Trump Pulls Closer to Biden After RNC  —  Post-convention poll shows Trump almost halved national deficit against the Democratic nominee  — Former Vice President Joe Biden leads President Trump 50% to 44% among likely voters following the Republican National Convention vs. a lead of 52% to 42% before it began.

Top intelligence office informs congressional committees it'll no longer brief on election security  —  (CNN)The Office of the Director of National Intelligence has informed the House and Senate Select Committees on Intelligence that it'll no longer be briefing on election security issues, a senior administration official told CNN.

How the G.O.P. Stretched Hard to Defend Trump on Race and Gender  —  Never before has a convention by a major party felt compelled to call such a diverse array of speakers to defend the character of a sitting president.  —  The Republican convention this week marked an extraordinary effort …

This is why Jacob Blake had a warrant out for his arrest  —  The cops involved in the shooting of Jacob Blake — which touched off a fresh wave of angry, anti-police sentiment across the country — were attempting to arrest him for violating a restraining order stemming from an alleged sexual assault, The Post has learned.

New Covid-19 Layoffs Make Job Reductions Permanent  —  As companies brace for years of pandemic-related disruption, thousands of furloughed workers are told they won't be coming back  —  A new wave of layoffs is washing over the U.S. as several big companies reassess staffing plans and settle in for a long period of uncertainty.

The ponderous, low-energy guy is Trump  —  As President Trump droned through his 70-minute acceptance speech — while desecrating the White House as a television backdrop, which was probably illegal — the words that kept coming to mind were two he has applied with relish to his opponents: “low-energy” and “sleepy.”

Your Coronavirus Test Is Positive.  Maybe It Shouldn't Be.  —  The usual diagnostic tests may simply be too sensitive and too slow to contain the spread of the virus.  —  Some of the nation's leading public health experts are raising a new concern in the endless debate over coronavirus testing …

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 …

Did you see photos of officers supposedly injured last weekend in NW cities?  The facts don't check out  —  The Associated Press checks out some of the most popular but completely untrue stories and visuals of the week.  This one is bogus, even though it was shared widely on social media.

Poll: Trump approval rises among black, hispanic voters amid convention  —  President Trump's support among black voters rose 9 percentage points amid the Republican National Convention, a new Hill-HarrisX poll finds.  —  Twenty-four percent of registered black voters in the Aug. 22-25 survey …

Florida Department of Health claims number of COVID-19 cases in schools is confidential  —  Duval school district still pushing to publish COVID-19 data  —  JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - After the first full week of classes in Duval County, school officials say they are still counting how many teachers …

Trump's Army of Allies and TV Sycophants Is Crumbling  —  The president has always considered himself his best advocate.  Now, he's got to prove it.  —  When Republicans nominated Donald Trump for the presidency four years ago in Cleveland, they had a stable of regular on-camera personalities to back them up.

Trump: I want to see first woman president, but not Harris  —  President Trump on Friday said he would support seeing a female president in the United States, but quickly added that it should not be Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris (D-Calif.).

Surge in mail-in ballots could delay election results, so Wolf wants to change the rules  —  Spotlight PA is an independent, non-partisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLIVE/The Patriot-News, Triblive/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media.

Belarus cracks down on journalists, 2 AP staff deported  —  FILE - In this Sunday, Aug. 3, 2020 file photo, a woman waves an old Belarusian national flag standing on the roof as Belarusian opposition supporters march to Independence Square in Minsk, Belarus.

Mitch McConnell's campaign hires Covington teen Nick Sandmann  —  LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's campaign has hired a Kentucky teenager known for his viral encounter with a Native American man at the Lincoln Memorial last year.  —  Nick Sandmann landed a paid position …

Sorry to have to provide the reality check again, but when CNN polled registered voters in August in just the swing states, Biden and Trump were in a virtual tie.  In Minnesota, it's 47-47.  In Michigan, where Biden had a big lead, Trump has closed the gap to 4 points.  Are you ready for a Trump victory?

Chadwick Boseman knew his voice had power and used it to challenge Hollywood  —  Bringing the Black Panther's King T'Challa to life wasn't just a role, it was a transformation  —  Chadwick Boseman was one of the good guys.  —  I was living in Atlanta and freelancing for Ebony magazine …

Amid fears that Trump might not leave office, two lawmakers press for Pentagon assurances on the election  —  In a sign of the growing concern that President Trump might not leave office voluntarily or might attempt to use the military to hold onto power, two moderate Democratic lawmakers posed …

An American Disaster Foretold  —  Europeans look at “containment” as the means to deal with Trump.  —  PARIS — Henry Kissinger this month called François Delattre, the former French ambassador to the United States who is now the secretary general of the Foreign Ministry.

Fact-checking Trump's lies is essential.  It's also increasingly fruitless.  —  Daniel Dale met President Trump's convention speech with a tirade of truth Thursday night — a tour de force of fact-checking that left CNN anchor Anderson Cooper looking slightly stunned.

Leonard Cohen's Estate Wants You to Know They ‘Specifically Declined’ the RNC's Use of ‘Hallelujah’  —  Leonard Cohen's famous ballad “Hallelujah” was everywhere this week, and while the late singer might not have minded its inclusion in the new trailer for the Snyder Cut of Justice League …

ASU conservatives raising funds for Kenosha protest shooter Kyle Rittenhouse  —  A conservative student organization at Arizona State University announced on Friday that they will be accepting donations to support the legal defense of Kyle Rittenhouse, the 17-year-old charged with homicide …

Trump Fanboys Gear Up to Smear Kamala Harris and Jill Biden  —  The attacks were baseless, sexist and utterly predictable.  —  It took less than an hour after the world learned about Sen. Kamala Harris' (D-CA) promotion for actor and internet troll James Woods to go online and degrade her publicly.