Republican senators shrug off Mattis' criticism of Trump: 'It's his opinion'  —  (CNN)Republican senators are dismissing the scathing criticism leveled against President Donald Trump by his former defense secretary, James Mattis, the latest sign that Republicans by and large are showing unwavering support …

White man accused of killing Ahmaud Arbery allegedly used racial slur after shooting, investigator says  —  The white Georgia man accused of killing an unarmed black man, Ahmaud Arbery, used a racial slur after the fatal shooting, according to another suspect's account to an investigator.

Black Lives Matter Is Suing Trump And The Federal Government Over Force Used Against Protesters Outside The White House  —  WASHINGTON — The DC chapter of the Black Lives Matter movement filed a lawsuit on Thursday accusing federal law enforcement officers of violating the constitutional rights …

Witness Who Was in Floyd's Car Says His Friend Did Not Resist Arrest  —  Maurice Lester Hall, who fled Minneapolis after witnessing George Floyd's death, was arrested Monday in Houston and interviewed by a Minnesota investigator.  —  WASHINGTON — A longtime friend of George Floyd's …

Lancet, New England Journal retract Covid-19 studies, including one that raised safety concerns about malaria drugs  —  The Lancet, one of the world's top medical journals, on Thursday retracted an influential study that raised alarms about the safety of the experimental Covid-19 treatments chloroquine …

Meghan McCain Responded After Her Neighbor Called Her Out For Making False Claims About The Black Lives Matter Protests In New York  —  Yesterday, Meghan McCain tweeted about the protests happening in New York City following the killing of George Floyd by four police officers in Minneapolis.

Trump Favorability Slips Among White Catholic and Non-College Americans During National Unrest  —  New data from PRRI shows that 41% of Americans hold favorable views of President Donald Trump, while a 55% majority hold unfavorable views of him.  These numbers are similar to Trump's favorability in April …

A Moment of National Shame and Peril—and Hope  —  We may be witnessing the beginning of the end of American democracy, but there is still a way to stop the descent.  —  The slide of the United States into illiberalism may well have begun on June 1, 2020.  Remember the date.

Ukrainian prosecutors find no evidence against Hunter Biden  —  Audit probed energy company Burisma, of which Biden was a board member from 2014-2019  —  An audit of thousands of old case files by Ukrainian prosecutors found no evidence of wrongdoing on the part of Hunter Biden …

Pentagon intelligence employees raise concerns about supporting domestic surveillance amid protests  —  WASHINGTON — The government's increasingly militarized response to nationwide protests has sparked concern among employees of a Pentagon intelligence agency, who fear they might be compelled …

Rand Paul battles Kamala Harris and Cory Booker on anti-lynching bill  —  The Senate's foremost contrarian, Rand Paul, clashed with Kamala Harris and Cory Booker on the Senate floor Thursday over Paul's opposition to a popular anti-lynching bill.  —  The Senate could easily approve …

NYC hits hopeful milestone: Zero confirmed coronavirus deaths for first day since March  —  For the first day in months, New York City witnessed zero confirmed deaths due to coronavirus, current records show.  —  The first confirmed COVID-19 death in the Big Apple occurred on March 11 …

A Progressive Challenger Was Attacked for Calling to Defund the Police.  She Won Anyway.  —  Calls to defund the police have become a focal point of nationwide protests following the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, with local politicians from New York City to Los Angeles weighing …

Grassley to hold up pair of nominations until Trump explains IG firings  —  Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said on Thursday that he will block the confirmation of two of President Trump's nominees until the White House provides “adequate explanations” for why the inspectors general …

I'm a priest.  The police forced me off church grounds for Trump's photo op.  —  This sacred space became a battleground  —  When I arrived in front of St. John's Episcopal Church in Lafayette Square on Monday, bringing granola bars and cases of water, the mood was upbeat.

RNC expands convention search across the Sun Belt  —  The Republican National Committee is planning site visits over the next 10 days to more than a half-dozen cities — across the South and into Texas and Arizona — as it scrambles for a new convention host, people familiar with the internal discussions tell Axios.

Why Some Democrats Worry About the Whiteness of Biden's Inner Circle  —  Even as his team adds people of color, allies worry that a lack of diverse viewpoints at the top could come with a steep cost: the possibility of taking for granted his strength with black voters.

Brooklyn Man Was Arrested for Curfew Violation.  The FBI Interrogated Him About His Political Beliefs.  —  Joel Feingold was in his apartment in Brooklyn when he heard the sound of police beating protesters outside of his building Wednesday night.  Having spent much of the week …

White House Security Blocks Washington's Episcopalian Bishop from Holding a Vigil at Her Church  —  For indispensable reporting on the coronavirus crisis and more, subscribe to Mother Jones' newsletters.  —  On Monday, President Donald Trump tear-gassed an assembly of peaceful demonstrators …

Nation ‘not prepared’ for next pandemic  —  WASHINGTON — The nation's top public health official warned that the United States is not prepared for a flu pandemic, which could be deadlier than the coronavirus — and could strike at the same time, potentially as soon as this fall.

Dwayne Johnson Calls Out Trump in Passionate Video Supporting Black Lives Matter  —  Dwayne Johnson posted a passionate video on Twitter, showing support for Black Lives Matter and appearing to question President Trump's lack of leadership during nationwide protests against George Floyd's death.

Economic Effects of Additional Unemployment Benefits of $600 per Week  —  At the request of Senator Grassley's staff, CBO has examined the economic effects of extending the temporary increase of $600 per week in the benefit amount provided by unemployment programs.

New York Times Journalists Scared To Have an Op-Ed Page  —  Last night, The New York Times, which has long maintained the pretentions of being the serious journalistic institution in the United States, published an article about how its own employees were scared—not just irritated, or …

Tear Gas Is Way More Dangerous Than Police Let On — Especially During the Coronavirus Pandemic  —  In the middle of a respiratory pandemic, law enforcement agencies have used tear gas in especially dangerous ways.  The chemical agent also seeps into homes, contaminates food, furniture …

China, Iran targeting presidential campaigns with hacking attempts, Google announces  —  Chinese and Iranian hackers have targeted the gmail accounts of staffers working on the presidential campaigns of Joe Biden and President Trump, respectively, Google announced Thursday.

This moment cries out for us to confront race in America  —  Condoleezza Rice was secretary of state from 2005 to 2009.  She is a professor at Stanford University's Graduate School of Business and a senior fellow on public policy at the Hoover Institution, where she will become director on Sept. 1.

The Lockdowns Are Now a Scandal  —  A boy in my neighborhood committed suicide a few weeks ago.  It's possible that the teen's preexisting problems were exacerbated by the seclusion, tediousness, and helplessness of a national lockdown.  Maybe not.  I didn't really know him.