Caputo apologizes to HHS staff, signals desire for medical leave  —  The health department's top spokesperson Michael Caputo called an emergency staff meeting on Tuesday to apologize for drawing negative attention to the Trump administration's health care strategy and signaled that he might …

Biden Competitive Across State  —  Military vote weak for incumbent  —  West Long Branch, NJ - Joe Biden holds a 3 to 5 point lead over Donald Trump in Florida, depending on a range of likely voter models.  The Monmouth ("Mon-muth") University Poll finds Biden with a large lead among Latino voters …

Justice Dept. Opens Criminal Inquiry Into John Bolton's Book  —  Investigators are examining whether the former national security adviser illegally disclosed classified information.  —  WASHINGTON — The Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation into whether President Trump's …

I can't believe you're forcing me to vote for Trump, which I definitely didn't already want to do  —  Believe me when I tell you that the LAST THING I could POSSIBLY want would be to vote for Donald Trump.  That's why I am so stunned that you have taken it upon yourself to go to such lengths to FORCE me to vote for him!

Jared Kushner responds to Trump publicly downplaying coronavirus threat  —  White House senior adviser Jared Kushner responded to tapes of President Donald Trump downplaying the threat of the coronavirus in March by saying Trump was “very forthcoming with the American people” about the dangers of the illness.

How Climate Migration Will Reshape America Millions will be displaced.  Where will they go?  —  August besieged California with a heat unseen in generations.  A surge in air-conditioning broke the state's electrical grid, leaving a population already ravaged by the coronavirus to work remotely by the dim light of their cellphones.

U.S. Image Plummets Internationally as Most Say Country Has Handled Coronavirus Badly  —  Ratings for Trump remain poor  —  This analysis focuses on public opinion of the United States in 13 countries in North America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.  Views of the U.S. and its president …

LSU coach Ed Orgeron: ‘Most’ of team has contracted coronavirus  —  LSU coach Ed Orgeron said on Tuesday that most of his team has contracted COVID-19.  —  “Not all of our players but most of our players have caught it,” Orgeron told reporters.  “I think that hopefully they won't catch …

DHS watchdog won't investigate Wolf and Cuccinelli appointments, says courts will have to decide  —  (CNN)The Department of Homeland Security inspector general declined to investigate whether acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf and his deputy Ken Cuccinelli are serving in their roles lawfully …

He Hunted Bin Laden for CIA.  Now He Wants Americans Dead.  —  ‘ELIMINATE THEM’  —  Michael Scheuer used to hunt Osama bin Laden, whom he now says he admires.  Now his quarry is Donald Trump's enemies, whom he equates with terrorists.  —  The former senior CIA official once in charge …

Louisville has settled Breonna Taylor's wrongful death lawsuit  —  (CNN)The city of Louisville, Kentucky, has settled a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of Breonna Taylor, the 26-year-old EMT killed by police six months ago.  —  A source told CNN on Tuesday the agreement was a multimillion dollar settlement.

How Beethoven's 5th Symphony put the classism in classical music  —  To many, Beethoven's most famous work is a symbol of exclusion and elitism in classical music.  —  Beethoven's Fifth Symphony starts with an anguished opening theme — dun dun dun DUNNNN — and ends with a glorious, major-key melody.

The Media Learned Nothing From 2016  —  We're seeing a huge error, and a potential tragedy, unfold in real time.  —  That's a sentence that could apply to countless aspects of economic, medical, governmental, and environmental life at the moment.  What I have in mind, though …

A late change to the 2020 General Election ballot sparks outcry from Alaska Democrats  —  A quiet change to Alaska's 2020 general election ballot has drawn the ire of the Alaska Democratic Party, which says the move is biased, lacks transparency and was disclosed days before ballots are mailed to overseas voters.

Covid-19 Live Updates: Pelosi Says House Will ‘Stay Here Until We Have a Bill’ for More Aid  —  A group of 50 centrist House lawmakers are proposing a stimulus compromise, hoping to show Democratic and White House negotiators that there is enough common ground to forge a law.

The Trump campaign and Republican political committees are accepting donations from people claiming QAnon ties.  And they may be violating federal law … - The Trump campaign, the Republican National Committee, and other GOP groups are accepting dozens of donations from people who claim …

Staggering Number of Hysterectomies Happening at ICE Facility, Whistleblower Says  —  “We've questioned among ourselves, like, goodness, he's taking everybody's stuff out,” said a former nurse at the facility.  “That's his specialty, he's the uterus collector.”  —  CS

ICE deported a key witness in investigation of sexual assault and harassment at El Paso detention center  —  Department of Homeland Security and Justice Department inspectors general are investigating allegations that ICE guards assaulted detainees in camera blind spots.  —  Copy link

No Democrats Allowed: A Conservative Lawyer Holds Secret Voter Fraud Meetings With State Election Officials  —  ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power.  Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they're published.  —  Starting in early spring …

Biden to speak to Senate Democrats Thursday  —  Former Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden will speak to the Senate Democratic caucus Thursday by phone, according to Senate Democratic aides and a source familiar with the campaign.  —  Thursday's conversation is expected …

Washington's cozy media-political cocktail circuit needs a cooling-off.  Now is the perfect time.  —  From the perspective of the Washington women involved in “Girls' Night Out,” the social gathering was friendly, professionally helpful, and harmless.  —  For about 10 years …

Journalists Should Stop Cleaning Up After Biden  —  It's not the press's job to make excuses for a candidate's mistakes, but that's a benefit the Democrat is too often receiving.  —  All political candidates make mistakes.  They have to retract hasty, ill-considered statements.

The Anti-Flight 93 Election  —  The best case for Donald Trump is actually a pretty good case for Joe Biden.  —  I've recently noticed a miniature wave of former Never Trumpers (or at least those who claim they were Never Trump) recanting and saying they have to vote for Donald Trump …

More cities and states are opening bars and restaurants despite mounting evidence of potential danger  —  Where indoor dining is allowed, as of Sept. 14  —  Where indoor dining is allowed, as of Sept. 14  —  In New York City, diners will be able to have a meal inside a restaurant at the end of the month …

Republican senators in tough races obscure their position on pre-existing conditions  —  WASHINGTON — Republican senators facing tough re-election fights this fall are expressing support for insurance protections for people with pre-existing medical conditions, running ads at odds with their own recent votes and policy positions.

Stop Expecting Life to Go Back to Normal Next Year  —  Americans will need to take pandemic precautions well into 2021 — yes, even after a vaccine arrives.  —  Anthony Fauci warned us last week that Covid-19 is likely to be hanging over our lives well into 2021.  He's right, of course.

Biden receives endorsement from Scientific American, magazine's first in 175-year history  —  Scientific American has endorsed Joe Biden for president, the first time the venerable science magazine has backed a presidential candidate in its 175-year history.

Virus death toll linked to Maine wedding grows to 7  —  PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — At least seven people have died in connection to a coronavirus outbreak that continues to sicken people in Maine following a wedding reception held over the summer that violated state virus guidelines, public health authorities said.

GOP Wisconsin elections commissioner advised Green Party  —  MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A Republican member of the Wisconsin Elections Commission advised a Green Party representative about who to hire as an attorney after its presidential nominee was denied ballot access in the key battleground state …