WATCH: New Trump ad hammers Biden/Harris over Joe's endless array of racial gaffes  —  Expect to see a lot of this as we head into the meat of election season.  —  Joe Biden's history with race is a minefield.  It's been fodder for both Republicans and Democrats for years.

Editor's Note: Eastman's Newsweek Column Has Nothing to Do With Racist Birtherism  —  Some of our readers have reacted strongly to the op-ed we published by Dr. John Eastman, assuming it to be an attempt to ignite a racist conspiracy theory around Kamala Harris' candidacy.

The True Coronavirus Toll in the U.S. Has Already Surpassed 200,000  —  Estimated deaths above normal, March 1 to July 25  —  Note: Data is most likely an undercount for some states in recent weeks.  —  Nationwide, 200,000 more people have died than usual since March.

Financial disclosures reveal postmaster general's business entanglements and likely conflicts of interest, experts say  —  Democrats call on watchdog to investigate USPS changes  —  (CNN)Postmaster General Louis DeJoy continues to hold a multimillion-dollar stake in his former company XPO Logistics …

The payroll tax problem  —  Editor's Note: Morning Money is a free version of POLITICO Pro Financial Services' morning newsletter, which is delivered to our subscribers each morning at 6 a.m. The POLITICO Pro platform combines the news you need with tools you can use to take action on the day's biggest stories.

College Democrat Chats Reveal Year-Old Plan to Engineer and Leak Alex Morse Accusations … The leadership of the UMass Amherst College Democrats began discussing an operation they believed could sink the campaign of Alex Morse for Congress as far back as last October, a plan they then helped engineer …

Bob Woodward obtains letters between Trump and Kim Jong-un for new book Rage  —  Bob Woodward's second book on the Trump White House has a title, Rage, and promises to reveal the secrets of “25 personal letters exchanged between [Donald] Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un that have not been public before”.

Political Football Is No Substitute For the Real Thing … The most material political news that broke this week was not the selection of Senator Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) as Joe Biden's running mate, but the disastrous decision of major college football conferences to cancel their 2020 seasons.

Qwazy for QAnon  —  No fewer than 60 current or former congressional candidates have expressed interest in or support for the conspiracy.  —  I can no longer sit back and allow Communist infiltration, Communist indoctrination, Communist subversion, and the international Communist conspiracy …

Weekly Unemployment Claims Drop Below One Million for First Time Since March  —  Worker filings for jobless assistance remain historically high as layoffs continue five months into the coronavirus pandemic  —  U.S. unemployment claims fell to less than one million last week for the first time since …

The Trump administration haphazardly gave away millions of Covid-19 masks — to schools, broadcasters, and large corporations  —  Hundreds of millions of cloth face masks shipped to U.S. agencies, nonprofit organizations, and private companies by the Trump administration appear to have been allocated …

As a grim fall approaches, Trump team feels increasingly confident  —  A pandemic summer marked by testing delays, supply shortages and continued spread of the coronavirus has set the stage for a disheartening start to the fall across much of the U.S., with the shuttering of schools …

Let it flow: Trump Administration eases showerhead rules  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump Administration wants to change the definition of a showerhead to let more water flow, addressing a pet peeve of the president who complains he isn't getting wet enough.

A Deadly Coronavirus Was Inevitable.  Why Was No One Ready?  —  Scientists warned of a pandemic for decades, yet when Covid-19 arrived, the world had few resources and little understanding  —  Hunkered around conference tables at the World Health Organization's Geneva headquarters …

Thousands Form Human Chains in Minsk Against Police Violence  —  Thousands of Belarusians formed human chains in the capital Minsk on Thursday in a peaceful wave of demonstrations over the harsh police crackdown following a disputed weekend election.  —  For the second day in a row …