Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg dies at 87
Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the Supreme Court justice who was as pioneering as she was brash, died Friday, the high court said. She was 87. The court said Ginsburg, a lifelong champion of women’s rights and a fierce advocate for gender equality, died “surrounded by her family at her home in Washington, D.C., due to complications […]
Ex-Pence aide blasts Trump over Covid response, says she’ll vote for Biden
In an ad released on Thursday, a former senior adviser on the White House coronavirus task force lambasted President Donald Trump as a stonewalling, capricious leader with more concern for his reelection than the pandemic, and said she would be voting for his Democratic rival, Joe Biden, in November. Olivia Troye, who worked as an […]
Trump administration scrapped plan to send every American a mask in April, email shows
The White House scrapped an effort to send hundreds of millions of cloth masks to every U.S. household in April, choosing instead to distribute the masks to nonprofit organizations and state and federal agencies, according to an internal email from a senior Trump administration official obtained by NBC News. A spokesperson for the Department of […]
Federal judge blocks Postal Service changes that slowed mail
A U.S. judge on Thursday blocked controversial Postal Service changes that have slowed mail nationwide, calling them “a politically motivated attack on the efficiency of the Postal Service” before the November election. Judge Stanley Bastian in Yakima, Washington, said he was issuing a nationwide preliminary injunction sought by 14 states that sued the Trump administration […]
At CNN Town Hall, Biden Blasts Trump’s ‘Criminal’ Response To Coronavirus
Joe Biden on Thursday went after President Donald Trump again and again over his handling of COVID-19, calling Trump’s downplaying of the pandemic “criminal” and his administration “totally irresponsible.” “You’ve got to level with the American people — shoot from the shoulder. There’s not been a time they’ve not been able to step up. The […]
Biden: ‘I trust vaccines. I trust scientists. But I don’t trust Donald Trump’
Former Vice President Joe Biden expressed his hope that the development and distribution of a vaccine for COVID-19 is free from political influence on Wednesday, asserting that while he places his trust in scientists, he cannot say the same for President Donald Trump. “Let me be clear. I trust vaccines. I trust scientists. But I […]
Top HHS official takes leave of absence after Facebook rant about CDC conspiracies
The top spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services is taking a leave of absence, the agency announced Wednesday, days after he promoted dangerous conspiracy theories during a Facebook Live video. In the video, first reported by The New York Times, Michael Caputo, HHS’ assistant secretary for public affairs, charged that scientists at […]
Barr blasts his own DOJ prosecutors, equates them to preschoolers and ‘headhunters’
In scathing remarks against his own staff, Attorney General William Barr said Wednesday that the Justice Department has recently acted “more like a trade association for federal prosecutors than the administrator of a fair system of justice” and equated some prosecutors to preschoolers and “headhunters.” Too much deference is given to career prosecutors, rather than […]
Trump contradicts CDC director on Covid-19 vaccines after Biden slams president’s promises
President Donald Trump claimed Wednesday that a Covid-19 vaccinecould be ready for distribution as early as mid-October — hours after the head of the CDC testified it likely wouldn’t be ready until the end of the year and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden voiced concerns he was putting politics ahead of safety. “We’re all set […]
5 key takeaways from President Donald Trump’s ABC town hall in Pennsylvania
There are less than 60 days until many voters head to the polls to cast ballots for President Donald Trump or former Vice President Joe Biden — but some voters are still not committed to either candidate. In an ABC News town hall Tuesday, the president faced questions from some of those voters living in […]
Biden Calls Trump a ‘Fool’ for Speculating He’s Taking Performance-Enhancing Drugs
President Donald Trump has recently taken to calling for himself and Joe Biden to be drug-tested before they debate because Trump thinks that Biden is on some kind of performance-enhancing drug. Trump used the same tactics against Hillary Clinton four years ago, and has been hammering away at it — saying on Fox News Tuesday morning […]
Trump fumbles during tough encounter with undecided voters
President Donald Trump faced life outside his own political bubble on Tuesday, where his self-congratulation, buck passing and audacious falsehoods conspicuously failed to meet the moment when he was confronted by undecided voters. Trump appeared at an ABC News town hall in Philadelphia, and peppered a socially distanced audience with the rhetoric and talking points […]
Trump tells town hall he ‘up-played’ the coronavirus pandemic despite recordings saying he downplayed it
President Donald Trump claimed on Tuesday to have “up-played” the threat of coronavirus early in the pandemic, contradicting his own remarks to the journalist Bob Woodward that he wanted to minimize the disease to avoid panic. Speaking at an ABC News town hall moderated by George Stephanopoulos, Trump rebutted a student who asked why he […]
Bob Cesca: Trump thinks he gets to be president of just the Republican states… But they’re a total mess
Donald Trump appears to be seceding from the Union, which is bizarre given his status as the president of it. Make no mistake: Trump appears to be deliberately marginalizing himself by repeatedly insisting that he’s not responsible for certain states and cities, despite technically being the president of the entire United States. We’ve all heard […]
City of Louisville reaches settlement with Breonna Taylor’s family
The city of Louisville, Kentucky, has reached a settlement with Breonna Taylor’s family six months after she was killed in her homeduring a police drug raid. A source familiar with the details of the settlement told NBC News the agreement is in the millions of dollars and will include a list of police reforms that […]
‘Nothing more could have been done’: Trump’s final phone call to Woodward
On August 14, the coronavirus pandemic was on fire in the US. More than 168,000 Americans had died, with more than 1,300 deaths that day alone. But when President Donald Trump called legendary journalist Bob Woodward, it was to find out one thing: He had recently learned that Woodward’s new book “Rage” was done and […]
Trump alma mater says Biden plan would lead to more economic growth
Joe Biden’s economic proposals would create a faster growing economy, higher wages for American workers and reduce the debt compared to where the U.S. is headed under President Donald Trump, according to new analysis from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. That conclusion could give a further boost to the Democratic presidential candidate, who […]
Health Official Out To Manipulate CDC Reports Has Deep Russian Ties
The Health and Human Services official who has been pressuring the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to change COVID-19 reports to reflect well on President Donald Trump has troubling Kremlin ties stretching for years. Politico was the first to report last week that HHS Assistant Secretary Michael Caputo has been orchestrating a pressure campaign on the […]
Trump Has Head-Scratching Solution For California Wildfires : ‘It Will Start Getting Cooler’
President Donald Trump touched down in California on Monday to survey the wildfire damage and immediately launched into his usual talking points about poor forest management while denying the role of climate change. Trump arrived in Sacramento as more than two dozen major wildfires burned across the state. More than 2 million acres in the […]
Charlie Pierce: Scientists at These Agencies Should Stage a Walkout
The most recent outrage against good government and common sense involves the technique most popular down at Camp Runamuck. If it’s not installing a useful tool at the U.S. Postal Service, it’s making sure a hopeless hack is in a position to barber the reports on the pandemic at the Centers for Disease Control. And […]
Stephanie Miller, Hugh Jackman, Janelle Monáe, John Oliver, Regina King, Laverne Cox appear in LGBTQ Entertainment Critics awards special
Hugh Jackman, Janelle Monáe, Regina King, Pose sensation and fashion trailblazer Billy Porter, groundbreaking trans actress Laverne Cox, Schitt’s Creek star Dan Levy and vaunted political satirist John Oliver are among the slew of actors, comics and performers lending cheer to GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics’ inaugural Dorians TV Toast 2020 on Revry, […]
Biden, in Kenosha, vows that America will address racism and ‘original sin’ of slavery
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden thrust his campaign into the roiling national debate over police violence and racial justice on Thursday as he traveled to Kenosha, Wis., and pointedly embraced the nation’s racial reckoning, vowing improvements if elected president. During an emotional meeting held in a church not far from looted downtown buildings, Biden made […]
Fauci Warns 7 States To Take Extra Holiday Precautions Against COVID-19 Surge
Infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci is getting the word out to Americans — especially those in seven central states — to be extra vigilant over the holiday weekend amid concerns about a spike in COVID-19 cases. He warned that carelessness about the coronavirus could trigger a surge, similar to what happened after the Memorial Day […]
Trump Reportedly Referred To American War Dead As ‘Losers’ And ‘Suckers’
President Donald Trump, who has been criticized in the past for making disparaging remarks about veterans and military families, reportedly referred to American service members who’d died in World War I as “losers” and “suckers” in conversations with his staff. The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg, citing multiple anonymous sources who had firsthand knowledge of the conversations, reported Thursday […]
There’s a legitimate way to end coronavirus vaccine trials early, Fauci says
A COVID-19 vaccine could be available earlier than expected if ongoing clinical trials produce overwhelmingly positive results, said Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease official, in an interview Tuesday with KHN. Although two ongoing clinical trials of 30,000 volunteers are expected to conclude by the end of the year, Fauci said an independent […]
Trump Raises Eyebrows With Tweet Declaring He Did Not Have ‘a Series of Mini-Strokes’
President Donald Trump posted a baffling tweet on Tuesday declaring that he has not had a series of “mini-strokes”— and had the White House physician release a statement backing up his claim, NBC News reports. “It never ends! Now they are trying to say that your favorite President, me, went to Walter Reed Medical Center, having suffered […]
Trump Returns To Fox News To Make 3 More Wildly Crazy Claims And Accusations
Fox News aired the second part of President Donald Trump’s lengthy interview with Laura Ingraham on Tuesday and it was nearly as wild as the first one. On Monday, Trump claimed “shadow” people were controlling former Vice President Joe Biden. He said the city of Portland, Oregon had been burning for decades (untrue). And he made […]
In Kenosha, Trump blames ‘political violence’ on ‘radical ideology’
President Donald Trump on Tuesday toured the site of a building that burned during the protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and met with local law enforcement officials, a trip meant to underscore his re-election argument that America is under a threat of being overtaken by violent mobs. “To stop the political violence, we must also confront […]
Bob Cesca: We just passed 6 million cases, and it didn’t have to be like this — if we’d had a leader
The United States this week surpassed 6 million cases of COVID-19, the most in the world. Even when measuring relative to population, America’s standing is dismal and depressing. We’re currently ranked 10th in the world with 18,675 cases per million people, and growing by 30-50,000 new cases every day. As I begin to write this essay, midday on […]
Pence was on standby to ‘take over’ during Trump’s unannounced Walter Reed visit, new book reports
Vice President Mike Pence was put on standby to temporarily assume the powers of the presidency during President Donald Trump’s unannounced visit to Walter Reed hospital in November 2019, according to a copy of New York Times reporter Michael Schmidt’s forthcoming book obtained by CNN. Trump had undergone a “quick exam and labs” as part […]
