Trump team launches a sweeping loyalty test to shore up its defenses  —  In the middle of a devastating pandemic and a searing economic crisis, the White House has an urgent question for its colleagues across the administration: Are you loyal enough to President Donald Trump?

U.S. Party Preferences Have Swung Sharply Toward Democrats  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. — Since January, Americans' party preferences have shifted dramatically in the Democratic Party's direction.  What had been a two-percentage-point Republican advantage in U.S. party identification and leaning …

Kemp bans cities, counties from mandating masks  —  By Jeremy Redmon - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution J. Scott Trubey - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Willoughby Mariano - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution  —  Georgia governor extends coronavirus restrictions while encouraging use of face masks

Even if the Polls Are Really Off, Trump Is Still in Trouble  —  Joe Biden's lead is sufficient to cover a sizable error.  And several of the biggest problems with polling in the last election have either been addressed or become less relevant.  —  With Joe Biden claiming almost a double-digit lead …

Coronavirus data has already disappeared after Trump administration shifted control from CDC  — Since the pandemic began, the CDC has regularly published data on availability of hospital beds and intensive care units across the country.  — But Ryan Panchadsaram, who helps run …

Mary Trump says the U.S. has devolved into a version of her ‘incredibly dysfunctional family’  —  Mary L. Trump, President's Trump's niece, said that watching the country's leadership devolve into “a macro version of my incredibly dysfunctional family” was one of the factors that compelled …

Game show host retweeted by Trump deletes his account after announcing his son has coronavirus  —  Former game show host Chuck Woolery announced Wednesday his son has tested positive for COVID-19, just days after accusing medical professionals and Democrats of lying about the virus in an effort …

Trump's campaign team tries to steady operation after messy shakeup  —  President Donald Trump's outgoing campaign manager and his successor gathered staffers at the Trump campaign's Arlington, Va., headquarters Thursday morning for a “pass the torch” ceremony, after Trump abruptly replaced Brad Parscale …

A Second Coronavirus Death Surge Is Coming  —  Editor's Note: The Atlantic is making vital coverage of the coronavirus available to all readers.  Find the collection here.  —  There is no mystery in the number of Americans dying from COVID-19.  —  Despite political leaders trivializing the pandemic …

In separate rallies, Utahns protest mask mandate and demand in-person classes  —  • As she walked up to the podium to speak, one of the moms grabbed a face mask and spit her gum out into it.  “It's garbage,” she shrugged, wadding it up.  “It doesn't work anyway.  Not for me and not for my kids.”

NPR Let The US Attorney General Tell A Falsehood On The Air  —  NPR's four-member “election security team” is responsible for covering all things about American voting, from access, to fraud to innovations and investments in the process.  It is one of the foundations of NPR's politics coverage.

Supreme Court deals blow to felons in Florida seeking to regain the right to vote  —  The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Thursday to weigh in on a federal appeals court's decision that blocked some Florida felons' eligibility to participate in elections — a major blow to efforts …

‘White Fragility’ Is Everywhere.  But Does Antiracism Training Work?  —  Robin DiAngelo's best seller is giving white Americans a new way to talk about race.  Do those conversations actually serve the cause of equality?  —  To hear more audio stories from publishers like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

Inspector general: Medicare chief broke rules on her publicity contracts  —  A top Trump administration health official violated federal contracting rules by steering millions of taxpayer dollars in contracts that ultimately benefited GOP-aligned communications consultants, according to an inspector general report released Thursday.

Twitter Is Removing Images of Internal Tool Sources Say Enables Account Takeover  —  After a wave of account takeovers, screenshots of an internal Twitter user administration tool are being shared in the hacking underground.  —  Joseph Cox  —  On Wednesday, a wave of high profile accounts including …

Video shows protesters get shipment of bats before Brooklyn Bridge brawl  —  Surveillance video from outside City Hall appears to show protesters receiving a small shipment of bats before anti-cops activists clashed with officers on the Brooklyn Bridge Wednesday morning.

Kelly Loeffler is running against Black Lives Matter.  These corporations are supporting her campaign.  —  This is the online version of the Popular Information newsletter.  Sign up to get independent accountability journalism straight to you inbox:  —  Senator Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) …

Republicans Alarmed by Democratic Senate Hopefuls' Fundraising Haul  —  'We're scared to death by what we see,' one Senate GOP strategist says  —  Republicans are sounding alarms after Democratic Senate candidates outraised their GOP opponents in the first six months of the year …

Coronavirus cases shut down Florida's emergency operations center  —  The coronavirus thrashing Florida has penetrated the state's emergency operations center, a clearinghouse for disaster-related information and a command center of sorts for the pandemic response.

Is the Saudi Government Plotting Against Another U.S.-Based Critic?  —  In early May, officials with the C.I.A. reached out to Ali Soufan, a former F.B.I. agent who served as a lead investigator in the months before the September 11th attacks, to say they had learned that Al Qaeda militants were plotting against him.

The Trump campaign app is tapping a “gold mine” of data about Americans  —  President Trump's campaign app is targeted to his most fervent supporters, but it is able to collect data about a swath of the American public far larger than his base.  —  The app requests access to significantly …

Republican convention in Jacksonville will be scaled back next month  —  The Republican Party will hold a scaled-back convention in Jacksonville, Fla., next month that includes a mix of outdoor and indoor venues, according to a letter sent to delegates.  —  The Thursday letter …

Who's Afraid of Ziwe Fumudoh?  For guests who dare to appear on the comedian's Instagram Live show, the question is not if you are racist, but how.  —  “I get wild DMs,” Ziwe Fumudoh tells me as she scrolls through her phone.  There are suggestions for guests on her Instagram Live show …

Trump Favorability Drops Among White College-Educated Americans  —  Trump Favorability  —  President Donald Trump's favorability continues to trend downward.  Less than four in ten (38%) Americans hold favorable views of Trump and nearly six in ten (59%) view him unfavorably.

Donald Trump Poses With Goya Products One Day After Ivanka Tweets Support  —  Both pics may violate federal regulations that forbid government employees to use their positions, titles or authority to endorse products.  —  President Donald Trump may be setting himself for a new gig …

The Myth of Trump as a Centrist Dealmaker  —  From vaunted negotiator to feckless ideologue.  —  On a Sunday-morning talk show in December 2015, a rising politician had this to say about Senator Ted Cruz's campaign for president, “Look at the way he's dealt with the Senate, where he goes in there …