How Kushner's Volunteer Force Led a Fumbling Hunt for Medical Supplies  —  Roughly a dozen young, inexperienced workers were assembled to sort through tips on masks, gloves and other equipment.  Warehouses were running bare, and doctors fighting the coronavirus were forced to make their own protective gear.

Byron York's Daily Memo: EXCLUSIVE - DNI to Schiff: The transcripts are ready to release  —  Welcome to Byron York's Daily Memo newsletter.  —  Was this email forwarded to you?  Sign up here to receive the newsletter.  —  EXCLUSIVE — DNI TO SCHIFF: THE TRANSCRIPTS ARE READY TO RELEASE.

Texas Governor Admits Dangers of Reopening State on Private Call With Lawmakers  —  “Pretty much every scientific and medical report shows that whenever you have a reopening... it actually will lead to an increase and spread,” Gov. Greg Abbott said.  —  During a private call on Friday …

The problem with Biden's pledge of a black woman Supreme Court justice  —  There are few black women serving on the federal judiciary, and none younger than age 67 in appeals courts, the usual stepping stone to the high court.  —  WASHINGTON — Joe Biden has promised that if elected president …

'It's gone haywire': When COVID-19 arrived in rural America  —  DAWSON, Ga. (AP) — The reverend approached the makeshift pulpit and asked the Lord to help him make some sense of the scene before him: two caskets, side by side, in a small-town cemetery busier now than ever before.

Trump order to paint border wall black could drive up cost $500 million or more  —  President Trump is once more pushing to have his border wall painted black, a design change that is projected to add at least $500 million in costs, according to government contracting estimates obtained by The Washington Post.

The president is not well: The umpteenth reminders of Trump's mental state and the consequences  —  Every parent has warily confronted the hypothetical question: What would you do if you suspected your child was unwell?  —  Not physically, but emotionally unwell, or mentally unstable?

Trump administration faces backlash over talk of winding down coronavirus task force  —  Democrats were quick to condemn the Trump administration Tuesday following comments from Vice President Mike Pence that the White House is in talks to potentially wind down its coronavirus task force …

Trump touted reopening.  Privately, his team sounded alarms.  —  President Donald Trump boasted on May 1 that his success in responding to the coronavirus pandemic has made ventilator, test kit and mask shortages a thing of the past, and that much of the country is ready to quickly send people back to work.

State health department tells university COVID-19 modeling team to stop work, limits data access  —  The Arizona Department of Health Services told a team of university experts working on COVID-19 modeling to “pause” its work, an email from a department leader shows.

Loeffler Got Lucrative Parting Gift From Public Company en Route to the Senate  —  The parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, which her husband runs, changed compensation terms to give Kelly Loeffler, a top executive, awards worth millions of dollars as she left for Congress.

Voters Divided on Alleged Biden Assault  —  Half the electorate consider voting by mail this year  —  West Long Branch, NJ - Recent headlines may have dented Joe Biden's favorability rating ever so slightly but he has actually widened his national lead over Donald Trump in the race for president.

What Is the Real Coronavirus Toll in Each State?  —  As the coronavirus pandemic cuts through the country, it is leaving behind large numbers of deaths that surpass those of recent history.  A New York Times analysis of state data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows …

Where the virus is spreading fastest  —  In addition to keeping an eye on the tragic, and climbing, numbers of total coronavirus cases and deaths across the U.S., it's important to watch how those trends are playing out over time at the state level.  —  Why it matters: Rising, or falling …

Zoom Adds Board Member H.R. McMaster and Head of Global Public Policy and Government Relations Jonathan Kallmer to Leadership Team  —  Zoom announced today that it has appointed Lieutenant General Herbert Raymond “H.R.” McMaster as an independent director on Zoom's Board of Directors …

Was Donald Trump Good at Baseball?  —  The president has long claimed he could have gone pro.  We looked into it.  —  In President Donald Trump's memory, he was a high school baseball star.  —  “I was supposed to be a pro baseball player,” Donald Trump wrote in 2004.

