Happy Friday afternoon. JOE BIDEN and KAMALA HARRIS have signed the documents today to receive the Democratic nomination. Reporters were quickly ushered out of the event in Wilmington, Del., after a reporter asked Harris about GOP attacks since she was named Biden's running mate. HARRIS responded: "I'm signing this because I am in this race to win. And with that guy right there … and we're going to get it done." -- A QUESTION: When will BIDEN and HARRIS hold a press conference or engage in a back-and-forth with the media? They opted not to do so at Thursday's health briefing and at today's signing ceremony. Social distancing and limited in-person campaign events have significantly limited the candidates' interaction with the media compared to a typical presidential campaign, where both would be out on the trail and forced to interact with the press on a regular basis. MEANWHILE … THE PRESIDENT is speaking to reporters at 1 p.m. He will leave the White House around 2 p.m. today. He is expected to stop in New York City to see his younger brother Robert, who is ill, before going to his golf club in Bedminster, N.J. -- ABC: "Trump brother hospitalized in New York: Sources," by John Santucci, Katherine Faulders and Aaron Katersky: "Robert Trump, the younger brother of President Donald Trump, has been hospitalized in New York, sources told ABC News, a development confirmed by the White House. The details of his condition remain unknown though he is described by several sources as 'very ill.'" SIREN ... KYLE CHENEY: "GAO finds Chad Wolf, Ken Cuccinelli are ineligible to serve in their top DHS roles": "The Government Accountability Office — Congress' independent investigative arm — concluded that after the resignation of Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen in April 2019, an improper succession occurred … GAO has referred the matter to the inspector general of the Department of Homeland Security for further review and potential action. … "'We wholeheartedly disagree with the GAO's baseless report,' [a DHS] spokesman said. The legal opinion has no binding force but is likely to raise extraordinary legal questions and invite lawsuits about the legitimacy of actions taken by Wolf and Cuccinelli." POLITICO … The decision THE COOK POLITICAL REPORT has changed the ratings of 15 House races. Eleven have shifted in Dems' direction, four in Rs' … NOTABLE: Rep. BEN MCADAMS (D-Utah) moved from lean Dem to toss up … Rep. VAN TAYLOR (R-Texas) and Rep. LEE ZELDIN (R-N.Y.) went from likely R to lean R … The seat being vacated by Georgia Rep. ROB WOODALL (R-Ga.) is now lean D. Dave Wasserman's tweet with the breakdown SOMETHING TO LIFT YOUR SPIRITS -- THE IDEA THAT'S GAINING STEAM: "The breakthrough that could halt the pandemic, even before a vaccine," by Carmen Paun: "Imagine a self-administered coronavirus test, done at home, with results available in minutes, instead of the days or sometimes weeks people are currently waiting. Health experts believe this kind of affordable and rapid self-testing — similar to tests detecting pregnancy or HIV — could change the course of the pandemic until vaccines become available. … "It took 40 years to convert the idea of HIV self-tests into a widely available test. But despite false starts — U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in April such tests would be available within weeks — the coronavirus version of the technology could be ready for production by the end of the year." -- THE ATLANTIC'S ROBINSON MEYER and ALEXIS MADRIGAL: "The Way Out: The U.S. has never had enough coronavirus tests. Now a group of epidemiologists, economists, and dreamers has a new plan to defeat the virus, even before a vaccine is found." NEXT WEEK ON THE TRUMP CAMPAIGN -- CONVENTION COUNTERPROGRAMMING … Monday: Mankato, Minn., at 2 p.m. CT: "President Donald J. Trump to deliver remarks on Joe Biden's failures on Jobs and the Economy" … Oshkosh, Wis., at 4:30 p.m. CT: "President Donald J. Trump to deliver remarks on Joe Biden's failures on Jobs and the Economy" … Tuesday: Yuma, Ariz., at 1 p.m. MT: "President Donald J. Trump to deliver remarks on Joe Biden's failures on Immigration and Border Security." SEN. TIM KAINE (D-Va.) will be on Fox News at 3 p.m. with BILL HEMMER. THE VIEW FROM ISRAEL … HAARETZ'S ANSHEL PFEFFER, who wrote the definitive BIBI biography: "In UAE Deal, Netanyahu Trades Imaginary Annexation for Real Life Diplomacy Win": "Benjamin Netanyahu never had a real plan for annexing parts of the West Bank. There was no timetable, no map, no draft resolution to be brought to the government or the Knesset. Just a pile of broken election promises and a lot of empty talk. On Thursday, that plan he never planned to carry out has bought him a significant diplomatic coup. "The joint declaration with the United Arab Emirates is not yet a full peace plan. There is no clear commitment from the Emiratis