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Above the Fold

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• The Associated Press says: “Bowing to the coronavirus threat, President Donald Trump has scrapped plans for a four-night Republican National Convention celebration in Florida that had been set to draw more than 10,000 people to a pandemic hot spot to mark his renomination. Trump had already moved the convention’s public events out of North Carolina because of virus concerns. But the spiking virus shifted to the South, too, and the planned gathering in Jacksonville increasingly appeared to be both a health and political risk.” The AP adds, “A small subset of GOP delegates will still formally renominate Trump on Aug. 24 in Charlotte, North Carolina, at an event scheduled to last just four hours.”

• According to the New York Post, “The Senate on Thursday passed a $740 billion defense spending bill that includes a provision to remove the name of Confederate leaders from military bases — setting up a showdown with President Trump who is opposed to the move. The GOP-controlled chamber overwhelming passed the legislation with a vote of 81 to 14 — well over the number required to override the presidential veto which Trump threatened to wield last month in a bid to stop the bill.”

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Government & Politics

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• Pandemic unemployment benefits inexorably rife with fraud (The Federalist)

• FBI used “defensive” briefing in 2016 to spy on Donald Trump (The Federalist)

• Trump ends Obama’s socially engineered Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rule (National Review)

• “People don’t make a distinction … from a South Korean and someone from Beijing”: Joe Biden makes racist comments while accusing Trump of being racist (The Federalist)

• Biden says America has “never” had a more racist president than Donald Trump. Here are eight. (PJ Media)

• Michigan, Minnesota, and Texas: Three races that will decide Senate control (Washington Examiner)

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Annals of the “Social Justice” Caliphate

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• Wall Street Journal boldly vows not to “wilt under cancel culture pressure” or yield to “conformity and intolerance” (UK Daily Mail)

• Striking out: MLB’s New York Yankees and Washington Nationals kneel before the national anthem (New York Post) (Tangentially related: “CNN calls Dr. Fauci’s wild pitch ‘100% accurate, completely on target.’” —The Babylon Bee)

• Cleveland Indians to meet with Native Americans on potential new name (ESPN)

• Nailed it: Washington Redskins to use “Washington Football Team” name for 2020 (NBC Sports)

• Mayor Lori Lightfoot has Christopher Columbus statues clandestinely removed from Chicago parks (Chicago Tribune)

• Reality is enlightening: Democrat Oakland mayor votes down further police budget cuts after vandals defaced her house (The Daily Caller)

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National Security

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• China orders U.S. to close consulate in Chengdu in retaliation for Houston outpost closure (USA Today)

• In landmark speech, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says China is world’s biggest threat (The Washington Free Beacon)

• FBI interviewing Chinese visa holders suspected of hiding military ties (Reuters)

• 186,700 illegal immigrants from 130 nations stopped by coronavirus border closure (Washington Examiner)

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The Latest on COVID-19

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• U.S. surpasses four million recorded cases; CDC says actual figure likely 10 times higher (National Review)

• How long will immunity to the coronavirus last? It may depend on the severity and corresponding antibody response (NPR)

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Business & Economy

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• “A Band-Aid on a bullet wound”: Workers are getting laid off anew as PPP runs out (The Washington Post)

• Too little, too late: NBA will shutter Chinese training center that’s in same city as Muslim concentration camps (The Washington Free Beacon)

• Tesla will build its next Gigafactory in tax-friendly Texas (CNBC)

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Culture & Heartland

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• Do as I say, not as I do: DC mayor exempts many city and federal government workers from strict new mask order (JusttheNews.com)

• Cancel-culture fallout: Majority of Americans (62%) afraid of expressing political beliefs (The Washington Free Beacon)

• Redwood City, California, removed “Black Lives Matter” street painting after request for “MAGA 2020” mural (The Hill)

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Other Notables

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• Judge denies Ghislaine Maxwell’s request for gag order to stop DOJ from discussing her alleged crimes (Washington Examiner)

• Out-of-this-world 4K video shows Mars in ultra-high definition (New York Post)

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Closing Arguments

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• Policy: Making the stimulus checks count: How Congress can better target a second round of economic impact payments (American Enterprise Institute)

• Policy: Executive order on drug price controls would backfire (Forbes)

• Humor: Riot police unsure if their tear gas worked since libs were already crying (The Babylon Bee)

For more of today’s editors’ choice headlines, visit In Our Sights.

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