Win Or Lose, Trump's Top Campaign Aides Are Raking In The Cash  —  His campaign chief bought a waterfront house with a yearly tax bill higher than the average Floridian's annual income, a $400,000 boat, a Ferrari, condos and more.  —  WASHINGTON ― The bad news for President Donald Trump …

I usually ignore all Trump's tweets.  Not this one.  —  To preserve what passes for my mental health, I avoid as much as possible President Trump's Twitter habits.  Some theorize that his feed is a sort of cat toy that he dangles in front of the media to distract us from his agenda.

The Supreme Court weighs whether to make the Electoral College even less democratic  —  Hillary Clinton, the winner of the popular vote in 2016's presidential election, giving her concession speech.  Melina Mara/The Washington Post/Getty Images  —  The Court's “faithless electors” …

The White House waves a white flag in fight against coronavirus  —  First Read is your briefing from “Meet the Press” and the NBC Political Unit on the day's most important political stories and why they matter.  —  WASHINGTON — Let's be blunt about it: President Trump signaled Tuesday …

How ‘Never Trumpers’ Crashed The Democratic Party  —  Anti-Donald Trump activism among conservatives — known informally as the “#NeverTrump” movement — started in early 2016 as a way to stop the businessman from winning the GOP nomination.  It failed.  —  Even by the slightly broader standard …

Dallas salon owner jailed for reopening in violation of court order  —  Shelley Luther defied local and state orders and a judge's restraining order in operating her business during the coronavirus pandemic. … A Dallas salon owner will spend a week in jail after she was found in contempt …

What's Behind South Korea's COVID-19 Exceptionalism?  —  On February 16, a Sunday, a 61-year-old woman with a fever entered the Shincheonji Church of Jesus in Daegu, South Korea.  She touched her finger to a digital scanner.  She passed through a pair of glass doors and proceeded downstairs …

‘We Are Not Essential.  We Are Sacrificial.’  —  I'm a New York City subway conductor who had Covid-19.  Now I'm going back to work.  —  Ms. Gidla is an M.T.A. conductor and author.  —  When I heard that a co-worker had died from Covid-19 — the first in the Metropolitan Transportation Authority …

Don't Be Fooled by America's Flattening Curve  —  Here is America's coronavirus curve: the number of newly reported cases each day.  The curve has started declining moderately from the peak in early April.  —  But that's not the whole story.  Separate the region around New York City and the picture becomes far less rosy.

Captured American Mercenary Appears to Be Really Into Qanon  —  Judging by the social media followings of one of the captured, Trump-connected American mercenaries who attempted a bizarre and spectacularly failed coup in Venezuela, he was highly interested in the QAnon conspiracy theory.

The inside story behind the Pentagon's ill-fated quest for a real life ‘Iron Man’ suit  —  The history of the Tactical Assault Light Operator Suit and the ‘Iron Man’ prototypes that came before it reveals the military's long-standing fascination with the science-fiction future of mechanized warfare

A massive drop in car sales sparks new push in Congress to aid the auto industry  —  Since outbreak began, retailers have sold nearly 800,000 fewer vehicles than forecast, spurring some lawmakers to consider new federal incentives for buyers  —  A precipitous decline in car sales amid …

Irish Return an Old Favor, Helping Native Americans Battling the Virus  —  In 1847 the Choctaw people sent $170 to help during the potato famine.  Irish donors are citing that gesture as they help two tribes during the Covid-19 pandemic.  —  DUBLIN — More than 170 years ago …

Native American health center asked for COVID-19 supplies.  It got body bags instead.  —  “Are we going to keep getting body bags or are we going to get what we actually need?” a Seattle Indian Health Board official asked.  —  In mid-March, as the Seattle region grappled with a coronavirus outbreak …

The coronavirus has mutated and appears to be more contagious now, new study finds  — The coronavirus that emerged in Wuhan, China, has mutated and the new, dominant strain spreading across the U.S. appears to be even more contagious, according to a new study.

This nursing home disaster is on you, Gov. Cuomo  —  Two weeks ago, Gov. ­Andrew Cuomo was first asked about his policy that forced nursing homes to admit ­patients infected with the coronavirus.  —  “That's a good question, I don't know,” the governor answered, turning to an aide.