Playbook: Scoop: McCarthy's secret promise to Trump  —  Presented by With help from Eli Okun and Garrett Ross  —  DRIVING THE DAY  —  HAPPENING TODAY — “'It makes them all look silly': Dems prepare to scorch RFK Jr. testimony,” by Nicholas Wu and Jordain Carney

Convicted con man who was pardoned by Trump is again charged with fraud  —  “I have a bad reputation,” Eliyahu Weinstein was recorded telling others charged in the $35 million Ponzi-like scheme, officials say.  —  A New Jersey con man with a “bad reputation” who was pardoned two years ago …

Florida approves Black history standards decried as ‘step backward’  —  The Florida State Board of Education approved new rules Wednesday for how Black history will be taught in public schools that critics are decrying as a “step backward.”  —  The updated standards say students should learn …

Woman suing Texas over abortion ban vomits on the stand in emotional reaction during dramatic hearing  —  Three plaintiffs in the lawsuit testified about the trauma they experienced carrying nonviable pregnancies.  —  A hearing in a lawsuit challenging Texas' abortion ban opened Wednesday …

Republicans Have So Little Hunter Biden Evidence They Shared His Nudes Instead  —  Republicans have yet to produce any evidence of actual wrongdoing by Hunter Biden, so they let Marjorie Taylor Greene wave his nude photos around Wednesday during a House Oversight Committee hearing on his taxes.

GOP senators say Manchin bid would boost Trump, hurt Biden  —  Republican senators say a third-party presidential bid by centrist Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) likely would pull votes away from President Biden and help former President Trump win election to a second term if he wins the GOP presidential nomination.

Judge clarifies: Yes, Trump was found to have raped E. Jean Carroll  —  After Donald Trump was found liable for sexually abusing and defaming E. Jean Carroll, his legal team and his defenders lodged a frequent talking point.  —  Despite Carroll's claims that Trump had raped her, they noted …

Political consultant backing Tim Scott spewed the N-word during card game  —  The operative previously worked for Scott's Senate office.  —  A political consultant closely tied to the effort to elect Tim Scott president repeatedly used the N-word when he was playing a card game with friends, a video obtained by POLITICO shows.

Biden returns to battleground Pennsylvania for the 27th time since taking office to sell his economic message  —  When President Joe Biden returns to Pennsylvania on Thursday, his message will be similar to the one he's delivered on many of his 26 previous visits to the commonwealth since taking office.

A Black Man Was Elected Mayor in Rural Alabama, but the White Town Leaders Won't Let Him Serve  —  For three years, Patrick Braxton says he has experienced harassment and intimidation after becoming the first Black mayor in Newbern, Alabama.  —  NEWBERN, Ala. — There's a power struggle in Newbern …

Extreme heat indices above 105°F to hit 80 million people in U.S.  —  Over 20% of the U.S.' population — 80 million people — are expected to face an air temperature or heat index above 105° Fahrenheit this weekend as a record-breaking heat wave persists over most of the South, the National Weather Service (NWS) warns.

Doctors in the Northeast launch abortion pill pipeline into states with bans  —  At least 3,500 doses have been shipped to antiabortion states since mid-June, a process enabled by new shield laws  —  The doctor starts each day with a list of addresses and a label maker.

Poultry plant blames staffing company for hiring 16-year-old who was killed in workplace accident  —  “The company is undertaking a thorough audit with the staffing companies to ensure that this kind of error never happens again,” Mar-Jac Poultry said in a statement.

Majority expecting ‘significant negative effect’ from climate change: poll  —  A majority of Americans believe that climate change will have a “significant negative effect” on the globe during their lifetime, according to a new poll.  —  The new Quinnipiac poll found that 55 percent …

Judge Nixes Trump Bid to Move Stormy Daniels Hush-Money Case to Federal Court  —  The judge said Donald Trump “improperly invoked” a U.S. code in an attempt to have his case moved.  —  A federal judge on Wednesday ruled that Donald Trump's hush-money case involving Stormy Daniels would remain …