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 …

Trump will lose in a landslide because of the economy, new election model predicts  —  New York (CNN Business)The economy has gone from President Donald Trump's greatest political asset to perhaps his biggest weakness.  —  Unemployment is spiking at an unprecedented rate.  Consumer spending is vanishing.

Trump to Withdraw From ‘Open Skies’ Arms Control Treaty  —  Mr. Trump's decision, the third major retreat from arms control agreements, will be viewed as evidence that he also plans an exit from the last major arms treaty with Russia: New START.  —  President Trump has decided to withdraw …

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.

‘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 …

Facebook and Twitter are terrified of Trump  —  Facebook and Twitter both issued clear policies: Publishing misinformation about voting methods in advance of the 2020 election is prohibited.  But the companies have decided not to enforce these policies against Trump.

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 …

Dire Situation In Alabama Capital: ICUs Full, Coronavirus Cases Double In May  —  The mayor of Montgomery, Alabama, says the city's health care system has been “maxed out” as cases of coronavirus have more than doubled in May—a sharp contrast to the slowing coronavirus spread that's taken place across …

California Couple in College Admissions Case Agrees to Plead Guilty  —  BOSTON - Lori Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli have agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy charges in connection with securing the fraudulent admission of their two children to the University of Southern California as purported athletic recruits.

Several GOP senators press for more stimulus payments during coronavirus crisis  —  Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has sought to hit pause on the government's massive spending for coronavirus-related relief packages, but several of his Republican colleagues are pushing for additional stimulus measures during the economic crisis.

Senate confirms John Ratcliffe as next director of national intelligence  —  The Senate confirmed Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-Tex.) as the next director of national intelligence on Thursday, capping an unusually protracted process that saw the congressman withdraw his nomination last year in the face …

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.

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.

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 …

FEMA Tells States to Hand Public Health Data Over to Palantir  —  Aggregated COVID-19 information matters to public health, but it's also a big economic opportunity.  Now a Trump-aligned company gets that data daily from all 50 states.  —  The head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency …

After false claims about Michigan and voting, Trump repeats false claim he was Michigan's ‘Man of the Year’  —  Dale: One of my favorite Trump lies out of thousands  —  Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump has a favorite way to illustrate what he says is the strength of his relationship …

‘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 …

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 …

Active shooter ‘neutralized’ at Texas Navy base  —  Security forces “neutralized” an active shooter this morning at a Texas naval installation, the Navy announced.  —  One naval security force member was injured.  A Navy statement said the sailor was in “good condition” and is expected to be released Thursday.

What's behind the rise of “COVID contrarian” Alex Berenson in right-wing media?  —  In the world of conservative media, author Alex Berenson is a star.  Thanks in large part to his relentless Twitter criticism of how mainstream media and Democratic politicians have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic …

Matthew Whitaker's Time As Trump's Attorney General Was Unique.  His Book Isn't.  —  The former acting head of the Justice Department doesn't reveal much about his time in office, but does praise Trump a lot.  —  Matthew Whitaker should have a fascinating story to tell.

Senate committee approves nominee to oversee U.S. media agency criticized by Trump  —  The Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday advanced the nomination of a Trump administration pick — whose nonprofit organization is being investigated for possible tax violations …

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.

NOAA predicts Atlantic hurricane season will be unusually active  —  Hurricane response efforts could be hampered as country responds to the coronavirus pandemic.  —  The 2020 Atlantic hurricane season is forecast to be unusually active, according to a seasonal outlook from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

FBI Offered To Pay Christopher Steele ‘Significantly’ To Dig Up Dirt On Michael Flynn  — Former British spy Christopher Steele peddled an unfounded rumor in December 2016 that Michael Flynn had an extramarital affair with a Russian woman, according to documents released earlier in May.

China to impose sweeping national security law in Hong Kong, bypassing city's legislature  —  HONG KONG — China's Communist Party will impose a sweeping national security law in Hong Kong by fiat during the annual meeting of its top political body, officials said Thursday, criminalizing …

How ‘60 Minutes’ survived CBS upheaval to become ‘the Tony Fauci of newsmagazines’  —  Early this month, with the “60 Minutes” season nearly ready to wrap production for the summer, executive producer Bill Owens took a heartfelt pitch to his boss, CBS News president Susan Zirinsky.

Reopening reality check: Georgia's jobs aren't flooding back  —  Georgia's early move to start easing stay-at-home restrictions nearly a month ago has done little to stem the state's flood of unemployment claims — illustrating how hard it is to bring jobs back while consumers are still afraid to go outside.

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 …

Defiant N.J. gym shut down by state, owners vow to sue Murphy  —  A gym in Bellmawr that reopened Monday, violating an executive order from Gov. Phil Murphy, was shut down Thursday morning by state and county health departments.  —  “Alright guys, so we arrived at the gym this morning …

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 …