N.Y.C. Tenants Say They Were Tricked Into Appearing in R.N.C. Video  —  “I am not a Trump supporter,” one of the tenants said, adding that she was furious that her interview with a government official was used for the convention.  —  It started with an unexpected call last week from Lynne Patton …

A Kenosha Militia Facebook Event Asking Attendees To Bring Weapons Was Reported 455 Times.  Moderators Said It Didn't Violate Any Rules.  —  In a companywide meeting on Thursday, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that a militia page advocating for followers to bring weapons to an upcoming protest in Kenosha …

New Study Suggests Polls Are Missing Shy Trump Voters  —  A new online study finds that Republicans and independents are twice as likely as Democrats to say they would not give their true opinion in a telephone poll question about their preference for president in the 2020 election.

One Author's Argument ‘In Defense Of Looting’  —  In the past months of demonstrations for Black lives, there has been a lot of hand-wringing about looting.  Whether it was New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo saying that stealing purses and sneakers from high-end stores in Manhattan was “inexcusable …

Biden hits Trump where it hurts: in the convention speech ratings  —  New York (CNN Business)President Trump's Thursday night convention speech making the case for his reelection was lower-rated than his challenger Joe Biden's speech one week ago, according to overnight Nielsen ratings.

4 people test positive for COVID-19 at GOP convention in Charlotte  —  They include two attendees and two “individuals supporting the event.”  —  At least four people who were at Monday's Republican National Convention meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina, tested positive for COVID-19, according to county officials.

Secret Service copes with coronavirus cases in aftermath of Trump appearances  —  When President Trump gave a speech to a group of sheriffs in Tampa late last month, his decision to travel forced a large contingent of Secret Service agents to head to a state that was then battling one of the worst coronavirus surges in the nation.

“Melania Did.  Not.  Care”: In a Blistering New Book by Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, Melania Trump Sounds a Lot Like Her Husband  —  Wolkoff's book is remarkable both for its intimacy and for the sheer volume of receipts it contains.  It's also the first real look at what's under Melania Trump's hood …

Trump Advisers: He Was ‘Triggered’ by Talk of White Supremacy  —  Two disaffected officials recount a president who simply didn't want to hear things he thought were bad for him.  —  Two former top Homeland Security officials in the Trump administration tell The Daily Beast …

As Trump appointees flout the Hatch Act, civil servants who get caught get punished  —  A Defense Logistics Agency employee was suspended for 30 days without pay last fall after giving his office colleagues a PowerPoint presentation that displayed the words, “Vote Republican.”

Top general says no role for military in presidential vote  —  Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley testifies during a House Armed Services Committee hearing on Thursday, July 9, 2020, on Capitol Hill in Washington.  (Michael Reynolds/Pool via AP)

The Trap The Democrats Walked Right Into  —  If law and order are what this election is about, they will lose it. … It finally happened.  We have lethal battles in the streets between the two tribes of our polarized politics.  This week, a 17-year-old man, Kyle Rittenhouse …

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 …

Former pool attendant details alleged relationship with Becki and Jerry Falwell Jr.  —  Giancarlo Granda claims he had a lengthy affair with Becki Falwell.  —  The war of words between a former pool attendant and Jerry Falwell Jr. and his wife Becki escalated on Friday morning as Giancarlo Granda claimed on …

Sources: LeBron James sought out Barack Obama for advice to players  —  LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — After walking out of Wednesday's players meeting in support of sitting out NBA's games, LeBron James led a small group of players who turned to perhaps America's biggest basketball fan for advice.

NASA astronaut Jeanette Epps to be first Black woman to join International Space Station crew  —  NASA astronaut Jeanette Epps will soon make history, becoming the first Black woman to live and work long-term aboard the International Space Station.  Her flight is scheduled for 2021.

DeVos: It's a ‘good thing’ that pandemic will force schools to make long-overdue changes  —  In a new push for school choice, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said on Friday that it's a “good thing” that the coronavirus pandemic will force the nation's schools to make changes that should have “happened many years ago.”

WGN America to launch ‘News Nation’ on Tuesday, aiming to transform the house that Bozo built into the next CNN  —  WGN America, the erstwhile home to Bozo and Andy Griffith, is set to reinvent itself as a cable news network with the Tuesday launch of “News Nation,” a prime-time newscast that pledges to deliver unbiased reporting.

N.J. teen who held Black Lives Matter protest gets hit with $2,500 bill for police overtime  —  When Emily Gil learned of the lack of affordable housing in Englewood Cliffs — and the fact she believes Black residents are priced out of her Bergen County hometown — she felt an urgent need to enact change.

FBI: Chinese researcher caught trying to fly to China with stolen bio-inspired computer code  —  A Chinese military-linked researcher was caught by U.S. authorities at the airport attempting to flee to China with highly advanced computer code he stole from a U.S. university that could be used …

Mick Mulvaney's new side gig: A hedge fund betting on D.C.  —  Mick Mulvaney, President Donald Trump's special envoy to Northern Ireland, has a new side gig: He's starting a hedge fund.  —  Mulvaney is launching the fund with the longtime investor Andrew Wessel.  The angle?

Rival Themes Emerge as Race Enters Final Weeks: Covid vs. Law and Order  —  The national political conventions over the last two weeks set the battle lines for the election's remaining weeks.  Joe Biden is focusing on President Trump's virus management, while the president is hammering a law-and-order message.

Top Colorado RNC official spread conspiracy theories and made Islamophobic and sexist comments  —  (CNN)A recently installed Republican National Committee official for the state of Colorado has a history of spreading conspiracies and making sexist and Islamophobic comments.

As the Vice President Lands in Duluth, Mayors From Historically Democrat Strongholds on the Iron Range of Minnesota Announce Their Endorsement of President Trump  —  As Joe Biden and Kamala Harris embrace the socialist agenda of the radical left, Democrats and Democrat communities across America …