Belligerent Trump debate performance stokes fears among Republicans about November  —  The aftermath of the first presidential debate between President Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden triggered a reckoning among Republicans on Wednesday about the incumbent's incendiary remarks …

“The Family Is Worried Brad Will Start Talking”: Trumpworld Panics Over Debate Fiasco as Campaign Turmoil Mounts  —  Over three days, the New York Times dropped a tax bombshell, Florida cops cuffed Brad Parscale, and the president just couldn't help himself onstage.

Chris Wallace Calls Debate ‘a Terrible Missed Opportunity’  —  The veteran anchor conceded he was initially “reluctant” to step in during the Trump-Biden matchup.  “I've never been through anything like this,” he said.  —  “I'm just sad with the way last night turned out.”

Internal document shows Trump officials were told to make comments sympathetic to Kyle Rittenhouse  —  WASHINGTON — Federal law enforcement officials were directed to make public comments sympathetic to Kyle Rittenhouse, the teenager charged with fatally shooting two protesters in Kenosha …

Intelligence Officials Urged Trump Spy Chief Not to Disclose Unverified Russian Claims About Clinton  —  Officials at CIA, NSA, Office of Director of National Intelligence warned disclosure to Congress would give credibility to Kremlin-backed material  —  WASHINGTON—Senior U.S. officials urged Director …

Ski, Party, Seed a Pandemic: The Travel Rules That Let Covid-19 Take Flight  —  The World Health Organization said open borders would help fight disease.  Experts, and a global treaty, emphatically agreed.  But the scientific evidence was never behind them.

Trump's Chances Are Dwindling.  That Could Make Him Dangerous.  —  President Trump's quest to win a second term is not in good shape.  He entered Tuesday night's debate with roughly a 7- or 8-point deficit in national polls, putting him further behind at this stage of the race than any other candidate since Bob Dole in 1996.6

Listen to What Trump 2016 Swing-State Voters Had to Say About the Debate  —  Nine women.  All from swing states.  All 2016 Trump voters.  And they have thoughts about Trump's debate meltdown.  —  On Wednesday night I checked back in with a focus group of female 2016 Trump voters …

Pope rejects US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo meeting  —  The Vatican has denied US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo an audience with Pope Francis.  —  The Holy See said the Pontiff does not receive politicians during an election period.  —  The move adds to a diplomatic row following comments …

A two-page White House ‘race’ memo became a flash point in Tuesday's debate  —  Trump wanted to ban federal agency training on ‘critical race theory,’ but agencies have scrambled, stumbled  —  A two-page White House memo that directed federal agencies to halt “un-American” and “divisive” …

Trump requires food aid boxes to come with a letter from him  —  “In my 30 years of doing this work, I've never seen something this egregious,” one food bank director said.  —  President Donald Trump arrives to speak about the “Farmers to Families Food Box Program” at Flavor First Growers …

Moderna CEO says its coronavirus vaccine won't be ready until spring of next year  —  Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel said Wednesday that his company's coronavirus vaccine won't be ready for widespread public distribution until spring of next year, according to a report.

Study Finds ‘Single Largest Driver’ of Coronavirus Misinformation: Trump  —  Cornell University researchers analyzing 38 million English-language articles about the pandemic found that President Trump was the largest driver of the “infodemic.”  —  WASHINGTON — Of the flood of misinformation …

Largest study of COVID-19 transmission highlights essential role of super-spreaders  —  In the bleak ranking of worst COVID-19 outbreaks, the United States, with 7.2 million infections, is likely to be eclipsed only by India, which has 1 million fewer cases but is catching up fast.

Memory sticks used to program Philly's voting machines were stolen from elections warehouse  —  A laptop and several memory sticks used to program Philadelphia's voting machines were stolen from a city warehouse in East Falls, city officials confirmed Wednesday, setting off …

Kentucky attorney general says he never recommended murder charges in Breonna Taylor case  —  Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron said Tuesday that he never recommended murder charges against police officers for Breonna Taylor's death.  The grand jury handed down no charges in connection with Taylor's death.

As Kim wooed Trump with ‘love letters,’ he kept building his nuclear capability, intelligence shows  —  In a secret letter to President Trump in December 2018, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un likened the two leaders' budding friendship to a Hollywood romance.

BRIAN LYMAN  —  Gov. Kay Ivey on Wednesday offered a “sincere, heartfelt apology” to a survivor of the 1963 16th Street Baptist Church bombing, and offered to meet with her attorneys as she seeks compensation from the state.  —  The governor's letter to an attorney for Sarah Collins Rudolph …

Trump signs stopgap bill to prevent government shutdown  —  President Trump signed a bill to extend current levels of government funding after funding expired briefly, White House spokesperson Judd Deere confirmed early Thursday.  —  Why it matters: The move averts a government shutdown before the Nov. 3 election.

Trump Is Not the Man He Used to Be  —  Donald Trump believes, to his core, that a single event in 2016 clinched him the presidency.  —  It wasn't the FBI reopening its investigation into Hillary Clinton.  It wasn't the Wikileaks dump of hacked DNC emails.

Veterans' Home Recently Visited by Governor Parson Has Outbreak of COVID-19  — Governor Mike Parson tweeted this photo of himself meeting with staff at Missouri Veterans Home, which is now dealing with a COVID-19 outbreak.  —  UPDATE 5:15 p.m.: We've updated this story to include a response from Governor Parson's spokeswoman below.

Republican super PAC to spend $9 million in Michigan Senate race  —  A Republican super PAC, aligned with the party's Senate leadership, will infuse $9 million into the Senate race in Michigan where incumbent Democrat Gary Peters faces GOP challenger John James.

California task force will consider paying reparations for slavery  —  With Gov. Gavin Newsom's signature, California became the first state government in the country on Wednesday to adopt a law to study and develop proposals for potential reparations to descendants of enslaved people and those impacted by slavery.

Wife of Boston Marathon hero said Biden touched her in ‘an inappropriate and uncomfortable way’  —  The wife of a Massachusetts transit police officer who was injured in the manhunt for the Boston Marathon bombers accused Joe Biden of touching her inappropriately and making a suggestive comment in 2014.

MARY SPICUZZA  —  President Donald Trump is planning a pair of Saturday campaign rallies in Green Bay and La Crosse, areas currently labeled by the White House Coronavirus Task Force as “red zones,” the highest level of COVID-19 community spread.  —  The task force's report says the state overall …

Biden stiff-arms the left — which holds its fire  —  Joe Biden stiff-armed the Green New Deal liberal climate plan at Tuesday's debate and offered a pointed reminder of his opposition to Medicare-for-all.  He boasted of defeating Sen. Bernie Sanders “by a whole hell of a lot” …

EU launches legal action against UK over Brexit law  —  European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Thursday that the EU would begin legal proceedings to prevent the U.K. from trying to use domestic legislation to change aspects of the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement.

Airlines begin mass layoffs while clinging to hope for federal aid  —  American Airlines and United Airlines said they will begin furloughing 32,000 employees Thursday, as federal aid that propped up the industry during the pandemic expires, with no deal in sight for an extension.

It's past time to pull the plug on Andrew Cuomo's dictatorial pandemic powers  —  I don't mean to alarm the good people of New York, but it's important that they understand we are living under a dictatorship — with no end in sight.  —  Who's the autocrat in question?  Why, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, of course.