on doing anything yet, certainly not opening embassies in either country any time soon. But this remains the most visible and concrete recognition by an Arab Gulf region state of the hitherto secret alliance with Israel. It is an achievement for Netanyahu that his predecessors, who were prepared to make major concessions to the Palestinians, only dreamed of – and he paid nothing for it beyond what he called the 'temporary suspension' of the annexation he was never going to carry out anyway. … "It's too early to say whether this will help Netanyahu on the domestic front. This won't erase his abject failure in dealing with the coronavirus epidemic, or save him from his day in court when the evidentiary stage of his corruption case begins in January, but it will bolster his image of indispensability as Israel's master statesman. … "This needs to be a moment of reckoning for those who still believe the Palestinian predicament is an injustice that must be solved by two states, one state or any state. The threats against Israeli intransigence have proven as empty as Netanyahu's promise of annexation. An entire new case for peace with the Palestinians must now be assembled." -- NYT: "For Palestinians, Israel-U.A.E. Deal Swaps One Nightmare for Another," by Isabel Kershner and Adam Rasgon in Jerusalem: "Palestinian officials maintain that nobody consulted with them before Thursday's surprise announcement … If that was presented as some kind of a balm for the Palestinians, many of them considered it, instead, a stab in the back or a dagger to the heart. "The diplomatic coup for Israel ruptured decades of professed Arab unity around the Palestinian cause. It swapped one Palestinian nightmare — annexation, which many world leaders had warned would be an illegal land grab — for another, perhaps even bleaker prospect of not being counted at all." NYT NRA NEWS -- "Hollywood Producer Emerges as Key Figure in Alleged NRA Financial Abuses," by WSJ's Mark Maremont: "A lawsuit filed last week by the office of Attorney General Letitia James against the NRA alleges that the producer, David McKenzie, was the 'principal stakeholder' in four large NRA vendors that together were paid $100 million by the NRA in recent years." WSJ THE ECONOMIC RECOVERY -- "U.S. retail sales regain pre-virus level but slowdown likely," by AP's Christopher Rugaber and Anne D'Innocenzio: "Americans increased their retail purchases by 1.2% in July, with solid gains in appliances and clothing helping restore sales to their level before the viral pandemic erupted in March. "Sales at retail stores and restaurants have now risen for three straight months, after plunges in March and April, when the pandemic shuttered businesses and paralyzed the economy. Still, much of the spending was fueled by government aid that had put more money in people's pockets but has since expired." AP ON THE FRONT LINES -- "Health providers' scramble for staff and supplies reveals sharp disparities," by Tucker Doherty: "Doctors, nurses and caregivers at smaller and poorer hospitals and medical facilities across the country are still struggling to obtain the protective gear, personnel and resources they need to fight the coronavirus despite President Donald Trump's repeated assertions that the problems are solved. … "Larger and richer hospitals and practices outbid their smaller peers, sometimes for protective gear, sometimes to fill in staffing gaps. And some of those having the hardest time are precisely where the virus is spreading." POLITICO YIKES -- "Untested for Covid-19, Nursing-Home Inspectors Move Through Facilities," by WSJ's Anna Wilde Mathews: "The federal government said in June that states needed to complete special infection control-focused examinations of the approximately 15,000 federally-certified nursing homes by late August, or risk losing some federal funding. But the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS, the agency that oversees nursing-home inspections, didn't require states to test workers who perform site visits. "The Wall Street Journal contacted health regulators in all 50 states to ask about testing requirements for nursing-home inspectors, known as surveyors. At least 26 states don't require regular testing, though some, including New Hampshire and New Jersey, said they offer it on a voluntary basis. Others, such as South Carolina, Washington and Idaho, are developing new testing programs for inspectors." WSJ CONVENTIONAL WISDOM -- "Common, Billie Eilish, John Legend among Dem convention musical acts," by Quint Forgey FOR YOUR RADAR -- "Discontent with McCarthy rises as GOP considers a possible post-Trump world," by WaPo's Rachael Bade: "A cluster of GOP lawmakers is starting to privately question whether the California Republican is putting loyalty to the president over the good of the conference. And there is a small group of members discussing whether someone