Trump and his allies had a plan for how to hit Harris.  Then he opened his mouth.  —  “He's grasping around,” said Chuck Coughlin, an Arizona-based political strategist.  —  Scrambling to put an end to Kamala Harris' ascent, Donald Trump's campaign and outside allies came up with a plan …

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 …

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 …

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).

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 …

While ‘Pod Save America’ Tries to Unite Democrats, Its Staff Rebels  —  Some employees feel their progressive ideals aren't reflected in the workplace at one of the most prominent liberal media outlets  —  As one of the most influential media outlets for Democrats, the liberal podcast Pod Save America …

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 …

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 …

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.