Biden Builds Polling Lead in Battleground States, With Strength Among White Voters  —  NYT UPSHOT/  —  SIENA COLLEGE POLL  —  Joe Biden holds a strong lead among registered voters in six battleground states carried by Donald Trump in 2016.  —  2016 Result NYT/Siena  —  Michigan  —  Trump

Lobbyist Jack Abramoff Charged in Crypto-Currency Case, U.S. Says  —  Jack Abramoff, the onetime Washington insider who went to prison in a lobbying scandal, was charged with a criminal conspiracy related to crypto currency and lobbying disclosure, a U.S. prosecutor said.

Judge Tosses Trump Family Attempt to Block Mary Trump's Tell-All  —  A Queens County Surrogate Court Judge cited “several improprieties” in Robert Trump's attempt to block niece Mary's tell-all, slated to be published this fall.  —  A New York judge has tossed an application …

The coronavirus surge is real, and it's everywhere  —  The coronavirus pandemic is getting dramatically worse in almost every corner of the U.S.  —  The big picture: The U.S. today is getting closer to the worst-case scenario envisioned in the spring — a nationwide crisis …

CDC says COVID-19 cases in U.S. may be 10 times higher than reported  —  The true number of Americans who've been infected with COVID-19 may top 20 million, according to new estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  —  “Our best estimate right now is that for every case that's reported …

Defense Secretary Faces White House Pressure on Aides and a Military Promotion  —  Senior Defense Department personnel who are perceived as White House critics are resigning or facing reprisal.  —  WASHINGTON — The Pentagon is facing a hemorrhage of talent as senior officials resign amid continued efforts …

New research explores how conservative media misinformation may have intensified the severity of the pandemic  —  The three studies paint a picture of a media ecosystem that entertains conspiracy theories and discourages audiences from taking steps to protect themselves and others

Trump's pick for Manhattan U.S. attorney refuses to say he would recuse from probes of president's associates  —  President Trump's nominee to take over the Manhattan federal prosecutors office after the abrupt dismissal of U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman refused on Thursday to say whether …

The 3 most populous states are breaking coronavirus records, leading to fears of ‘apocalyptic’ surges  —  (CNN)The three most populous states set records for new coronavirus cases daily and there are fears of “apocalyptic” surges in major Texas cities if the trend continues.

How the Virus Won  —  Invisible outbreaks sprang up everywhere.  The United States ignored the warning signs.  We analyzed travel patterns, hidden infections and genetic data to show how the epidemic spun out of control.  —  Invisible outbreaks sprang up everywhere.  The United States ignored the warning signs.

She Wanted to Be a Republican President.  She's Voting for Biden.  —  Republicans who say Donald Trump should lose in November but insist they won't vote for Joe Biden aren't being honest, Carly Fiorina argues.  —  Fiorina was a Republican candidate for president just four years ago …

Treasury sent more than 1 million coronavirus stimulus payments to dead people, congressional watchdog finds  —  The checks sent to dead people as of April 30 totaled nearly $1.4 billion, according to the Government Accountability Office  —  The federal government sent coronavirus stimulus payments …

A Devastating New Stage of the Pandemic  —  Editor's Note: The Atlantic is making vital coverage of the coronavirus available to all readers.  Find the collection here.  —  For the past few weeks in the United States, the awful logic of the coronavirus seemed to have lifted.  Stores and restaurants reopened.

Moscow Held Back Dirt So It Could Slime President Hillary  —  “They fully expected Hillary Clinton to become president, and [the Russians] wanted to have bullets they could use during her presidential term,” John Brennan said.  —  BEAST INSIDE  —  After four years, 34 indictments …

Trump lashes out at Black Lives Matter, accuses one member of ‘treason’  —  President Trump lashed out at the Black Lives Matters movement in twin tweets Thursday, accusing one of its members of treason and lamenting alleged plans for a new mural in front of Trump Tower in Manhattan that honors the cause.

