Is this thing on?  Harris and Trump battle over hot mics at debate.  —  Negotiations over the Sept. 10 spectacle have hit an impasse over whether to leave the microphones on.  —  With just 15 days left until the scheduled Sept. 10 presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris …

Finally, the Democrats Have Found Trump's Achilles Heel: Ridicule Him … Donald Trump is in free-fall.  Read this description from Sunday's Washington Post of how the GOP nominee spent last week: “[A]ides did not want a situation where he was watching the convention every night, getting angry …

The Proud Boys' Reliance on Telegram Didn't Save Them, But It Thwarted Preventing the Attack  —  At 8:06PM on January 4, 2021, shortly after the arrest of Enrique Tarrio, a Proud Boy named Travis instructed everyone on the Proud Boys' Ministry of Self Defense Telegram list to “nuke everything.”

They Served With Trump and Saw the Crazy.  They Should Endorse Harris.  —  THE MOMENT FROM THE DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION I kept coming back to this weekend wasn't from Oprah or the Obamas, Steph or Steve, Kamala or Doug—not even Gus Walz, America's proudest son.

Isaac Hayes Estate Marks Victory in Suit Against Trump  —  ‘SEE YOU IN COURT’  —  Isaac Hayes' estate filed a lawsuit this month over Donald Trump's unauthorized use of “Hold On, I'm Coming.”  —  ‘ON THE MEND’  —  According to a statement from the venue, T-Boz suffered “severe nausea, vomiting, and intense abdominal cramps.”

Biden mourns US service members killed in Kabul airport attack 3 years ago  —  President Biden mourned the three-year anniversary of the terrorist attack at the Kabul airport, when 13 U.S. service members were killed.  —  He named the 13 service members in a statement on Monday …

The Unequal Effects of School Closings  —  As more families opt for charter and private schools or homeschooling in the wake of the pandemic, cities around the country are shuttering schools.  The effects fall hardest on majority-Black schools and special-needs students.  —  Co-published with The New Yorker

The state of the race as we await Harris's post-DNC bounce  —  An expert on what we should make of Kamala's polling gains.  —  ∙ Paid  —  🚨 This special, five-edition week of PN is made possible by paid subscribers 🚨 If you aren't one already, please sign up to support our independent journalism.

RFK Jr.'s Daughter Says Dad Cut Off a Whale's Head, Drove It 5 Hours Home  —  When they would accelerate, “whale juice would pour into the windows of the car, and it was the rankest thing on the planet,” Kick Kennedy explained to Town & Country Magazine  —  Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s daughter Kick Kennedy …

Colorado Republicans Vote Out Party Chair Following Anti-Gay Posts  —  State Republicans accused Dave Williams, who was ousted in a landslide vote, of dividing the party with “hateful narratives,” most recently against the L.G.B.T.Q. community.  —  Colorado Republicans have voted to remove …

Gen. McMaster's blistering account of the Trump White House  —  Until now, Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster has held his fire about his stint in the Trump White House.  McMaster served with distinction in key American conflicts of the past decades: the Gulf War, the Iraq War and the war in Afghanistan …

Judge Cannon tossing Trump's case raises risk for acting prosecutors  —  Special counsel Jack Smith's team will soon appeal Cannon's decision to reject the indictment because of how Smith was appointed.  —  Judge Aileen M. Cannon's surprising dismissal of Donald Trump's criminal case …

Watch: Scott Jennings laughed at on CNN for claiming 'People don't want to feel joy'  —  It did not take long on Sunday morning for conservative CNN political commentator Scott Jennings to realize he had stepped in it when he claimed, “People don't want to feel joy” during his appearance on “State of the Union.”