Trump alleges Biden controlled by people in ‘dark shadows’
President Donald Trump alleged unnamed people in “dark shadows” are controlling Democratic nominee Joe Biden in an interview with Laura Ingraham that aired Monday night on Fox News. In discussing what he characterized as anarchists and thugs terrorizing American cities, Trump said, “People that you’ve never heard of, people that are in the dark shadows” […]
Charlie Pierce: Joe Biden Wants to Know If We’re Willing to Rid Ourselves of Donald Trump’s Poison
Thus did Joe Biden bring forward the only question that really matters in this election on Monday in a speech from a suburb of Pittsburgh. It was a good, thwacking indictment of a criminal and incompetent presidency*. It got Biden out in public again, which needed to happen. And if all he did was ask […]
Trump Set To Visit Kenosha Today As Turmoil Over Jacob Blake Shooting Continues
President Donald Trump defended his decision to visit Kenosha, Wisconsin, on Tuesday following the police shooting of Jacob Blake, despite calls from local leaders that he stay away from the state amid fears that the trip will only inflame tensions in the city. The president said Monday that he would go to the region, even […]
Trump’s Intel Chief Ends Election Security Briefings To Congress – Schiff and Pelosi are Livid
The nation’s top intelligence official has informed Congress that his office will no longer give in-person election security briefings on Capitol Hill, a move that raised concern among lawmakers Saturday about the public’s right to know about foreign interference in the upcoming presidential election. President Donald Trump said National Intelligence Director John Ratcliffe made the […]
U.S. tops 6 million coronavirus cases as nation continues to struggle with pandemic
The U.S. has surpassed 6 million coronavirus cases as the country struggles to reopen schools and rebuild its economy as the pandemic rages with no end in sight. The number of coronavirus cases topped 6 million Sunday, according to NBC News data collected from health departments nationwide. The country has recorded more than 183,000 deaths […]
‘Fanning the flames of hate’: Biden slams Trump for ‘encouraging violence’ in Portland
Joe Biden, the Democratic presidential nominee, blasted President Donald Trump as having “recklessly” encouraged violence after a man died following clashes Saturday in Portland, Oregon, between people attending a pro-Trump vehicle rally and Black Lives Matter protesters. In a long statement Sunday afternoon, Biden called “the deadly violence” in Portland “unacceptable” and said he condemns […]
Harry Litman: New York’s investigations into all things Trump may be the best bet for holding him accountable
President Trump faces incoming fire from three different directions in his native New York, and his odds of escaping unscathed look long. We’ve known for a while about the Manhattan district attorney’s dogged pursuit of the president’s tax records. That odyssey is poised to end soon and probably successfully for the D.A., at least in […]
The Rude Pundit: RNC Night 4… “I Alone Can F*** It All Up”
One of President Donald Trump’s ultimate tells is the phrase “as you know.” Whenever Trump says something and follows it with “as you know,” it’s got one of two purposes. The first is flattery, as in, “I know that you are privy to this incredible insight that I have, too.” The second is conspiratorial, making […]
Homicide charges announced against Kyle Rittenhouse, accused of killing 2 at Kenosha protests
A 17-year-old accused of killing two protesters and injuring another with an AR-15-style rifle in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on Tuesday night has been charged as an adult with two counts of first degree homicide and one count of attempted homicide. The teen, Kyle Rittenhouse, also faces charges of recklessly endangering the safety of two other victims […]
Melania Trump Wore A ‘Green Screen Dress’ And It Played Out Just As You’d Expect
Repeat after me: Bright green clothing is not safe for the internet. First lady Melania Trump learned that the hard way when she wore a lime green dress to the closing night of the Republican National Convention, which was held, in an unprecedented move, on the White House South Lawn Thursday. The moment she emerged from […]
‘Abomination’: Critics Rip Trump For ‘Desecrating’ White House With RNC Speech
Critics slammed President Donald Trump’s use of the White House for a political stunt on Thursday as both unethical and illegal. Trump spoke to a crowd on the South Lawn as he accepted his party’s nomination at the Republican National Convention, one of several purely political events done on government property lately. Earlier this week, […]
President Trump Ends RNC 2020 With Divisive Rhetoric Emblematic Of His Tenure
President Donald Trump capped the Republican National Convention on Thursday with an ominous speech warning of an end to American exceptionalism in an effort to unite the fervent base that helped propel him to victory four years ago. “Your vote will decide whether we protect law-abiding Americans, or whether we give free rein to violent […]
Teen arrested in Kenosha shooting promoted ‘Blue Lives Matter,’ posed with firearms online
The videos that spread rapidly across social media Tuesday evening all showed a similar figure: a white man of medium build, a backward tan cap, an olive green T-shirt, dark pants, blue gloves, a rifle and a side bag. “I’m Kyle, by the way,” the man says in one video. That man now appears to […]
Pro sports teams delay games after Milwaukee Bucks refuse to play in protest of Jacob Blake shooting
Professional basketball, baseball and soccer teams postponed their games Wednesday after the Milwaukee Bucks didn’t take the floor during a playoff match in a protest of the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin. Top-ranked pro-tennis player Naomi Osaka also said she would sit out a semi-final match at the Western Southern Open scheduled for […]
Hurricane Laura Makes Landfall In Louisiana As Category 4 Monster
Hurricane Laura made landfall in Louisiana early Thursday as a strong Category 4 storm, bringing maximum winds of 150 mph and dire warnings of extensive damage. The National Hurricane Center described the hurricane as “extremely dangerous” as it moved across the state, warning of catastrophic storm surges, extreme winds and flash flooding across portions of […]
The RNC Ignored Police Brutality And Kenosha Violence To Praise Trump For ‘Law And Order’
Republicans leaned into President Donald Trump’s “law and order” message on the third night of their party convention Wednesday. But with no substantive mentions of the unrest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, the night felt very separated from the moment. Before the Republican National Convention kicked off for the night, the country was in severe turmoil stemming […]
Dozens of coronavirus infections traced back to Sturgis Rally
The hundreds of thousands of bikers who attended the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally may have departed western South Dakota, but public health departments in multiple states are trying to measure how much and how quickly the coronavirus spread in bars, tattoo parlors and gatherings before people traveled home to nearly every state in the country. From […]
Officials link more than 100 COVID-19 cases in 8 states to Sturgis Motorcycle Rally
The hundreds of thousands of bikers who attended the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally may have departed western South Dakota, but public health departments in multiple states are trying to measure how much and how quickly the coronavirus spread in bars, tattoo parlors and gatherings before people traveled home to nearly every state in the country. From […]
Two people are dead and a third injured after an overnight shooting in Kenosha, police say
Two people are dead and a third was injured in Kenosha, Wisconsin, following a shooting late Tuesday night, police said. The shooting happened amid the third night of protests over the police shooting of 29-year-old Jacob Blake on Sunday evening. On Tuesday, officers responded to reports of multiple gunshot victims around 11:45 p.m., the Kenosha […]
From Hunter Biden to ‘defund the police,’ some RNC headliners play fast and loose with the truth
On the second night of the Republican National Convention, several members of the Trump family made the case for President Donald Trump’s re-election in a program devoted to cultural flashpoints and dire predictions for the country under a Joe Biden administration. The president’s son Eric Trump offered a number of false or misleading claims about […]
Bob Cesca: Don’t cry for Kellyanne Conway… Like the whole corrupt Trump enterprise, she must pay
In keeping with the neck-snapping pace of the news these days, several breaking stories happened all at once Monday morning. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy testified before the House Oversight Committee, repeatedly declaring that he would not reverse the sabotage he imposed on the Postal Service mid-pandemic, and with a presidential election 70 days away. Donald Trump […]
Jerry Falwell Jr. tells paper he is resigning from Liberty University
Jerry Falwell Jr. has resigned from his role as president of Liberty University after 13 turbulent years at the helm of the prominent evangelical Christian school, he told the Wall Street Journal late Monday. It follows a day of back-and-forth after Liberty University released a statement that said Falwell had offered his resignation and then […]
Protesters return to streets in Kenosha, Wisconsin, where Black man was shot in back by police
A day after a police officer shot a Black man multiple times in the back, law enforcement deployed what appeared to be tear gas as protesters defied a curfew in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Multiple fires were burning at buildings in Kenosha lat Monday night, NBC affiliate WTMJ reported, but it was not clear how or when […]
GOP Convention Embraces Anger And Fear, Despite Being Billed As ‘Optimistic’
“Rioters must not be allowed to destroy our cities. Human, sex, drug traffickers should not be allowed to cross our border.” “People of faith are under attack.” “Look at what’s happening in America’s cities ― all run by Democrats. Crime, violence, mob rule. Democrats refuse to denounce the mob.” Those were all comments from speakers […]
Charlie Pierce: ‘Trump Time’ Is the New Doomsday Clock
Prior to embarking on his new career as an alleged pirate king of the bounding main, Steve Bannon used to talk bullishly about destroying the “administrative state.” Recently, there have been two epic reported stories that went spelunking into what that actually means. First, the good people at ProPublica went deeply into the history of […]
Everything We Know About The 2020 Republican National Convention
The Republican National Convention is set to begin this week, on the heels of Democrats’ convention in which they nominated former Vice President Joe Biden to be their party’s presidential candidate. Similar to the Democratic National Convention, the RNC will conduct most of its events and speeches virtually and remotely, with the exception of convention business […]
Trump announces emergency authorization for COVID-19 treatment after accusing FDA of delays
President Donald Trump announced Sunday his administration was providing an emergency authorization for the use of convalescent plasma to treat COVID-19, a treatment that more than 70,000 patients have already received. One day prior to the start of the Republican National Convention, Trump made the announcement in an evening news conference. He said the authorization […]
Longtime Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway to leave White House
Kellyanne Conway, the longtime adviser to President Donald Trump and wife of outspoken Trump critic George Conway, is leaving the White House at the end of August, she said in a statement Sunday. Conway, who was Trump’s campaign manager before she became one of his staunchest defenders in the White House, said that she and […]
Eric Boehlert: Trump, Putin, and the emails — Hillary deserves media apology
Confirming the disloyal ways of Trump’s 2016 campaign, the Senate Intelligence Committee released more bipartisan findings on Tuesday, reporting that the GOP election team worked closely with Russian operatives. Trump then lied about those contacts to Robert Mueller’s investigators. “Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the 2016 hacking of Democratic Party accounts and the release of […]
The Rude Pundit: Biden and Harris Believe You Deserve Sanity in Your Daily Lives
