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Republicans used the third night of their convention on Wednesday to amplify warnings of violence and lawlessness under Democratic leadership, trying to capitalize on the worsening unrest in Wisconsin to reclaim moderate voters who might be reluctant to hand President Trump a second term. The party also made appeals to social conservatives with attacks on abortion and accusations that the Democrats and their nominee, Joseph R. Biden Jr., were “Catholics in name only.” And they intensified their effort to lift Mr. Trump’s standing among women with testimonials vouching for him as empathetic and as a champion of women in the workplace — from women who work for him, a number of female lawmakers and his daughter-in-law, Lara Trump. (Martin and Burns, 8/26)

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany shared at the Republican National Convention Wednesday night that she had a preventative mastectomy in 2018, and received support from President Trump even though she did personally not know him at the time. (8/26)

Listening to the speakers at the Republican National Convention, you might be forgiven for thinking that the coronavirus pandemic is over. Many have largely ignored the virus that has killed nearly 180,000 Americans, despite the fact that it continues to seriously disrupt life in the United States, including their own event. Others, like White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow, referred to the pandemic in the past tense: “It was awful,” Kudlow said on August 25. (Berenson and Bennett, 8/27)

The Republican National Convention has put in the spotlight an issue championed by U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin: a law giving patients the "right to try" experimental treatments. (Oppenheim, 8/26)

Kaiser Health News and PolitiFact: Republican Convention, Day 2: Pomp, The Pandemic And Planned Parenthood 

The Republican National Convention offered Americans a picture Tuesday night of a compassionate White House in action. But not a lot was said about the biggest health crisis in a century that has killed more than 170,000 people in this country. First lady Melania Trump wrapped up the evening with a speech from her redesigned Rose Garden, acknowledging to audience members — almost all without masks — that, “since March, our lives have changed drastically.” She also said her husband’s administration has been relentless in its effort to find a vaccine or treatment for COVID-19. “Donald will not rest until he has done all he can to take care of everyone impacted by this terrible pandemic,” she said. (8/26)

President Trump is calling for drug tests to be administered before his first presidential debate with Democratic nominee Joe Biden next month. Trump made the demand in an Oval Office interview with the Washington Examiner on Wednesday, saying he noticed a sudden improvement in Biden’s primary debate performance against Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) in March. He offered no evidence to support his suggestion that the improvement could have been the result of drugs. (Axelrod, 8/26)

Serious concerns about the coronavirus pandemic are on the decline in some of the nation’s most critical battleground states, while approval of President Trump’s handling of the outbreak is rising, according to a new CNBC-Change Research poll released on Wednesday. Across six battleground states — Arizona, Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — the number of likely voters who expressed serious concern about the coronavirus dropped 4 points since earlier this month, dipping from 69 percent to 65 percent. (Greenwood, 8/26)