Defense chief breaks with Trump on response to protests  —  Washington (CNN)Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said Wednesday that he does not support using active duty troops to quell the large-scale protests across the United States triggered by the death of George Floyd and those forces …

'This can't be happening': An oral history of 48 surreal, violent, biblical minutes in Washington  —  On Monday evening, over the course of 48 minutes, Donald Trump put on a show that may have changed America, yet again.  It involved an overture to the nation, a physical attack on Americans and a Bible.

More Voters Trust Biden on Race Relations  —  Increase in views that outbreak is hurting Trump  —  West Long Branch, NJ - Joe Biden currently holds an 11-point lead over Donald Trump in the presidential race as more voters say they trust the challenger to handle race relations in the country.

Trump demands journalists correct stories on the use of tear gas.  According to the CDC, it was tear gas.  —  President Trump's reelection campaign sent a message out to news organizations Tuesday night, demanding a correction to articles that described security forces' use of tear gas …

Police shove, make AP journalists stop covering protest  —  NEW YORK (AP) — New York City police officers surrounded, shoved and yelled expletives at two Associated Press journalists covering protests Tuesday in the latest aggression against members of the media during a week of unrest around the country.

President Trump tried to register to vote in Florida using an out-of-state address  —  President Trump originally tried to register to vote in Florida while claiming his “legal residence” was in another part of the country — Washington, D.C. — according to Florida elections records.

Trump Had Kushner Push the National Enquirer to Probe Scarborough Murder Conspiracy  —  OBSESSION  —  Trump is so hellbent on smearing the MSNBC host that he had Jared push the Enquirer to publish the lies, sources told The Daily Beast.  Even the tabloid rag wouldn't sink that low.

Man Behind Sweden's Controversial Virus Strategy Admits Mistakes  —  Sweden's top epidemiologist has admitted his strategy to fight Covid-19 resulted in too many deaths, after persuading his country to avoid a strict lockdown.  —  “If we were to encounter the same illness with the same knowledge …

Biden blows past Trump in betting markets as protests over police brutality continue  — Former Vice President Joe Biden has surged past President Donald Trump in online betting markets tied to the outcome of the 2020 presidential race as the U.S. continues to grapple with a deepening financial crisis …

Governments and WHO changed Covid-19 policy based on suspect data from tiny US company  —  Surgisphere, whose employees appear to include a sci-fi writer and adult content model, provided database behind Lancet and New England Journal of Medicine hydroxychloroquine studies

Thank You Mister Trump!  —  Our Great President is crushing it.  —  This is not the sort of article you normally see here at The Bulwark, the world's largest superspreader of Trump Derangement Syndrome.  —  And to be honest with you, I didn't want to write it.  But somebody had to.

Boris Johnson says 3m people in Hong Kong will get path to British citizenship  —  PM offered to make what he says would be one of the “biggest changes” in the history of the British visa system  —  Boris Johnson is ready to open the door to nearly three million Hong Kong citizens …

Exclusive: Most Americans sympathize with protests, disapprove of Trump's response - Reuters/Ipsos  —  NEW YORK (Reuters) - A majority of Americans sympathize with nationwide protests over the death of an unarmed black man in police custody and disapprove of President Donald Trump's response to the unrest …

Steve King, House Republican With a History of Racist Remarks, Loses Primary  —  Mr. King, one of the nation's most divisive elected officials, saw his power in Congress curtailed last year after he questioned why white supremacy was considered offensive.  —  Representative Steve King of Iowa …

Snapchat will no longer promote Trump's account in Discover  —  Snapchat will no longer promote President Trump's account on its “Discover” page of curated content, a spokesperson tells Axios, after Trump tweeted comments that some suggested glorified violence amid racial justice protests.

JUST IN: NBA Reportedly Set to Announce July 31 Return  —  The NBA is reportedly set to announce a July 31 return, as NBA commissioner Adam Silver proposed a 22-team plan to resume the season at Disney World in Orlando.  —  ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski took to Twitter to share the news, explaining the logistics of the return:

Rod Rosenstein blames FBI for FISA errors, defends Mueller  —  Former Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein defended his actions on Wednesday as part of the federal investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election and possible ties between the Kremlin and the Trump campaign …

The C.D.C. Waited ‘Its Entire Existence for This Moment.’ What Went Wrong?  —  The technology was old, the data poor, the bureaucracy slow, the guidance confusing, the administration not in agreement.  The coronavirus shook the world's premier health agency, creating a loss of confidence and hampering the U.S. response to the crisis.

Minneapolis Police Use Force Against Black People at 7 Times the Rate of Whites  —  Black people in Minneapolis as a share of ...  Population  —  Police officers use of force Population  —  Police officers use of force  —  Video of George Floyd's last conscious moments horrified the nation …

Last Person to Receive Civil War-Era Pension Dies  —  Irene Triplett collected $73.13 from Department of Veterans Affairs, benefit for her father's military service in Civil War  —  Irene Triplett, the last person receiving a pension from the U.S. Civil War, has died at the age of 90.

Retired police captain shot to death at St. Louis pawn shop in slaying caught on Facebook Live  —  ST. LOUIS — A retired police captain was shot to death by looters at a St. Louis pawn shop early Tuesday and his killing apparently was broadcast on Facebook Live.

The Mount Vernon Police Tapes: In Secretly Recorded Phone Calls, Officers Say Innocent People Were Framed  —  In hours of secretly recorded telephone conversations, police officers in Mount Vernon, New York, reveal widespread corruption, brutality and other misconduct in the troubled Westchester County city just north of the Bronx.

The Police Report to Me, but I Knew I Couldn't Protect My Son  —  Even as mayor, I know what every other parent to a black boy in America knows: My son is simply who he is, a young black man.  —  Ms. Bottoms is the mayor of Atlanta.  —  ATLANTA — I frantically screamed into the phone to my teenage son: “Lance, WHERE ARE YOU?!”