TRUMP ENGINEERED A SUDDEN WINDFALL IN 2016 AS CAMPAIGN FUNDS DWINDLED  —  Tax records expose more than $21 million in highly unusual payments from the Las Vegas hotel Donald Trump owns with Phil Ruffin, routed through other Trump companies and paid out in cash.  —  Donald J. Trump needed money.

Scoop: Barr tells Republicans Durham report won't be ready by election  —  Attorney General Bill Barr has begun telling top Republicans that the Justice Department's sweeping review into the origins of the Russia investigation will not be released before the election, a senior White House official …

Ted Cruz warns the election ‘could be a bloodbath of Watergate proportions’ for GOP  — Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, warned that Republicans could see “a bloodbath of Watergate proportions” if voters are angry and broke when casting their ballots this year.  — He blamed Rep. Nancy Pelosi …

Fauci Calls White House Ceremony a ‘Super-Spreader Event’  — Trump, others tested positive for coronavirus after event  — Many attendees had shunned masks, mingled closely indoors  —  Anthony Fauci, the U.S.'s top infectious-disease expert, said that a gathering in the White House Rose Garden …

Trump's Struggles Ripple Across the Sun Belt, Endangering G.O.P. Stronghold  —  President Trump is fading nationally as he alienates women, seniors and suburbanites, polls show.  But private G.O.P. surveys show he is in close races in solidly red states, too.

Additional steps we're taking ahead of the 2020 US Election  —  Twitter plays a critical role around the globe by empowering democratic conversation, driving civic participation, facilitating meaningful political debate, and enabling people to hold those in power accountable.

Hope Hicks returned to the White House to pull Trump across the finish line.  Then coronavirus hit.  —  When she returned to the White House on March 9 after two years away and a lucrative stint in corporate PR, Hope Hicks was supposed to be a talisman to re-create the magic of President Trump's against-the-odds 2016 campaign.

Amy Coney Barrett failed to disclose talks on Roe v. Wade hosted by anti-abortion groups on Senate paperwork  —  (CNN)Judge Amy Coney Barrett failed to disclose two talks she gave in 2013 hosted by two anti-abortion student groups on paperwork provided to the Senate ahead of her confirmation hearing …

Ohio county says nearly 50,000 voters received wrong ballots  —  COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Nearly 50,000 voters received incorrect absentee ballots in the county that is home to Ohio's capital, elections officials said Friday as they promised corrected ballots would be mailed within 72 hours.

Amid Campaign Turmoil, Biden Holds Wide Leads on Coronavirus, Unifying the Country  —  Most Trump, Biden supporters say their differences go beyond policies to ‘core American values and goals’  —  Pew Research Center conducted this study to understand how Americans view …

Trump Will Undergo Televised Medical Evaluation on Friday Night, Fox News Announces  —  SAY AAH  —  Cancel your Friday night plans immediately and prepare to be thrilled and maybe a little bit sick—because President Donald Trump is apparently going to have a “medical evaluation” on television.

Pelosis Take a Big Stake in CrowdStrike  —  The cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike rose to global prominence in mid-June 2016 when it publicly accused Russia of hacking the Democratic National Committee and stealing its data.  The previously unknown company's explosive allegation set off …

Debate moderator Steve Scully raises eyebrows with tweet asking Scaramucci ‘should I respond to Trump’  —  Scully's role as a former intern for Joe Biden sparked backlash  —  President Trump says he won't ‘waste my time’ with virtual debate  —  Presidential debate moderator Steve Scully raised eyebrows …

Trump got a $21 million tax break for saving the forest outside his NY mansion.  Now the deal is under investigation.  —  Five years ago, Donald Trump promised to preserve more than 150 acres of rolling woodlands in an exclusive swath of New York suburbia prized for its luxury homes and rural tranquility.

Judge denies motion to extend Florida's voter registration  —  A federal judge has denied a motion to extend voter registration in Florida after a computer meltdown on the final day of registration might have prevented thousands of potential voters from taking part in November's presidential election

On Hannity's show, Trump reveals his corrupt, panicky endgame  —  Given President Trump's latest antics, we should probably get more serious about reacquainting ourselves with the concept of political violence, or violence undertaken to achieve political or ideological ends …

Donald Trump leads Joe Biden by 5 points in Texas, UT/TT Poll finds  —  The president leads the former vice president 50%-45% in Texas, according to the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll.  —  Copy link  —  President Donald Trump leads former Vice President Joe Biden with the support …

Hillary Clinton Says She Was Right All Along  —  Only one Democrat other than Joe Biden has experience running for president against Donald Trump, and she's not quite over 2016, or confident that Biden will be able to do what she couldn't.  —  Hillary Clinton has been in lockdown like everyone else.

MAGA-Crazy Retirement Village Now Fears COVID—and Pence  —  “The virus was a hoax here until Trump got it,” one resident said.  —  MIAMI—Fresh off a vice presidential debate where he sported a reddish, sickly-looking eye, Vice President Mike Pence appears to be charging ahead with a plan …

Kara Eastman receives endorsement from Sen. McCollister, Republican who called out Trump  —  Democrat Kara Eastman celebrated her own aisle-crossing endorsement on Friday, with Republican State Sen. John McCollister bucking his party and backing her U.S. House bid.

Post endorses: For the sake of our now fragile democracy, Biden for president  —  Rarely have so many Americans yearned so strongly to remove a sitting president.  —  Count The Palm Beach Post Editorial Board among them.  —  Donald J. Trump's intentionally divisive presidency is hurtling us toward …

How the “QAnon Candidate” Marjorie Taylor Greene Reached the Doorstep of Congress  —  “There's nothing she can do to lose my vote, unless she murdered a baby or something,” a local Republican official said.  “Nothing.”  —  Georgia's Fourteenth Congressional District was created …

Wiley hits de Blasio, her former boss, in first campaign outing  —  Maya Wiley took pains Thursday to separate herself from her former boss, Mayor Bill de Blasio, as she began her own campaign to succeed him.  —  Wiley issued a searing rebuke of de Blasio during the launch of her bid outside …

US should not approve vaccine based on UK data, says Pelosi  —  Warning from Democratic House speaker comes on concerns that Trump will rush it out  —  Nancy Pelosi warned that a Covid-19 vaccine should not be authorised for use in the US based on data from British trials …