Draft report predicts covid-19 cases will reach 200,000 a day by June 1  —  A draft government report projects covid-19 cases will surge to about 200,000 per day by June 1, a staggering jump that would be accompanied by more than 3,000 deaths each day.  —  The document predicts a sharp increase …

Senate Democrats stand by Biden: ‘Credible and convincing’ defense against sex assault claim  —  Sen. Elizabeth Warren and other Democrats said Monday they back Joe Biden as the Democratic nominee for president in spite of allegations by former aide Tara Reade that he sexually assaulted her in 1993 when he was a senator.

Fauci: No scientific evidence the coronavirus was made in a Chinese lab  —  In an exclusive interview, the face of America's COVID-19 response cautions against the rush for states to reopen, and offers his tips for handling the pandemic's information deluge.  —  SCIENCE CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE

Trump's Pick for Intelligence Chief Follows a Slew of QAnon Accounts  —  John Ratcliffe's campaign Twitter account follows Pizzagaters, JFK Jr. conspiracists, and a 9/11 Truther account with just one follower besides himself.  —  For a nominee to helm the U.S. government's intelligence apparatus …

CNN sends Trump campaign cease-and-desist letter for misleading ad  —  New York (CNN Business)A lawyer for CNN's parent company WarnerMedia has written a cease-and-desist letter to President Trump's re-election campaign over the misleading contents of a new campaign ad.

Australian intelligence knocks back US government's Wuhan lab virus claim  —  Australian intelligence agencies have questioned evidence trumpeted by United States officials supposedly linking the coronavirus to a Wuhan laboratory as concerns within the government grow that the push …

“Trump Is Really Aiming to Take Down Fox”: A Group Associated With Donald Trump Jr. Is Buying a Major Stake in OANN  —  Possibly hedging against a 2020 loss, the Trump family builds ties to a network that's much more loyal than Fox.  —  When liberals look at Fox News, they tend to see Trump TV …

3 charged in killing of store security guard over virus mask  —  FLINT, Mich. (AP) — A woman, her adult son and husband have been charged in the fatal shooting of a security guard who refused to let her daughter enter a Family Dollar in Michigan because she wasn't wearing a face mask to protect against transmission of the coronavirus.

Newspaper's Top Editor Is Now a ‘Homeless’ Blogger  —  A 54-year-old journalist lost his job running an Indiana newspaper, as well as the apartment that went with it.  He moved to a Motel 6.  —  On Wednesday he was laid off.  On Friday he was living in a Motel 6.

Most Events in the Lincoln Memorial Are Banned.  Trump Got an Exception.  —  Citing the “extraordinary crisis” of the coronavirus, the interior secretary relaxed the rules so the president could hold a Fox News interview in one of the nation's most hallowed spaces.

Ex-NBC Producer Rich McHugh Blasts Outgoing Chairman Andy Lack, Says NY AG's Office Probing the Network  —  Rich McHugh, a former NBC News producer who worked with Ronan Farrow, had some tough words for the network tonight over the departure of NBC News/MSNBC chairman Andy Lack.

Goodbye to Trump's GOP: We've left the Republican Party and all other women should too  —  Call it a divorce.  A case of “irreconcilable differences” perhaps, but we're gone.  Splitsville.  Outta there.  —  We left the GOP at different times for sure, but for the same reasons …

Americans widely oppose reopening most businesses, despite easing of restrictions in some states, Post-U. Md. poll finds  —  Americans clearly oppose the reopening of restaurants, retail stores and other businesses, even as governors begin to lift restrictions that have kept the economy locked …

GOP Ohio state lawmaker refuses to wear face mask because faces are the ‘likeness of God’  —  © The Ohio House of Representatives  —  A Republican Ohio state representative cited his religious beliefs to explain why he would not wear a mask as recommended by Gov. Mike DeWine (R) to help limit the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Michelle Obama Is Mad at Black Voters, Not Trump Voters: 'That's My Trauma'  —  ‘BECOMING’  —  The Netflix documentary “Becoming,” chronicling Michelle Obama's book tour, is light on newsworthy Trump attacks, focusing instead on the former first lady's next chapter.

FBI seizes four pipe bombs from home of Colorado anti-lockdown protester, feds say  —  A 53-year-old anti-lockdown protester in Colorado has been arrested on suspicion of having pipe bombs and bomb-making materials at his home, the U.S. Attorney's Office says.

Billions Could Live in Extreme Heat Zones Within Decades, Study Finds  —  As the climate continues to warm over the next half-century, up to one-third of the world's population is likely to live in areas that are considered unsuitably hot for humans, scientists said Monday.

A man wore a KKK hood at a grocery store after San Diego County required face masks  —  Photos of a man wearing a Ku Klux Klan hood while shopping Saturday prompted a harsh rebuke from local leaders in San Diego County, and police now say they're looking into the unsettling imagery.

Exclusive: Internal Chinese report warns Beijing faces Tiananmen-like global backlash over virus  —  BEIJING (Reuters) - An internal Chinese report warns that Beijing faces a rising wave of hostility in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak that could tip relations with the United States into confrontation …

Appeals Court Vacancy Is Under Scrutiny Ahead of Contested Confirmation Hearing  —  The chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit publicly advanced a call by a progressive group for an ethics investigation into the circumstances of a plum vacancy.

Chris Christie pushes to reopen country despite dire Covid-19 projections: ‘There are going to be deaths’  —  (CNN)Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said Monday that the country needs to reopen, despite separate key coronavirus models forecasting that thousands may die daily in the United States …

States were supposed to team up on reopening.  It hasn't gone as planned.  —  ALBANY, N.Y. — When seven northeastern states announced they would reopen their virus-shuttered economies in lockstep when the time was right, it was seen as a very-public flexing of local government muscle …

Virus-afflicted 2020 looks like 1918 despite science's march  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Despite a century's progress in science, 2020 is looking a lot like 1918.  —  In the years between two lethal pandemics, one the misnamed Spanish flu, the other COVID-19, the world learned about viruses …

Venezuela: 2 US ‘mercenaries’ among those nabbed after raid  —  CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro said authorities arrested two U.S. citizens among a group of “mercenaries” on Monday, a day after a beach raid purportedly aimed at capturing the socialist leader that authorities say they foiled.

The Makhlouf Incident and the Infighting Within the Syrian Regime  —  On April 30, Rami Makhlouf, who is a cousin of Syrian President Bashar Assad and is thought to be Syria's wealthiest businessman, released a monologue defending himself against government accusations of tax evasion and attempts …