Politico reports: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday that if Democrats take the White House in November, they will unilaterally release President Donald Trump’s long-hidden tax returns. In a news conference, she also staunchly defended House Ways and Means Committee Chair Richard Neal, including his handling of the fight for the president’s tax records, ahead of a tough primary the …

Vice News reports: Kanye West’s presidential campaign continues to push to get him on the ballot in states across the country. But it’s now a full week late with its campaign finance filings, a move that’s allowing the shadowy organization to hide how deep the GOP efforts to back his spoiler campaign go. The monthly campaign finance filing was due …

“As a child of God, I choose with my will to take authority over the weather. And I declare there will be no destruction in any way from Marco or from Laura. We are over the weather, not under the weather. Therefore, we command the pressure in both of the storms — we command the pressure in Marco and the …

The Hill reports: Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden called the attacks on his religion at the Republican National Convention “preposterous” on Thursday. The former vice president responded to convention speakers taking several jabs at how he practices his Catholicism, including from former Notre Dame football coach Lou Holtz who called Biden a “Catholic in name only” on Wednesday. “I think …

The Washington Post reports: Joe Biden isn’t onstage this week as Republicans celebrate their presidential nominating convention. But his campaign is trying to make sure he’s on TV. That presence will come in the form of a two-minute television ad set to debut on broadcast and cable networks Thursday night, offering pricey counter programming intended to coincide with President Trump’s …

The Christian Post reports: The creationist theme park Ark Encounter in northern Kentucky has launched a $3 million virtual reality experience that aims to show visitors what it would be like to travel back to see Noah’s Ark and the Genesis flood. The park, owned by young earth creationist organization Answers in Genesis, officially opened its first virtual reality theatre …

The Daily Beast reports: The outgoing White House counselor was talking about the “unfortunate” violence in American cities and the need for “law and order” when CNN reporter Joe Johns asked, “Is the president calling on his supporters in Kenosha, people like Kyle Rittenhouse, to stop the violence?” “The president wants everybody to stop the violence,” Conway said in response. …

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports: Wisconsin Lutheran College said Vice President Mike Pence won’t serve as the school’s commencement speaker Thursday after “careful consideration of the escalating events in Kenosha.” The college, which is in Milwaukee, said it has chosen Rev. Mark Jeske of St. Marcus Lutheran Church as a substitute speaker for Saturday’s event. The commencement is not on …

The New York Times reports: The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has scaled back the agency’s recommendation advising some people not to get tested after exposure to the novel coronavirus, now saying “testing may be considered for all close contacts of confirmed or probable Covid-19 patients.” The statement by Dr. Robert R. Redfield was issued to …

The Detroit News reports: Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson is warning Detroit voters of a “racially charged” and false robocall that appears to be discouraging mail-in voting ahead of the November election. The recording tells voters that their personal information will be part of a public database that will then be used by police to track down people with …

The White House has responded to new Washington Post reporting on how Trump is spending millions in public money on visits to his properties. In response to questions for this report, White House spokesman Judd Deere said in a statement that Trump has “turned over the day-to-day responsibilities of running the company though he was not required to, [and] has …

The Independent reports: Donald Trump exploded with anger at one of his most senior aides about missing a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to a former No 10 official. The US president’s rant about the missed call happened “right in front” of former prime minister Theresa May in Washington, her ex-chief of staff Nick Timothy has revealed. …

“The young man, the teen, the 17-year-old who was knocked to the ground by the vermin and defended himself in the war in Wisconsin in a gun battle, shot two people, has just been arrested, and charged with first-degree homicide. Now I don’t know whether this kid is going to eventually get enough money together to defend himself but I …

Sexuality researcher Justin Lehmiller writes: For my book “Tell Me What You Want,” I studied the sexual fantasies of 4,175 Americans from all 50 states. I asked my participants to report how often they fantasized about hundreds of different people, places and things — including cuckolding. A majority of heterosexual men (52 percent) said they had fantasized about watching their …

Mediaite reports: Jared Kushner, son-in-law and senior adviser to President Donald Trump, took a shot at NBA players over their strike in an interview with Andrew Ross Sorkin on CNBC’s Squawk Box Thursday, calling NBA players “very fortunate” to have the means to be able to engage in a boycott of their own jobs. “NBA players are very fortunate that …

Al Jazeera reports: A court in New Zealand has sentenced a self-confessed white supremacist who killed 51 Muslims as they prayed at two mosques in Christchurch to life imprisonment without parole, the first time such a sentence has been handed down in the country. Brenton Tarrant, a 29-year-old Australian, pleaded guilty earlier this year to 51 charges of murder, 40 …

CNBC reports: The number of Americans who filed for unemployment benefits for the first time came in above 1 million for the 22nd time in 23 weeks as the economy struggles to recover from the coronavirus pandemic, the Labor Department said Thursday. It was the second-consecutive week that new claims was above 1 million. Initial claims were last below 1 …

The New York Times reports: Taking on one of the most powerful Democrats in Congress, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Tuesday used her political action committee to endorse Alex Morse, the small-city mayor who is challenging Representative Richard E. Neal, Democrat of Massachusetts and the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee. The endorsement from Courage to Change, announced by Mr. …

ABC News reports: Madison Cawthorn, a 25-year-old in a potentially historic bid for Congress, spoke during the third night of the Republican National Convention in a speech that has drawn attention for an American history inaccuracy. In his speech, Cawthorn said that at 25, Madison signed the Declaration of Independence. Except, he did not. The statement prompted the Lincoln Project …

Iowa’s Ames Tribune reports: Sen. Joni Ernst spoke of her military experience and praised President Donald Trump’s response to the windstorm that struck Iowa two weeks ago during her Wednesday night Republican National Convention speech. Ernst said she worked with Trump to scrap President Barack Obama’s Waters of the United States rule, which she said “would have regulated about 97% …