Pompeo's elite taxpayer-funded dinners raise new concerns  —  WASHINGTON — As federal workers file out of the State Department at the end of a Washington workday, an elite group is often just arriving in the marbled, flag-lined lobby: Billionaire CEOs, Supreme Court justices …

'We've been muzzled': CDC sources say White House putting politics ahead of science  —  (CNN)In the early weeks of the US coronavirus outbreak, staff members in the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had tracked a growing number of transmissions in Europe and elsewhere …

Trump administration declassifies full Susan Rice email sent on Inauguration Day  —  On the day of President Donald Trump's inauguration, outgoing national security adviser Susan Rice sent herself an email that has since drawn intense scrutiny from Republicans.

Trump threatens federal funding for Michigan over mail-in voting push  —  President Donald Trump announced Wednesday his intention to block federal funding to Michigan if election officials there do not retreat from measures meant to facilitate mail-in voting.

Pompeo Declined Interview Request From Inspector General About Saudi Arms Sales  —  The secretary of state instead offered written answers.  He was aware of the inquiry and the specific lines of questioning about his decision to resume the sales.  —  WASHINGTON — Secretary …

A complicated life and conflicting accounts muddle efforts to understand Tara Reade's allegation against Joe Biden  —  New details emerge on Reade's exit from Biden's office  —  (CNN)As Tara Reade was leaving her job at Joe Biden's Senate office in 1993, she told a close colleague …

‘A moonshot mission’: Trump campaign eyes a return to megarallies  —  The Trump campaign has an order from the president: Find a way to get him back on the road and into mega-rallies to re-energize his base.  —  In recent meetings with top campaign officials and White House aides …

The Worst Is Yet to Come  —  The coronavirus and our disastrous national response to it has smashed optimists like me in the head.  —  For as long as I can remember, I have identified as an optimist.  Like a seedling reaching toward the golden sun, I'm innately tuned to seek out the bright side.

Trump calls high number of coronavirus cases in the US a ‘badge of honor,’ attributes it to testing  —  WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump on Tuesday called the number of COVID-19 cases in the United States - the highest in the world - a “badge of honor,” arguing the still-increasing number …

Airlines pack in customers like there's no coronavirus  —  As restaurants, department stores and other local businesses grapple with operating at half occupancy (or less) to comply with social distancing guidelines, airlines are packing customers to near capacity on a reduced number of flights.

Where Does Ron DeSantis Go to Get His Apology?  —  The Florida governor explains a COVID-19 strategy that has gotten bad press and favorable results.  —  A couple of months ago, the media, almost as one, decided that Governor Ron DeSantis was a public menace who was going to get Floridians killed …

Vaccine experts say Moderna didn't produce data critical to assessing Covid-19 vaccine  —  Heavy hearts soared Monday with news that Moderna's Covid-19 vaccine candidate — the frontrunner in the American market — seemed to be generating an immune response in Phase 1 trial subjects.

Trump allies lining up doctors to prescribe rapid reopening  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican political operatives are recruiting “pro-Trump” doctors to go on television to prescribe reviving the U.S. economy as quickly as possible, without waiting to meet safety benchmarks proposed …

The Town That Tested Itself  —  Bolinas, a tiny hippie enclave north of San Francisco, mounted one of the most advanced coronavirus-testing efforts in America.  What did it learn?  —  Bolinas, California, is not a place one finds oneself by accident, in part because it is a place that must be found.

Why Ronan Farrow Is Indeed Too Good to Be True  —  Editor's Note: After Matt Lauer submitted this piece, a response to Ronan Farrow's book Catch and Kill, Mediaite editors independently fact checked the accounts of the four witnesses/subjects Lauer spoke with and cites in this piece.

Is Holocaust Denial Conservative Now?  —  Trump's no-enemies-to-the-right mentality has made it impossible for the right to police itself.  —  Among dozens of addled tweets from the commander-in-chief over the past few days, one in particular deserves pausing over, because it demonstrates …

The COVID ‘Spike’ in Reopened Texas: CNN Gets It Wrong  —  On Sunday CNN ran a segment on the spread of COVID-19 in Texas.  The news channel promoted it with the jarring tweet “Texas is seeing the highest number of new coronavirus cases and deaths just two weeks after it officially reopened.”

