CLIP OF THE DAY. Sweaty Donald Trump signs autographs and tells local officials to sell them on eBay during a disaster. “President Trump visited Lake Charles, Louisiana recently, where Hurricane Laura made landfall. After meeting with emergency officials, he said, ‘Come here fellas, I want a little power.' He then sat at a table and started signing pieces of paper, offering them to Lake Charles officials.”
HOW HE THINKS. Trump thought he could “settle” Mueller investigation: “At one point, as the investigation seemed to be intensifying,” Schmidt writes, Trump told White House counsel Don McGahn “that there was nothing to worry about because if it was zeroing in on him, he would simply settle with Mueller. He would settle the case, as if he were negotiating terms in a lawsuit.”
CHADWICK BOSEMAN. Posthumous tweet from late Black Panther‘s account becomes most liked of all time.
ADMISSIONS SCANDAL. UPenn professor renews request to investigate Trump's admission to the school after his sister reveals he had someone take SATs. “The provost, Wendell E. Pritchett, replied to Orts on July 20 that ‘we certainly share your concerns about these allegations and the integrity of our admissions process. However, as you suggest in your message, we have determined that this situation occurred too far in the past to make a useful or probative factual inquiry possible. If new evidence surfaces to substantiate the claim in the future, we will continue to be open to investigating it.'”
PHANTOM WAP. Andrew Lloyd Webber does a WAP remix on his TikTok account. Yes, you read that correctly.
‘OFF THE CHARTS' Michael Moore warns of enthusiasm in Trump's base.
CULTURAL APPROPRIATION? Adele faces backlash for Carnival photo.
ANDREW SULLIVAN. NYT's Ben Smith says he still reads him, but can't defend him: “He was a star in his 20s, when he ran The New Republic, so celebrated that he posed for Annie Leibovitz in a Gap ad in a white T-shirt and a memorably coy expression. He was a master of provocations there that included one that defined him, arguing long before it was part of mainstream political debate that same-sex couples should have the right to marry. But he also published a cover story, an excerpt from ‘The Bell Curve,' that claimed to show a link between race and I.Q., a decision that has increasingly consumed his legacy.”
MICHAEL FLYNN. Appeals court denies Flynn and DOJ's effort to end case: “The 8-2 decision restores power to a judge to question the Justice Department's moves in the politically divisive case, when Attorney General William Barr dropped charges against President Donald Trump's former national security adviser earlier this year despite twice pleading guilty to lying under oath to lying to the FBI.”
RUSSIA. DOJ never fully investigated Trump's ties: “The Justice Department secretly took steps in 2017 to narrow the investigation into Russian election interference and any links to the Trump campaign, according to former law enforcement officials, keeping investigators from completing an examination of President Trump's decades-long personal and business ties to Russia.”
CHASTEN BUTTIGIEG. On his new memoir, Pete, politics, Melania's failings, making LGBTQ history, suicidal thoughts, sexual assault, death threats, and the “not gay enough” debate.
ITALY. Older gay people, in pictures. “Photographer Melissa Ianniello's long-term project investigates the double taboos of homosexuality and old age in Italy. The subjects of her intimate portraits are a group of gay men and lesbians between 60 and 90 years old, captured as couples or alone in their own homes”
$200 AIRLINE TICKET-CHANGE FEES. United just got rid of them: “United Airlines on Sunday said that it will permanently scrap fees to change domestic flights, a big bet that more flexible policies will win over much-needed customers as the pain from the coronavirus pandemic's impact on air travel continue to mount.”
LOYALTY PLEDGE. Trump demanded loyalty pledge from FBI director John Kelly, didn't get it: “Schmidt reports that ‘throughout Kelly's time working directly with Trump, Kelly was repeatedly struck by how Trump failed to understand how those who worked for him — like Kelly and other top former generals — had interest in being loyal not to him, but to the institutions of American democracy.'”
FLORIDA. Department of Health says number of COVID cases in schools is confidential: “In the interest of public health in Florida, the Surgeon General instructed County Health Departments to provides [sic] school districts with information regarding COVID-19 cases in their schools. However, this information is considered confidential,” a Florida Department of Health spokesman said in an emailed statement.
MALE MODEL MONDAY. Wyatt Cushman, Agustin Bruno, Florian Macek, Matt Law, Calum Winsor and MORE.
MUSIC VIDEOS OF THE DAY. The Kinsey Sicks “Tomorrow” and “Let It Go”.
MUSIC VIDEO OF THE DAY 2. Katy Perry “Champagne Problems”.
MONDAY MUSCLE. Ralph Otivar.
