Trump's resistance led intel agencies to brief him less and less on Russia  —  Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump's resistance to intelligence warnings about Russia led his national security team, including those who delivered the President's Daily Brief to brief him verbally less often …

Biden expands lead in swing states as voters hammer Trump over coronavirus, CNBC/Change poll says  — Voters in six 2020 swing states largely disapprove of how President Trump is handling the coronavirus as the pandemic continues to wreak havoc on the country, a CNBC/Change Research poll found.

Senate Republicans can't catch a break  —  The high point of 2020 for Senate Republicans — if there is one — may have been Feb. 6.  —  The Senate had acquitted President Donald Trump in his impeachment trial the day before, and he held an hour-long “victory celebration” in the East Room of the White House.

Scoop: Trump regrets Kushner advice on prison reform  —  President Trump has told people in recent days that he regrets following some of son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner's political advice — including supporting criminal justice reform — and will stick closer to his own instincts …

Official U.S. coronavirus death toll is ‘a substantial undercount’ of actual tally, Yale study finds  — The 781,000 total deaths in the U.S. in the three months through May 30 were nearly 19% higher than what would normally be expected, the study said.  — The number of excess deaths …

Internal Messages Reveal Crisis at Houston Hospitals as Coronavirus Cases Surge  —  Texas was one of the first states in the nation to ease social distancing mandates.  In Houston, the number of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 has quadrupled since Memorial Day.  “It's time to be alarmed,” one expert said.

The virus didn't stop a Washington socialite from throwing a backyard soiree.  Then the tests came back positive.  —  This is A Cautionary Tale featuring well-intentioned people making poor choices.  It is also the tale of a socialite with an Instagram habit who recently held a fabulous backyard soiree during a pandemic.

Alabama students throwing ‘COVID parties’ to see who gets infected: Officials  —  Rising infections prompt Gov. Kay Ivy to extend ‘Safer at Home’ orders.  —  Students in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 have been attending parties in the city and surrounding area …

Exclusive: Hundreds of George W. Bush administration officials to back Biden, group says  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Hundreds of officials who worked for former Republican President George W. Bush are set to endorse Democratic White House hopeful Joe Biden, people involved in the effort said …

Trump's aides debate a new virus approach as President claims it will ‘disappear’  —  President Trump says he's ‘all for masks’  —  (CNN)A divide has emerged inside President Donald Trump's inner circle over whether he should turn his attention back to the coronavirus pandemic or continue …

GOP senators debate replacing Columbus Day with Juneteenth as a federal holiday  —  Republican senators are debating whether Juneteenth, a day that commemorates the end of slavery in the United States, should replace Columbus Day on the federal government's list of official holidays.

How Mount Rushmore Became Mount Rushmore  —  The South Dakota landmark has drawn criticism over the land it occupies, the main sculptor behind it and the legacies of the men it memorializes.  —  This year, for the first time in more than a decade, there will be a major fireworks display …

America's Enduring Caste System  —  Our founding ideals promise liberty and equality for all.  Our reality is an enduring racial hierarchy that has persisted for centuries.  —  We saw a man face down on the pavement, pinned beneath a car, and above him another man, a man in uniform …

U.S. urges companies to steer clear of Chinese forced labor  —  The Trump administration has cautioned U.S. companies about doing business with Chinese suppliers that rely on the forced labor of Uighurs, an ethnic group that lives mostly in China's Xinjiang province.

Hugh Hewitt: Rumor has it Samuel Alito will retire from Supreme Court  —  Conservative Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito may be eyeing retirement.  —  The “stronger rumor” is that Alito is “going to quit,” conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt told Washington Post reporter Robert Costa on his show Wednesday.

Whipping post removed from outside Sussex County Courthouse  —  GEORGETOWN, Delaware (WPVI) — An eight-foot tall whipping post has been removed from outside the Sussex County Courthouse in Georgetown, Delaware.  —  The Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs (HCA) …

Richmond mayor orders prompt removal of Confederate statues  —  RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney on Wednesday ordered the immediate removal of all Confederate statues in the city, saying he was using his emergency powers to speed up the healing process for the former capital …

'It's an artifact': Mississippi officially retires its state flag to a museum  —  Mississippi's former state flag with the divisive Confederate battle emblem in its canton was officially retired to a museum on Wednesday after flying over the state for 126 years.

Americans Want More, Not Less, Immigration for First Time  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. — Thirty-four percent of Americans, up from 27% a year ago, would prefer to see immigration to the U.S. increased.  This is the highest support for expanding immigration Gallup has found in its trend since 1965.

Facebook Does Not Benefit from Hate  —  This piece originally ran in AdAge.  —  When society is divided and tensions run high, those divisions play out on social media.  Platforms like Facebook hold up a mirror to society — with more than 3 billion people using Facebook's apps every month …

Tucker Carlson: Going Forward Republican Voters Must Demand 3 Things From Their Candidates  —  Tucker Carlson said Republican officeholders are not working hard enough for the American people and, at a moment like this, that's a severe and dangerous problem in a monologue delivered on Tuesday's broadcast of his FOX News program.

Meet the Supporters Trump Has Lost  —  A significant majority of people who voted for him in 2016 are planning to do so again.  What is different about those who've had a change of heart?  —  For some, the disenchantment started almost as soon as Donald J. Trump took office.

Chicago Red Stars Soccer Player Defends Decision To Stand For Anthem  —  Alexi Lalas tweeted and then deleted this when players from the National Women's Soccer League kneeled before a recent match: “Now it takes courage to actually stand for the national anthem.”

Late Action on Virus Prompts Fears Over Safety of U.S. Diplomats in Saudi Arabia  —  Surging outbreaks in the U.S. Embassy and the kingdom and quiet congressional pressure led the State Department belatedly to allow voluntary departures.  Some demand more action.

The Trump administration just lent $700 million to a trucking company sued for ripping off taxpayers  —  New York (CNN Business)The US Treasury is giving a $700 million loan to YRC Worldwide, a troubled trucking company that warned in May it was in danger of going out of business.

The Left's Coronavirus Narrative Is a Myth  —  To this point, 71 percent more Americans have died in New York nursing homes than have died in the entire state of Florida, which not only has a larger population but a population that skews older.  To this point, New York's death rate has been ten times larger than Florida's.