Gordon Sondland breaks with Trump in impeachment testimony  —  Gordon Sondland, the U.S. ambassador to the European Union, broke sharply from President Donald Trump on Thursday, telling House impeachment investigators that he opposed the president's request to run Ukraine policy through his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani.

Turkish president Erdogan 'threw Trump's Syria letter in bin'  —  Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan put US President Donald Trump's letter “in the bin”, the BBC has been told.  —  In the letter dated 9 October, and sent after US troops were pulled out of Syria, Mr Trump told Mr Erdogan: “Don't be a tough guy.

Trump has awarded next year's G-7 summit of world leaders to his Miami-area resort, the White House said  —  President Trump has awarded the 2020 G-7 Summit of world leaders to his own private company, scheduling the summit for June at his Trump Doral golf resort outside Miami, the White House announced on Thursday.

Elijah E. Cummings, Powerful Democrat Who Investigated Trump, Dies at 68  —  A son of sharecroppers, he fought tirelessly for his hometown of Baltimore and became a key figure in the impeachment investigation of President Trump.  —  Representative Elijah E. Cummings, a son of sharecroppers …

In U.S., Decline of Christianity Continues at Rapid Pace  —  An update on America's changing religious landscape  —  The religious landscape of the United States continues to change at a rapid clip.  In Pew Research Center telephone surveys conducted in 2018 and 2019 …

Our Republic Is Under Attack From the President  —  If President Trump doesn't demonstrate the leadership that America needs, then it is time for a new person in the Oval Office.  —  Admiral McRaven is a former commander of the United States Special Operations Command.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg says in interview he fears ‘erosion of truth’ but defends allowing politicians to lie in ads  —  His approach to political speech has come under fire in recent weeks.  —  Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said in an interview he worries “about an erosion of truth” …

Things Aren't Getting Better for 2020's Most Vulnerable Senate Republicans  —  Five vulnerable Republicans see declines in net approval  —  Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) delivers remarks during a weekly Capitol Hill news conference on June 25.  The latest Morning Consult Senator Approval Rankings found …

Biden's Attacks on Medicare for All Undermine the Entire Democratic Agenda  —  Joe Biden has a dire warning for voters who've been seduced by single-payer advocates' sweet nothings: In Bernie Sanders's socialist dystopia, the typical American worker would see a small percentage of her income deducted …

At the Times, a Hesitance to Hyperlink  —  Journalists at the New York Times and its own standards editor say that getting continually dragged by other journalists for not giving credit is embarrassing.  —  There's a joke in the journalism industry: It's not news until the New York Times says it is.

Trump's “Nervous Nancy” tweet shows his problem with powerful women  —  A photo tweeted by President Trump on Wednesday shows House Speaker Nancy Pelosi chastising him while others look on at a White House meeting.  White House photo by Shealah Craighead  —  Trump tried to shame Nancy Pelosi by tweeting a photo of their meeting.

Does Trump Realize the Trouble He's In?  —  Recognizing when things are going wrong is an essential skill of the presidency.  Trump doesn't seem to have it.  —  Wednesday, the 1,000th day of Donald Trump's presidency, went badly.  That's no surprise; most of the first 999 days went badly too.

Outrage grows in firing of Madison West High School security guard over use of N-word  —  Outrage was growing among members of Madison's black community Thursday, a day after a black West High School security guard was fired for what he said was explicitly telling a student not to call …

The Republican political operatives who call the shots at Facebook  —  This is the online version of the Popular Information newsletter.  You can get independent accountability journalism in your inbox every week.  Sign up here:  —  Subscribe  —  In recent months, Facebook …

“There Is Definite Hanky-Panky Going On”: The Fantastically Profitable Mystery of the Trump Chaos Trades  —  The president's talk can move markets—and it's made some futures traders billions.  Did they know what he was going to say before he said it?  —  In the last 10 minutes of trading …

Senate fails to override Trump veto over emergency declaration  —  The Senate on Thursday failed to override President Trump's veto of a resolution that would have ended the emergency declaration intended to help build the border wall.  —  Senators voted 53-36, falling short of the two-thirds needed …

Blood fills Iowa family's basement  —  (WHO/NBC News) What sounds like a scene from a horror film is reality for the Lestina family of Bagley, Iowa.  —  Nick Lestina and his family of seven were getting ready to put their house on the market until their basement was flooded with animal blood.