Daily Digest: TGIF edition

Good morning, and welcome to Friday. It's been a  long hot week here in Minnesota, but things are looking up for the weekend. In the meantime, there's a Digest to get to:

1. House Speaker Paul Ryan tried to tamp down the internal fighting in the Republican Party by standing by his endorsement of Donald Trump even though Trump has declined to endorse him. The pressure is on Trump to get things together as a number of polls showed Hillary Clinton with a lead both nationally and in key states. Trump called Ryan "a good guy," as he campaigned in Maine, which has been a blue state in presidential elections. (New York Times)

2. Clinton has not been resting as Trump has been struggling. She's been reaching out to Republicans who can't stomach Trump. It paid off earlier this week when Meg Whitman endorsed her. Her campaign says it's not her main strategy to win the election, but it is pulling some Republicans into her orbit. (Washington Post)

3. The second highest ranking Democrat in the U.S. House was in Minnesota Thursday on behalf of three Democrats running for Congress -- two challengers and one incumbent. Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., appeared at a business round table with Angie Craig, who's running in the 2nd District. He also raised money for Terri Bonoff, who's running in the 3rd District. And he held a separate fundraiser with 8th District Rep. Rick Nolan. (MPR News)

4. President Obama said the only reason the U.S. paid cash to Iran was because sanctions were so tight there was no banking relationship that would allow a check to work. Obama once again denied the payment in January was ransom and said his administration would not have publicly announced it at the time if it had been. Trump has been pounding the issue on the campaign trail. (Bloomberg Politics)

5. Finally, who says Obama hasn't created any jobs? His younger daughter Sasha is working the takeout window at a seafood restaurant on Martha's Vineyard. She's apparently the only staffer who has six bodyguards on hand during her shift. (Boston Herald)

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