Mayor of Portland, Oregon, tear gassed by federal agents  —  PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The mayor of Portland, Oregon, was tear gassed by the U.S. government late Wednesday as he stood at a fence guarding a federal courthouse during another night of protest against the presence of federal agents sent …

White House, GOP kill payroll tax cut but flounder over broader coronavirus bill  —  Planned roll-out canceled in roller-coaster morning; White House floats piecemeal plan but Pelosi shoots it down  —  Senate Republicans killed President Trump's payroll tax cut proposal on Thursday but failed …

Michael Cohen will be released from prison to home confinement, judge rules  —  Avlon: You should be outraged at the muzzling of Cohen  —  New York (CNN)Michael Cohen will be released to home confinement, a judge ruled on Thursday, finding that the government acted in a retaliatory manner …

I Was Wrong About Florida's Response to Covid-19  —  I gave Governor Ron DeSantis more credit than he deserved for the low death rate in his state.  —  A little after 11 a.m. each weekday, I receive an email alert from the Miami Herald.  It contains the latest Covid-19 numbers for Florida.

State Department Insiders Ask: What Is Susan Pompeo Really Up To?  —  Five years ago, a young Kansan named Jakob Provo had almost gotten a job working for ambitious Congressman Mike Pompeo.  He'd aced the interview, he thought, and he was certainly qualified.

Another 1.4 million workers filed for unemployment insurance last week  —  The tally has been over a million each week since March.  —  Another 1.4 million U.S. workers filed for unemployment insurance last week, the Labor Department said Thursday.  —  This marks the 18th straight week that weekly jobless claims surpassed 1 million.

Fox News parts ways with a morning host who caused a Covid-19 scare  —  New York (CNN Business)Fox News has parted ways with a host who dismayed fellow staffers when she came to work while visibly sick in the early days of the coronavirus crisis.  —  Heather Childers, who had been an early morning host …

This Is Mask Haters' Most Nefarious Hoax Yet  —  A fake CDC document has spread across Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, and more specialized websites like a hunting forum.  —  Face mask haters often don't trust the federal government, whether it's top infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Twitter says it's looking at subscription options as ad revenue drops sharply  —  Washington (CNN Business)Twitter (TWTR) is actively exploring additional ways to make money from its users, including by considering a subscription model, CEO Jack Dorsey said Thursday.

Person focuses every woman and man in America on his mental abilities via camera, TV  —  Having taken the functional equivalent of a blood pressure test to evaluate his mental acuity, President Trump has repeatedly bragged about the results.  The president, who claims to be a genius with a remarkable IQ …

Comeback: Trump neck and neck with Biden, 45%-47%, approval equal with Obama's in 2012  —  While the media have been hyping polls showing Democrat Joe Biden with a sizable and growing lead over President Trump, the outfit that called the 2016 popular vote correctly shows the 2020 race neck and neck.

RNC plans in jeopardy as Jacksonville council president opposes city bill  —  With a month to go until the Republican National Convention, or RNC, comes to Jacksonville, City Council President Tommy Hazouri threw a wrench in the convention's plans, announcing his opposition unless …

House Democrats Considered 10 Impeachment Articles Before Narrowing Their Case Against Trump  —  The question of what to include in the case against President Trump is at the heart of a new book by Norm Eisen, a lawyer working with House Democrats in the impeachment effort.

Most Americans say social media companies have too much power, influence in politics  —  A majority of Americans think social media companies have too much power and influence in politics, and roughly half think major technology companies should be regulated more than they are now …

Ocasio-Cortez, Democrats blast GOP on House floor for ‘culture’ of sexism  —  Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) on Thursday morning accused a Republican colleague of perpetuating a “culture” of sexism on Capitol Hill, using an unusual speech on the House floor to denounce Rep. Ted Yoho …

AP-NORC poll: 3 in 4 Americans back requiring wearing masks  —  LOS ANGELES (AP) — Three out of four Americans, including a majority of Republicans, favor requiring people to wear face coverings while outside their homes, a new poll finds, reflecting fresh alarm over spiking coronavirus cases …

Jeffrey Epstein's New York, Palm Beach Homes to List for $110 Million  —  The late disgraced financier's Manhattan mansion hits the market for $88 million, while his Palm Beach estate is asking nearly $22 million  —  The New York City and Palm Beach homes of the late disgraced financier …

Kansas school board rejects governor's executive order delaying start of the school year  —  The board was divided, 5-5, on delaying the start by three weeks.  —  As school districts across the country grapple with how and when to reopen safely during the coronavirus pandemic …

Trump Is Putting On a Show in Portland  —  The president is deploying the kind of performative authoritarianism that Vladimir Putin pioneered.  —  Staff writer at The Atlantic  —  The very idea seems, on the face of it, sheer madness.  In Portland, Oregon, federal security officers dressed for combat …

“Facebook Is Hurting People At Scale”: Mark Zuckerberg's Employees Reckon With The Social Network They've Built  —  On July 1, Max Wang, a Boston-based software engineer who was leaving Facebook after more than seven years, shared a video on the company's internal discussion board that was meant to serve as a warning.

Former congressman Ozzie Myers, caught in 1970s Abscam sting, has been indicted again — this time for election fraud  —  A former congressman convicted in the 1970s Abscam investigation was charged Thursday with new allegations that he bribed a poll worker to stuff ballot boxes in local elections.

Concentration camp guard convicted in one of the last Nazi trials in history  —  Berlin (CNN)A former Nazi concentration camp guard was convicted of thousands of counts of being an accessory to murder and given a two-year suspended prison sentence Thursday, a court announced.

God Help Us if Judy Shelton Joins the Fed  —  Trump's latest unqualified nominee to the Federal Reserve Board must be rejected.  —  Mr. Rattner served as counselor to the Treasury secretary in the Obama administration.  —  Having failed in past attempts to put unqualified ideologues …

American exceptionalism was our preexisting condition  —  America is sick.  Still sick.  The fever spikes, abates, returns.  The shortness of breath lingers.  America is waiting in virtual bread lines, listening to bad jazz, on hold with the unemployment office.

House Rating Changes  —  KEY POINTS FROM THIS ARTICLE  — Recently-released fundraising reports indicate a mismatch between the best-funded GOP candidates and the districts in which they are competing.  — At this point, Democrats are more likely to net House seats than Republicans …

DC mayor issues order requiring masks outside home  —  Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) on Wednesday announced an executive order requiring residents to wear masks outside of the home as the city battles rising coronavirus cases.  —  “Basically what it says is, if you leave home …

The Rise in Testing Is Not Driving the Rise in U.S. Virus Cases  —  20,00040,00060,000 cases per dayMarch 1July 21April 1May 1June 1July 1  —  Seven-day average of new reported cases  —  About 21,000 coronavirus cases were reported per day in early June, when the positive test rate was 4.8 percent.

Blocked gun sales skyrocket amid coronavirus pandemic  —  Internal FBI data reveal a jarring new stat: The number of people trying to buy guns who can't legally own them has skyrocketed.  That came as part of a surge in gun purchases in the first three months of 2020, compared to the same time period in 2019.