Everyone is talking about Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’s speeches at the Democratic National Convention this past week as being a return of empathy or decency, but I’d go one further with another overarching theme: “Remember sanity?” It was truly like watching a funhouse mirror version of our reality, except it took the warped world […]
Trump ‘Has No Principles’ And ‘You Can’t Trust Him,’ His Sister Reportedly Said On Tape
President Donald Trump’s sister was recorded saying that her brother “has no principles” and “you can’t trust him,” The Washington Post reported Saturday. Maryanne Trump Barry, who was serving as a federal judge at the time, made the slashing comments to her niece Mary Trump, who was secretly recording her, the Post reported. At one […]
Trump loses court ruling to quash subpoena for tax records
A federal judge has rejected President Donald Trump’s attempt to quash a subpoena for his tax returns as part of an investigation into hush payments to women who alleged affairs, which Trump long has denied. The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office had subpoenaed Trump’s accounting firm, Mazars, for eight years worth of the president’s personal and […]
Trump Cooks Up Wacky New Birther Slam: Joe Biden Wasn’t Born In Pennsylvania
President Donald Trump expanded his “birther” conspiracy theories on Thursday to Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, telling a crowd in Pennsylvania that Biden “wasn’t born” in the state because he moved to Delaware with his family when he was a child. “He’d say he was born here,” Trump told listeners in Scranton. “But he left when […]
Joe Biden Accepts Democratic Presidential Nomination: ‘I’ll Be An Ally Of The Light’
Joe Biden officially accepted the Democratic nomination for president on the final night of the party’s virtual convention on Thursday. As he accepted the honor, Biden promised to work hard for everyone, including people who didn’t vote for him. “While I’ll be a Democratic candidate, I will be an American president,” Biden said in his remarks. […]
Former Trump aide Steve Bannon charged with swindling donors in private border wall effort
Stephen Bannon, a former senior White House adviser to President Donald Trump, has been arrested and charged along with three other men with swindling donors who supported a private effort to build sections of the wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. Bannon and the other men were indicted by a federal grand jury in New York […]
Poll: Most Americans embarrassed by US response to coronavirus
Nearly 7 in 10 Americans say the US response to the coronavirus outbreak makes them feel embarrassed, according to a new CNN Poll conducted by SSRS, as 62% of the public says President Donald Trump could be doing more to fight the outbreak. The new poll finds disapproval of Trump’s handling of the outbreak at […]
Trump seethes in all-caps tweetstorm during Obama’s DNC speech
President Donald Trump attacked former President Barack Obama on Wednesday, criticizing him for the message he delivered at the Democratic National Convention condemning his successor. Trump appeared to be tuning into Obama’s address, tweeting “HE SPIED ON MY CAMPAIGN, AND GOT CAUGHT!” as the former president began his speech — a message Joe Biden retweeted, […]
History made as Harris accepts VP nomination; Obama condemns Trump’s ‘failure,’ ‘lies,’ ‘conspiracy theories’
Sen. Kamala Harris of California officially became the Democratic Party’s vice presidential nominee Wednesday night, making history as the first Black woman and Asian American on a major party’s presidential ticket. Harris, the child of Jamaican and Indian immigrants, accepted her party’s nomination with a blistering speech that capped a star-studded night of programming on […]
Trump calls for Goodyear boycott after company bans MAGA attire among employees
President Donald Trump on Wednesday promoted a boycott of Goodyear, angrily reacting to a viral company policy that banned employees from wearing “MAGA Attire.” “Don’t buy GOODYEAR TIRES – They announced a BAN ON MAGA HATS. Get better tires for far less!” Trump wrote on Twitter. “(This is what the Radical Left Democrats do. Two […]
Facing public scrutiny, postmaster general halts changes blamed for delays until after election
The postmaster general announced Tuesday he will be halting the operational changes put in place to cut costs at the embattled U.S Postal Service until after the November election after he came growing under pressure to reverse the shifts due to mail delays. Louis DeJoy, a Republican donor who assumed the role of postmaster […]
10 highlights from the DNC Night 2: Food, song, emotional moments, biting attacks
Former presidents, ex-secretaries of state and a New York elevator operator provided some of the high points of Tuesday’s second night of the Democratic National Convention — but it was Jill Biden who stole the show. Here are some of the most notable moments from Night 2: 1. Jill and Joe Speaking from the high […]
Senate report details Russia’s efforts to meddle in 2016, ties to Trump associates
A new bipartisan report released by a Senate panel Tuesday outlines perhaps the most detailed accounting to date of Russia’s efforts to interfere in the 2016 election while accusing the White House and others close to President Donald Trump of refusing to cooperate with an investigation into whether the president’s campaign simply benefited or sought […]
Bob Cesca: We all know Trump wants to use the USPS to rig the election: Here’s how he’ll do it
Donald Trump is practically daring us to nab him in the act. That’s how obvious and unequivocal his latest conspiracy to cheat in the 2020 election happens to be. We all see it happening, we know what he’s doing and we know exactly why. The crisis is so urgent that it requires us to compile, step-by-step, […]
Trump denies delaying mail; Postal Service head slated to testify before Congress
President Donald Trump denied Monday that he had done anything to slow mail delivery as accusations grow that he, as well as Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, have politicized the U.S. Postal Service and hamstrung the agency’s work. Meanwhile, DeJoy agreed to testify before Congress next week on the issue. Trump told reporters Monday that he […]
‘Disappointing’ and ‘disturbing’: Republicans sound off on Trump at DNC
A group of Republicans addressed the Democratic National Convention on Monday night to urge Americans to vote against the “disappointing” and “disturbing” Republican President Donald Trump. “Many of us have been deeply concerned about the current path we’ve been following for the past four years. It’s a path that’s led to division, dysfunction, irresponsibility and […]
Coronavirus updates: US reports under 40,000 new cases for 1st time since June
There were 35,112 new cases of COVID-19 identified in the United States on Monday, according to a count kept by Johns Hopkins University. It’s the first time since June 28 that the country has reported under 40,000 new cases in a single day. Monday’s case count is also well below the record set on July […]
Michelle Obama delivers scathing indictment of Trump at the 2020 DNC
Michelle Obama delivered a scathing indictment of President Donald Trump’s policies and character Monday on the first night of the all-virtual Democratic National Convention, accusing the White House of sowing “chaos” and “division” and showing a “total and utter lack of empathy.” Coming at the end of a jam-packed two-hour program that tackled the coronavirus […]
Charlie Pierce: John Kasich Should Shut His Gob About What Qualifies as ‘Extreme’
In 1996, the keynote speaker at the Republican National Convention said the following about the incumbent Democratic president. “Now, think about Bill Clinton. He promises one thing and does another. He hopes we’ll forget his broken promises. But I ask you — have you forgotten that Bill Clinton promised a middle class tax cut, then […]
Poll: Harris viewed more favorably than unfavorably
Kamala Harris is the only candidate on either major party ticket with a net favorability rating that is positive, according to the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released Sunday. The California senator, announced last week as Joe Biden’s running mate, was viewed favorably by 39 percent of those polled, as opposed to 35 percent […]
Pelosi Calls On House To Return Early To Vote On Postal Service Legislation
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Sunday the chamber will return from its vacation early to vote on legislation meant to limit changes to the Postal Service ahead of the presidential election in November. The California Democrat said she would call on the House to return to the Capitol in the coming days. “Lives, livelihoods and the […]
Here’s What To Expect At The 2020 Democratic National Convention
The Democratic National Committee’s presidential nominating convention kicks off Monday after the coronavirus pandemic caused significant delays and changes in the schedule. While the host city for the convention was set to be Milwaukee, former Vice President Joe Biden is expected to accept the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination from his home in Delaware due to […]
Eric Boehlert: Kamala Harris sparks right-wing media meltdown
Taking their cues from Trump and dropping any pretense of not being blatantly sexist and racist, the right-wing media immediately dove into a feeding trough of ugly rhetoric this week when Joe Biden announced Kamala Harris as his running mate. The conservative media machine set off allegorical bomb blasts around Harris, frantically trying to depict […]
The Rude Pundit: Kamala Harris Will Hurt Trump and Pence and That’s What We Need
Last week, I said on Twitter that I wanted Sen. Kamala Harris to be Joe Biden’s pick for a running mate because I wanted her out there for the next couple of months prosecuting Donald Trump’s administration in the public space. Several responses were along the lines of “No, fuck you, she should be attorney […]
Obama: Trump is trying to ‘kneecap’ Postal Service
Former President Barack Obama condemned President Donald Trump in a new interview over his efforts to “actively kneecap” the United States Postal Service in order to frustrate mail-in voting ahead of the November election — casting the maneuvers by his White House successor as “unique to modern political history.” The criticism from Obama came in […]
Pelosi weighs bringing House back early to address Postal Service crisis
Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Democratic leaders are considering cutting short the August recess and bringing the chamber back into session to deal with the unfolding crisis at the U.S. Postal Service, according to Democratic sources. The House could return to vote with the next two weeks, the Democratic sources suggested. The chamber is currently […]
Trump Refuses To Say Whether Kamala Harris Is ‘Eligible’ To Be Vice President
President Donald Trump, who earlier amplified a racist conspiracy theory about Sen. Kamala Harris’ citizenship, refused Saturday to say whether the California-born senator was eligible to become vice president. Pressed by a reporter to answer a question on the topic, Trump said only that it was “not something that bothers me.” “I have nothing to […]
Fauci says temperature checks not reliable to fight COVID-19
The novel coronavirus has now killed more than 753,000 people worldwide. Over 20.7 million people across the globe have been diagnosed with COVID-19, the disease caused by the new respiratory virus, according to data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. The actual numbers are believed to be much […]
Trump campaign adviser floats false birther theory about Kamala Harris’ eligibility for VP
A legal adviser to President Trump’s reelection campaign is amplifying a false theory from a conservative law professor that Kamala Harris may not be eligible for the vice presidency due to questions surrounding the immigration status of her parents at the time she was born. Harris was born in Oakland, California, on October, 20, 1964. Constitutional […]
Biden and Harris call for three-month nationwide mask mandate
Former Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Kamala Harris are calling for a three-month nationwide mask mandate to limit the spread of coronavirus. During a briefing by public health experts in Wilmington, Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, told reporters that all the nation’s governors should require this. “Every single American should be wearing […]
Trump says he opposes USPS funding in an effort to block mail-in voting
