Vance defends Trump over former president's false claims about Harris' racial identity  —  Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance on Thursday defended Donald Trump's false comments about Kamala Harris' racial identity, saying that it was “totally reasonable” for his ticket mate to describe …

WSJ Reporter Evan Gershkovich Is Free  —  Release of 32-year-old American from Russia secured as part of largest East-West prisoner swap since Cold War  —  Russia freed wrongly convicted Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich as part of the largest and most complex East-West prisoner swap since …

Harris campaign has met with 6 potential VP picks as the selection process nears its end  —  The top contenders include governors, a senator in a key battleground state and a member of President Joe Biden's Cabinet.  —  WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign has met …

Trump co-defendant Jeff Clark barred from practicing law after fake elector charges  —  The Washington D.C. Bar Association has suspended former acting Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey Clark from practicing law for two years, Politico's Kyle Cheney reported Thursday.

The presidential election is a toss-up  —  Kamala Harris is giving Democrats the race that Joe Biden couldn't.  —  I don't want to get in the habit of making a huge ruckus every time the election model passes a certain arbitrary probabilistic threshold.  There are still a very long 96 days …

How Hamas Leader Ismail Haniyeh Was Killed in Iran … A photograph circulating on Telegram and among Iranian officials on Wednesday showed a damaged building in northern Tehran.Provided to The New York Times  —  Ismail Haniyeh, a top leader of Hamas, was assassinated on Wednesday …

Trump loses appeal of gag order in hush money criminal case  —  A New York state appeals court on Thursday rejected former U.S. President Donald Trump's challenge to a gag order in his criminal case on charges stemming from hush money paid to a porn star.  —  The Appellate Division's ruling …

The MAGA Abuse of the English Language  —  Thank you for reading The Garden of Forking Paths.  This article is free, but if you'd like to support my work—and unlock more than 130 articles—consider upgrading to a paid subscription for just $4/month, or, support me by buying my book, FLUKE.

Senate GOP blocks bipartisan bill to expand child tax credit  —  Senate Republicans blocked Wednesday a bipartisan bill that would boost a tax credit for parents as the GOP and Democrats feud over remarks from Republican vice president nominee Sen. JD Vance (Ohio).

CBP officers in Arizona seize more than half a ton of fentanyl in largest seizure in agency history  —  TUCSON, Ariz. - U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Port of Lukeville recently seized approximately 4 million blue fentanyl pills — weighing more than 1,000 pounds …

Critics Stunned By Donald Trump's ‘Heartless’ Punch Line About Man Killed At His Rally  —  The Republican nominee was slammed as horrible, unkind and a “self-centered sadistic monster” over the line.  —  LOADING  —  Donald Trump drew fierce criticism for making a crass comment about the wife …

Don Lemon Sues Elon Musk Over Canceled X Deal  —  The former CNN reporter said in a lawsuit that X had refused to pay him after a testy interview with its billionaire owner.  —  Don Lemon, the former CNN anchor, sued Elon Musk and X on Thursday, arguing that the billionaire refused to pay …

Gov. Beshear cancels planned stop in western Ky.  —  HICKMAN, Ky. (KFVS) - Governor Andy Beshear canceled a stop in western Kentucky planned for Friday, August 2, according to his office.  —  They say Lieutenant Governor Jacqueline Coleman will visit the Jackson Purchase Distillery instead.