Leaders Of ‘We Build The Wall’ Online Fundraising Campaign Charged With Defrauding Hundreds Of Thousands Of Donors  —  Brian Kolfage, Stephen Bannon, and Two Others Alleged to Have Funneled Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars From the Organization to Kolfage; All Four Defendants Allegedly Profited From Their Roles in the Scheme

‘Like Armageddon’: Rotting food, dead animals and chaos at postal facilities amid cutbacks  —  Six weeks ago, U.S. Postal Service workers in the high desert town of Tehachapi, Calif., began to notice crates of mail sitting in the post office in the early morning that should have been shipped out for delivery the night before.

A STATEMENT BY FORMER REPUBLICAN NATIONAL SECURITY OFFICIALS  —  We are former national security officials who served during the administrations of Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, and/or Donald Trump, or as Republican Members of Congress.

The Republican Embrace of QAnon Goes Far Beyond Trump  —  As the president all but endorses the internet-driven conspiracy theory, it is shifting from the fringes of the internet to become an offline political movement.  —  Late last month, as the Texas Republican Party was shifting into campaign mode …

Trump cabinet officials voted in 2018 White House meeting to separate migrant children, say officials  —  WASHINGTON — In early May 2018, after weeks of phone calls and private meetings, 11 of the president's most senior advisers were called to the White House Situation Room where they were asked …

Citing threats, Mayor Lori Lightfoot defends ban on protesters on her block: ‘I have a right to make sure that my home is secure’  —  Mayor Lori Lightfoot defended the Chicago Police Department's ban on protesters being able to demonstrate on the block where she lives, telling reporters Thursday …

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi endorses Joe Kennedy in race against Ed Markey  —  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is endorsing Representative Joseph P. Kennedy III in his primary challenge to incumbent Senator Edward J. Markey, a boost for the challenger in what polls suggest is a neck-and-neck race.

Trump directed Homeland Security to give $400 million to firm tied to Bannon's We Build the Wall scheme: report  —  President Donald Trump was caught in a precarious position when one of his top former aides and former campaign CEO was indicted for fraud after running a fake effort to build the wall on the southern American border.

“Hannity Has Said to Me More Than Once, 'He's Crazy'”: Fox News Staffers Feel Trapped in the Trump Cult  —  Inside the network staffers are cringing, and even Trump's “shadow chief of staff” has his doubts.  “If you were hearing what I'm hearing, you'd be vaping too,” Sean Hannity told a colleague during Trump's early days.

GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy tests positive for coronavirus  —  Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) said Thursday that he tested positive for the coronavirus, and is “strictly following the direction of our medical experts” by quarantining, local ABC affiliate WBRZ reports.  —  The big picture …

Navy SEAL who killed Osama Bin Laden was banned by Delta for refusing to wear a mask on a flight  — James O'Neill, the former Navy SEAL famous for his role in the raid that killed Osama Bin Laden, was banned by Delta Air Lines on Thursday for refusing to wear a mask on a flight the day before.

Trump Comes Up Empty When Pressed for Evidence of Election Fraud in Court  —  President Donald Trump's campaign, ordered by a federal court judge in Pennsylvania to back up its claims of fraud in the state's vote-by-mail system, has documented only a handful of cases of election fraud in recent years …

Democrats question whether Trump is breaking the law with RNC speech  —  A House committee is questioning whether President Donald Trump might be breaking the law next week if he orders government employees to assist in his Republican National Convention speech.

A Russian dissident is fighting for his life.  Where is the U.S.?  —  Michael McFaul is director of the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies and a Hoover fellow at Stanford University and a contributing columnist to The Post.  He is the author of “From Cold War to Hot Peace: An American Ambassador in Putin's Russia.”

Falwell's use of yacht comes under scrutiny  —  Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr. has repeatedly used a 164-foot yacht owned by NASCAR mogul Rick Hendrick for family vacations after the university committed to a lucrative sponsorship deal with Hendrick Motorsports …

Trump asks Supreme Court to let him block critics on Twitter  —  The Trump administration on Thursday asked the Supreme Court to reverse a lower court ruling that found President Trump violated the First Amendment by blocking his critics on Twitter.  —  The lawsuit arose in 2017 …

Keisha Lance Bottoms: “We must pass on the gift John Lewis sacrificed to give us”  —  Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms paid tribute at the Democratic National Convention Thursday to civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis, urging all Americans to “pass on the gift John Lewis sacrificed to give us” by registering and voting.

Trump blames California for wildfires, tells state ‘you gotta clean your floors’  —  OAKLAND — President Donald Trump on Thursday blamed California for its raging wildfires and threatened to withhold federal money, reprising his attacks from previous rounds of catastrophic blazes.

Looks like Trump just validated a key Stormy Daniels affair allegation — by complaining about sharks  —  Since normal political rallies are out of the question for the moment, President Trump has been re-creating the experience by flying to battleground states and giving speeches to supportive audiences …