Pence staff threatens action against reporter who tweeted about visit to clinic without surgical mask  —  Vice President Pence's office has threatened to retaliate against a reporter who revealed that Pence's office had told journalists they would need masks for Pence's visit to the Mayo Clinic …

Why Won't TV News Book Tara Reade?  —  The stakes are high for the media in the case of a sexual assault allegation against Joe Biden.  —  There were good reasons to be skeptical of her 20-year-old allegations: She'd changed her story and said some weird stuff, and even denied the whole thing under oath.

U.S. officials crafting retaliatory actions against China over coronavirus as President Trump fumes  —  The president has in recent days told aides and others that China has to pay for the outbreak and publicly floated demanding billions in compensation  —  Senior U.S. officials are beginning …

Hundreds of protesters, some carrying guns in the state Capitol, demonstrate against Michigan's emergency measures  —  Protesters held signs, waved American flags and even carried firearms as lawmakers debated extending Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's state of emergency.

Capitol physician says Senate lacks capacity to test all senators  —  The Capitol's attending physician said Thursday that coronavirus tests will be available for staffers and senators who are ill, but not enough to proactively test all 100 senators as the chamber comes back in session, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Thank you for your service, Jared Kushner  —  Peter Bergen is CNN's national security analyst, a vice president at New America and a professor of practice at Arizona State University.  He is the editor of the Coronavirus Daily Brief and author of the new book “Trump and His Generals: The Cost of Chaos.”

A QAnon Devotee Live-Streamed Her Trip to N.Y. to ‘Take Out’ Joe Biden  —  Jessica Prim was arrested on Wednesday with more than a dozen illegal knives.  —  An Illinois woman inspired by pro-Trump QAnon conspiracy theory videos traveled to New York City on Wednesday with more than a dozen illegal knives …

The Case Against Michael Flynn Now Looks a Lot Weaker  —  The FBI applied the squeeze in a way that undermines the rule of law.  —  Remember Michael Flynn?  —  The man who holds the record for shortest tenure as national security adviser is back in the news.

Nearly 900 at Tyson Foods plant test positive for coronavirus  —  LOGANSPORT, Ind. (WISH) — The Cass County Health Department on Wednesday afternoon said it has seen just under 1,200 positive COVID-19 cases.  Almost 900 employees at the Tyson Food plant in Cass County's Logansport have tested positive.

While Trump minimizes the toll, government orders 100,000 new body bags  —  Federal coronavirus response documents obtained by NBC News suggest the president's optimism about ‘Opening Up America’ is at odds with dire warnings from inside his administration.  —  WASHINGTON — The federal …

Governors in all 50 states get better marks than Trump for COVID response  —  A sweeping survey of more than 22,000 Americans has found that voters in all 50 states say their governor is doing a better job than President Trump in handling the coronavirus outbreak.

Texas reports most deaths in a day from COVID-19 as Gov. Abbott prepares to drop stay-home order  —  Texas reported 50 more COVID-19 deaths on Thursday, the most in any one day since the state reported its first deaths in mid-March.  —  The state also reported it had added more than 1,000 …

Huntington Beach votes to challenge Newsom's order to close O.C. beaches  —  Breaking news update:  —  Hours after Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered all Orange County beaches to close, the Huntington Beach City Council voted Thursday evening to challenge the directive.

Time to Check Your Pandemic-Abandoned Car for Rats  —  There might be a nest in the engine.  —  You might want to make sure there's not a rat living (or recently dead) in your car's engine.  —  Why are you still reading?  Check your car for a rat, I said.  That's the tip.

Top Lindsey Graham Donor Switches Sides, Now Backs Democratic Rival  —  Richard Wilkerson had served on Graham's short-lived presidential campaign.  Now he's backing the senator's rival, Jaime Harrison.  —  A top donor to Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) is switching sides.

Secret Service paid Trump's D.C. hotel more than $33,000 for lodging to guard treasury secretary  —  The Secret Service rented a room at President Trump's Washington hotel for 137 consecutive nights in 2017 — paying Trump's company more than $33,000 — so it could guard Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin …

Justin Amash's Libertarian candidacy may act as a spoiler - but that could help Biden  —  Never-Trump Republicans have denounced the congressman's third-party move, but its effect in 2020 is far from certain  —  Justin Amash's announcement that he is exploring a run for president …

Briefing With Special Representative for Iran and Senior Advisor to the Secretary Brian Hook On Depriving Iran of the Weapons of War  —  MS ORTAGUS: Thank you.  Happy Thursday afternoon, everybody.  We will have an on-the-record briefing today.  Per usual, this is embargoed until the end of the call, please.

Big money donors are pressuring Joe Biden against picking Elizabeth Warren for VP: ‘He would lose the election’  — Big money donors are pressuring Joe Biden to not choose Sen. Elizabeth Warren as his running mate, even while the centrist former vice president tries to appeal to progressive voters.

Maryland hiding testing kits, purchased from South Korea, from US government: Hogan  —  The Md. National Guard, state police secured the kits at an undisclosed location  —  Maryland authorities were so concerned about the federal government seizing a shipment of COVID-19 tests destined …

How Long Will a Vaccine Really Take?  —  A vaccine would be the ultimate weapon against the coronavirus and the best route back to normal life.  Officials like Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the top infectious disease expert on the Trump administration's coronavirus task force, estimate a vaccine could arrive in at least 12 to 18 months.