For the Record: Trump's incredible shrinking VP pool

Yesterday the jiujitsu strategies of both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump were on full display, with both candidates attempting to use the other's biggest strengths against them. Hillary's decades of experience in and around the White House, Congress and the State Department have become liabilities when it appears her connections are helping her dodge legal trouble. At the same time, Trump's decades of business success don't play well when it looks like his boardroom victories are screwing over the little guy. Tighten your black belts, kids; we're gonna be doing this the rest of the summer.

It's official: FBI agents won't arrest Hillary on stage at the convention

It was all but definite yesterday, but now it's confirmed: Attorney General Loretta Lynch won't press charges against Hillary Clinton regarding her use of private email servers during her time as secretary of State. “Late this afternoon, I met with FBI Director James Comey and career prosecutors and agents who conducted the investigation of Secretary Hillary Clinton’s use of a personal email system during her time as secretary of State," she said in a statement. "I received and accepted their unanimous recommendation that the thorough, year-long investigation be closed and that no charges be brought against any individuals within the scope of the investigation.” Clinton campaign press secretary Brian Fallon tweeted that "this case is resolved, no matter Republicans' attempts to continue playing politics;" meanwhile, Trump sent condolences to Bernie Sanders for losing the "FBI primary."

At a Trump rally near Cincinnati yesterday, Newt Gingrich asked the crowd, "Is there a single person here who believes that if you had done what Hillary Clinton had done, you would not be prosecuted?" We'd ask Clinton for a response, but she hasn't bothered to hold a press conference since 2015 (Trump, by way of contrast, held one two weeks ago in Scotland). If Hillary gets elected in November, watch for the White House Press Briefing Room to be converted into a guest bedroom.

Is paint super expensive in New Jersey? A few cans of primer could have fixed this

If you buy into the conspiracy theory that Donald Trump is just a Clinton plant with a mission to get Hillary elected, you can add "backdrop designer" to his list of sleeper-cell activities. Hillary delivered a half-hour speech outside the now-shuttered Trump Plaza Casino yesterday, hammering Trump on his business record. “It's the same scam all over again,” Clinton said. “Remember what he promised: ‘I’m going to do for the country what I did for my business.’ Well, we should believe him – and make sure he never has the chance to bankrupt America the way he bankrupted his businesses.”

Clinton brought a family businessman to the stage to talk about litigation with Trump Taj Mahal, another Atlantic City casino, after a dispute over a glass installation project. “Trump’s actions caused great financial burdens to most of us," said Marty Rosenberg of Atlantic Plate Glass. "Some lost their businesses, some went through a bankruptcy, all suffered emotionally. All the while, Mr. Trump went about his extravagant lifestyle, never giving any of us a second thought.”

Trump knew this was coming, and pointed out on Twitter that he had left the Atlantic City casino game well before Trump Plaza Casino closed: "I made a lot of money in Atlantic City and left 7 years ago, great timing (as all know). Pols made big mistakes, now many bankruptcies." Apparently he should have saved some of that money to hire a good sand blasting company.

Trump can guarantee you, there's no problem with the size of his VP shortlist

Donald Trump started Wednesday with just a handful of VP options and ended the day with a Trump-handful of options. Sen. Bob Corker, a relative moderate, withdrew his name from consideration just a day after joining Trump at a campaign rally in North Carolina. Corker's appearance at the Tuesday rally was widely believed to be a showcasing of a potential running mate, but Corker told The Tennessean's Washington Bureau he was tapping out. So what changed for Corker? Was Trump's qualified praise for Saddam Hussein at the rally too much for Corker, the foreign policy wonk? Or did he get too close of a look at Trump's slim campaign operations? When asked if he'd consider a role in a Trump administration, Corker veered off on a tangent: "It's a really lean campaign -- I mean, very lean -- so (the VP slot is) their focus right now."

Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa wasn't quite as explicit as Corker yesterday, but also seems to be out of the running. “I made that very clear to (Trump) that I’m focused on Iowa," Ernst told Politico. I feel that I have a lot more to do in the United States Senate. And Iowa is where my heart is.” Ernst did snag a prime time, televised speaking slot during the GOP convention (and right now, even attendance at the convention is a tough sell for Republicans). Still on Trump's short list: House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. Sweet, looks like Christie might parlay that McDonald's run into an expanded role within the Trump administration.

More from the campaign trail

• With campaign promises, candidates try, often fail, and completely forget that they're not being elected dictator (Paste BN)
• Mark your calendars and break out the tissues, Bernie Bros -- Sanders could endorse Clinton on Tuesday (Burlington Free Press)
• Rand Paul blasts Hillary for being dishonest -- but won't say she's more dishonest than Trump (Louisville Courier-Journal)

'We'll always have World War II'

Awkward exes Britain and America bump into one another at a post-Brexit Fourth of July.