Trump admin tells U.S. embassies they can't fly pride flag on flagpoles  —  The administration is rejecting requests from U.S. embassies to fly the rainbow flag on flagpoles during June, LGBT Pride Month, say 3 U.S. diplomats.  —  WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is rejecting requests …

A court just ordered the release of crucial documents in mysterious Mueller case  —  The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals just ordered the government to un-seal a treasure trove of documents that are part of the secretive grand jury subpoena battle which all the way up to the Supreme Court earlier this year.

Univ. Of Alabama Returns $21.5 Million Gift; Donor Urged Boycott Over Abortion Law  —  Updated at 2 p.m. ET  —  The University of Alabama's Board of Trustees has voted to return a $21.5 million gift from Hugh Culverhouse Jr. — the school's biggest donor — and take his name off its law school.

Why HBO's “Chernobyl” Gets Nuclear So Wrong  —  Since the start of HBO's mini-series about the 1986 nuclear disaster, “Chernobyl,” journalists have praised the series for getting the facts of the event right, even if its creators took some creative liberties.

How Biden's Campaign Confronted Him on Abortion  —  Joe Biden's aides knew that the 2020 front-runner was going to get ripped apart over his support of the Hyde Amendment, which bans federal funding for abortion procedures.  They were frustrated that the former vice president wouldn't change his stance …

Trump's latest eruption at Pelosi reveals a terrible truth about this moment  —  Amazingly, after all we've seen, there's still a tendency in some quarters to treat the falsehoods regularly told by President Trump, and echoed by his media allies, as a somewhat exaggerated but basically conventional form of political dishonesty.

Banned from guns, Texas gave him a license anyway.  Citizens paid the price.  —  If you wanted to invent an avatar to represent the type of person who should not have easy access to firearms, you might come up with someone like Heon “Hank” Yoo.  —  In 2013, after threatening to shoot …

Then he decided to kill them.  —  Scott Paul Beierle's attack on a Florida yoga studio was fueled by male supremacy, a movement with ties to other hate groups.  —  TALLAHASSEE — The first thing Kate Pierson did after unlocking the yoga studio that November afternoon was set the mood …

Barr Is Lying About Mueller's Evidence  —  The final report on the Russia investigation, submitted on March 22 by special counsel Robert Mueller, documents multiple attempts by President Donald Trump to obstruct justice.  So why hasn't Trump been indicted?  Because one man stands in the way: Attorney General William Barr.

New Election Security Bills Face a One-Man Roadblock: Mitch McConnell  —  WASHINGTON — A raft of legislation intended to better secure United States election systems after what the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, called a “sweeping and systematic” Russian attack in 2016 is running …

Dodgeball is a tool of ‘oppression’ used to ‘dehumanize’ others, researchers argue  —  One of gym classes' most common games is being used as a tool of “oppression,” according to a team of Canadian researchers.  —  Dodgeball in phys-ed classes teaches students to dehumanize and harm their peers …

YouTube is deleting videos on Nazi history as part of its hate speech crackdown  —  The site's torrid week shows what a challenge moderation has become for big tech firms.  —  The news: YouTube announced new rules around hate speech on Wednesday that prohibit videos promoting Nazi ideology …

White House tried to block Kris Kobach from testifying about census  —  The White House tried to block former Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach from testifying to the House Oversight and Reform Committee about his conversations with President Donald Trump about adding a citizenship question …

George Nader's Phones Had Child Porn—and Communications With a Crown Prince, Feds Say  —  Federal agents found communications with Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Zayed, the ruler of the United Arab Emirates, on one of the businessman's three phones after his arrest.

Iowa Democrats warn that Kamala Harris' ‘star is fading’  —  DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Tim Bottaro was ready to endorse Kamala Harris.  He planned an event for the California senator in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, buying balloons to match her campaign's colors.  —  But the morning before Harris …

Just Break Open the Establishment Already  —  A few years ago, someone introduced me at a party to a man — a swaggering, posh-leftist, real type of a man — who worked on “long form” for the website of A Very Prestigious Publication.  I was described as “Noreen, who works at New York.”