President Donald Trump said Thursday he opposes funding for the U.S. Postal Service and election security grants in an effort to stymie mail-in voting for the upcoming presidential election. Democrats “want 3½ billion dollars for something that will turn out to be fraudulent, that’s election money, basically. They want 3½ billion dollars for the mail-in […]
Coronavirus update: US records nearly 56,000 new cases, over 1,500 additional deaths
The novel coronavirus has now killed more than 749,000 people worldwide. Over 20.6 million people across the globe have been diagnosed with COVID-19, the disease caused by the new respiratory virus, according to data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. The actual numbers are believed to be much […]
Biden raised $26 million in a day after picking Harris for VP
Joe Biden’s campaign raised $26 million in the 24 hours after he selected Sen. Kamala Harris as his running mate — an eye-popping total that shows the campaign’s growing fundraising strength as the election draws nearer. Biden announced the fundraising total during the ticket’s first virtual grassroots fundraiser on Wednesday evening, immediately following Biden and […]
House Democrats demand Postal Service chief roll back changes ahead of Election Day
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and 174 other Democrats in the chamber signed a letter sent Wednesday to the new Postmaster General demanding the agency reverses operational changes they argue would hamper mail-in voting on Nov. 3. “It is always essential that the Postal Service be able to deliver mail in a timely and effective […]
‘America is crying out for leadership’: Harris gives first speech as VP candidate
Former Vice President Joe Biden described Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., as “experienced,” a “proven fighter” and ready to handle the presidency on day one of a Biden administration in their first joint appearance as a presidential ticket in Wilmington, Delaware, Wednesday evening. Introducing Harris, Biden praised the senator’s bonafides and took aim at President Donald […]
Dr. Irwin Redlener: Reopening Schools in September Is a Dangerous Experiment
As Donald Trump keeps calling for the nation’s 124,000 public and private schools to reopen, even as he’s failed to contain COVID-19, we are about to embark on a massive, poorly controlled national experiment with the subjects being most of the nation’s 55 million school-age children, their families and their teachers. Unfortunately, this may not […]
White House acknowledges there is less jobless aid than Trump first said
President Trump’s senior aides acknowledged on Tuesday that they are providing less financial assistance for the unemployed than the president initially advertised amid mounting blowback from state officials of both parties. On Saturday, Trump approved an executive action that he claimed would provide an additional $400 per week in expanded unemployment benefits for Americans who […]
Big Ten, Pac-12 cancel fall football seasons over coronavirus concerns
The Big Ten and Pac-12 conferences on Tuesday canceled their football seasons over coronavirus concerns, ignoring pleas from President Donald Trump, Republican lawmakers and college athletes to play in the fall. College football has become a flashpoint in the fight over reopening the country, with government officials using the sport as a tool to encourage […]
‘Squad’ member Ilhan Omar defeats well-funded Democratic primary challenger in Minnesota
Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar, a member of the progressive “Squad” in Congress, defeated a well-funded challenger in a Minnesota Democratic primary on Tuesday, CNN projected. Antone Melton-Meaux, an attorney who runs a mediation practice and is a first-time candidate for elected office, raised a substantial amount of money in his bid to take on the […]
Biden’s V.P. Pick Is Kamala Harris, 1st Woman of Color on Major Ticket
Joseph R. Biden Jr. selected Senator Kamala Harris of California as his vice-presidential running mate on Tuesday, embracing a former rival who sharply criticized him in the Democratic primaries but emerged after ending her campaign as a vocal supporter of Mr. Biden’s and a prominent advocate of racial-justice legislation after the killing of George Floyd […]
Bob Cesca: Is Trump destroying Social Security and Medicare by accident — or on purpose?
It’s quite likely that Donald Trump was unaware that payroll taxes are how the Social Security and Medicare trust funds are bankrolled. He might also be unaware that current Social Security checks to seniors are derived from payroll taxes — not those paid into the system when today’s recipients were working, but the ones being paid in, right […]
There has been a 90% increase in Covid-19 cases in US children in the last four weeks, report says
As the nation focuses on safety issues around going back to school during the pandemic, a new report found a sharp increase in the number of Covid-19 cases among children in the United States. There has been a 90% increase in the number of Covid-19 cases among children in the United States over the last […]
Russia Claims Its Coronavirus Vaccine Is Ready For Use Despite A Lack Of Testing
Russia on Tuesday became the first country to officially register a coronavirus vaccine and declare it ready for use, despite international skepticism. President Vladimir Putin said that one of his daughters has already been inoculated. Putin emphasized that the vaccine underwent the necessary tests and has proven efficient, offering a lasting immunity from the coronavirus. […]
Trump abruptly pulled from briefing after shots fired outside White House
President Donald Trump was abruptly escorted out of a White House press conference on Monday after shots were fired outside of the White House. The suspect was taken to the hospital and no one else was injured, Trump said. The Secret Service released a statement late Monday night that said a 51-year-old man approached an […]
Charlie Pierce: Nancy Pelosi Is Taking No Mess From Mark Meadows. Why Would She?
The New York Times went long on the current Republican-generated congressional stalemate regarding the next relief bill aimed at mitigating the combined effects of the pandemic and the spiraling national economy. The general tone of the piece is that Speaker Nancy Pelosi is taking no mess in her negotiations with the other side, which is true enough, […]
Biden closing in on final decision on vice presidential running mate
Former Vice President Joe Biden is closing in on a final decision on his choice of a running mate, four sources familiar with the matter told NBC News, as the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee huddled with family at his home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, this weekend. The sources said Biden could announce a final decision […]
Pelosi slams Trump’s executive actions on coronavirus relief: ‘Absurdly unconstitutional’
Top Democrats on Sunday criticized President Donald Trump’s executive actions on coronavirus relief as “absurdly unconstitutional” and “way off base.” The measures, which Trump signed on Saturday and sidestep Congress after lawmakers failed to reach a deal on Friday, provide an additional $400 per week unemployment benefits among other relief measures such as a temporary […]
Trump signs executive actions on coronavirus economic relief
President Donald Trump signed four executive actions Saturday for coronavirus economic relief, upendingnegotiations with Congress after lawmakers failed to reach a deal on Friday. The executive actions defer payroll taxes through the end of the year for Americans earning less than $100,000 a year. They also defer student loan payments through the end of the […]
U.S. coronavirus cases top 5 million as pandemic rages on
The United States on Sunday surpassed 5 million confirmed cases of the coronavirus, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University. The U.S. has both the highest number of confirmed cases and the most deaths of any country in the world. The total number of confirmed cases throughout the world is nearly 20 million, […]
Eric Boehlert: Why Trump doesn’t deserve a Biden debate
Just because Trump is the Republican Party’s nominee for president, doesn’t mean he deserves to debate his Democratic opponent on national television. For now, Joe Biden has committed to participating in the three scheduled presidential debates. I wish he would take a different path and tell Trump that if he doesn’t release his tax returns […]
The Rude Pundit: Another Week, Another Batsh** Trump Interview
Everyone’s got their line that pushed them over the edge from President Donald Trump’s interview with Jonathan Swan of Axios (motto: “When USA Today is too complex, you’ve got Axios”). Mine occurred when Swan asked Trump about why he didn’t bother to ask Russian dictator Vladimir Putin about the reports that Putin had put a bounty […]
Forecast: 300,000 U.S. COVID-19 Deaths By December 1
Nearly 300,000 Americans could be dead from COVID-19 by Dec. 1, University of Washington health experts forecast on Thursday, although they said 70,000 lives could be saved if people were scrupulous about wearing masks. The latest predictions from the university’s widely cited Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) comes as top White House infectious […]
Trump issues executive order barring U.S. companies from doing business with TikTok’s parent
President Donald Trump issued an executive order Thursday barring U.S. companies from doing business with ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of TikTok. The order, which is set to go into effect in 45 days, would be a major blow to the popular short-form video app if it is not sold to a U.S. company. Microsoft […]
New York Attorney General Letitia James sues to dissolve NRA for ‘fraud and abuse’
New York Attorney General Letitia James sued the National Rifle Association and four individuals, including its chief executive, Wayne LaPierre, on Thursday, seeking to dissolve the gun rights advocacy group and accusing top executives of “years of illegal self-dealings” that funded a “lavish lifestyle.” James said the NRA, a not-for-profit organization, undercut its charitable mission […]
Deutsche Bank Turns Over Trump’s Finances in Response to NY District Attorney Subpoena
Prosecutors in New York City have subpoenaed Deutsche Bank for records on President Donald Trump’s finances, The New York Times reports, and the bank has complied. The Manhattan District Attorney’s office issued the subpoena last year for financial records Trump’s businesses provided to the bank that may show evidence of fraud, according to the Times, […]
White House officials signal coronavirus relief negotiations will cease if an agreement is not reached by Friday
White House officials told Senate Republicans on Wednesday that if a deal is not reached with Democrats on coronavirus relief by Friday, negotiations will likely stop. “I think at this point we’re either going to get serious about negotiating and get an agreement in principle,” Chief of Staff Mark Meadows told reporters Wednesday. “I’ve become […]
Facebook and Twitter sanction Trump for post claiming kids are ‘virtually immune’ to coronavirus
Facebook and Twitter have sanctioned President Donald Trump for spreading misinformation on Covid-19 on Wednesday, including blocking his campaign from tweeting until it removed an offending post. Both social media giants acted in response to a video clip posted to both Trump’s Facebook and campaign Twitter accounts where he claims children were “virtually immune” to […]
Pence blasts Chief Justice John Roberts as ‘disappointment to conservatives’
Vice President Mike Pence described Chief Justice John Roberts in a new interview as a “disappointment” to conservative voters, explicitly seeking to cast the Supreme Court as a campaign issue ahead of the November election. “Look, we have great respect for the institution of the Supreme Court of the United States,” Pence told the Christian […]
Trump campaign sues Nevada over plan to mail ballots to all registered voters
The Trump campaign filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the state of Nevada over its plan to send absentee ballots to all active voters this November in a major expansion of mail-in voting in the battleground state. “The RNC has a vital interest in protecting the ability of Republican voters to cast, and Republican candidates to […]
Poll: Voters much more likely to trust family, Fauci than Trump on vaccine
Only 14 percent of voters said they would be more likely to take a coronavirus vaccine if President Donald Trump recommended it, according to a new POLITICO/Morning Consult poll. Voters were far more likely to say they’d take a vaccine based on the advice of their family (46 percent), the CDC (43 percent) or the […]
Trump Tries To Recast Second Surge In COVID-19 Deaths As Achievement For U.S.
