Party Unity: House Speaker Paul Ryan is still behind Donald Trump for president, even though Trump refuses to return the favor. It’s a perfect illustration of the dilemma faced by professional Republicans with an upstart candidate. Do they turn against him and face his wrath if he’s elected? Or do they ignore his psychotic behavior, stick with him, and try to help the candidates lower on the ballot?

Trump’s own running mate Mike Pence broke with Trump for the second day in a row, voicing his support for Arizona’s John McCain and Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, two senators Trump has dumped on.

Hillary Clinton is stretching her lead in the polls, by more than 10 points in some of them. She’s also leading Trump by as many as six points in Florida, and 15 points in Pennsylvania. Trump needs those states to win, and so does his party.

Cash Call: President Obama denies the US paid $400 million cash for the release of four Americans held prisoner in Iraq. The Administration says it was the return of money impounded since the Carter administration, and it was paid in cash because the US has no banking agreement with Iran.

Nevertheless, Trump claims it was ransom for hostages and that he saw a videotape of cash coming off a plane in Tehran. There is no such tape, and this morning he admitted that’s true.

Just When I Think I’m Out: Investigators yesterday rounded up 46 old-school mobsters running a cooperative between four crime families from New York to Philadelphia. They were into illegal gambling, arson, loansharking, extortion and selling untaxed cigarettes.

The FBI made thousands of hours of wiretap recordings. Here’s one gem: Genovese family capo Pasquale (Patsy) Parrello dispatched several of his thugs to collect a gambling debt with the order: “Choke him, actually choke the motherf—– … and tell him, ‘Listen to me. Next time I’m not gonna stop choking. I’m gonna kill you.’”

Thrill of Victory: The network news shows have run their evergreen stories about unfinished Olympic venues and anti-terrorist teams rappelling off buildings: it’s time for the games.

The big opening ceremony is tonight in Rio de Janeiro. Here are some great athletes to watch, some for the last time, and some for the first.

-Swimmer Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian in modern history, will carry the flag for the US procession. He’s making what is likely to be his last appearance in the games. He already has 22 medals. Appearing in his fourth Olympics, he’s still fast. He won the 100m and 200m butterfly events, and the 200m individual medley at the US trials in Omaha.

-Likewise with Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt, who’s turning 30 and losing a hundredth of a second here and there. But he’s still the fastest human ever recorded. Coming up in sprinting are American Trayvon Bromell, and Andre DeGrasse of Canada.

– Often lost amid the hype surrounding Usain Bolt’s quest for a historic third Olympic sprint double is his compatriot Shelly-Ann Fraser Pryce, who’s aiming to become the first woman to win the 100m at three Games.

-Living in the shadow of gold medalist Gabby Douglas, the little-known American gymnast Simone Biles is favored to win the all-around gold in Rio. She’s now the most decorated gymnast on the mats.

– US swimmer v, Decath was only 15 when she won the 800-meter freestyle in Beijing and she has come into her full power since. Ledecky is the first swimmer to ever sweep the 200m, 400m, 800m and 1500m freestyle events in a major international competition.

-Ashton Eaton of the US is the world record holder in both the decathlon and heptathlon. He’s looking to be the first two-time decathlon winner since Daley Thompson of Great Britain in 1988 and ’92.

-Japan’s Kohei Uchimura, is described by some as the greatest gymnast of all time. The 27-year-old Uchimura will defend his men’s all-round gold, an event for which he has won the world title every year since 2009.

-You never saw her on a Wheaties box, but Claressa Shields was just 17 when she became the first US woman to win a boxing gold medal in the 2012 London games. The commercial world stiffed her. Let’s just say, she’s not blonde.

Shields grew up poor and abused. She’s feisty, confident, and certain she’s going to be the first Olympian to win consecutive gold medals in boxing.

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