Fact check: What is the moon?  —  “For all of the money we are spending, NASA should NOT be talking about going to the Moon — We did that 50 years ago.  They should be focused on the much bigger things we are doing, including Mars (of which the Moon is a part), Defense and Science!”

How the Revolution Ends  —  Some of Bernie Sanders' most ardent supporters believe 2020 could be ‘stolen’ from him by the Democratic National Committee - again.  —  WARNER, N.H. — AS Bernie Sanders plodded up a steep hill in the backyard of a Main Street bookstore in this tiny New Hampshire town, he was in no mood for selfies.

‘The Cruelty Is the Point’  —  I frequently disagree with The Atlantic's Adam Serwer, but late last year he wrote a piece that should resonate with any person who's been in the crosshairs of the MAGA right.  A fundamental aspect of truly Trumpist political engagement is the intentional infliction of harm on political opponents.

Analysis: Trump an impolitic guest on trips abroad  —  SHANNON, Ireland (AP) — Halfway through a summer set of four international trips, President Donald Trump has proven himself to be an impolitic guest, soaking up pomp and pageantry while leaving behind hosts he scorched despite …

Trump Allows High-Tech U.S. Bomb Parts to Be Built in Saudi Arabia  —  WASHINGTON — When the Trump administration declared an emergency last month and fast-tracked the sale of more American arms to Saudi Arabia, it did more than anger members of Congress who opposed the sale on humanitarian grounds.

Gay couple beaten up for refusing to kiss for men's entertainment  —  This horrifying picture shows a flight attendant and her girlfriend covered in blood after a gang of men attacked them when they refused to kiss for them.  —  The apparently homophobic attack happened on a London bus …

The Alternative Scenario: Trump Loses and It's Not Even Close  —  The 2020 presidential election is an election with everything on the line for the United States.  Four years of Trump is a national disaster.  Eight years is a confirmation that it was no fluke.

Can we risk nominating a man for president?  —  The 2020 election is lurching toward us like a malfunctioning robot, and I think we must ask ourselves: Can we risk nominating a man for president?  —  Men selected as major-party nominees for president have failed to win the popular vote 50 percent of the time.

Ross Douthat on the Crisis of the Conservative Coalition  —  Three years ago, it felt like something of a shock that religious conservatives overwhelmingly embraced the campaign of Donald Trump.  Now, with the Republican-controlled Senate confirming judges at a record pace …

White House poised to relax mileage standards, rebuffing automakers and setting up likely fight with California  —  A last-minute push by automakers appears unlikely to sway the Trump administration from abandoning Barack Obama's signature climate policy to improve mileage standards for cars and light trucks …

Finding America at a back-roads gas station  —  DICKERSON, Md. — Everything happens for a reason.  —  At least that's what people tell you when your plans go south.  —  Driving from Pittsburgh to Washington, D.C., recently, I did as I nearly always do: I clicked the “avoid highways” …

A Weak Jobs Report Poses a New Challenge to Trump: A Slowing Economy  —  A sharp decline in the pace of hiring in May, especially in sectors dependent on trade, suggests that the president's tariffs are starting to bite.  —  Lawmakers, business executives and economists have all tried …

Some Maine Republicans Fret New State Ballad Is Too Hard On The Confederacy  —  Maine legislators recently approved a new state ballad, a task one would expect to be simple and drama-free.  —  Alas, in the year 2019, it's not so easy.  Some Republican state lawmakers in the northeastern state …

Please don't be fooled by Tucker Carlson  —  Fox News host Tucker Carlson played something of a trick on his audience on Wednesday night.  He read off a series of economic policy ideas to his viewers, making clear that he was quoting someone else.  “Politicians love to say they care about American jobs …

Trump faces rare Republican revolt on judicial pick  —  President Donald Trump faces a growing Republican rebellion on one of his judicial nominees, throwing his confirmation into doubt.  —  Michael Bogren, who Trump nominated to serve on a federal district court, is already opposed …