President Donald Trump once again pushed back against statistics showing an uptick in coronavirus death rates in the United States during an interview with Axios that aired Monday. The president sat down for a sweeping interview with the outlet’s Jonathan Swan on July 28. Swan pressed Trump on figures that showed a recent dramatic rise […]
Trump proposes attack theory to explain Beirut blast
President Donald Trump suggested on Tuesday that a bomb attack was behind the catastrophic explosion that rocked Beirut earlier in the day, seemingly contradicting Lebanese officials’ explanations that it was caused by confiscated explosives. The exact cause of the explosion was unclear Tuesday afternoon, but Abbas Ibrahim, chief of Lebanese General Security, said it was […]
Bob Cesca: Destroying the Postal Service… Is that Trump’s best shot at stealing the election?
In a time of instability and uncertainty, there’s one thing we can count on: Donald Trump will do everything he possibly can to retain power through the forthcoming election and beyond. His motives are well-known: If he loses the election, he’ll not only go down in history as a one-term loser, which is anathema to […]
Asked About John Lewis’ Legacy, Trump Gripes He Didn’t ‘Come To My Inauguration’
After a week of tributes and mourning for Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), President Donald Trump declined to offer any praise for the late civil rights icon and instead bemoaned the fact that he “didn’t come to my inauguration.” In an interview with Axios that aired Monday, Trump was asked how he thinks history will remember Lewis. […]
Census Bureau To Cut Counting Efforts A Month Short, Raising Concerns That The Count Will Be Inaccurate
The Census Bureau will end its counting efforts for the 2020 census on Sept. 30, a month earlier than planned, the bureau’s director announced Monday. The bureau had expected to continue field data collection, which includes door-knocking, phone calls and online responses, until Oct. 31. The date had been pushed back from a July 31 […]
Dr. Anthony Fauci starting to see ‘insidious’ rise in rate of positive coronavirus cases in some states
White House health advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci said Monday that U.S. officials are beginning to see early signs of a new coronavirus surge in some states. The rate of coronavirus tests that come back positive in some states outside of the southern region of the nation is beginning to increase, Fauci, director of the National […]
Trump Organization under investigation for ‘insurance and bank fraud,’ filing suggests
Attorneys for Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance argued Monday that President Donald Trump should be forced to comply with a subpoena for his tax documents — and suggested that his company was under investigation for alleged insurance and bank fraud. The disclosure in a federal court filing adds a new dimension to the battle over […]
Charlie Pierce: ‘Congress’ Is Not Flailing. Republicans Are.
No, goddammit, Washington Post, Enough of this nonsense. “Congress” is not flailing. The Republican majority in the Senate is flailing, because the Republican majority is made up of Republicans, and the Republican Party is made up of hyper-ambitious lunatics. It’s not “Congress” that’s stiffing the millions of Americans who need relief in this perilous time […]
Poll: Biden slightly ahead in North Carolina, Georgia
Presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden has made inroads among white voters in two Southern states, improving his chances in North Carolina and Georgia, according to a CBS News poll released Sunday. The CBS News Battleground Tracker poll showed Biden leading President Donald Trump in North Carolina, 48 percent to 44, and edging Trump in Georgia […]
Nancy Pelosi Says She Does Not Have Confidence In Dr. Deborah Birx
House Speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Sunday said she does not have confidence in White House coronavirus task force member Dr. Deborah Birx, after reportedly bashing her during a closed-door meeting earlier this week. On ABC News’ “This Week,” host Martha Raddatz asked Pelosi about a Politico article from Friday, which reported that Pelosi […]
Eric Boehlert: When the press buried Obama for Ebola — and two Americans died
“The Ebola crisis in the United States has become an anchor threatening to sink the Obama presidency” — The Hill, October 16, 2014. Appearing on CNN last week, Washington Post reporter Abby Phillip expressed bewilderment that Trump was using his Twitter feed to spread wildly dangerous misinformation about the GOP’s supposed miracle cure for Covid-19. […]
The Rude Pundit: Barack Obama Reminds Us That We Are a Nation
There is a tone that Barack Obama has whenever he’s talking about something where you know he’s thinking, “This is so damn obvious that I can’t believe I have to say it out loud.” It’s a mixture of incredulity that people (generally Republicans and Fox “news” viewers) could be so fuckin’ stupid and disappointment that […]
Pelosi calls relief package discussions “productive” but no deal yet
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Saturday evening that discussions between congressional leadership and the White House were “productive,” but added “no agreement can be reached yet” on another coronavirus relief package. She said staffers will continue discussions on Saturday. Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer met with White House chief of staff Mark Meadows […]
Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) tests positive for Covid-19 after meeting with Gohmert
House Natural Resources Chair Rep. Raul Grijalva announced Saturday he tested positive for Covid-19, days after chairing a hearing in which Rep. Louie Gohmert participated at length. Grijalva (D-Ariz.), who has represented a Tuscon-area seat since 2003, is 73 and a heavy smoker. He said in a statement he is without symptoms and in quarantine. […]
Republican National Convention Says Press Not Welcome, Blames COVID-19
The vote to renominate President Donald Trump is set to be conducted in private later this month, without members of the press present, a spokeswoman for the Republican National Convention, citing the coronavirus. While Trump called off the public components of the convention in Florida last month, citing spiking cases of the virus across the […]
Unsealed Documents Detail Damning Accusations Against Ghislaine Maxwell
Hundreds of pages of court documents involving British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, a longtime associate of Jeffrey Epstein’s who has been accused of enabling the late financier’s sexual abuse of underage girls, were unsealed on Thursday night following a months-long court battle over the documents. Maxwell’s lawyers filed multiple challenges — most recently on Thursday — […]
GOP lets $600-a-week unemployment benefits expire during devastating financial week in U.S.
A crucial week on Capitol Hill that began with a rocky Republican rollout of a coronavirus relief package ended with a complete breakdown in negotiations, threatening to deepen the perils of an already embattled President Donald Trump. The Republican-led Senate adjourned Thursday for a long weekend with no action on COVID-19 relief, all but ensuring […]
Postal Service backlog sparks worries that ballot delivery could be delayed in November
The U.S. Postal Service is experiencing days-long backlogs of mail across the country after a top Trump donor running the agency put in place new procedures described as cost-cutting efforts, alarming postal workers who warn that the policies could undermine their ability to deliver ballots on time for the November election. As President Trump ramps […]
Trump floats delaying November election
President Trump suggested delaying November’s election in a Thursday tweet, again claiming without evidence that mail-in voting will lead to widespread voter fraud. The state of play: While this is the first time that Trump has actively floated changing Election Day, he does not have the power to do so. That lies exclusively with Congress, […]
Obama Reportedly To Deliver Eulogy At Rep. John Lewis’s Funeral Today
Former President Barack Obama will deliver the eulogy at Rep. John Lewis’s funeral on Thursday, according to CNN and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush are also expected to attend the service honoring the late Georgia congressman and civil rights icon, the news outlets said, citing sources familiar with the […]
Biden slams Trump for promoting false COVID-19 claims from ‘crazy woman’
Joe Biden on Wednesday excoriated President Donald Trump for promoting on Twitter the dubious claims of Dr. Stella Immanuel, the Houston doctor who’s claimed to have effectively treated hundreds of COVID-19 patients with hydroxychloroquine, who the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee called a “crazy woman.” In a virtual event with the UnidosUS Action Fund, a nonprofit […]
Rep. Louie Gohmert, who often went without a mask, tests positive for the coronavirus
Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, who has refused to wear a mask, tested positive for the coronavirus Wednesday shortly before he was expected to travel with President Donald Trump to Texas. Gohmert, 66, one of the most outspokenly conservative members of Congress, said he tested positive during the routine screening at the White House prior to […]
Trump doubles down on defense of hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19 despite efficacy concerns
As the U.S. neared 150,000 deaths from the novel coronavirus, President Donald Trump doubled down on his defense of an unproven drug to treat COVID-19 and offered a rosy picture of the growing public health crisis and of what is to come. “We’re seeing improvements across the major metro areas and most hot spots. You […]
Biden Says He’ll Choose His Running Mate Next Week
Joe Biden said Tuesday he’ll be making a long-anticipated announcement next week: The naming of a running mate on the Democratic presidential ticket he will head. After detailing in Wilmington, Delaware, his plan to combat racial inequality, the presumptive nominee told reporters he is “going to have a choice the first week in August, and […]
Defiant William Barr Denies Politicizing Justice For Trump’s Friends
Attorney General William Barr made a defiant appearance before a House committee on Tuesday, rejecting claims that he’d improperly interfered in the prosecutorial decision-making process to benefit President Donald Trump’s allies and defending the deployment of federal agents to cities against the wishes of local leaders. Barr, appearing before the House Judiciary Committee for the […]
Bob Cesca: American fascism has arrived, and the danger is real — but it’s not too late to defeat it
Ever since the beginning of the Trump crisis, I’ve written about Donald Trump’s obvious fetish for authoritarian dictatorships and how observing our nation’s most despotic president is an ongoing exercise in waiting for the other tyrannical shoe to drop. Following the jackbooted nincompoopery of the Trump White House, as I’ve said multiple times before, is […]
Senate GOP, White House propose cutting $600 unemployment checks to $200 in coronavirus relief plan
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell introduced a new coronavirusrelief plan on the Senate floor after Senate Republican leaders and the White House appear to have overcome their differences. “I hope this strong proposal will occasion a real response, not partisan cheap shots. Not the predictable, tired old rhetoric as though these were ordinary times, and […]
Trump’s national security adviser Robert O’Brien tests positive for COVID-19, White House confirms
Robert O’Brien, President Donald Trump‘s national security adviser, has tested positive for COVID-19, making him the highest profile Trump official to contract the novel virus, the White House confirmed. “National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien tested positive for COVID-19. He has mild symptoms and has been self-isolating and working from a secure location off site. There […]
Joe Biden Urges Trump To Keep Coronavirus Vaccine Progress ‘Free From Political Pressure’
Former Vice President Joe Biden urged the Trump administration to take steps to ensure the development of a vaccine for the coronavirus will be “free from political pressure” and asked the White House to respect science as the nation reels from the COVID-19 pandemic. The presumptive Democratic nominee for president made the comments in a blog […]
