How Trump and Vance went from a ‘threat to democracy’ to ‘weird’  —  With Harris at the top of the ticket, Democrats shift to a simpler characterization of Trump.  —  In the days since Vice President Kamala Harris has taken over the campaign against former President Donald Trump …

Panicking Trump Loses It Over FBI Director's Bullet Injury Testimony … Donald Trump is seriously pissed that FBI Director Christopher Wray is asking questions about what really happened during the attempted assassination of the former president.  —  While appearing before the House Judiciary …

Harris Erases Trump's Lead, WSJ Poll Finds  —  Two candidates are effectively tied after Biden's exit shakes up race  —  The presidential race between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump is essentially tied, according to a new Wall Street Journal poll that shows heightened support …

Trump Cryptically Declares, 'You Won't Have to Vote Anymore' If He Wins Second Term  —  Former President Donald Trump urged members of a crowd in Florida to vote and said that if he wins, they “won't have to vote anymore.”  —  Speaking at a Turning Point Action event in West Palm Beach on Friday …

Former FBI agent Peter Strzok reaches $1.2 million settlement with DOJ: Lawyers  —  He argued the Justice Department improperly released his text messages.  —  Deputy Assistant FBI Director Peter Strzok testifies before a joint committee hearing of the House Judiciary and Oversight …

Harris calls Sonya Massey's family  —  Massey was a 36-year-old Black woman who was shot by a sheriff's deputy in her Illinois home on July 6.  —  On Friday, Vice President Kamala Harris called the family of Sonya Massey, a 36-year-old Black woman who was fatally shot by a sheriff's deputy …

Biden will announce Supreme Court reform plans next week  —  Biden is likely to endorse term limits for the justices, an ethics code and a constitutional amendment limiting presidential immunity.  —  President Joe Biden plans to unveil a proposal on Monday for dramatically reforming the Supreme Court …

Trump greets Netanyahu at Mar-a-Lago, says World War III could happen if Harris wins  —  Netanyahu also shared a photograph of an Israeli toddler held captive by Hamas with Trump  —  Former President Trump claimed on Friday that conflicts in the Middle East could escalate into a third World War if he loses the 2024 election.

Fintech bullies stole your kid's lunch money (permalink)  —  Three companies control the market for school lunch payments.  They take as much as 60 cents out of every dollar poor kids' parents put into the system to the tune of $100m/year.  They're literally stealing poor kids' lunch money.

Kamala Harris Has Brought the Joy  —  Why Republicans are so freaked out about a woman who laughs.  —  “I call her laughing Kamala,” Donald Trump recently said about his new opponent.  “You ever watch her laugh?  She's crazy.  You know, you can tell a lot by a laugh — she's crazy, she's nuts.”

Spaceman, Senator, V.P. Pick?  Kamala Harris Sizes Up Mark Kelly. … In his short political career, Mark Kelly has won two elections to the Senate in Arizona.  Valerie Plesch for The New York Times  —  The rugged border lands around Douglas, Ariz., dip through precipitous canyons …

The Perfect Storm  —  On the Secret Pod today, Sarah and I spun through the new polling numbers, looked at Kamala's upside potential, and had some carefully-couched thoughts about JD Vance.  —  YSWIDT?  —  You can catch the dolphin show right here.  —  1. Timing  —  Let's pretend it's November 2022.

JD Vance called for ‘federal response’ to block women from traveling for abortions  —  VP nominee pushed baseless warning in 2022 that George Soros would pack planes of Black women to get abortions  —  JD Vance, Ohio senator and Donald Trump's running mate, promoted a baseless rightwing talking point …

Trump ally who denies 2020 election results threatens law enforcement  —  Patrick Byrne, former CEO of Overstock, said officials would face ‘a piano wire and a blowtorch’ if a case against a former Colorado elections official continues.  —  Patrick Byrne, who has funded efforts to undermine …

Federal courts spike piece of DeSantis ‘Stop Woke’ law  —  A separate challenge surrounding how the anti-woke policies apply to colleges and universities is still under appeal.  —  TALLAHASSEE, Florida — A federal judge permanently shut down a significant piece of Florida's so-called Stop Woke Act …