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.

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

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 …

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.

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.

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.

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 …

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 …

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% …

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.

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.

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 …