Rep. John Lewis, ‘conscience of Congress,’ makes final trip to Capitol
Rep. John Lewis, the “conscience of Congress” who represented Georgia for more than three decades, made his final trip to the U.S. Capitol on Monday, lying in state in the building where his former colleagues said farewell to the civil rights giant. A military honor guard carried Lewis’ flag-draped casket up the stairs en route […]
Charlie Pierce: The President* Wants Chaos and Disunion. Don’t Give It to Him
The idea that people would resort to violence in support of Louie Gohmert, Padishah Emperor of the Crazy People, is bizarre enough to satisfy anyone’s taste for the odd. But coming as it does in the middle of a weekend in which the ongoing protests escalated into serious violence and gunfire, it stands out as […]
Top White House officials say Congress might need to rush narrow relief bill to avoid unemployment aid lapse
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows said Sunday that Congress might have to pass a narrow piece of legislation this week to ensure enhanced unemployment benefits don’t expire for millions of Americans But they both also said the slimmed down legislation should include sweeping lawsuit protectionsdemanded by businesses, a […]
Poll: Trump trailing in battleground states 100 days out from the election
President Donald Trump continues to trail presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden in battleground states he won in 2016, according to a new poll. With just 100 days until Election Day, Trump is behind in Florida, Arizona and Michigan, according to a CNN-SSRS poll released Sunday. Trump trails Biden by 51 percent to 46 percent in […]
Workers Will Just ‘Sit Home’ On Unemployment Aid, Steve Mnuchin Complains
Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin attacked continuing enhanced benefits for unemployed Americans by complaining that workers will “sit home” collecting the money. “It wouldn’t be fair to use taxpayer dollars to pay more people to sit home than they would get working and get a job,” Mnuchin told Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday in the video […]
John Lewis, civil rights giant, crosses Selma bridge on way to Montgomery one final time
Crowds watched solemnly Sunday as the body of Rep. John Lewis crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge one final time, 55 years after the civil rights icon marched for peace and was met with brutality in Selma, Alabama. Body bearers from the U.S. armed forces placed the late Georgia congressman and civil rights icon onto a […]
Eric Boehlert: Unplug the freak show — Trump’s pandemic briefings are back
Trump’s vow to return with his first pandemic press briefing in three months means the press faces a stark decision — is it in the nation’s best interest to provide nonstop, unedited coverage of his briefings knowing that Trump will lie and mislead the public about a national health emergency? Or is it time to […]
The Rude Pundit: AOC Fu**s the Patriarchy’s S**t Up
The line from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s calm evisceration of Rep. Ted Yoho yesterday on the floor of the House of Representatives that will likely be the one that is remembered is something that shouldn’t need to be said: “Having a daughter does not make a man decent. Having a wife does not make a decent […]
U.S. passes 4 million coronavirus cases as pace of new infections roughly doubles
The United States on Thursday passed the grim milestone of 4 million confirmed coronavirus infections, and President Trump announced he was canceling the public celebration of his nomination for a second term, as institutions from schools to airlines to Major League Baseball wrestled with the consequences of a pandemic still far from under control. The rapid […]
Ocasio-Cortez Lights Up Rep. Yoho For ‘Apology’ Over ‘F**king Bitch’ Insult
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez took to the House floor on Thursday to respond to comments made by Rep. Ted Yoho the day before in an attempted apology after he reportedly called her a “fucking bitch” earlier in the week. The Florida Republican has repeatedly denied that he uttered vulgar language at the New York Democrat, which […]
Republicans Struggling To Finalize Their Next Coronavirus Relief Package
After days of intra-party squabbles and months of delays, Republicans on Thursday struggled to unify around another economic stimulus package that would help Americans reeling from the resurgent coronavirus pandemic. The proposal, which was initially expected to be made public on Thursday, now won’t be released until next week due to disagreements among Senate Republicans and […]
Trump cancels in-person Republican convention in Jacksonville, Florida
President Donald Trump said Thursday that he will no longer hold a large, in-person Republican convention in Jacksonville, Florida, because of the coronavirus but that he will hold virtual events and still give an acceptance speech. “I told my team it’s time to cancel the Jacksonville, Florida, component of the GOP convention. We will be […]
The US reported more Covid-19 cases in the last two weeks than it did for all of June
In the past two weeks, the US recorded more than 915,000 new cases of coronavirus — that’s more than the cases reported across the country for the whole month of June. The staggering number signals the US is still far from containing the virus, which is running rampant across American communities, overwhelming hospitals and testing […]
Russian Allies Helping Trump Win Reelection Have A Partner In Wisconsin Republican
Allies of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin hoping to give President Donald Trump a second term in office appear to have a new partner: Republican Ron Johnson, who is using his Senate committee to renew debunked allegations against presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden. Johnson, a second-term senator from Wisconsin who chairs the Senate Homeland Security and […]
White House executive office cafeteria closed after positive coronavirus test
The White House is conducting contact tracing after a cafeteria worker tested positive for coronavirus, three Trump administration officials tell NBC News. The cafeteria and an eatery in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, or EEOB, were both closed this week after the case was discovered, officials said. It was unclear how long the facility will […]
Trump And Barr Expand Surge In Federal Officers To Chicago, Albuquerque
President Donald Trump and Attorney General William Barr announced Wednesday that federal agents will surge into Chicago and Albuquerque to help combat rising crime, expanding the administration’s intervention in local enforcement as Trump runs for reelection under a “law-and-order” mantle. Hundreds of federal agents already have been sent to Kansas City, Missouri, to help quell a record rise […]
Federal agents, Portland protesters in standoff as chaos envelops parts of city
Even after tear gas choked downtown Portland in the early hours of Tuesday, Riots Ribs kept the food coming. A volunteer, who has been camped outside the Multnomah County Justice Center since demonstrations against police brutality began more than 50 days ago, slathered barbecue sauce on the meat cooking just a few yards from federal […]
Fauci: I was not invited to Trump’s coronavirus briefing
Anthony Fauci, one of the most recognized and trusted faces of the federal coronavirus response, said on Tuesday he was not invited to join President Donald Trump later in the day at a news briefing on the White House pandemic response. Trump announced on Monday he would return to the White House lectern to deliver […]
Trump on Ghislaine Maxwell: ‘I wish her well’
Ghislaine Maxwell has been accused of child sex trafficking in connection with her late friend Jeffrey Epstein, a financier and convicted sex offender. The charges against her include recruiting and grooming girls as young as 14 into a circle of sexual abuse with possible connections to powerful men around the world. President Donald Trump wishes […]
Trump, in a Shift, Finally Endorses Masks and Says Virus Will Get Worse
President Trump acknowledged on Tuesday that the coronavirus pandemic was growing more severe in the United States and endorsed mask wearing in a shift after weeks of playing down the seriousness of the crisis that has killed more than 140,000 Americans. Rather than just “embers” of the virus, as he has repeatedly characterized recent outbreaks […]
Bob Cesca: We all know Donald Trump is preparing to rig or steal the election — but exactly how?
By now, it’s relatively easy to forecast Donald Trump’s tyrannical moves. There are no advanced Frank Underwood-style chess gambits in play here. It’s barely Candyland, despite the fascistic goals involved. Trump is, on top of it all, a simple-minded, easily predictable Golgothan who telegraphs every move of self-preservation. Sometimes it can be reassuring to have a sense of […]
Three Coronavirus Vaccine Developers Report Promising Initial Results
The race for a vaccine against the coronavirus intensified on Monday as three competing laboratories released promising results from early trials in humans. Now comes the hard part: proving that any of the vaccines protects against the virus, and establishing how much immunity they provide — and for how long. “What this means is that […]
Democratic Mayors Urge Congress To Stop Federal Agents’ Use Of Force During Protests
Six Democratic mayors from across the country urged Congress to stop federal agents from interfering with protests in cities and called on the lawmakers to investigate the Trump administration’s deployment of them. In a letter Monday to congressional Democratic and Republican leaders, the mayors of Seattle, Atlanta, Chicago, Kansas City, Washington and Portland, Oregon, called the […]
Trump throws wrench into coronavirus bill negotiations with Senate Republicans
President Donald Trump is throwing a big wrench into negotiations between the White House and Senate Republicans over the next coronavirus relief bill by demanding a payroll tax cut be included and funding for testing be reduced or cut completely. Leaving meetings on Capitol Hill Monday night, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House Chief […]
Charlie Pierce: Joe Biden Is Courting Trump Defectors In the Least Effective Way Imaginable
No. Just no. Not this time. Not running against this president*. Not at this time of national peril. And, for that matter, not this guy. From the AP: Former Ohio Gov. John Kasich, a Republican and frequent Trump critic, has been approached and is expected to speak at the Democratic National Convention on Biden’s behalf […]
Eric Boehlert: Gaslighter — Mika blames Hillary for not warning us about Trump
Astonished by a president who has deliberately made every wrong move when faced with a crippling pandemic, and who refuses to change course as the carnage mounts, media players continue to express shock at Trump’s behavior. Insisting it was impossible to tell in 2016 that Trump’s irrational and erratic behavior would create so much death […]
The Rude Pundit: Portland Becomes the Testing Ground for the Next Level of Trump F***ery
Department of Homeland Security Acting Secretary Chad Wolf, who has the douche name and the douchier face stubble of the asshole Wall Streeter who gets punched in the dick by, say, Michael J. Fox in a late 1980s comedy, issued a statement on “the Rampant, Long-Lasting Violence in Portland.” The Portland is the one in […]
Trump Won’t Say Whether He Will Accept 2020 Election Results: ‘I Have To See’
President Donald Trump wouldn’t say whether he will accept the results of the general election in November during an interview with “Fox News Sunday,” claiming again without evidence that the process is rigged before any votes have been cast. Host Chris Wallace asked Trump if he was a good loser, to which the president responded […]
Trump Doubles Down On Claim Coronavirus Will Disappear: ‘I’ll Be Right Eventually’
As coronavirus infections continue to surge nationwide, President Donald Trump repeated his unsubstantiated claim that the pathogen will simply “disappear” one day. During an interview with “Fox News Sunday,” host Chris Wallace suggested Trump had made a mistake when he stated in January and February that the virus had largely been contained. On Feb. 10, […]
