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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:
The Sun, New York Post, Mediaite, Raw Story and Alternet.org
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Russian Spy Unit Paid Taliban to Attack Americans, U.S. Intelligence Says — Bounties paid by GRU are disclosed as U.S. plans troops drawdown, Taliban peace plan — WASHINGTON—A Russian spy unit paid members of Afghanistan's Taliban movement to conduct lethal attacks on U.S. troops in that country …


Live updates: Florida reports nearly 9,000 new coronavirus cases; Texas reverses course to stave off surge — The Washington Post is providing this important information about the coronavirus for free. For more free coverage of the coronavirus pandemic, sign up for our Coronavirus Updates newsletter …
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Alternet.org, Portland Mercury, Kaiser Health News, Raw Story, Fox News, TalkLeft and Mediaite
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Texas rolls back its reopening a day after pausing plans, as coronavirus cases rise


E.U. Plans to Bar Most U.S. Travelers When Bloc Reopens — Europe will allow outsiders to begin entering again on July 1, but the U.S. and Russia are now among the nations considered too risky because they have not controlled the coronavirus outbreak. — BRUSSELS — The European Union …


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.
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The Daily Dot, Daily Kos, Fox News and Wall Street Journal
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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:
Redstate, Mediaite, Fox News, Alternet.org, Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, The Hill, The Daily Caller and Politico

Trump Is in a Deep Hole. Can He Dig Himself Out Before November?
Discussion:
Associated Press


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% …
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The Verge, New York Times, Marketplace, New York Post, KFOR-TV and CNBC, more at Mediagazer »
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Bowing to pressure, Facebook will start labeling violating posts from politicians. But critics say it's not enough.
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, Politico and Mashable

Three weeks ago, I committed to reviewing our policies ahead of the 2020 elections.
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Bloomberg, Mashable, IJR, TheStreet, WHDH-TV, The Daily Dot and The Verge, more at Mediagazer »


Roger Stone ordered to report to prison July 14, as judge denies request for two-month delay — A federal judge has ordered Roger Stone to report to prison July 14, granting him a two-week delay because of the coronavirus pandemic, but not the two months that President Trump's confidant had requested with prosecutors' assent.
Discussion:
Axios


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:
Talking Points Memo, IJR, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Daily Kos
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Trump Administration Asks Supreme Court to Strike Down Affordable Care Act
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NPR, Washington Post, Blue Virginia, Daily Kos, Marketplace, No More Mister Nice Blog, Vanity Fair, Vox, Mother Jones, Slate, SCOTUSblog, National Review and Arizona Democratic Party


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 and Al Jazeera


Supreme Court Turns Down Request to Allow All Texans to Vote by Mail — Democrats in the state had urged the justices to reinstate a federal trial judge's order based on the 26th Amendment, which bars voting discrimination based on age. — WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court said on Friday …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo and Bloomberg
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New Numbers Showing Coronavirus Spread Intrude on a White House in Denial — Both President Trump and Vice President Pence seem oblivious to the new chapter in the pandemic. — WASHINGTON — In the past week, President Trump hosted an indoor campaign rally for thousands of cheering …
Discussion:
Mediaite and Alternet.org
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Pence claims ‘remarkable progress’ as Covid-19 cases hit new record in US
Discussion:
Balloon Juice


What Ever Happened to Joy Reid's Alleged Hackers and That FBI Investigation? — Joy Reid, a weekend fixture of MSNBC, is expected to take over a top weekday hour at the network: 7 p.m., the hour vacated by Hardball host Chris Matthews, who retired amid controversy earlier this year.
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Poynter, more at Mediagazer »
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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.


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 …
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NBC News, National Review, New York Post, CNBC and Iowa Starting Line
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House Democrats pass DC statehood bill Friday
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WTOP, Fox News, NPR and Congresswoman Eleanor …


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


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


Trump Family Makes New Attempt to Kill Niece's Tell-All — A New York City judge called their filing “fatally defective,” so they have refiled in a different jurisdiction. — Fresh from one legal defeat, the Trump family is taking another stab at halting publication of presidential niece Mary Trump's upcoming tell-all.
Discussion:
Raw Story
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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:
MeidasTouch, The Hill and One America News Network


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.
Discussion:
Raw Story


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 …


Working for Mark Zuckerberg's philanthropy isn't always easy since it means working for Mark Zuckerberg — Inside the unrest at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. — At an emotional company town hall last week that blew past its hour-long time limit, one of Mark Zuckerberg's engineers asked him to quit as CEO of Facebook.


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 and Alternet.org


Barr forms task force to counter ‘anti-government extremists’ — Attorney General William P. Barr on Friday directed the formation of a task force that will be dedicated to countering “anti-government extremists,” escalating federal law enforcement's response to the violence …
Discussion:
New York Times, The Hill, POLITICUSUSA, Los Angeles Times, American Oversight and Law & Crime


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.


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:
TheGrio, Raw Story, Sun-Sentinel and POLITICUSUSA


Overlooked No More: Valerie Solanas, Radical Feminist Who Shot Andy Warhol — She made daring arguments in “SCUM Manifesto,” her case for a world without men. But her legacy as a writer and thinker was overshadowed by one violent act. … On June 3, 1968, Valerie Solanas walked into Andy Warhol's studio …
Discussion:
Marginal REVOLUTION


Wrongly arrested Black man sues a Georgia city and police officers for excessive force and injury — Wrongly arrested Black man sues police and Georgia city — (CNN)A Black man who was slammed to the ground as he was wrongly arrested is suing the Georgia city of Valdosta …