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Russia Secretly Offered Afghan Militants Bounties to Kill U.S. Troops, Intelligence Says — The Trump administration has been deliberating for months about what to do about a stunning intelligence assessment. — WASHINGTON — American intelligence officials have concluded …
Discussion:
Raw Story


The Trump Referendum — He still has no second term message beyond his own grievances. — By The Editorial Board — President Trump may soon need a new nickname for “Sleepy Joe” Biden. How does President-elect sound? On present trend that's exactly what Mr. Biden will be on Nov. 4 …
Discussion:
Mediaite, The Hill, Talking Points Memo, The Daily Caller, Raw Story and Politico
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Poll: Trump Disapproval Hits All-Time High And He Trails Biden By 8 — After weeks of protests against police brutality and racism, and amid a renewed spike in coronavirus cases, the number of voters disapproving of the job President Trump is doing is at an all-time high, a new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll finds.
Discussion:
Fox News


Trump Is in a Deep Hole. Can He Dig Himself Out Before November? — Every single poll that has come out in these last two weeks has painted a dire picture for President Donald Trump's chances at re-election. His overall job approval rating sits somewhere around 41 percent.
Discussion:
Associated Press


Texas rolls back its reopening a day after pausing plans, as coronavirus cases rise — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced on Friday that he will roll back some of the state's reopening as coronavirus cases and hospitalizations continue to rise. — “As I said from the start …
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Gov. Greg Abbott orders Texas bars to close again and restaurants to reduce to 50% occupancy as coronavirus spreads — The moves, announced Friday morning, represent Abbott's most dramatic action yet in response a surge in cases after he allowed businesses to reopen in the state.
Discussion:
Office of the Texas Governor, Reason, Mediaite, Gothamist and Balloon Juice


Live updates: Florida reports nearly 9,000 new coronavirus cases; Texas reverses course to stave off surge
Discussion:
TalkLeft, Alternet.org, Raw Story, Kaiser Health News, Fox News and Mediaite

States retreat as confirmed virus cases hit all-time high
Discussion:
The American Independent and Defense One

Daily Coronavirus Infections in U.S. Hit Record
Discussion:
Washington Monthly


House approves DC statehood bill, GOP calls move Dem ‘power grab’ — The bill is presumed dead on arrival in the GOP-led Senate and is opposed by President Trump — The House of Representatives on Friday voted to make Washington D.C. the 51st state, a move cheered by Washingtonians …
Discussion:
National Review, New Republic, New York Magazine and Washington Post
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D.C. statehood approved by U.S. House for first time in history
Discussion:
IJR

House Vote Friday Would Make D.C. The 51st State. Trump And The Senate Say No
Discussion:
Fox News, Iowa Starting Line, The Daily Caller, Just The News and The American Independent

House passes bill to provide D.C. statehood
Discussion:
Fox News, Axios, New York Post and The Hill


The Daily 202: Trump's legal argument for throwing out all of the ACA is a nightmare for Senate Republicans — President Trump insists on the campaign trail that he wants to protect insurance coverage for people with preexisting conditions. His legal team just told the Supreme Court otherwise.
Discussion:
Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Talking Points Memo, IJR and Daily Kos
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Trump Administration Asks Supreme Court to Strike Down Affordable Care Act
Discussion:
NPR, Washington Post, No More Mister Nice Blog, Mother Jones, Vanity Fair, Vox, Blue Virginia, National Review, Daily Kos, SCOTUSblog, Marketplace, Slate and Arizona Democratic Party


Biden Is Getting a Lot of Advice on His V.P. Here's What Voters Think. — A large majority of voters say race should not be a factor in his decision, and none of the best-known candidates has emerged as a favorite. — Joseph R. Biden Jr. appears to face limited political pressure from voters …
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Why Do These Trump Campaign Ads Link to Brad Parscale's Facebook Page? — For indispensable reporting on the coronavirus crisis and more, subscribe to Mother Jones' newsletters. — The Trump campaign is running Facebook ads from a page for campaign manager Brad Parscale …
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Tom Cotton's Argument Against DC Statehood Is the Same One Racists Have Always Used
Discussion:
Raw Story, The Hill and Lawyers, Guns & Money


Trump's reality TV presidency is being crushed by reality — President Donald Trump holds a Bible outside of St. John's Church on June 1, 2020, in Washington, DC, after the area was cleared of people protesting the death of George Floyd. Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images
Discussion:
The Mahablog, The Hill, POLITICUSUSA and The Guardian
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The Week It Went South for Trump
Discussion:
The Bulwark, Townhall, Raw Story and No More Mister Nice Blog