should challenge him for minority leader if Trump is defeated Nov. 3. The matter bubbled to the surface this week with the primary election of Marjorie Taylor Greene … "According to interviews with more than 10 House Republicans — all of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity to be frank — some GOP lawmakers are worried that McCarthy has tied the conference too much to Trump, refusing to stand up to the president or act as a buffer to distinguish the conference from him. Others are also furious that he didn't shield them from a recent Trump campaign demand that House members donate to the president's reelection effort. … The feeling, however, is far from unanimous." WaPo -- AND THE HITS KEEP COMING … NBC: "House GOP candidate known for QAnon support was 'correspondent' for conspiracy website," by Brandy Zadrozny: "Before running for office, Republican congressional candidate Marjorie Taylor Greene wrote dozens of articles as a 'correspondent' for a conspiracy news website, according to archived web pages uncovered by NBC News. "In posts published on the now-defunct 'American Truth Seekers' website in 2017, Greene wrote favorably of the QAnon conspiracy theory, suggested that Hillary Clinton murdered her political enemies, and ruminated on whether mass shootings were orchestrated to dismantle the Second Amendment." NBC MORE FROM NBC -- THE WORLD WE NOW INHABIT: "How QAnon rode the pandemic to new heights — and fueled the viral anti-mask phenomenon," by Ben Collins: "While QAnon bubbled on the fringes of the internet for years, researchers and experts say it has emerged in recent months as a sort of centralized hub for conspiracy and alternative health communities. According to an internal document reported by NBC News this week, Facebook now has more than 1,000 of these QAnon groups, totaling millions of members. "Users … who started off in wellness communities, religious groups and new-age groups on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram during the pandemic were then introduced to extremist groups like QAnon, aided by shared beliefs about energy, healing or God — and often by recommendation algorithms. And while anti-mask sentiment has surfaced in a variety of ways for a number of reasons, viral videos of anti-mask confrontations have become causes for celebration in conspiracy circles." MO MONEY … STILL PROBLEMS: "Democratic Fundraising for Top-Tier Races Masks Downballot Problems," by WSJ's Gabriel Rubin: "[T]he party continues to lag badly behind their GOP counterparts in fundraising for downballot races in states that are crucial to the party's long-term success, especially in a redistricting year. Democratic state legislature candidates were outraised in 15 of 18 target seats in Texas, where they hope to break the GOP's total control of state government. In Florida, Democrats raised just 30% of what Republicans raised in 23 targeted statehouse races. … "One bright spot for Democrats: Candidates in hotly contested races in North Carolina are keeping up with their Republican opponents' fundraising, a testament to the state party infrastructure built up in recent years by Gov. Roy Cooper, among others." WSJ ON THE BORDER -- "Trump administration now wants a floating border wall to seal off waterways along Mexico boundary," by WaPo's Nick Miroff: "Such floating barriers or river-based deterrents could allow the U.S. government to block migrants from fording waters along stretches of the Rio Grande where it is difficult or impossible to build steel barriers on the shoreline. It also could provide the U.S. government a way to install some form of a barrier in areas of Texas where private owners have resisted efforts." WaPo TRUMP'S PATH TO 270 -- "Trump Supporters Hold Fast in Maine Stronghold Hit by Recession, Trade War," by WSJ's Julie Bykowicz in Guilford, Maine: "Piscataquis County serves as a proving ground for a Trump campaign strategy of turning out as many strong supporters as possible." WSJ WAPO'S ROBIN GIVHAN takes on the PRESS SECRETARY: "Kayleigh McEnany is the camera-perfect embodiment of Trump's message: Everything is fine": "She strides up to the podium with great confidence holding her binder of — what? They are bits of free-floating information that she matches with a reporter's query in a game of high-wire Mad Libs. She believes that a fusillade of data points and exaggerations is a perfectly fine way to not answer a question. "McEnany is Trumpism delivered with a smiling, telegenic unruffled aplomb at a time when there's very little to smile about and quite a lot to be ruffled by. She is the picture-perfect face in an administration filled with funhouse mirrors." TRANSITION -- Thor Christianson is joining the Department of Education to work on higher education and coronavirus issues for assistant secretary Robert King. He most recently has been White House liaison at USDA. | 
