First night of RNC 2020 was very effective, to media's dismay  —  The first night of the Republican National Convention was, all in all, sensationally effective — and effective in ways that the mainstream media and its Twitter chatterers clearly found it impossible to understand.

The rabbi who is neighbor to Mark and Patricia McCloskey speaks out: ‘They are bullies’  —  When Rabbi Susan Talve heard that Patricia and Mark McCloskey would be among the speakers addressing the Republican National Convention, she decided she could no longer stay quiet.

Trump Administration Insider: President Wanted to ‘Maim’ Migrants  —  Miles Taylor, former DHS chief of staff, recalls the moment he said to himself “what the f*ck is happening” during a Trump meeting.  Plus, the gang shits on night one of the RNC.  —  You thought what happened on-screen during …

Jacob Blake's father says son's paralyzed from waist down after police shooting in Kenosha  —  The police shooting of Jacob Blake, 29, in Kenosha, Wisconsin, is drawing national attention, including this protest Monday in Minneapolis, where George Floyd was killed by police earlier this year.

F.D.A. ‘Grossly Misrepresented’ Blood Plasma Data, Scientists Say  —  Many experts — including a scientist who worked on the Mayo Clinic study — were bewildered about where a key statistic came from.  —  At a news conference on Sunday announcing the emergency approval of blood plasma …

Jerry Falwell Jr. officially resigns from Liberty University  —  The embattled religious leader says he informed the school Monday night.  —  LIVE NOW  —  After a daylong back and forth, Jerry Falwell Jr. officially resigned from Liberty University Monday night, he told ABC News.

The Platform the GOP Is Too Scared to Publish  —  Republicans have decided not to publish a party platform for 2020.  —  This omission has led some to conclude that the GOP lacks ideas, that it stands for nothing, that it has shriveled to little more than a Trump cult.  —  This conclusion is wrong.

Melania Trump is about to give her biggest speech in four years.  The Trump campaign hopes she can be its secret weapon.  —  On the eve of her big speech headlining the second night of the Republican National Convention, first lady Melania Trump appeared in front of the White House to talk up her husband's record on women.

'He's going to be unleashed': Republican DOJ appointees urge against Trump second term  —  A group of onetime Republican presidential appointees who served as senior ethics or Justice Department aides are endorsing Joe Biden for president, warning that Donald Trump has “weaponized” …

Unmasked Protesters Push Past Police Into Idaho Lawmakers' Session  —  In Boise, the first day of Idaho's special legislative session erupted into chaos before it began.  Dozens of unmasked protesters, some of them armed, shoved their way past state troopers to pack the gallery overlooking the state's House of Representatives.

An RNC Speaker Said Cops Would Be ‘Smart’ to Racially Profile Her Own Son  —  “Statistically, my brown son is more likely to commit a violent offense over my white sons,” anti-abortion activist Abby Johnson said in a YouTube video earlier this year.  —  CS

Gail Sheehy, Journalist, Author and Social Observer, Dies at 83  —  In a raft of books, notably “Passages,” she examined cultural transformations as well as the interior lives of public figures.  —  Gail Sheehy, a journalist who plumbed the interior lives of public figures for clues …

Trump says he'll nominate Chad Wolf to be DHS secretary  —  President Trump tweeted on Tuesday that he will nominate acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf to be the permanent head of the agency.  —  Why it matters: It's been more than 500 days since a Senate-confirmed secretary led …

California is a failed state.  How do we know?  They're moving to Arizona in droves  —  Driving across Arizona, it's hard not to notice a surge in California license plates.  The reason for this is becoming more apparent every day.  California is a failed state.

‘West Wing’ reunion starring original cast coming to HBO Max  —  President Josiah Bartlet will soon return to the small screen.  —  That's because “The West Wing” reunion special is in the works at HBO Max.  No date has been announced yet, but according to the Hollywood Reporter, it will air in the fall.

Redwoods survive wildfire at California's oldest state park  —  BOULDER CREEK, Calif. (AP) — When a massive wildfire swept through California's oldest state park last week it was feared many trees in a grove of old-growth redwoods, some of them 2,000 years old and among the tallest living things on Earth, may finally have succumbed.