Federal officials stockpiled munitions, sought ‘heat ray’ device before clearing Lafayette Square, whistleblower says  —  Hours before law enforcement forcibly cleared protesters from Lafayette Square in early June amid protests over the police killing of George Floyd, federal officials began …

Barr attacks Justice Department staff, compares them to preschoolers  —  (CNN)Attorney General William Barr slammed the hundreds of Justice Department prosecutors working beneath him on Wednesday, equating them to preschoolers, in a defense of his own politically tuned decision making in the Trump administration.

Postal Service Stiffed $20 Million Cost of Delivering Trump COVID-19 Mailer  —  “The U.S. Postal Service is a self-funding agency,” said Kevin Kosar, a fellow at American Enterprise Institute.  “By law it should be paid whenever it provides delivery services.”  —  BEAST INSIDE

Romney says Biden probe ‘not legitimate role of government’  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Sen. Mitt Romney is sharply criticizing an investigation by his own party into Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden's son, saying it's “not the legitimate role of government” to try and damage political opponents.

'You can't attack a regular voter': Trump faces a retail-campaigning gap  —  President Donald Trump rarely interacts for extended periods with everyday Americans who haven't been pre-screened by the White House or campaign.  He's never been fond of retail politics, like the random visit to a coffee shop or diner.

On Rosh Hashanah call, Trump tells American Jews ‘We love your country’ and asks for their vote  —  WASHINGTON (JTA) — President Donald Trump spent much of his 20-minute call with American Jewish leaders making the case for more American Jews to vote for him.  He closed by repeating a line that has raised their eyebrows before.

Freedom Caucus presses McCarthy to launch long-shot bid to oust Pelosi  —  Members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus are quietly working to convince GOP leadership to sign off on a long-shot bid to oust Nancy Pelosi from the speakership, according to multiple sources …

Trump appointee Michael Caputo takes leave of absence from HHS after online rant  —  Redfield refutes ‘false accusations’ that CDC harbored ‘resistance unit’  —  Michael Caputo, a top Trump administration communications official who accused government scientists of “sedition” …

White House Staff Members Reportedly Test Positive For COVID-19 Less Than 24 Hours After President Donald Trump Visited Philadelphia  —  PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — White House staff members have reportedly tested positive for COVID-19 less than 24 hours after President Donald Trump visited Philadelphia.

Invisible company owned by Rudy Giuliani got taxpayer-backed PPP money — but where did it go?  —  Giuliani's payroll company got a PPP loan from a Trump-friendly bank — but lists no employees.  Was it fraud?  —  view in app  —  Additional reporting was contributed by Kathleen O'Neill.

Judge orders all federal prosecutors in Manhattan to read opinion on withholding evidence  —  A federal judge has ordered all federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York to read a ruling she issued Wednesday that blasts prosecutors for their handling of evidence …

Big Ten's decision to play football signals darkest day in conference's sports history  —  For decades, the Big Ten has thought of itself as a different kind of sports conference, one that proudly touts the academic achievements and Great Lakes values of its like-minded, highly-regarded, internationally-ranked research institutions.

New QAnon-Allied GOP Senate Candidate Also Pushed Anti-Semitism, Flat Earthism, and 9/11 Conspiracies  —  The National Republican Senatorial Committee did not return a request for comment.  —  One-time QAnon supporter Lauren Witzke won the Republican Senate primary in Delaware on Tuesday …

Nearly two-thirds of US young adults unaware 6m Jews killed in the Holocaust … Almost two-thirds of young American adults do not know that 6 million Jews were killed during the Holocaust, and more than one in 10 believe Jews caused the Holocaust, a new survey has found …

Yelp data shows 60% of business closures due to the coronavirus pandemic are now permanent  — Yelp on Wednesday released its latest Economic Impact Report, revealing business closures across the U.S. are increasing as a result of the coronavirus.  — As of Aug, 31, 163,735 businesses …

Poll shows Collins down 12 points, Graham tied with Democratic challenger  —  Sen. Lindsey Graham (R) and Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) face rising odds in their high-profile re-election bids, according to a Quinnipiac poll released Wednesday.  —  Why it matters: Many thought Graham's Senate race …

Review: Woodward's Trump exposé ‘Rage’ reflects the lazy thinking that got us into this mess  —  If you buy books linked on our site, The Times may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookstores.  —  They spoke 18 times.  Eighteen!