U.S. Birthrates Fall to Record Low  —  Last year's data are another sign of how American childbearing, which began declining during the 2007-09 recession, never fully rebounded  —  American women had babies at record-low rates last year and pushed U.S. births down to their smallest total in 35 years …

Trump Is Failing at Governing But Winning at Authoritarianism  —  Donald Trump has been battering away at American democracy for about four years now, first as a populist candidate warning of rigged elections and inciting his supporters to violence, and then as a president.

N.Y. Gov. Andrew Cuomo's careless cruelty shows in coronavirus nursing home policy  —  ANALYSIS/OPINION:  —  The core of cruelty defining New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo marches on.  As many contend, his policies are responsible for the shocking number of deaths at nursing homes in the state.

Cory Booker's new bill would expand immigrants' health care access during the pandemic  —  The senator's plan would allow legal immigrants to enroll in Medicaid and CHIP, and allow unauthorized immigrants to buy insurance on health care exchanges.  —  New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker said he is planning …

Paid sick leave could be a deciding issue in November's key House races  —  People protest against a paid sick leave policy in the Bronx, New York, on April 17.  David Dee Delgado/Getty Images  —  A new poll finds that the policy could sway independents and undecided voters in favor of Democrats.

Trump-Biden voters could decide the 2020 election  —  Nine percent of Trump's 2016 voters say they're planning to vote for Biden, our data suggest.  —  After the 2016 election, analysts spilled tubs of ink arguing that “Obama-Trump” voters helped swing the election.

ESG for Thee, but Not for Me  —  Activist investors are pressuring asset managers to vote green, even if it harms the poor.  —  lackRock, the world's largest asset manager, is holding its annual general meeting this week.  To help give itself a smooth ride, BlackRock's leadership has struck …

CDC: Arkansas coronavirus outbreak linked to church services  —  35 of the 92 people (38%) who attended services at a rural Arkansas church March 6-11 tested positive for the coronavirus, ultimately killing three, according to a case study released Tuesday by the CDC.

Democrats open investigation into Trump's replacement of acting Transportation Department inspector general  —  Three leading House Democrats said Tuesday that they plan to open an investigation into the replacement of the Transportation Department's acting inspector general …

Joe Biden calls Donald Trump Jr. ‘sick’ for suggesting he's a pedophile and says Donald Trump is ‘petty’ for not wanting to hang Barack Obama's portrait  — Joe Biden laid into two generations of Trumps Tuesday night while appearing at a virtual town hall hosted by Yahoo News

Health leaders: We stuck together to #StayHome, now we can start together to #OpenSafely  —  Americans want our country to open up safely.  —  We have been at this for a number of difficult weeks since the global coronavirus pandemic began, and it has taken a toll.  —  It has been a time of unprecedented challenge.

Mount Everest is Visible From Kathmandu, Nepal for First Time in Living Memory  —  Last week Mount Everest was visible from Kathmandu for the first time in living memory.  —  Due to the global lockdown to prevent the spread of coronavirus, vehicles are off the roads, and industry has ground to a halt …

Break Up Amazon  —  The actions of the monopolistic giant are dangerous and anticompetitive.  —  The coronavirus pandemic is diminishing or destroying countless American businesses—large and small.  Not Amazon, though.  —  Lockdown is its friend: Amazon is widely perceived as our national supply chain …

Analyst was praised for creating and running Florida's coronavirus data website.  Now she says she was fired for challenging secrecy  —  The woman who created and ran Florida's online coronavirus data site has been fired, just days after she said she fought the state Department of Health's efforts …

Biden's New Pressure From Progressives  —  He's moving in the right direction, but will he appoint the right people?  —  Former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders are cooperating on joint task forces to shape the Democratic policy agenda ahead of the 2020 election.