Inexperienced Republican candidates are threatening to cost Mitch McConnell a long-expected Senate majority in this year's midterms.

• The GOP roster is filled with Trump-endorsed celebrities who've never run political campaigns — former NFL star Herschel Walker in Georgia, Dr. Oz in Pennsylvania and best-selling author J.D. Vance in Ohio.
• The winner in Tuesday's GOP primary in Arizona, Blake Masters — a venture capitalist who ran an unconventional primary comparing his candidacy to a tech startup — has resisted hiring political strategists to help tailor his message for November, according to Republican sources familiar with his campaign.

Why it matters: Despite a favorable political environment for Republicans, these nominees are trailing in recent public polls, Axios' Josh Kraushaar writes.

• McConnell acknowledged the lowered expectations in an interview with Fox News' Bret Baier: "I think when this Senate race smoke clears, we're likely to have a very, very close Senate still, with us up slightly or the Democrats up slightly."

Reality check: Political outsiders are sometimes the right candidates.

• Democrats won control of the House in 2018 by recruiting military veterans, businesswomen and physicians to win over swing voters.
• Those candidates also campaigned as moderates, unlike the current crop of Trump-backed Republicans.

The bottom line: McConnell prefers experienced candidates who stay on message. Trump likes zany outsiders who stand outside the political mainstream. But Trump won key fights in the GOP primaries.

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President Biden landed this morning in Rehoboth Beach, Del., after testing negative for COVID for the second day in a row. It's his first trip out of Washington in more than two weeks.

• "I'm feeling good," Biden told reporters before boarding Marine One at the White House.

After working all night, the Senate continues voting today on Democrats' climate, health and tax package.

• Vice President Harris' tie-breaker yesterday put the party on track for a morale-boosting victory three months from midterms.

"I think it's gonna pass," Biden said.

LIUQIU ISLAND, Taiwan — Families collected shells on the beach and tourists took sunset selfies on the tiny resort island of Liuqiu.

• They were less than six miles from one of the "danger zones" where China is conducting live-fire military drills, Axios China author Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian writes.

While international attention focuses on the emerging cross-strait crisis, Taiwanese have been living with Chinese government threats for decades.

• Few people appeared seriously concerned about a possible military conflict — even on this islet, closer to the drills than any other part of Taiwan.

What's happening: China launched a series of military exercises in six zones encircling Taiwan after Speaker Pelosi's visit last week. Ballistic missiles launched from China landed in waters east of Taiwan.

• The drills, which are due to end today, are the largest China has ever held in the Taiwan Strait.
• Taiwan's Ministry of Defense said the exercises amount to an "air and sea blockade," as some commercial flights and cargo ships in the region have had to adjust or cancel their routes.

Being there: Tourists were still flocking to the island about eight miles off the southwest coast of Taiwan, even as the drills were underway.

• Divers swam with turtles close to the shore, and fishing boats traversed the nearby waters as usual. In the evenings, seaside restaurants and bars were filled to capacity.

In interviews with more than 20 tourists and local residents, nonchalance was the most common attitude toward the live-fire drills happening just a few miles away.

• When asked if they were nervous about the close proximity of Chinese warships and planes, numerous people laughed and shook their heads.

Others said the drills were only intended as a show of intimidation rather than a serious military threat.

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A monsoon in Death Valley ... floods in Vegas casinos.

• "Death Valley has averaged about 1.96 inches of precipitation per year since record keeping began in 1911," the L.A. Times reports. "Nearly 75% of that amount fell in the space of a few hours on Friday."
• Friday’s storm — roads turned into rushing rivers, and dumpsters rammed parked cars — marked the second time flash flooding hit Death Valley within a week.

Above: Cars are stuck in mud and debris from flash flooding at The Inn at Death Valley in Death Valley National Park, Calif., on Friday.

🖼️ The big picture: It's not just the West. The Washington Post says climate change is producing "Extreme Summer" coast to coast, turning "a season of joy into a season of disaster."

• Billion-dollar disasters are rising.

The bottom line: Heat waves, wildfires and rainstorms are all outrunning America's infrastructure, Axios' Andrew Freedman writes.

Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), vice chair of the House Jan. 6 committee, will continue her crusade to stop former President Trump even if she loses her primary on Aug. 16 [Corrected], the N.Y. Times' Jonathan Martin writes from Cheyenne:

• "If the cost of standing up for the Constitution is losing the House seat, then that's a price I’m willing to pay," she said in an interview.

Cheney told JMart she has no interest in changing parties: "I'm a Republican."

• But she said the GOP "may not be" salvageable in the short term.
• She called her party "very sick," and said it's "continuing to drive itself in a ditch and I think it’s going to take several cycles if it can be healed."

It’s easy to hear a White House bid in her rhetoric, The Times reports:

• "Cheney’s relentless focus on Mr. Trump has driven speculation — even among longtime family friends — that she is preparing to run for president. She has done little to dissuade such talk."

"Cheney had spent roughly half her war chest as of the start of July, spurring speculation that she was saving money for future efforts against Mr. Trump," The Times adds.

• "Cheney long ago stopped attending meetings of House Republicans. When at the Capitol, she spends much of her time with the Democrats on the Jan. 6 panel and often heads to the Lindy Boggs Room, the reception room for female lawmakers, rather than the House floor with the male-dominated House G.O.P. conference."

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Creative Artists Agency last week named its first "chief metaverse officer."

Why it matters: "Hyper-specific and unconventional roles are opening up to match a professional landscape no one has seen before," writes the N.Y. Times' Emma Goldberg (subscription).

• Among them: chief science advocate ... chief heart officer ... V.P. for product evangelism ... V.P. for flexible work ... head of dynamic work ... and, for a remote software company, "head of team anywhere."