Fed expects to keep rates near zero through 2023  —  Federal Reserve officials on Wednesday projected that they would keep interest rates near zero through 2023 to help the economy fully recover from the pandemic, but Fed Chair Jerome Powell warned that Congress will probably have to do more.

Chris Rock Tried to Warn Us  —  In a candid interview, the comic discusses America's summer of strife, Trump, blackface and his dramatic turn in the new season of “Fargo.”  —  Chris Rock wasn't sure if he was hiding out or not.  —  On the Friday before Labor Day, he was speaking by phone …

‘The difference is QAnon’: how a conspiratorial hate campaign upended California politics … Catie Stewart was on her way home from a vacation in early August when her phone reconnected to cell service and she realized something was wrong.  As the communications director for Scott Wiener …

CDC says U.S. should have enough coronavirus vaccine to return to ‘regular life’ by third quarter of 2021  —  The U.S. should have enough Covid-19 vaccine doses for Americans to return to “regular life” by the third quarter of next year, the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday.

White House Watch  —  Trump Takes First Lead  —  President Trump has now edged to a one-point lead over Democratic nominee Joe Biden in the latest Rasmussen Reports' weekly White House Watch survey.  While statistically insignificant, it's the first time Trump has been ahead.

These Two Lawyers Face Up To Life In Prison For Allegedly Burning An Empty Cop Car  —  The NYPD van on a Brooklyn street was banged up and empty, a battered steel shell with shattered windows and a mask of spray paint.  Shortly before 1 a.m. on Saturday, May 30, the fourth straight night …

Ratcliffe reinstates election briefings for intel panels  —  The nation's top intelligence official is partially reversing course on his decision to scale back critical election-security briefings for lawmakers.  —  John Ratcliffe, the director of national intelligence …

The latest crisis: Low-income students are dropping out of college this fall in alarming numbers  —  Many low-income students say they don't have good enough WiFi at home to take online courses.  —  In August, Paige McConnell became the first in her family to go to college — and the first to drop out.

Republicans set aside past concerns over controversial Georgia candidate as they urge her to join ‘team’  —  (CNN)Rep. Steve Scalise, the No. 2 House Republican, said in mid-June that congressional candidate Marjorie Taylor Greene had made “disgusting” comments regarding Black people …

Op-Ed: The GOP failed to heed the decline of California's Republican Party  —  The 50th Congressional District is one of the last Republican strongholds in California.  Encompassing large swaths of San Diego County, it's also where I grew up.  As a student at Escondido High School …

‘Democrat Voters Against Joe Biden’ Group Has Trump Fanatics, a Psychic, but No Actual Dems  —  It's meant to be a counterpoint for Republican Voters Against Trump.  But so far, it's mainly just copying the text from its website.  —  A new advocacy group ostensibly comprised of Democrats opposed …

Bail Fund Promoted By Kamala Harris Helped Man Accused Of Sexually Penetrating A Child  — A bail fund promoted by Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris helped a man accused of sexually assaulting an eight-year-old girl get out of jail in July, court records show.

Second Parkland cop who was fired after school shooting will get his job back  —  A Broward sheriff's deputy who was fired for taking cover behind his truck and then driving away from the Parkland school massacre should be reinstated with back-pay, an arbitrator has ruled.

The welcome lack of enthusiasm for Joe Biden  —  As the US has found, worshipping political leaders is weird and pernicious  —  Delaware can reasonably claim to be the most innocuous state in the US.  The tax-advantageous peninsula seldom incurs hatred, its opposite, or even a second thought …