We Asked Biden's Campaign If He Supports Removing Washington, Grant, Roosevelt & Jesus Statues, Received No Answer  —  As calls to remove statues of former U.S. presidents and even Jesus Christ come, presumptive Democratic nominee for the 2020 presidential election Joe Biden has remained silent on the issue …

The dirty secret behind Ben Shapiro's extraordinary success on Facebook  —  Founder of The Daily Wire, Ben Shapiro.  (MARK RALSTON/AFP via Getty Images)  —  The success of The Daily Wire, the website run by right-wing pundit Ben Shapiro, on Facebook is mind-boggling.

Graham Rebuffed Over Widening Barr's Powers as GOP Senators Balk  —  The Senate Judiciary Committee blocked an effort by Chairman Lindsey Graham to give the attorney general the power to veto investigations of Justice Department lawyers by the inspector general.

Poll Shows Trump Dragging Down G.O.P. Senate Candidates  —  Tomorrow: How voters see Mr. Biden's possible vice presidential choices.

In Racist Screed, NYT's 1619 Project Founder Calls ‘White Race’ ‘Barbaric Devils,’ ‘Bloodsuckers,’ Columbus ‘No Different Than Hitler’  —  In an indication of what was to come, the founder of the New York Times' 1619 Project penned a lengthy racist screed attacking all white people in 1995.

North Texas family shaken after 18 relatives test positive for COVID-19 following family gathering  —  Three are now hospitalized, including two elderly family members and one woman battling breast cancer.  —  CARROLLTON, Texas — As North Texas watches COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations surge …

Fired Wilmington cop: “We are just going to go out and start slaughtering them f—  ni—.  I can't wait.  God, I can't wait.  " [Free read]  —  Editor's note: This article contains extremely graphic and racist language, reader discretion is advised.  —  WILMINGTON — “We are just gonna …

NASCAR releases image of noose found in Bubba Wallace's garage, says concern was ‘real’  —  NASCAR on Thursday completed its investigation into the garage pull rope formed as a noose that was found in Bubba Wallace's garage at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday, with president Steve Phelps saying …

AG Pax­ton Files Brief Ask­ing SCO­TUS to Declare Oba­macare Unlawful  —  Attorney General Paxton today filed a brief asking the United States Supreme Court to declare Obamacare unlawful in its entirety.  At the heart of Obamacare is an individual mandate commanding Americans …

A European ban on US travelers would send a humbling message  —  David A. Andelman, executive director of The Red Lines Project, is a contributor to CNN, where his columns won the Deadline Club Award for best opinion writing.  Author of “A Shattered Peace: Versailles 1919 and the Price We Pay Today …

Facebook faces trust crisis as ad boycott grows  —  What started out as a few whispers about advertisers pulling Facebook ads has turned into a growing boycott of the social network over its content moderation policies — a situation the company is now describing as a “trust deficit.”

Verizon is pulling advertising from Facebook and Instagram  — Verizon said on Thursday it is pulling advertising on Facebook and Instagram.  — On Thursday, the Anti-Defamation League released an open letter that mentioned, in part, that it had found an advertisement for Verizon …

Marco Rubio bolsters 2024 profile with sympathetic approach to racial ‘inequities’  —  In 2016, Florida voters in a predominantly black Jacksonville precinct rewarded Sen. Marco Rubio for championing their concerns about a mismanaged public housing project by supporting the Republican for reelection by a healthy 4 percentage points.

Trump Overhaul of Campus Sex Assault Rules Wins Surprising Support  —  The new approach finds unlikely allies among some feminist scholars, who say colleges and universities were failing to sufficiently protect the rights of young men accused of sexual misconduct.

Dear Reviewer 2: Go F' Yourself  —  Abstract  —  Objectives  —  The objective of this study was to empirically test the wide belief that Reviewer #2 is a uniquely poor reviewer.  —  Methods  —  The test involved analyzing the reviewer database from Political Behavior .  There are two main tests.

'We're at record numbers'  —  The Trump administration has sought to downplay the rising numbers.  Pence called concerns about another surge of infections “overblown,” the product of media “fearmongering.”  Trump said testing for the virus is “overrated” and that the surge of confirmed cases only “makes us look bad.”