Clinton’s, Trump’s campaign game plans on display in Colorado

Can a rising Obama help Clinton?
President Barack Obama’s approval rating got its own convention bump, and now stands at its highest level since just before his second inauguration in 2013.

GOP’s long-simmering civil war breaks into the open
Donald Trump insisted to a packed audience in Florida Wednesday that the campaign has “never been so well united.”

Former Ohio Rep. Steve LaTourette dies at age 62
Former Rep. Steve LaTourette died Wednesday of pancreatic cancer at the age of 62.

CNN’s second Libertarian town hall in 90 seconds
For the second time, CNN hosted Libertarian Presidential Nominee Gary Johnson and Vice Presidential Nominee William Weld in a live town hall.

GOP congressman says he can’t support Trump: ‘I’m an American before I’m a Republican’
Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger said Wednesday that he doesn’t see how he can endorse his party’s nominee, Donald Trump, in the wake of the week’s events.

Pence’s role: Trump’s apologist-in-chief
Mike Pence was chosen as Donald Trump’s vice presidential nominee in part because of his ability to stay on message and maintain his relationships with fellow Republicans — even under political pressure.

Trump meets Gold Star families in wake of Khan controversy
Donald Trump said Wednesday during a campaign rally here that he met with the families of six service members who were killed in combat.

Trump punts to Florida gov on Zika
Donald Trump campaigned in two Florida cities Wednesday without addressing growing public health concerns over an outbreak of locally borne Zika infections in the state.

CNN hosting Green Party town hall
CNN announced Wednesday it will host one of its town hall events with the Green Party’s presumptive presidential nominee Jill Stein and her presumptive running mate, Ajamu Baraka.

Trump, Clinton battle for North Carolina
It’s a red state that went blue in 2008. Then switched back to red again in 2012.

Supreme Court temporarily blocks order on transgender bathroom use
A divided Supreme Court agreed Wednesday to temporarily block a lower court order that had cleared the way for a transgender male high school student to use the boys’ bathroom in a Virginia public school this fall.

First on CNN: Super PAC to begin $1 million pro-Trump radio campaign
A new super PAC is beginning what is expected to be a $1 million radio buy on behalf of Donald Trump, a campaign that will be one of the largest advertising purchases for the Republican presidential nominee so far.

Amid GOP distress, Trump gets on message — briefly
For the first 11 minutes of his rally here on Wednesday, Donald Trump sounded like the candidate his campaign advisers and top Republican Party officials wish he would be more often.

Fox News Poll: Clinton opens up 10-point lead over Trump
Hillary Clinton has widened her lead over Donald Trump to 10 points in the wake of the Democratic convention, according to a new national poll.

Clinton sits back and watches as GOP drama intensifies
Democrats expected to ride high after their national convention — but they didn’t imagine it would feel this good.

Political Prediction Market: Clinton odds for the White House at 82%
Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton’s odds to win the White House are at 82%, according to CNN’s Political Prediction Market.

Trump campaign hauls $80 million in July
Donald Trump’s campaign posted $80 million in fundraising last month in conjunction with the Republican Party, mostly through small-dollar donations it solicited from supporters online and by mail.

US sent plane with $400 million in cash to Iran
US officials confirmed Wednesday that the Obama administration secretly arranged a plane delivery of $400 million in cash on the same day Iran released four American prisoners and formally implemented the nuclear deal.

Libertarians to make their case at CNN town hall
Two former Republican governors turned Libertarians have emerged as an unlikely wild card In an unpredictable election year.

Obama issues 214 commutations for drug offenders
President Barack Obama granted a history-making 214 commutations Wednesday, the highest number granted on a single day in more than a century.

What Libertarian Gary Johnson believes in 2 minutes
Not a Republican; not a Democrat. Gary Johnson on the what makes the Libertarian Party different.

Report: Bush fears “isolationism, nativism and protectionism”
Former President George W. Bush seemed to speak out against Donald Trump without mentioning him by name at a fundraising event Tuesday, warning against policies of “isolationism, nativism and protectionism” and urging the GOP to ensure that “everyone feels welcome”

Combat-tested U.S. bombers headed to Pacific
The U.S. Air Force is sending bombers with thousands of hours of combat experience to Guam this week to bolster the U.S. military presence in the Asia-Pacific, the service says.

DC transit officer charged with aiding ISIS
A police officer with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority was arrested Wednesday and charged with providing material support to ISIS, according to two law enforcement officials.

Trump aide: Clinton responsible for Khan’s death, not Obama
A top surrogate for Donald Trump admitted Wednesday she was wrong to say that President Barack Obama was responsible for Capt. Humayun Khan’s death.

