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Capital Journal
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Good morning from the WSJ Washington bureau.
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Trump's Day: President Trump meets with National Association of Police Organizations leadership. He travels to Belleair, Fla., where he is expected to participate in a Covid-19 response and storm preparedness roundtable.
Congress: Negotiations over the stimulus relief package continue, as enhanced jobless benefits expire today. Health officials including Dr. Anthony Fauci and CDC Director Robert Redfield testify in the House.
Washington Wire: Sen. Rick Scott is lining up support for a plum post that would put him in close contact with top Republican donors and finance chairs around the country as he mulls a potential presidential run in 2024.
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Coronavirus and the Economy
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Latest Numbers
17,321,394 cases world-wide and 673,822 deaths.
4,495,224 cases in the U.S. and 152,075 deaths.
Source: Johns Hopkins University, as of 7:30 a.m. ET.
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The U.S. neared 4.5 million confirmed coronavirus infections today, with fatalities rising in some states, while areas that had brought outbreaks under control struggled to keep them that way. More than 67,500 new cases and at least 1,200 fatalities were reported on Thursday.
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Congressional leaders and White House officials failed to strike a deal on coronavirus relief Thursday night, report Kristina Peterson and Siobhan Hughes. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) rejected a short-term extension of federal unemployment aid, said Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin after he and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows left a two-hour meeting.
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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) took steps to set up votes early next week, but there was no bipartisan agreement in sight for the chamber to approve.
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Republicans said they would be willing to discuss expanded food-stamp benefits in talks over the next coronavirus-relief bill.
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U.S. gross domestic product fell at a seasonally and inflation adjusted 32.9% annual rate in the second quarter, the steepest decline in more than 70 years of record-keeping, reports Harriet Torry.
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Republican leaders rebuffed President Trump's suggestion of delaying the election until a time when “people can properly, securely and safely vote,” report Tarini Parti and Alex Leary. The date of the election, fixed as the first Tuesday after Nov. 1 by an act of Congress in 1845, can only be changed by Congress. Mr. Trump and other critics of universal mail-in voting have said it raises several election-integrity concerns.
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Mr. Trump said at a press conference Thursday: “Do I want to see a date change? No, but I don’t want to see a crooked election.”
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A record number of Americans are expected to vote by mail in November, a major change in voting procedures for many states that is causing a logistical challenge. Here's how it works.
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Former President Barack Obama, in remarks, threw his weight behind ending the Senate’s legislative filibuster if necessary to pursue Democrats’ voting-rights agenda, report Siobhan Hughes and Lindsay Wise.
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Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the U.S. is planning measures to address human-rights violations in China. During Senate testimony in which he defended a $41 billion budget request, he drew praise for his approach toward Beijing, report William Mauldin and Courtney McBride.
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Trevor Reed, 29, a U.S. student detained in Russia, was found guilty by a Russia court of assaulting two police officers and sentenced to nine years in prison, in a case his family and supporters believe is politically motivated, reports Ann M. Simmons.
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Acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf/PHOTO: STEFANI REYNOLDS/ZUMA PRESS
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Department of Homeland Security involvement in Portland clashes has fueled debate over the role of the agency, report Michelle Hackman and Andrew Restuccia. Acting Secretary Chad Wolf felt he had little choice but to send federal agents to Oregon, aides say.
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An FBI internal probe found that errors in FISA warrants didn't undermine cases, reports Aruna Viswanatha. The probe was launched after the inspector general found mistakes in applications to monitor Americans suspected of having links to foreign intelligence or terrorism.
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A national-security panel in 2019 increased its review of business deals involving foreign money, the first year after Congress ordered it to scrutinize such transactions more thoroughly, according to a new report released Thursday, reports Katy Stech Ferek.
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A federal appeals court will rehear a legal challenge to whether charges against Michael Flynn must be dropped, the latest twist in a yearslong legal drama in the last remaining continuing criminal case from the Mueller investigation, reports Byron Tau. Arguments are set for Aug. 11.
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A Manhattan federal judge has unveiled documents in the Ghislaine Maxwell lawsuit. Dozens of unsealed court documents offered new revelations about Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged sexual abuse of teenage girls, report Deanna Paul and Rebecca Davis O’Brien.
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Photo: Alyssa Pointer/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP.
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Former presidents and others paid tribute Thursday to the late Rep. John Lewis as a pillar of the civil-rights movement who transformed American democracy and activism, reports Sabrina Siddiqui. Former Presidents George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama celebrated his role in ushering in a landmark voting-rights law and his service in Congress.
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Herman Cain died at 74 after being hospitalized for Covid-19. The former Godfather’s Pizza chief executive ran for president as a Republican in the 2012 campaign pushing a simplified tax plan he called “9-9-9.”
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An effort by presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner to devise a national coronavirus testing plan went "poof" without being implemented. (Vanity Fair)
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If efforts to pass new voting-rights legislation are blocked in the Senate, that move could spell the end of the filibuster there. (The Atlantic)
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President Trump's once-solid grip on his party's voters appears to be slipping. (Cook Political Report)
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This newsletter is a production of the WSJ Washington bureau. Our newsletter editors are Kate Milani, Troy McCullough and Toula Vlahou. Send feedback to capitaljournal@wsj.com. You can follow politics coverage on our Politics page and at @wsjpolitics on Twitter.
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