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 …

Tara Reade Knows She Has A Difficult Allegation.  And She's Had A Difficult Time Getting A Hearing.  —  She has seen Joe Biden take questions on cable news and late-night television.  She has watched him host virtual town halls with voters and online fundraisers with donors.

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.

China wasn't wild about Mike Pompeo before the virus.  It's really gunning for him now.  —  Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is, according to the official Chinese narrative, an “enemy of humankind” practicing “highly venomous” diplomacy.  He's a “super-spreader” of a “political virus.”

Internal GOP poll points to troubling signs for Georgia Republicans  —  An internal poll conducted for the Georgia House GOP Caucus points to troubling signs for Republican leaders: President Donald Trump is deadlocked with Joe Biden and voters aren't giving the White House …

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.

History According to Trump: The President and the 1917 Pandemic That Wasn't  —  The U.S. leader, famously illiterate about history, eagerly promotes his place in it.  —  As the coronavirus pandemic has disrupted his Presidency, Donald Trump has often complained about the terrible hand that history has dealt him.

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 …

Nearly 900 workers at Tyson meat plant in Indiana test positive for coronavirus  —  Nearly 900 workers at a Tyson Food plant in Indiana have reportedly tested positive for COVID-19.  —  The coronavirus infected 890 of the 2,200 people at the plant located in Logansport, Ind., local station WISH TV reported Wednesday.

Valentina Blackhorse, Navajo Pageant Winner With Dreams, Dies at 28  —  She nurtured political aspirations while raising her 1-year-old daughter.  Then she tested positive for the novel coronavirus.  The next day she was dead.  —  ALBUQUERQUE — Valentina Blackhorse …

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.”

Expert report predicts up to two more years of pandemic misery  —  (CNN)The new coronavirus is likely to keep spreading for at least another 18 months to two years—until 60% to 70% of the population has been infected, a team of longstanding pandemic experts predicted in a report released Thursday.

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 …

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 seven weeks into the shutdown, here's why so many are still getting sick  —  The District, Maryland and Virginia have been shut down for weeks, their economies in tatters.  Large swaths of the population venture out only rarely, wrapped in masks and gloves.

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 …

Illinois' billionaire governor dodges question about his wife leaving town to see out coronavirus pandemic on their $12.1million equine estate in Florida as he extends stay-at-home order to May 30  —  Billionaire Governor of Illinois J.B. Pritzker dodged a question about the whereabouts …

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.

Federal judge orders ICE to release detainees from South Florida detention centers  —  Citing conditions that amount to “cruel and unusual punishment,” a Miami federal judge ordered U.S. immigration authorities Thursday night to release hundreds of detainees held at three South Florida detention centers.

NYC Subways to Close From 1 AM to 5 AM Daily for Full Cleanings  —  For the first time in New York City history, the subway system will shut down overnight so crews can better clean and disinfect trains and stations in order to further prevent the spread of the new coronavirus and protect essential workers.

Meet the New Flack for Oil and Gas: Michael Moore  —  Planet of the Humans is wildly unscientific, outdated, full of falsehoods, and benefits fossil fuel industry promoters and climate deniers.  —  For all of you who thought 2020 couldn't get any weirder, here comes Planet of the Humans …

The Inevitable Coronavirus Censorship Crisis is Here  —  Earlier this week, Atlantic magazine - fast becoming the favored media outlet for self-styled intellectual elites of the Aspen Institute type - ran an in-depth article of the problems free speech pose to American society in the coronavirus era.