Federal Judge in Deutche Bank case’s Husband Shot, Son Killed By Gunman Reportedly Dressed As FedEx Driver
Two family members of a federal judge were shot at their home in New Jersey on Sunday by an unknown assailant, officials said. NBC New York reported a gunman arrived at the home of Judge Esther Salas in North Brunswick, New Jersey, around 5 p.m. The person shot Salas’ 20-year-old son, Daniel Anderl, when he […]
Oregon Senators Demand Probe Into ‘Paramilitary Assaults’ By ‘Occupying Army’
Oregon’s U.S. senators and two representatives demanded an investigation Friday into “paramilitary assaults” in Portland by Department of Homeland Security forces that the lawmakers say have invaded the city and are snatching protesters off the streets in unmarked vans. The stunned, angry reactions followed reports earlier this week that troops in military fatigues with “police” patches […]
John Lewis, civil rights icon and longtime congressman, dies
Rep. John Lewis, an iconic pioneer of the civil rights movement who famously shed his blood at the foot of a Selma, Ala., bridge in the fight for Black voting rights and went on to become a 17-term Democratic member of Congress, died Friday. He was 80. One of the last survivors among leaders of […]
Georgia Governor Sues Atlanta Mayor To Block Citywide Mask Mandate
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp is suing Atlanta’s mayor and city council to block the city from enforcing its mandate to wear a mask in public and other rules related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Kemp and Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr, in a suit filed in state court late Thursday in Atlanta, argue that Atlanta Mayor […]
Virus Prompts Drastic Measures As Death Tolls Set Records
The coronavirus kept surging in hot spots around the U.S. on Thursday, with one city in South Carolina urging people to pray it into submission, a hospital in Texas bringing in military medical personnel and morgues running out of space in Phoenix. Record numbers of confirmed infections and deaths emerged again in states in the […]
Biden opens up 11-point national lead over Trump in NBC News/WSJ poll
Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden holds a double-digit lead nationally over President Donald Trump, with 7 in 10 voters saying the country is on the wrong track and majorities disapproving of the president’s handling of the coronavirus and race relations. Those are the major findings of a new national NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll […]
US, UK and Canada claim Russia tried to hack coronavirus vaccine research
“A cyber espionage group, almost certainly part of the Russian intelligence services” attempted to hack coronavirus vaccine research, according to a statement from the U.K.’s National Cyber Security Center. The U.S. National Security Agency agreed with that report. Read updates on this story at ABC News
Oklahoma governor tests positive for coronavirus after hosting Trump rally
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt has tested positive for coronavirus, he said Wednesday, as cases in his state hit record numbers just a month after his state hosted President Donald Trump’s first campaign rally amid the pandemic. In a news conference he attended virtually, Stitt, a Republican, revealed that he had been getting tested for the […]
Confirmed Coronavirus Cases In The US Rise Amid New Global Restrictions
California, Arizona, Texas and Florida together reported about 36,000 new coronavirus cases Wednesday as restrictions aimed at combating the spread of the pandemic took hold in the United States and around the world in an unsettling sign reminiscent of the dark days of April. The soaring counts of confirmed infections and a mounting death toll […]
Dr. Fauci Pushes Back On ‘Bizarre’ White House Attempts To Discredit Him
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading expert on infectious disease, has responded to the White House’s recent efforts to discredit him as the coronavirus crisis worsens across wide swaths of the United States ― calling it “bizarre.” “Ultimately, it hurts the president to do that,” Fauci told The Atlantic Wednesday. He explained: “I think if you talk […]
Trump Campaign Manager Brad Parscale Demoted, Deputy Bill Stepien to Replace Him
Trump 2020 campaign manager Brad Parscale has been demoted, less than four weeks after an embarrassing, poorly attended Trump rally in Tulsa that Parscale had boasted beforehand could have up to one million in attendance. On Trump’s Facebook account, the president announced on Wednesday that he is promoting deputy campaign manager Bill Stepien to run […]
Trump’s niece calls on him to resign
President Donald Trump’s niece has one word of advice for her uncle: “Resign.” Mary Trump issued the direct call to her uncle during an interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos that aired Tuesday, her first time speaking out about her new tell-all book. “If you’re in the Oval Office today, what would you say to him?” […]
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg hospitalized with infection
Supreme Court Justice Ruther Ginsburg was admitted to The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore on Tuesday for treatment of a possible infection. Ginsburg was initially evaluated at Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington, D.C., on Monday night after experiencing fever and chills. She underwent an endoscopic procedure at Johns Hopkins on Tuesday afternoon to clean out […]
Moderna coronavirus vaccine shows ‘promising’ safety and immune response results in published Phase 1 study, but more research is needed
A Covid-19 vaccine developed by the biotechnology company Moderna in partnership with the National Institutes of Health has been found to induce immune responses in all of the volunteers who received it in a Phase 1 study. These early results, published in the New England Journal of Medicine on Tuesday, showed that the vaccine worked […]
Trump Administration Rescinds Rule On Foreign Students
Facing eight federal lawsuits and opposition from hundreds of universities, the Trump administration on Tuesday rescinded a rule that would have required international students to transfer or leave the country if their schools held classes entirely online because of the pandemic. The decision was announced at the start of a hearing in a federal lawsuit […]
Bob Cesca: Why is the stock market soaring amid a pandemic? Because Trump thinks that may save him
Donald Trump isn’t a smart man, but he knows how to manipulate the stock market. Not only is he allegedly engaging in market manipulation while president, but it’s a Trump con that goes back decades. Back in October 2018, the New York Times published a Pulitzer Prize-winning profile of Trump’s extensive tax fraud schemes, and […]
Federal stockpile is thin amid coronavirus surge, internal documents show
The federal government may not have the capacity to supply medical professionals with personal protective equipment amid the latest surge in coronavirus cases, according to internal administration documents obtained by NBC News. For example, the Strategic National Stockpile and the Federal Emergency Management Agency have fewer than 900,000 gloves in reserve after shipping 82.7 million […]
Trump defends Fauci relationship despite White House efforts to discredit him
President Donald Trump insisted on Monday that he “personally” likes Dr. Anthony Fauci, as press secretary Kayleigh McEnany denied the White House was working to discredit the country’s leading infectious disease expert. “I don’t always agree with him,” Trump said at a White House event. “We get along very well, I like him personally.” The […]
WHO chief: Pandemic ‘going to get worse and worse and worse’
The World Health Organization (WHO) warned Monday that the coronavirus pandemic is raging out of control in North and South America, and that the virus will continue spreading unimpeded unless governments and individuals take the steps needed to suppress its transmission. Nearly 13 million people worldwide have tested positive for COVID-19, and about half of […]
Charlie Pierce: This Was a Straight-Up Mob-Style Transaction
The commutation of Roger Stone’s prison sentence by the president* was sadly predictable on two levels. One of them is obvious, the other, less so. As to the first, Stone was a conduit between Russian ratfckers, WikiLeaks, and the president*’s 2016 campaign. Subsequently, he lied to law enforcement and to Congress, and he attempted to […]
DeVos defends push to reopen schools as Trump administration is accused of ‘messing with’ children’s health
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos defended the Trump administration’s aggressive push to reopen schools in the fall amid the worsening coronavirus pandemic, saying Sunday that a hybrid of virtual and in-person learning is “not a valid choice for families.” Speaking on CNN’s “State of the Union,” DeVos also refused to saywhether the Centers for Disease Control […]
In op-ed, Robert Mueller says Roger Stone remains a convicted felon and ‘rightfully so’
Less than 24 hours after President Donald Trump commuted the prison sentence of former campaign aide Roger Stone, former Department of Justice special counsel Robert S. Mueller III defended the investigation into Russian meddling and said Stone “remains a convicted felon, and rightfully so.” Mueller, who led the federal investigation into Russian interference in the […]
White House seeks to discredit Fauci as coronavirus surges
The White House is seeking to discredit Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country’s leading infectious disease expert, as President Donald Trump works to marginalize him and his dire warnings about the shortcomings of the U.S. coronavirus response. In a remarkable broadside by the Trump administration against one of its own, a White House official said Sunday […]
Greg Palast: Roger Stone is not just an impotent trickster
Roger Stone is not just an impotent trickster. He’s a violent, evil man who had a lot to do with fixing the vote in Florida in 2000. George Bush supposedly officially won the presidency by 537 votes in Florida — just 537 votes! But 178,000 ballots were disqualified, considered unreadable. A hundred and seventy-eight thousand!!! […]
Eric Boehlert: Is Barron Trump returning to in-person classes this fall? The press needs to find out
Trump, Fox News, and the entire conservative movement are moving aggressively to politicize the re-opening of America’s schools during the pandemic. Trying to turn the topic into a partisan one, they’re demanding schools across the country not only open for in-person education, but that 50-plus million American students be forced to sit should-to-shoulder in classrooms. […]
The Rude Pundit: Hey, Where the F*** Are You?
I’m taking the full week off because I’m in Louisiana visiting family. Gotta tell you: It’s weird to go into a restaurant and eat a meal like a real person. Hell, they’ve even spaced the tables a responsible distance apart. Of course, mask-wearing isn’t mandatory here in Cajun Country. Lafayette Mayor Josh Guillory refuses to […]
Florida Reports Over 15,000 COVID-19 Cases In Single-Day Record
Florida reported a record increase of more than 15,000 new cases of COVID-19 in 24 hours on Sunday, as the Trump administration renewed its push for schools to reopen and anti-mask protests were planned in Michigan and Missouri. If Florida were a country, it would rank fourth in the world for the most new cases […]
Tucker Carlson’s Top Writer Quits After Secretly Posting Racist, Sexist Messages: Report
The top writer for Tucker Carlson’s Fox News program has resigned after it was revealed he’d secretly posted racist and sexist messages for five years on an online forum, CNN Business reported Friday. Blake Neff, who worked for the right-wing Daily Caller before moving over to Fox News four years ago, had been posting the messages […]
Trump commutes prison sentence of longtime adviser Roger Stone
President Donald Trump on Friday commuted the prison sentence of longtime adviser Roger Stone, who was found guilty of seeking to thwart congressional and FBI investigations into alleged ties between the Trump campaign and Russia. Stone, 67, was sentenced in February to three years and four months in prison after a trial late last year […]
Stephanie Miller on List of Radio Hall Of Fame 2020 Nominees.
