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.

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.

Biden, Speaking to National Guard Group, Takes Aim at Republican Criticism on Crime  —  The Democratic presidential nominee hit back at attacks delivered at the Republican National Convention.  —  After a Republican National Convention week in which President Trump and his allies sought …

8 juicy details from the new Melania Trump tell-all book  —  First Lady Melania Trump's former senior adviser and close friend has written a tell-all book that describes the first lady as someone who can't be trusted and who often competed for influence in the White House with Ivanka Trump.

Arkansas sheriff resigns over racist rant in leaked recording  —  An Arkansas sheriff resigned Friday after coming under fire over a leaked racist recording.  —  Sheriff Todd Wright of Arkansas County, about 85 miles southeast of Little Rock, resigned effective immediately on Friday during …

Compare Pages From an Uncensored Book on Investigating Terrorism  —  Under legal pressure, the C.I.A. has permitted the former F.B.I. agent Ali Soufan to republish his 2011 memoir about investigating members of Al Qaeda, “The Black Banners,” without redacted passages about his interrogation …

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?

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.

Christian Dandy Throws A Punch  —  Well, this clip of a street scene in Washington DC, after Trump's speech, is making the social media rounds.  Warning: there's a guy rolling on his bike down the street, screaming “F-K YOU!  F-K TRUMP!”  So be warned about the sound:

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.”

State Police traffic stop of Black law student draws complaint that opens door to review of police enforcement practices  —  A state trooper's stop of a Black motorist on Interstate 40 has led to a complaint to state officials and a related request for racial information about State Police enforcement practices.

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.

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.

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 …

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.

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.).

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 …

Latest Chicago and Minneapolis riots broke out over police killings that never happened  —  How do you restore order when people start riots over injustices that never happened?  —  Tragically, as riots sparked by disinformation unfold in Minneapolis and Chicago, this is the question we now face as a country.

As wildfires rage, California needs more firefighters.  Why won't it let former inmates join the ranks?  —  In February, Jeffrey Choate, an inmate in the California prison system, wrote me a letter about finding peace and purpose at a prison fire camp in Fort Bragg.

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.