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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.

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 …

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 …

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.

Coronavirus task force returns, but downplays new flareups as local ‘hot spots’  —  The White House Coronavirus Task Force is back on camera — but it wants Americans to know that everything is under control.  —  The panel held a public briefing on Friday for the first time since late April …

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

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.

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 …

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 …

My Confederate Past  —  Everyone who grew up in Mississippi was steeped in the Confederacy.  Even if they didn't realize it.  —  On Friday, the Mississippi legislature is scheduled to vote on changing the Mississippi state flag.  As I write this, I have no idea what the outcome will be.

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 …

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.

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 …

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 …

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.

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 …

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% …

Senate panel demands testimony from ex-Obama officials in revived Biden probe  —  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.

People Spent Thousands To Go On A Cruise With Glenn Beck.  Now They Can't Get Their Money Back.  —  Last June, Jeff and Jennifer Welliver heard about a cruise around the Mediterranean, to be hosted by conservative radio host Glenn Beck and featuring other right-wing luminaries like Bill O'Reilly.

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 …