  —  There's no mystery about what President Trump intends to do if he holds a lead on election night in November.  He's practically broadcasting it.

I (still) believe the president, and in the president  —  I believe the president Made America Great Again.  I believe we need him reelected to Make America Great Again Again.  —  I believe Joe Biden is “Sleepy” and “weak.”  I believe Biden could “hurt God” and the Bible.

Is Lindsey Graham Actually in Trouble in South Carolina?  —  Michael Quattlebaum was just 10 years old when he attended a high-dollar Republican fundraising dinner in South Carolina's state Capitol.  His father was active in his local chapter of the GOP and eager to pass on the tradition.

How Sen. Ron Johnson's Investigation Became an Enabler of Russian Disinformation: Part I  —  Senator Ron Johnson's investigations involving Ukraine have become a conduit of Russian disinformation.  —  Earlier this month, Johnson defended himself on a local Wisconsin news station saying …

President Trump On A SCOTUS Vacancy, China, College Football, Joe Biden's VP And More  —  President Trump joined me this morning:  —  08-11hhs-trump  —  Transcript:  —  HH: Mr. President, how are you?  —  DJT: Hi, Hugh.  —  HH: Great to have you on.  Thank you for joining me again.

U.S. Contractor Knew of Explosive Material in Beirut Since at Least 2016  —  An American contractor spotted and reported the potential danger at least four years ago, but U.S. officials denied they were aware of the findings until last week, after the blast.

Why Democrats Have Started To Cave On Reopening Schools  —  The pressure to reopen schools is on everywhere now that New York is doing it.  This means something else big: Their hard opposition to school reopenings is politically devastating for Democrats.  —  Prominent Democrat politicians …

Republican Congressional candidate deletes photos from Hitler's retreat vacation … Madison Cawthorn's pictures were removed Monday, the same day that a report in Jezebel made the case that he is “following the playbook of other, more successful far-right Republicans in recent years …

Team Biden wishes it had known something was slightly wrong with every woman before promising a female VP  —  What a mess!  With the deadline to select a vice president approaching, the members of Team Biden wish someone had told them before this all started that every high-profile woman …

Employers Cast Wary Eye on Trump Payroll-Tax Deferral  —  Details from the IRS will shape employers' willingness to stop withholding Social Security taxes from paychecks  —  WASHINGTON—Employers considering President Trump's plan to allow deferred payment of payroll taxes face a series of costs, uncertainties and headaches.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez among high-profile Latinos participating in Democratic convention  —  (CNN)Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, the progressive first-term lawmaker, is one of several high-profile Latinos slated to participate in the Democratic National Convention next week.