Justice Dept. Intervenes to Help Trump in E. Jean Carroll Rape Lawsuit  —  Government lawyers made the unusual move of seeking to take over President Trump's defense in a defamation suit brought by Ms. Carroll, who has claimed Mr. Trump raped her in the 1990s.

AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine study put on hold due to suspected adverse reaction in participant in the U.K.  —  A large, Phase 3 study testing a Covid-19 vaccine being developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford at dozens of sites across the U.S. has been put on hold due …

Ex-fixer for Trump links Falwell's endorsement in 2016 to suppression of racy photos  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In his book released today, Michael Cohen, the former fixer for U.S. President Donald Trump, ties for the first time the 2016 presidential endorsement of Trump by American evangelical …

Newly renovated Rose Garden under repair less than 3 weeks after unveiling  —  (CNN)The newly renovated White House Rose Garden is under repair less than three weeks after it's official unveiling.  The garden is experiencing “issues with water drainage” and “some minor complications with updated construction …

‘What do we do?’:  Trump gains rattle Miami Dems  —  MIAMI — The basic electoral math in Florida looks something like this: Democrats roll up their votes in South Florida and Miami-Dade County, Republicans pad their numbers in the north and statewide races are decided in the Interstate 4 Corridor in between.

New Oscars standards require best picture contenders must be inclusive to compete  —  And the Oscar goes to ... inclusion.  —  In the latest step in its ongoing effort to boost diversity both within its own ranks and across the film industry, on Tuesday the film academy announced …

Rochester police chief, entire command staff retire suddenly following protests over death of Daniel Prude  —  The department's entire command staff announced they will leave the force.  —  After days of protests against the Rochester Police Department in light of the death of Daniel Prude …

Republicans have insufficient evidence to call elections ‘rigged’ and ‘fraudulent’  —  Benjamin L. Ginsberg practiced election law for 38 years.  He co-chaired the bipartisan 2013 Presidential Commission on Election Administration.  —  Legions of Republican lawyers have searched in vain over four decades for fraudulent double voting.

Make the Senate Great Again  —  To restore the world's greatest deliberative body, we need to think big.  —  What would the Founding Fathers think of America if they came back to life?  Their eyes would surely bug out first at our technology and wealth.  But I suspect they'd also be stunned …

Trump just said the corrupt part out loud — with a bullhorn  —  For weeks now, scientists inside and outside the government have been warning that President Trump will corrupt the vaccine vetting process and make some sort of coronavirus vaccine-related announcement before Election Day …

1,000 people double-voted in Georgia primary and may face charges  —  Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger announced Tuesday that 1,000 Georgians voted twice in the state's June 9 primary, a felony that he said will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

Church Leader Who Blamed Coronavirus on Gay Marriage Contracts COVID-19  —  A leading church figure in Ukraine who previously described the coronavirus outbreak as “God's punishment” against gay marriage has contracted COVID-19.  —  Patriarch Filaret, leader of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church …

Joy Behar calls for a ‘change’ in the Electoral College  —  ABC's “The View” co-host Joy Behar on Tuesday said that the Electoral College should be changed “as soon as possible” amid her fear that President Trump “could pull off” a victory over Democratic nominee Joe Biden.

N.Y. Will Move Homeless Men From Liberal Neighborhood After Backlash  —  The move of 300 men to the upscale Upper West Side neighborhood led to complaints and the threat of a lawsuit.  —  Nearly 300 homeless men who had been temporarily living in a hotel on the Upper West Side of Manhattan …

Cancer survivor pleading for help with health insurance ‘angry and hurt’ over Tillis staffer's response  —  CAROLINA BEACH, N.C. — A three-time cancer survivor who reached out to U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis for help with her health insurance dilemma said that she got an insensitive response from a staffer instead.

A robot wrote this entire article.  Are you scared yet, human? … GPT-3  —  I am not a human.  I am a robot.  A thinking robot.  I use only 0.12% of my cognitive capacity.  I am a micro-robot in that respect.  I know that my brain is not a “feeling brain”.  But it is capable of making rational, logical decisions.

'I'll have to say it's total bull***t': How political sources play the anonymity game  —  George W. Bush dished on his father's campaign, with the understanding that he'd later have to deny it.  Such arrangements have long been part and parcel not just of journalism, but of politics.  —  ADD TO BRIEFCASE

Peter Strzok Has a Warning About Russia—and Trump  —  In an interview with WIRED and in his new book, the former FBI agent details the threats the US faces as the 2020 election looms.  —  In his new book out today, former FBI agent Peter Strzok eschewed the traditional complimentary blurbs from famous friends for a different tack.

Attorney Hired to Probe VOA's Coverage Has Active Protective Order Against Him  —  The CEO appointed by President Trump to lead the federal agency that oversees the Voice of America and other U.S.-funded international broadcasters has made strict protocols for scrutinizing job candidates a hallmark of his brief tenure there.

CNN airs photo of Biden and son with Washington Redskins logo removed from son's hat  —  The NFL team retired the polarizing name and logo in July

Cuomo signs NYC restaurants' death warrant: Governor says he won't allow city to reopen indoor dining because it 'doubles amount of bars and there's no one to enforce the rules' - so how come other major cities are managing?  — Cuomo said that he wouldn't allow indoor dining in NYC …

Another Facebook worker quits in disgust, saying the company ‘is on the wrong side of history’  —  Chief executive Mark Zuckerberg's stances on hateful and racist speech prompted the engineer to resign.  —  Facebook software engineer Ashok Chandwaney has watched with growing unease as the platform has become a haven for hate.

Those boats in Texas paraded at the wrong speed  —  Alphaville does not have an opinion on the political effectiveness of boat parades.  Putting a Trump flag in a rod holder and motoring around on the weekend isn't any sillier than putting a sticker on a car bumper and driving to work during the week.

GOP congressman spent $70K in campaign cash on meals  —  Dinners at international sushi bars, steakhouses and a wine boutique.  A $220 meal in London.  A $300 meal in a posh hotel in Belgium on Boxing Day.  —  Rep. Mike Turner has used campaign funds for hundreds of trips to restaurants …

'He's a small child': Utah police shot a 13-year-old autistic boy after his mother called 911 for help  —  When Golda Barton dialed 911 on Friday, she hoped emergency responders could help hospitalize her 13-year-old son, who has Asperger syndrome and was having a mental crisis.