Mary Trump once stood up to her uncle Donald. Now her book describes a ‘nightmare’ of family dysfunction. — Mary L. Trump was embroiled in a feud over her inheritance two decades ago when her uncle Donald Trump and his siblings punched back in classic style.
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Republican nightmare: Trump vote-by-mail demonizing driving down GOP participation — President Trump's extreme opposition to mail-in ballots is more likely hurting him and down-ballot Republicans than it is helping him. — Mounting evidence in voter registration data, a survey …
Discussion:
Real Clear Politics


You Want a Confederate Monument? My Body Is a Confederate Monument — The black people I come from were owned and raped by the white people I come from. Who dares to tell me to celebrate them? — Ms. Williams is a poet. — NASHVILLE — I have rape-colored skin.
Discussion:
Lawyers, Guns & Money


Mississippi appears to have enough votes to change state flag, senior lawmaker says — Mississippi lawmakers who want to remove the Confederate battle emblem from the state's flag appear to have enough votes in the state Legislature to make the change, a senior state lawmaker said Friday.
Discussion:
National Review, Rolling Stone, The Daily Caller and The Wrap
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Almost one-third of black Americans know someone who died of covid-19, survey shows — Nearly 1 in 3 black Americans know someone personally who has died of covid-19, far exceeding their white counterparts, according to a Washington Post-Ipsos poll that underscores the coronavirus pandemic's profoundly disparate impact.
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Americans increasingly cautious as coronavirus cases surge
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, ABC News, The Hill, Breitbart and Daily Kos


How Arizona ‘lost control of the epidemic’ — PHOENIX — A drive-up testing site equipped for several hundred people in West Phoenix was swarmed on Saturday by about 1,000 people, leaving some baking in their cars for hours. — A nearby testing station has already reached capacity for this weekend …
Discussion:
policylab.chop.edu, CNN, Daily Kos, Lawyers, Guns & Money and WGN-TV


Appeals court rules funding for Trump border wall construction ‘unlawful’ — The Trump administration does not have the authority to use military funding to pay for construction of a border wall, a federal appeals court panel ruled on Friday. — In a 2-1 ruling, a 9th U.S. Circuit Court …
Discussion:
One America News Network and The Hill


The DOJ Decided Not to Prosecute Trump. It's Hiding the Reason Why. — The Department of Justice has confirmed the existence of a memo laying out its rationale for not bringing charges against President Trump, but it refuses to make its reasoning public. In response to ongoing litigation involving …
Discussion:
Law & Crime


Trump Retreats to His Hannity Bunker — Beaten by the pandemic and down in the polls, a President and his propagandist create an alternate reality. — June began poorly for President Trump, and it's ending worse. Despite his optimistic pronouncements about the coronavirus …


Florida governor under fire over claims state is ‘cooking the books’ on Covid-19 — Ron DeSantis angrily dismisses allegation from fired scientist that officials are massaging figures to hide true impact of coronavirus — Republican Florida governor Ron DeSantis's faltering response …
Discussion:
Raw Story, Sun-Sentinel and POLITICUSUSA


Unilever to Halt U.S. Ads on Facebook and Twitter for Rest of 2020 — The company cites hate speech and polarized politics as reasons for ad suspension — Consumer goods giant Unilever UL -.46% PLC said it will halt U.S. advertising on Facebook Inc. FB -6.95% and Twitter Inc. TWTR -6.98% …
Discussion:
New York Times, New York Post, KFOR-TV, The Verge and CNBC, more at Mediagazer »


America Didn't Give Up on Covid-19. Republicans Did. — Partisanship has crippled our response. — Earlier this year much of America went through hell as the nation struggled to deal with Covid-19. More than 120,000 Americans have now died; more than 20 million have lost their jobs.


Senate panel asks ex-Obama officials for Hunter Biden docs — A Senate committee is re-engaging former Obama administration officials as part of an investigation targeting Joe Biden's son, demanding transcribed interviews and documents for the Republican-led probe.


Bill Gates: US ‘not even close’ to doing enough to fight pandemic — (CNN)Microsoft founder Bill Gates said Thursday that the current coronavirus picture, both globally and in the US, is “more bleak” than he would have expected. — Speaking to CNN's Anderson Cooper and Dr. Sanjay Gupta …
Discussion:
New York Post


MSNBC may soon reward homophobic conspiracy theorist with plum prime-time gig — MSNBC's Joy Reid is apparently in talks to take over the 7 p.m. weekday spot previously held by former anchor Chris Matthews, who resigned abruptly in March following allegations that he made inappropriate comments to a network guest.

Three weeks ago, I committed to reviewing our policies ahead of the 2020 elections. That work is ongoing, but today I want to share some new policies to connect people with authoritative information about voting, crack down on voter suppression, and fight hate speech.
Discussion:
Bloomberg, TheStreet, The Daily Dot, WHDH-TV and The Verge, more at Mediagazer »