Lockdown Delays Cost at Least 36,000 Lives, Data Show  —  Even small differences in timing would have prevented the worst exponential growth, which by April had subsumed New York City, New Orleans and other major cities, researchers found.

For Spy Agencies, Briefing Trump Is a Test of Holding His Attention  —  President Trump's intelligence briefings have gotten renewed attention since he blamed them for failing to sound the alarm early on about the coronavirus.  —  WASHINGTON — President Trump has blamed many others …

Michael Flynn's name was never ‘masked’ in FBI document on his communications with Russian ambassador  —  A Republican effort to determine who may have leaked the name of Michael Flynn in connection to his 2016 contact with the Russian ambassador has centered on the question …

‘How Could the CDC Make That Mistake?’  —  Editor's Note: The Atlantic is making vital coverage of the coronavirus available to all readers.  Find the collection here.  —  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is conflating the results of two different types of coronavirus tests …

Trump tests whether incumbent leader can tap outsider anger  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is running against himself.  —  With his cries to “Reopen our country!” and his rebukes of the federal bureaucracy and health regulations amid the coronavirus pandemic …

Trump's Attack On Vote-By-Mail Plans In Key 2020 States Is “Misinformation,” A Top State Official Says  —  BuzzFeed News has reporters around the world bringing you trustworthy stories about the impact of the coronavirus.  To help keep this news free, become a member and sign up for our newsletter, Outbreak Today.

Researchers: Nearly Half Of Accounts Tweeting About Coronavirus Are Likely Bots  —  Nearly half of the Twitter accounts spreading messages on the social media platform about the coronavirus pandemic are likely bots, researchers at Carnegie Mellon University said on Wednesday.

Michael Cohen released from federal prison over coronavirus concerns  —  Michael Cohen, President Trump's former personal attorney, was released from federal prison to home confinement Thursday as part of the Justice Department's push to stem the spread of coronavirus among the inmates it houses, his lawyer said.

Senior officials advised against Trump emergency arms sales to Saudis  —  Secretary of State Mike Pompeo disregarded the advice of high-level officials at the State Department, Pentagon and within the intelligence community in invoking an emergency waiver last year to circumvent congressional review …

End New York City's lockdown now!  —  Sometimes, a good rant is all a writer can offer.  Bear with me.  —  Last Friday morning, some 3,500 New Yorkers lined up at a Catholic church in Queens to receive free food hours before it even opened, ­according to the New York Police Department.

Kelly Loeffler's Husband Pours $1 Million Into Pro-Trump Super PAC  —  BIG MONEY  —  Embattled Sen. Kelly Loeffler's (R-GA) husband made his largest-ever federal political contribution last month with a seven-figure donation to a super PAC supporting President Donald Trump's re-election …

Hillary rakes in millions for Biden — but he's still far behind Trump  —  Hillary Clinton collected $2 million for Joe Biden's new joint fundraising committee with the Democratic National Committee this week — an enormous one-night haul for the once cash-strapped campaign.

The Coronavirus and a World Without Meat  —  If you care about the working poor, about racial justice, and about climate change, you have to stop eating animals.  —  Jonathan Safran Foer is the author of “Eating Animals” and “We Are the Weather.”  —  Is any panic more primitive …

Reopening guidance for churches delayed after White House and CDC disagree  —  Guidance for reopening houses of worship amid the coronavirus pandemic has been put on hold after a battle between the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the White House, which was resistant to putting limits …

Warren pivots on Medicare for All in bid to become Biden's VP  —  In the thick of primary season, Elizabeth Warren and Joe Biden brawled over Medicare for All: He called her approach “angry,” “elitist,” “condescending”; she shot back anyone who defends the health care status quo …

Workers File Another 2.4 Million Unemployment Claims  —  Pace of weekly claims continues to ease from late March peak; self-employed receiving coronavirus-related benefits aren't counted in wave of filings  —  Workers filed another 2.4 million unemployment claims last week …

Coronavirus testing is ‘a mess’ in the US, report says  —  (CNN)Coronavirus testing in the United States is disorganized and needs coordination at the national level, infectious disease experts said in a new report released Wednesday.  —  Right now, testing is not accurate enough to use alone …

Release Detail  —  May 20, 2020 - Biden Holds 11 Point Lead As Trump Approval On Coronavirus Dips, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; Almost Half Say Second Wave Of Coronavirus ‘very Likely’ In Fall  —  Former Vice President Joe Biden leads President Trump 50 …

G.O.P. Voters Back QAnon Conspiracy Promoter for U.S. Senate  —  Jo Rae Perkins won her primary campaign in Oregon as the QAnon conspiracy theory has continued to gain momentum in Republican circles.  —  SEATTLE — Republicans in Oregon have selected a Senate candidate who promotes …

Fauci conspicuously stops doing TV interviews as White House moves to reopen economy  —  New York (CNN Business)The nation's top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, has been conspicuously absent from national television interviews over the last two weeks, as the White House moves ahead with reopening the economy.

Coronavirus ‘does not spread easily’ by touching surfaces or objects, CDC now says.  But it still ‘may be possible’.  —  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has always warned that “it may be possible” to become infected with coronavirus by touching contaminated surfaces or objects.

Supreme Court temporarily blocks Mueller grand jury material from being turned over to House  —  The U.S. Supreme Court Wednesday blocked a House committee from receiving grand jury material gathered by Robert Mueller's special counsel investigators, issuing a stay while a legal dispute over the records is on appeal.

White House's Own Data Crunchers: Southern Counties About to Get Hit Hard  —  TEMPTING FATES  —  The coronavirus task force has been using data from PolicyLab at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia to chart the disease.  And the new projections aren't great.

The Day Coronavirus Nearly Broke the Financial Markets  —  The March 16 stock crash was part of a broader liquidity crisis that threatened the viability of America's companies and municipalities  —  An urgent call reached Ronald O'Hanley, State Street Corp.'s chief executive, as he sat in his office in downtown Boston.

‘Hot’ nurse disciplined for wearing bra and panties under see-through PPE gown  —  This naughty nurse is going viral.  —  A nurse in Russia was suspended from the hospital where she worked in Tula, 100 miles south of Moscow, after she arrived at her shift in the all-male coronavirus patient wing …

Once Again, Democrats Are Caught In the Trump Trap  —  Former President Barack Obama since leaving office rarely wades into debates about his successor, but President Donald Trump's performance during the pandemic compelled him to raise his voice.  —  He was sharp by his standards …

Here's How Most Americans Really Feel About Wearing Face Masks  —  If there's a culture war over masks, someone forgot to tell most of the public, a new survey finds.  —  Most Americans consider wearing a mask near others a sign of respect and a matter of public health, a new HuffPost/YouGov poll finds.

Illinois Lawmaker Booted From Legislative Session After Refusing to Comply With Mask Requirement  —  Rep. Darren Bailey has been a frequent critic of coronavirus restrictions, including filing suit against Gov. Pritzker's stay-at-home order  —  Illinois Rep. Darren Bailey was removed …

Beijing to introduce national security law for Hong Kong  —  Draft resolution for Hong Kong law to proscribe secessionist and other activities in city to be presented as motion to National People's Congress on Friday, sources say Move would represent major shift from Beijing's earlier position …

Trump Just Provided the Flailing Economy a Much-Needed Boost  —  On Tuesday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that gives his cabinet “tremendous power to cut regulation.”  The order gives America's flailing economy, still half-shuttered by the coronavirus crisis and government lockdowns …