Two dead and one wounded in Kenosha shootings during Jacob Blake protests  —  KENOSHA, Wis. — Two people were killed and one was seriously wounded by gunfire late Tuesday at a protest over the police shooting of Jacob Blake Jr., Kenosha police said early Wednesday.

CDC was pressured ‘from the top down’ to change coronavirus testing guidance, official says  —  (CNN)A sudden change in federal guidelines on coronavirus testing came this week as a result of pressure from the upper ranks of the Trump administration, a federal health official close to the process tells CNN.

Trump calls for drug tests before Biden debate  —  President Trump says he will call for drug tests for both former Vice President Joe Biden and himself before the first candidates' debate on Sept. 29.  In an Oval Office interview Wednesday, the president expressed suspicion at what he said was a sudden …

Why the Fuck is the Secretary of State Talking, From Israel, at the Republican National Convention?  —  Violating norms, standards, ethical guidelines, rules, laws and common sense is nothing new for Pompeo, but his speech Tuesday night will break new ground.  —  BEAST INSIDE

Coronavirus concerns fall and Trump approval ticks higher in swing states, CNBC/Change Research poll finds  — Serious concerns about the coronavirus fell in six 2020 swing states, while approval of President Donald Trump's handling of Covid-19 rose, according to a new CNBC/Change Research poll.

How Trump could pull off another upset  —  It feels like August of 2016 all over again.  Polls show Donald Trump losing big.  Pundits proclaim he can't win.  Reporters sneer at Trump voters on Twitter and cable.  —  Why it matters: There are several signs that should give the Trump-is-toast self-assured pause.

Department of Justice Requesting Data From Governors of States that Issued COVID-19 Orders that May Have Resulted in Deaths of Elderly Nursing Home Residents  —  Data will help inform whether the Department of Justice will initiate investigations under the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act …

Intel officials contradict Trump on voting by mail  —  The intelligence community has seen no evidence that foreign powers intend to manipulate mail-in voting in the 2020 election, senior Trump administration officials said Wednesday, undercutting a claim by President Donald Trump that such fraud “will be the scandal of our times.”

Border Officials Weighed Deploying Migrant ‘Heat Ray’ Ahead of Midterms  —  Even as the Republican convention tries to soften President Trump's image, he has made it clear that the extreme immigration policies of his first four years will be central to his re-election pitch.

Court rules ‘resoundingly yes’ for transgender rights in Gavin Grimm bathroom access battle  —  A federal appeals court dealt a major victory Wednesday for proponents of transgender rights, ruling that it is unconstitutional and a violation of Title IX for schools to bar students from using …

U.S. service members injured in Syria after skirmish with Russian forces  —  U.S. service members were injured after an altercation with Russian forces in northeast Syria this week, according to a draft military statement and a person familiar with the matter.

Lewd cheerleader videos, sexist rules: Ex-employees decry Washington's NFL team workplace  —  In “Beauties on the Beach,” the official video chronicling the making of the Washington NFL team's 2008 cheerleader swimsuit calendar, the women frolic in the sand, rave about their custom bikinis …

Yale Law Professor Jed Rubenfeld Has Been Suspended for Sexual Harassment  —  On Monday morning, members of the Yale Law School faculty received a terse message from their provost informing them that Professor Jed Rubenfeld “will leave his position as a member of the YLS faculty for a two-year period …

Protesters target D.C. diners, triggering backlash after heckling woman  —  Lauren Victor refused to go along with raising her fist — although she supports the movement  —  A demonstration that began Monday evening in the District to protest the shooting of a Black man in Wisconsin wound …

They tried to get Trump to care about right-wing terrorism.  He ignored them.  —  Elizabeth Neumann spent March 13 and 14 of 2019 at a conference in the picturesque Spanish port city of Málaga.  The topic: terrorism.  Western leaders were deeply worried about the dangers foreign …

The RNC Has Made a Compelling Case for America's Imminent Collapse  —  America has never been greater than it is today — or at greater risk of collapsing tomorrow.  —  This is the central message of the Republican National Convention through its first two nights.

‘I Moved on Her Very Heavily’: Part 1  —  In her 2019 memoir, What Do We Need Men For?, E. Jean Carroll accused Donald Trump of rape, in a Bergdorf's dressing room in the mid-1990s.  After the president denied ever meeting her and dismissed her story as a Democratic plot, she sued him for defamation.

Kellyanne Conway undermined the truth like no other Trump official.  And journalists enabled her.  —  Among the many appalling scenes in the many tell-all books written from an inside-the-Trump-administration perspective, one in particular spoke volumes about how Kellyanne Conway operates: