Trump says Washington, DC, will never be a state — because of all the Democrats  —  WASHINGTON — President Trump says that Washington, DC, won't ever be a state because Republicans aren't “stupid” enough to add guaranteed Democratic seats in Congress.  —  “DC will never be a state,” …

Coronavirus News: Live Updates  —  Cases are growing by 2 to 4 percent daily, and more than 1,000 people have died each day for over a month.  At least 15 children in New York were hospitalized with an illness scientists worry might be linked to Covid-19.  Pfizer began human trials of a possible vaccine.

Scientists say a now-dominant strain of the coronavirus appears to be more contagious than original  —  Scientists have identified a new strain of the coronavirus that has become dominant worldwide and appears to be more contagious than the versions that spread in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic …

Ousted vaccine director files whistleblower complaint alleging coronavirus warnings were ignored  —  (CNN)Dr. Rick Bright, the ousted director of the office involved in developing a coronavirus vaccine, formally filed an extensive whistleblower complaint Tuesday alleging his early warnings …

MSU Poll: Bullock leads Daines in Senate contest  —  Bullock up 46-39; within margin of error  —  MT's U.S. Senate race attracting money from across the country.  —  HELENA — A new poll from Montana State University shows Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock leading Republican Sen. Steve Daines …

Kushner coronavirus effort said to be hampered by inexperienced volunteers  —  The coronavirus response being spearheaded by President Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, has relied in part on volunteers from consulting and private equity firms with little expertise in the tasks to which they were assigned …

Exclusive: Government scientist Neil Ferguson resigns after breaking lockdown rules to meet his married lover  —  Prof Ferguson allowed the woman to visit him at home during the lockdown while lecturing the public on the need for strict social distancing  —  The scientist whose advice …

Trump says ‘bailouts’ unfair to GOP since states needing aid ‘run by Democrats in every case’  —  The president said in an interview that N.Y., Calif. and Illinois “have been mismanaged over a long period of time.”  —  WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump says it would be unfair to Republicans …

Joe Biden is coming to Florida ... kind of  —  The former vice president will hold virtual events in Tampa and Jacksonville, the campaign's first attempt at local campaign ‘stops’ amid the pandemic  —  Former Vice President Joe Biden has chosen Florida as the backdrop to restart traditional campaign activity …

President Inconsistent On Covid  —  Republicans believe Trump over Fox News on outbreak info  —  West Long Branch, NJ - President Donald Trump's job rating has ticked down again amid a sense he changes what he says about the coronavirus from day to day.  In fact, many Americans characterize …

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

Barr urges Trump administration to back off call to fully strike down Obamacare  —  Washington (CNN)Attorney General William Barr made a last-minute push Monday to persuade the administration to modify its position in the Obamacare dispute that will be heard at the Supreme Court this fall …

Another 1,700 virus deaths reported in NY nursing homes  —  ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York state is reporting more than 1,700 previously undisclosed deaths at nursing homes and adult care facilities as the state faces scrutiny over how it's protected vulnerable residents during the coronavirus pandemic.

Coronavirus Live Updates: As Threat of Virus Persists, Trump Administration Signals It Will Wind Down Task Force  —  An ousted federal scientist said that he was pressured to steer contracts to clients of a well-connected lobbyist.  Cases are growing by 2 to 4 percent daily …

Two-thirds of Americans doubt the coronavirus death toll  —  Most Americans say they doubt the U.S. death count — but whether they think it's actually higher or lower depends on whether they're Democrats or Republicans, according to the latest installment of the Axios-Ipsos Coronavirus Index.

Money for Welfare Instead Funded Concerts, Lobbyists and Football Games, Audit Finds  —  According to a state audit, Mississippi allowed tens of millions of dollars in federal anti-poverty funds to be used in ways that did little or nothing to help the poor.

Coronavirus in the U.S.: An Unrelenting Crush of Cases and Deaths  —  While cities like New York have seen a hopeful drop in cases, upticks in other major cities and smaller communities have offset those decreases.  —  In New York City, the daily onslaught of death from the coronavirus has dropped to half of what it was.

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 …

Sally Quinn Modeled the Erotic Hero of Her 1991 Bestseller on...Anthony Fauci  —  Yes, that Anthony Fauci.  In the novel, the character romances the first lady.  —  In 1991, Sally Quinn—doyenne of the Washington intelligentsia, who was then on a streak of popular novels—published “Happy Endings,” which climbed the bestseller list.

The President Is Unraveling  —  In case there was any doubt, the past dozen days have proved we're at the point in his presidency where Donald Trump has become his own caricature, a figure impossible to parody, a man whose words and actions are indistinguishable from an Alec Baldwin skit on Saturday Night Live.

The plan is to have no plan  —  “There is no genius there, only a damaged human being playing havoc with our lives.” … The plan is to have no plan, to let daily deaths between and one and three thousand become a normal thing, and then to create massive confusion about who is responsible …

‘Pelosi,’ by Molly Ball: An Excerpt  —  From an early age, Nancy D'Alesandro realized her mother never had much chance to be a person.  —  Annunciata Lombardi had always wanted more out of life.  After high school, she found work as an auctioneer, but she gave it up to get married at nineteen.

A crippled US Postal Service could throw a wrench in November election  —  SAN DIEGO — The coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated problems for the U.S. Postal Service and sparked a debate in Washington, D.C., that could carry major ramifications for the November general election.

Coronavirus cuts ‘deep scars’ through meatpacking cities  —  IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — As the coronavirus spread from the nation's meatpacking plants to the broader communities where they are located, it burned through a modest duplex in Waterloo, Iowa.  —  In the downstairs unit lived Jim Orvis …

U.S. companies cut thousands of workers while continuing to reward shareholders during pandemic  —  Five companies paid a combined $700 million to shareholders while cutting jobs, closing plants.  —  Since the coronavirus pandemic was declared, Caterpillar has suspended operations at two plants …

The Invasion of Venezuela, Brought To You By Silvercorp USA  —  The video begins with Jordan Goudreau posing confidently, flanked by a man wearing an armour plate and a Venezuela flag wrapped around his shoulder.  The man introduces Goudreau in a stern tone.

Trump's intel chief pick vows to ‘speak truth to power’  —  John Ratcliffe made the promise in his opening remarks at his confirmation hearing Tuesday.  —  John Ratcliffe, the Texas congressman whose bid to be director of national intelligence fell apart last summer amid evidence he exaggerated …

Trump and His Infallible Advisers  —  Beware men who never admit having been wrong.  —  “You have 15 people, and the 15 within a couple of days is going to be down close to zero.”  —  We have contained this, and the economy is “holding up nicely.”  —  It's not nearly as serious as the common flu.

States with few virus cases get big share of relief aid  —  Alaska, Hawaii, Montana and Wyoming are among the least-populated states in the U.S., and not surprisingly have the lowest numbers of residents who have tested positive for the new coronavirus.  But despite their small size …