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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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

Trumpism Corrupts: Wall Street Journal Edition  —  When people show you who they are, you should believe them.  —  The Wall Street Journal ran a strikingly oblique editorial on Thursday morning.  I'm going to quote from it extensively and bold the phrases that are most interesting:

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 …

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.

‘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.

MSNBC's Mimi Rocah unseats Anthony Scarpino in Westchester County D.A. primary  —  Former federal prosecutor and MSNBC legal analyst Mimi Rocah has won the Democratic primary for Westchester County district attorney.  —  Incumbent Anthony Scarpino conceded the race Thursday …

Barr lambastes Apple in China speech  —  Attorney General William Barr on Thursday criticized corporate America's relationship with the Chinese Communist Party — while singling out Apple once again as an example of a “double standard” in how tech companies treat the U.S. government versus Beijing.

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) …

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.

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.

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 …

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 …

Huge Scandal: 300 Florida COVID Test Sites Reported False 100% Positivity Rate  —  RUSH: This is a huge, huge story, and it was started by a Fox station in Orlando.  Fox Orlando, Channel 35, reporting that Florida hospitals are making massive mistakes with coronavirus case reporting.

Trump prepares new arguments as judge sets timeline of New York tax return case  —  A judge set dates for court filings after the Supreme Court sent the case down for further argument  —  President Trump will have less than two weeks to submit new arguments in his case against Manhattan …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.

A teen led a Black Lives Matter protest in his small town.  A cross was burned in his yard.  —  MARION, Va. — It had been three weeks since the cross burning.  Three weeks since Travon Brown's sense of triumph from leading a Black Lives Matter march was consumed by the fire in his front yard.

Trump's Rose Garden speech was a warning to China — and American 2020 voters  —  China will likely be the next foreign power accused of undermining a U.S. presidential election — it just doesn't know it yet.  The Trump administration, through words and deeds, appears to be grooming …