33 US military members have contracted Zika
Thirty-three members of the US military have contracted the Zika virus overseas in countries where the virus has been identified, according to the Pentagon.

Poll finds Clinton, Trump supporters have few friends on other side
If you support a particular presidential candidate, it’s likely that many of your friends feel the same way.

Ryan rival: I’d be ‘flattered’ by Trump endorsement
House Speaker Paul Ryan’s Republican primary opponent said Wednesday he’s not being used by Donald Trump and would gladly accept the Republican nominee’s endorsement if it were offered.

The GOP’s Trump freak-out
Republicans reacted with dismay Wednesday as Donald Trump’s campaign descended into disarray.

Slain Cpt. Khan praised as “amazing man” by soldier
“Amazing leader.” “The best.” “My friend.”

French president: Trump gives ‘retching feeling’
French President François Hollande said Tuesday that Donald Trump’s “excesses” give those watching a “retching feeling,” adding his voice to the onslaught of criticism directed at the Republican candidate.

Few fear Zika following first cases in US
A new poll finds most Americans aren’t worried about someone in their family contracting a case of Zika, even as a growing number of mosquito-borne cases of the disease in a Florida neighborhood prompted a historic travel warning from the Centers for Disease Control.

3-term House incumbent Huelskamp loses Kansas primary
A three-term House of Representatives incumbent from Kansas, who was a member of the anti-establishment House Freedom Caucus, was defeated in a Republican primary on Tuesday.

Khizr Khan: John McCain was my son’s ‘hero’
After delivering a passionate speech about the Constitution at the Democratic National Convention last week, Khizr Khan, the father of a Muslim-American soldier killed in Iraq in 2004, has spent the several days defending himself and his wife from attacks by Donald Trump.

What to watch at CNN’s Libertarian town hall
In June, CNN hosted former Govs. Gary Johnson and William Weld for a live town hall event. On Wednesday evening, the Libertarians will be back in prime-time for round two.

More than a few things Trump has totally changed his mind about
Donald Trump has built a political brand on his willingness to say just about anything that comes to mind at a given moment — relying, he says, on his “gut.” Sometimes that means contradicting himself on fairly basic ideas and sentiments, like as recently as Tuesday whether or not crying babies are fun to be around (Hint: less so over time).

Donald Trump’s strange campaign gets stranger
Donald Trump is testing just how far he can push his unconventional campaign without wrecking it.

Meg Whitman: I will vote for, and donate to, Clinton
Meg Whitman, a major GOP donor and former California gubernatorial candidate, said Tuesday she would support Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump, making her one of the highest-profile Republican defections.

Sources: Trump-world frustrated by their candidate
Donald Trump aides and people close to his campaign are increasingly frustrated by his insistence on waging various fights that steer him off message.

Judge lets fraud case against Trump proceed
A federal judge has ruled that videotaped depositions of Donald Trump in a court case alleging fraud by Trump University will not be made public.

Ivanka Trump: Sexual harassment is ‘inexcusable’
Ivanka Trump said Tuesday that sexual harassment in any setting was “inexcusable,” seeking to tamp down the controversy created by her father and brother Eric’s comments on the issue.

Khan to Trump: ‘Put that Purple Heart back’
Khizr Khan on Tuesday accused Donald Trump of dodging the Vietnam War draft, and said he shouldn’t have accepted a Purple Heart given to him at a rally earlier in the day, deeming it the latest sign of his inability to empathize with parents of fallen soldiers.

Trump vs. Ryan (again): How we got here
If Donald Trump wins in November, his most powerful Republican ally in Washington will be House Speaker Paul Ryan — at least, that’s the plan.

Sergeant praises Captain Khan: ‘He wore the American flag like all of us’
Nearly one week since Philadelphia’s Democratic National Convention saw Khizr Khan speak emotionally and eloquently on his late son’s behalf, the fallen soldier’s memory continues to be honored by those that knew him well.

Trump responds to Obama: ‘He’s a terrible president’
Donald Trump says President Barack Obama is attacking him because he’s “concerned I’m going to win.”

Palin’s son-in-law, a veteran, calls on Trump to apologize
Sarah Palin’s son-in-law, Dakota Meyer, who received the Medal of Honor in 2011, said Tuesday Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump should apologize to the Khan family for comments he made about the Muslim parents of a slain US soldier.

Trump isn’t backing Paul Ryan, John McCain
Donald Trump is declining to endorse a pair of Republican heavyweights — House Speaker Paul Ryan and former presidential nominee John McCain — in their primary fights, another sign of the fractures within the party.