The Sleight-of-Hand Convention  —  Joe Biden delivered the best speech in a half-century political career on Thursday night.  It was interesting to contrast his delivery with Kamala Harris's 24 hours earlier.  Both the presidential and vice-presidential nominee spoke to an empty hall.

Mnuchin's role in postmaster's appointment becomes target  —  WASHINGTON — In the weeks before Republican donor Louis DeJoy was installed as postmaster general, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin held a series of one-on-one meetings with members of the Postal Service Board of Governors …

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's reelection effort has officially spent more than $1 billion, a record sum at this point in the campaign  —  President Trump's campaign, the Republican Party and two affiliated committees, have spent more than $1 billion since 2017, a record-breaking sum spent toward a reelection effort …

San Antonio postal union leader describes mass delays, says Postal Service hid backlogged mail from congressman  —  The union leader said tens of thousands of pieces of mail were carted away ahead of U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro's visit.  The office's delays have been exacerbated by employees missing because of COVID-19 concerns.

The End of Steve Bannon—And Maybe Trump, Too  —  Steve Bannon's arrest on charges that he defrauded donors to a right-wing immigration group for $1 million marks the end of a political era—the era when a Trumpian admixture of economic populism and nativist immigration policy looked as if it could …

Biden speaks from a place Trump doesn't know — the heart  —  President Trump has tried every dirty trick in the book — and a few new ones — to cast doubts about the workings of Joe Biden's brain.  But Trump has been focusing on entirely the wrong organ.  Biden's appeal is from the heart.

‘Are you really going to impeach me?’:  How the Ukraine bombshell unfolded over 48 hours and laid bare Trump's fixation with Biden  —  This article is adapted from “Trump on Trial” by Kevin Sullivan and Mary Jordan, which will be published Aug. 25 by Scribner.

Hard evidence at last that shreds Trump's lies about a Russia ‘hoax’  —  As Democrats accelerate their drive to defeat President Trump in November, they have a potent new weapon in a report by a Republican-led Senate committee that chronicles the “grave counterintelligence threat” …

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 …

Trump pledges to send ‘sheriffs’ and ‘law enforcement’ to polling places on Election Day, but it's not clear he can  —  Trump slams mail-in voting while signing his mail-in ballot  —  (CNN)President Donald Trump on Thursday said he would send law enforcement officials to polling locations …

Facebook Braces Itself for Trump to Cast Doubt on Election Results  —  The world's biggest social network is working out what steps to take should President Trump use its platform to dispute the vote.  —  SAN FRANCISCO — Facebook spent years preparing to ward off any tampering on its site ahead of November's presidential election.

In watching some of the Democratic National Convention on television this week, it has been interesting to see the absence of God.  I don't believe America's finest hours will be in front of us if we take God out of government and public life.  It is God who set the standards we are to live by.

The permanent outsider  —  President Trump has no idea how to run for reelection as an incumbent  —  At a White House signing ceremony this month, President Trump lamented the “deep-swamp things happening” in the nation's “deep state.”  Speaking to workers at a Whirlpool plant in Ohio a few days later …