Bob Woodward and the Nihilism of “LOL Nothing Matters” Republicans  —  Real people are dying.  Real people are hurting.  And all of this matters.  —  It was getting late on a balmy Charleston January night and we were all a few beers deep.  Earlier in the evening we had learned that Jon Huntsman …

Exclusive: Russian state hackers suspected in targeting Biden campaign firm - sources  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) recently alerted one of Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden's main election campaign advisory firms that it had been targeted by suspected Russian …

The Post-Labor Day Sprint, Part Two: The Electoral College  —  KEY POINTS FROM THIS ARTICLE  — Joe Biden is better positioned to win the presidency than Donald Trump, but it would be foolish to rule out another Trump upset.  — Trump's potential winning map would look a lot like 2016 …

CNN to host town hall with Joe Biden  —  (CNN)CNN will host a town hall with 2020 Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden next week, the network announced Thursday.  —  The town hall will take place on September 17 at 8 p.m. ET in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and will be moderated by CNN's Anderson Cooper.

How McConnell is maneuvering to keep the Senate in GOP hands — and navigating Trump  —  (CNN)Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was on a mission.  It was late February, and two vulnerable Republican senators facing voters this fall were pushing a bill that had generated opposition …

$2,933 for 'Girl's Night': Medicaid chief's consulting expenses revealed  —  When Seema Verma, the Trump administration's top Medicaid official, went to a reporter's home in November 2018 for a “Girl's Night” thrown in her honor, taxpayers footed the bill to organize the event: $2,933.

South Carolina 3rd grade teacher, 28, dies from COVID-19  —  COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A South Carolina third grade teacher who was last in her classroom less than two weeks ago has died from COVID-19, officials at the Richland 2 School District said Wednesday.

'We're No. 28!  And Dropping!'  —  A measure of social progress finds that the quality of life has dropped in America over the last decade, even as it has risen almost everywhere else.  —  To hear more audio stories from publishers like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

Large network of Facebook pages circulates voting misinformation from obscure right-wing website  —  Facebook has permitted a large network of Facebook pages and groups — with names like Trump's Deplorable Army, To The Death Media, and One Angry Conservative — to spread disinformation …

Department Store Century 21 Files Bankruptcy, Will Shut Down  — The chain will close its 13 stores in the eastern U.S.  — Off-price retailer blames shutdown on lack of insurance payout  —  Century 21 Stores, an iconic New York off-price department store chain …

With Washington silent, states are torn between saving bars and stopping coronavirus  —  With America struggling to get the coronavirus under control and Washington deadlocked over new relief measures, states face a difficult choice: open the businesses most likely to spread the coronavirus …

This Republican Party Is Not Worth Saving  —  I was a Republican for most of my adult life.  I came of political age in 1980, and although I grew up in a working-class Democratic stronghold in Massachusetts, I found a home in Ronald Reagan's GOP.  Back then, the Republicans were a confident …

Swept up in the federal response to Portland protests: 'I didn't know if I was going to be seen again'  —  Videos obtained by The Washington Post show agents' tactics during Trump operation … PORTLAND, Ore. — The protest outside Portland's federal courthouse had died down by 3:40 a.m. on July 29 …

Scarcity of key material squeezes medical mask manufacturing  —  FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — Rachel Spray is still grieving the loss of her fellow nurse who died after being exposed to the novel coronavirus at Kaiser Permanente Fresno Medical Center.  Now, as she stands in front of the gleaming glass …

Honoring The Dishonorable, Part 2: The Dishonorable Living  —  In my previous essay, I argued—with some help from Adam Smith's moral psychology—that political life typically includes an excessive eagerness to admire and celebrate the powerful, to overstate the moral merit of those who rule, and to understate their moral faults.

‘We all do stupid things at 17’: Donald Trump Jr. speaks about Kenosha protest shootings  —  MILWAUKEE -While speaking about 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse, charged with homicide in the shooting deaths of two people and the wounding of a third during unrest in Kenosha, Donald Trump Jr. said, “We all do stupid things at 17.”

Ohio governor refutes ‘crazy, ridiculous internet rumor’ about forcing kids into FEMA concentration camps  —  CLEVELAND, Ohio - Ohio Governor Mike DeWine took time during his COVID-19 briefing Tuesday to address and refute a “crazy, ridiculous internet rumor” that he authorized the forced separation …

Amazon Raised Prices on Essentials Amid Pandemic, Watchdog Says  — Soap, toilet paper prices remain elevated, Public Citizen says  — In answer, Amazon has called for a federal price-gouging law  —  Amazon.com Inc. charged inflated prices for hand sanitizer, disposable gloves …

Social Justice Quotas Shouldn't Determine Oscar's Best Picture Nominees  —  The actors, actresses, crew, and staff of movies should be made up of men and women who get ahead by virtue of their talent, not group identity quotas.

How Trump Could Win Pennsylvania Again  —  Can rural Democrats forestall a landslide?  —  Mr. Sokolove is a contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine.  —  Rick Ainey lives on the northern tier of Pennsylvania, near the New York border in a region known as the Endless Mountains.

‘I want to be in the Trump party’: GOP rides voter registration surge in key state  —  PHILADELPHIA — President Donald Trump has trailed Joe Biden in virtually every poll in Pennsylvania this year.  —  But there's a more tangible piece of data in the state that tells a different story …

U.S. Unemployment Claims Held Steady Last Week  —  Jobless claims are nearly four times levels seen before the coronavirus upended the economy in March  —  U.S. unemployment claims held steady at 884,000 last week, the Labor Department reported Thursday, a sign the labor-market recovery …