Protesters confront Rand Paul outside White House after RNC  —  Sen. Rand Paul was confronted by protesters early Friday morning after leaving the Republican National Convention at the White House.  —  “Just got attacked by an angry mob of over 100, one block away from the White House.

The Malign Fantasy of Donald Trump's Convention  —  Using the White House as his prop, the President makes war on Joe Biden, and pretends the pandemic is all but defeated.  —  For four years, Donald Trump has been asking us to believe the unbelievable, to accept the unthinkable, to replace harsh realities with simple fantasies.

This Is How Biden Loses  —  Here is a prediction about the November election: If Donald Trump wins, in a trustworthy vote, what's happening this week in Kenosha, Wisconsin, will be one reason.  Maybe the reason.  And yet Joe Biden has it in his power to spare the country a second Trump term.

Two P.R. Experts at F.D.A. Have Been Ousted After Blood Plasma Fiasco  —  The agency's chief spokeswoman, Emily Miller, was removed from her position just 11 days into the job.  —  Two senior public relations experts advising the Food and Drug Administration have been ousted from their positions …

U.S. to Cut Troop Presence in Iraq by About One-Third, Officials Say  —  President Trump is expected to tout the reduction to about 3,500 troops as progress toward winding down what he has described as endless wars  —  WASHINGTON—The Pentagon is cutting the U.S. force in Iraq to about 3,500 troops …

Fox News Host Greg Gutfeld Pulls a 180 on Trump's ‘Very Fine People’ in Charlottesville, Now Calls It a ‘Hoax’  —  Gutfeld was one of the more forceful critics of Trump's equivocating on neo-Nazi marchers, but three years later he's all-in on defending the president.

‘She was the aggressor’: Former Liberty student alleges sexual encounter with Becki Falwell  —  A former Liberty University student says Becki Falwell, the wife of the university's then-President Jerry Falwell Jr., jumped into bed with him and performed oral sex on him while he stayed …

​Data for August 26  —  As of 5 p.m. on August 27, 2020 there were 24,952 cases of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) with 290 deaths due to COVID-19 reported among Mecklenburg County residents.  —  Of note, approximately 792 COVID-19 tests were conducted among individuals attending …

Instead of Evolving as President, Trump Has Bent the Job to His Will  —  In a 40-minute phone call this week, Mr. Trump struggled to describe how he has changed in office.  “I think I've just become more guarded than I was four years ago,” he said.  —  WASHINGTON — For a man on the edge of history …

Shinzo Abe, Japan's Longest-Serving Leader, to Resign Because of Illness  —  Mr. Abe has been prime minister for nearly eight consecutive years, a significant feat in a country accustomed to high turnover in the top job.  —  TOKYO — Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan will resign because of ill health …

House committee launches contempt proceedings against Pompeo  —  The House Foreign Affairs Committee announced Friday that it will launch contempt proceedings against Secretary of State Mike Pompeo over his refusal to comply with a subpoena for records related to the State Department's involvement …

What if Facebook Is the Real ‘Silent Majority’?  —  Right-wing influencers are dominating the political discussion on Facebook, raising questions about whether it will translate into electoral success in November.  —  Listen, liberals.  If you don't think Donald Trump can get re-elected in November …

Trump Botches His Big Speech and No One Will Care  —  He didn't put much effort into addressing voters other than his most avid supporters.  —  Nomination speeches at normal conventions are easy.  Joe Biden even showed last week that nomination speeches given remotely during a pandemic aren't that hard.

Fact check: Trump makes more than 20 false or misleading claims in accepting presidential nomination  —  (CNN)President Donald Trump is a serial liar and he serially lied during his speech accepting the Republican nomination.  —  CNN counted more than 20 false, exaggerated or misleading claims from Trump on Thursday night.

Judge voids 50,000 absentee ballot requests in Iowa county  —  CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — A judge ordered an Iowa county Thursday to invalidate 50,000 requests for absentee ballots, agreeing with President Donald Trump's campaign that its elections commissioner overstepped his authority by pre-filling them with voters' personal information.

A Carnival of Disinformation  —  Republicans warmly welcomed voters into their post-truth convention.  —  Americans who tuned in to this week's Republican National Convention were treated to a slickly produced, four-day dispatch from an alternate reality—one in which the president has defeated …

Nearly every claim Trump made about Biden's positions was false  —  President Trump isn't running against Joe Biden, not really.  The former vice president may occupy the Democratic Party line on the presidential ballot, but it isn't Biden that Trump's rhetoric describes.