Trump and some top aides question accuracy of virus death toll  —  President Trump has complained to advisers about the way coronavirus deaths are being calculated, suggesting the real numbers are actually lower — and a number of his senior aides share this view, according to sources with direct knowledge.

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.

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.

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.

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.

New video emerges of fatal shooting of black jogger in Georgia  —  Warning: The above video depicts graphic violence.  —  There are new developments in a deadly shooting that has had racial tensions simmering in a Georgia community.  Video has surfaced of a young African American man …

American detained in Venezuela says he planned to capture president  —  “Donald Trump is the direct chief of this invasion,” Maduro said in televised comments, after the video of Denman was broadcast.  —  Venezuelan state television broadcast on Wednesday a video of captured American Luke Denman …

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.

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.

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 …

I Believe Tara Reade.  I'm Voting for Joe Biden Anyway.  —  The importance of owning an ugly moral choice.  —  Ms. Hirshman is the author, most recently, of “Reckoning: The Epic Battle Against Sexual Abuse and Harassment.”  —  Let's be clear: I believe Tara Reade.  I believed Anita Hill, too.

States of Play: Battleground Survey Shows Voters Concerned About Reopening Economy  —  CNBC/Change Research Poll in Arizona, Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin: May 1-3, 2020  — 68% of voters in the battleground remain seriously concerned about the coronavirus …

The Republic of Facebook  —  With the Naming of Oversight Board Members, What Kind of Institution Will This Become?  —  With Facebook's unveiling of the first 20 (of an expected 40) members of its newly minted Oversight Board for content moderation, it's a good moment to take a step back …

Greg Abbott and Texas AG Ken Paxton: “Release Ms. Luther Immediately”  —  Texas Governor Greg Abbott joined Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in publicly disagreeing with the Dallas County judge's decision to jail salon owner Shelley Luther after she defied lockdown orders and opened up her shop.

Pompeo defends Wuhan lab claims in combative press conference  —  Secretary of State Mike Pompeo sparred with reporters Wednesday, insisting questions remain over whether the novel coronavirus pandemic came from a Chinese lab, despite pushback from senior intelligence officials and health experts.

Firm Set Up by G.O.P. Operatives Under Scrutiny Over Virus Contracts  —  Blue Flame Medical boasted that it could acquire masks, testing kits and other equipment to respond to the pandemic.  State and local governments paid up — and are still waiting for delivery.

'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.

Betsy DeVos Completes Sexual Assault Rules  —  Education Secretary Betsy DeVos released final regulations for schools dealing with sexual misconduct, giving them the force of law for the first time and bolstering due-process rights.  —  WASHINGTON — Education Secretary Betsy DeVos …

Trump's train wreck ABC interview illustrated why he rarely strays from Fox News  —  President Trump tours a Honeywell plant in Phoenix, Arizona, on May 5.  Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images  —  “I'll be honest, uh, I have a lot of things going on,” Trump said, trying to explain his lack of coronavirus preparation.

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?

Beijing demanded praise in exchange for medical supplies  —  A growing number of reports indicate Chinese officials pushed their counterparts in Europe to make positive statements about China in order to receive shipments of medical supplies to fight the novel coronavirus.

2 Utah County businesses told staff to ignore COVID-19 guidelines, resulting in 68 positive cases  —  Nearly half of the employees of a Utah County business tested positive for COVID-19 after the business instructed employees to not follow quarantine guidelines and required staff …

What Happened to Val Kilmer?  He's Just Starting to Figure It Out.  —  Cancer has taken his voice, but the unlikeliest movie star in Hollywood history still has a lot he wants to say.  —  It's hard to believe now, as I write this, but just two months ago, when we were allowed to roam free …

New Colorado poll shows Hickenlooper widening double-digit lead over Gardner  —  Former Gov. John Hickenlooper leads U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner by 18 percentage points in Colorado's U.S. Senate race, according to a poll from Colorado firms released Wednesday.  —  The Keating-Onsight-Melanson poll …

Trump calls Americans ‘warriors’ in fight to open the economy  —  Donald Trump has described himself as a “wartime president” during the coronavirus crisis, and now he seems to have found his army as he pushes the country to reopen despite the risks.  —  In recent days, he's begun describing citizens as …

Coronavirus lessons on density, mass transit, bureaucracy and censorship: They kill.  —  Coronavirus unknowns include how fatal it is and if we can make a vaccine.  But we've already learned about four things that make the pandemic worse.  —  The novel coronavirus that originated in Wuhan …

Pope Francis seeks Vatican freedom as Benedict urged to take ‘real retirement’  —  POPE FRANCIS' quest to ensure more liberalism within the Vatican is being hampered by Benedict, who must take “real retirement” after standing down as the head of the Catholic church, an expert has demanded.

US private payrolls drop by 20.2 million in April, the worst job loss in the history of ADP report  — Private payrolls fell by more than 20 million in April, the worst drop in the ADP survey history, though not as bad as estimates of 22 million job losses.

Kemp Warns Of Growing Outbreak Stressing Northeast Georgia  —  Gov. Brian Kemp warned on Tuesday that a growing coronavirus outbreak is stressing resources in northeast Georgia.  —  Kemp has moved aggressively to allow businesses to reopen even though infections are on the rise in some areas of the state.

Coronavirus stimulus checks sent to dead people should be mailed back to IRS, Treasury says  —  WASHINGTON - If your dead relative got a coronavirus stimulus check, the government wants the money back.  —  The Treasury Department said Wednesday that people who received a stimulus payment …

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 …