The Radio Hall of Fame has announced this year’s 24 nominees in a total of six categories. Industry voting in four of those categories begins Monday, July 13. Listener voting in the other two categories begins on July 20. Due to COVID-19 health and safety concerns, the 2020 induction ceremony will be a live radio […]
US COVID-19 deaths begin to climb again
A pandemic of the novel coronavirus has now killed more than 552,000 people worldwide. Over 12.2 million people across the globe have been diagnosed with COVID-19, the disease caused by the new respiratory virus, according to datacompiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. The actual numbers are believed to […]
Broad disapproval for Trump’s handling of coronavirus, race relations: POLL
President Donald Trump is facing broad disapproval for his management of the two major crises gripping the nation, with two-thirds of Americans giving him low marks for both his response to the coronavirus pandemic and his handling of race relations, according to a new ABC News/Ipsos pollreleased Friday. Evaluation of Trump’s oversight of the COVID-19 […]
Supreme Court deals Trump a defeat, upholds demand for his tax returns
The Supreme Court dealt President Trump a major defeat Thursday by rejecting his claims of presidential immunity and upholding subpoenas from New York prosecutors seeking his tax returns and financial records. In one of the most anticipated rulings on presidential privilege in years, the justices by a 7-2 vote ruled the nation’s chief executive is […]
Supreme Court upholds Trump’s rollback of birth control coverage mandate
The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld the Trump administration’s broad rollback of Obamacare rules requiring employers to provide free birth control to women, in a major victory for religious groups allied with President Donald Trump. The Supreme Court, in its 7-2 ruling, sought to resolve a long-running legal battle that previously vexed the justices — […]
Trump disavows his own administration’s guidance for reopening schools
President Donald Trump on Wednesday publicly disavowed his own administration’s guidance for reopening schools amid the coronavirus pandemic, arguing the federal recommendations were too burdensome as he ramped up his bid to have students return to classrooms in the fall. “I disagree with @CDCgov on their very tough & expensive guidelines for opening schools,” Trump […]
Mary Trump’s scathing book claims Trump paid someone to take his SATs
Donald Trump’s niece Mary Trump levels scathing criticism at the President in her forthcoming book, accusing him of being a “sociopath” and charging that Trump’s “hubris and willful ignorance” dating back to his early days threatens the country. Mary Trump’s book, “Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man,” […]
Trump Leans on Schools to Reopen as Virus Continues Its Spread
President Trump demanded on Tuesday that schools reopen physically in the fall, pressing his drive to get the country moving again even as the coronavirus pandemic surged through much of the United States and threatened to overwhelm some health care facilities. In a daylong series of conference calls and public events at the White House, […]
U.S. has seen more than 3 million coronavirus cases
Amid a surge of new infections in many states, the number of coronavirus cases in the United States topped 3 million on Tuesday, according to an NBC News tally. More than 46,500 new cases were recorded across the country on Tuesday. Though some Northeastern states have seen a slowdown, many Southern states that reopened in […]
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms tests positive for Covid-19
Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms of Atlanta, who is reportedly on Joe Biden’s vice presidential short list, said on Monday that she had tested positive for coronavirus. “COVID-19 has literally hit home,” she wrote on Twitter. “I have had NO symptoms and have tested positive.” In an MSNBC interview on Monday, Bottoms said that she got […]
Here are some of the billionaires who got PPP loans while small businesses went bankrupt
Billionaire property developer Joe Farrell, a prominent Republican fundraiser, received up to $1 million in taxpayer coronavirus relief funds, according to federal data released Monday. Other players in the world of celebrity and influence who took advantage of loans under the Paycheck Protection Program, or PPP,to help struggling small businesses hurt by coronavirus shutdowns included […]
As COVID-19 Cases Surge, Fauci Says U.S. Is Still ‘Knee-Deep’ In First Wave
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top infectious disease expert in the U.S., said Monday that the country is in a “serious situation” that needs immediate attention as the coronavirus surges in certain parts of the country. During a live interview streamed on Facebook, Fauci noted that the U.S. is “still knee-deep in the first wave” of […]
Supreme Court says states may require presidential electors to support popular-vote winner
The Supreme Court ruled unanimously Monday that states may require presidential electors to support the winner of the popular vote and punish or replace those who don’t, settling a disputed issue in advance of this fall’s election. Justice Elena Kagan wrote for the court, and settled the disputed “faithless elector” issue before it affected the […]
Biden builds lead as Trump goes from trailing to flailing
As recently as one month ago, Donald Trump was merely losing. Now he is flailing, trudging into the Independence Day weekend at the nadir of his presidency, trailing by double digits in recent polls and in danger of dragging the Republican Senate down with him. But there are still four months before the election — […]
Prosecutors seek Friday court appearance for Jeffrey Epstein friend Ghislaine Maxwell
Prosecutors have asked a judge to schedule a Friday court appearance in New York for Ghislaine Maxwell, the former girlfriend and longtime associate of the late disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. Maxwell was arrested on Thursday on U.S. charges of luring underage girls so that Epstein could sexually abuse them. Read the rest of the story […]
Officials say states reopened too quickly after soaring Covid-19 cases
After a muted holiday weekend — which saw both measured celebrations and packed crowds — the country faces a deep coronavirus crisis as cases continue to climb and more hospitals report they’re nearing capacity. This week marks about two months since many states kicked off their reopening plans — which now officials across the country […]
House passes wide-ranging Democratic police reform bill
The House approved a police reform bill proposed by Democrats on Thursday night, after Senate Democrats blocked a more modest proposal from moving forward in the Senate a day earlier. The bill passed with a vote of 236 to 181, with three Republicans — Representatives Brian Fitzpatrick, Will Hurd and Fred Upton — joining the […]
‘He’s like a child’: Biden slams Trump’s handling of coronavirus pandemic amid ‘heartless crusade’ to end Obamacare
In one of his sharpest rebukes of President Donald Trump to date, former Vice President Joe Biden lambasted the president’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, comparing Trump to a whining child. “(Trump’s) like a child who can’t believe this has happened to him — all his whining and self pity. This pandemic didn’t happen to […]
Trump administration asks Supreme Court to strike down Obamacare amid pandemic, recession
The Trump administration is asking the Supreme Court to wipe out Obamacare, arguing that the individual mandate is unconstitutional and that the rest of the law must be struck down with it. The late-night brief, filed Thursday in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic, carries major implications for the presidential election. If the justices agree, […]
Federal prosecutor, alleging political interference in Stone case, names names
A federal prosecutor offered lawmakers on Wednesday a roadmap to investigate alleged political interference in the sentencing of longtime Donald Trump confidant Roger Stone. Aaron Zelinsky, one of four lead prosecutors in the Stone case, told the House Judiciary Committee that senior officials — including the head of the Justice Department’s public corruption unit — […]
Democratic National Convention Will Be Almost Entirely Virtual
Democrats will hold an almost entirely virtual presidential nominating convention Aug. 17-20 in Milwaukee using live broadcasts and online streaming, party officials said Wednesday. Joe Biden plans to accept the presidential nomination in person, but it remains to be seen whether there will be a significant in-person audience there to see it. The Democratic National […]
Dozens Of Secret Service Agents Reportedly Told To Quarantine After Tulsa Rally
Dozens of Secret Service agents have been instructed to self-quarantine after two officers who attended President Donald Trump’s rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Saturday tested positive for the coronavirus, The Washington Post and CNN reported. The Secret Service told agents who worked at the Tulsa campaign event to stay home for 14 days following the weekend […]
U.S. hits highest single day of new coronavirus cases with more than 45,500, breaking April record
The U.S. saw a record number of new coronavirus cases in a single day, with 45,557 diagnoses reported Wednesday, according to a tally by NBC News. Wednesday’s cases top the previous highest daily count from April 26 — during the first peak of the pandemic in the U.S. — by more than 9,000 cases, according […]
Bob Cesca: So much for the “Death Star”… After Tulsa and West Point, wheels are coming off Trump campaign
If we had been living in normal times, Donald Trump would have been relentlessly heckled off the national stage while he was still riding down that escalator five years ago. Instead, he managed to lie and finagle his way into the White House, where he remains the most dangerous, incompetent American president in history. The thing about Trump’s […]
Kentucky Senate Democratic primary between McGrath and Booker to decide who challenges McConnell too close to call
The Kentucky Senate Democratic primary race to determine who takes on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in November is too close to call, NBC News projects. Amy McGrath, a retired Marine lieutenant colonel, had a slight edge in a tougher-than-expected challenge from state Rep. Charles Booker. With 10 percent of the vote in by Wednesday […]
Coronavirus hospitalizations surge in Arizona, Texas
Coronavirus hospitalizations in Arizona and Texas have hit record numbers as cases continue to surge in states in the South and the West, overwhelming medical professionals. Arizona reported a record high of 3,591 new cases Tuesday, with nearly 60,000 known cases in the state overall. The swell in cases comes as President Donald Trump is […]
Trump Spends Phoenix Rally Downplaying Coronavirus And Making Racist Jokes
Speaking in a state where coronavirus cases are surging enough to repeatedly set new daily infection records, President Donald Trump told a crowd of young Arizona supporters that everything was under control. “Someday it’ll be recognized by history,” he said of his pandemic response while speaking at a campaign-style event at Dream City Church, hosted […]
Dr. Fauci Testifies Next Couple Of Weeks Critical In Managing Coronavirus Surge
Four top U.S. public health officials and members of Donald Trump’s coronavirus task force said on Tuesday that he has not asked them to slow down testing for the virus after the president suggested at a rally that it was a “double-edged sword.” Testifying before the House Energy & Commerce Committee, National Institute of Allergy […]
New U.S. COVID-19 Cases Surge 25%
The United States saw a 25% increase in new cases of COVID-19 in the week ended June 21 compared to the previous seven days, with Arizona, Florida and Texas experiencing record surges in new infections, a Reuters analysis found. Twenty-five U.S. states reported more new cases last week than the previous week, including 10 states […]
Charlie Pierce: It Seems Silly to Risk Your Lungs to Go to Cruisin’ Chubbys
Monday’s Hot Spot Spotlight falls on the vacation paradise that is Wisconsin Dells—or, as the natives call it, simply, “The Dells.” As the country comes slowly to the realization that reopening as a part of the president*’s Transition to Greatness reelection brand is not the smartest thing the United States ever did, we also realize that recreational […]
Noose found in garage stall of Black NASCAR driver
A noose was found in the garage stall of Black driver Bubba Wallace at the NASCAR race in Alabama on Sunday, less than two weeks after he successfully pushed the auto racing series to ban the Confederate flag at its tracks and facilities. NASCAR announced the discovery late Sunday and said it had launched an […]
Trump ‘furious’ about ‘underwhelming’ crowd at Tulsa rally
President Donald Trump is “furious” at the “underwhelming” crowd at his rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Saturday evening, a major disappointment for what had been expected to be a raucous return to the campaign trail after three months off because of the coronavirus pandemic, according to multiple people close to the White House. The president […]
Eric Boehlert: Why the press should boycott Trump’s “extraordinarily dangerous” Tulsa rally
Told that Trump loyalists must “assume a personal risk” to attend his Tulsa, Oklahoma, rally on Saturday amidst a local spike in Covid-19 cases, the White House and Trump have conceded people may get sick from the event. That likely includes journalists who will be herded into the city’s 20,000-seat indoor sports arena to cover […]
The Rude Pundit: Trump Doesn’t Know Sh** or Give a Sh** About African Americans or History or Anything, Really
It’s hard to pinpoint the most blitheringly fucked tangent that Donald Trump, our cracked vinyl beanbag chair of a president, went off on during his speech to announce a few bullshit, milquetoast little suggestions to the brutal, militarized police forces of America (seriously, if you think “reform the police” is weak, try the title of this pussy-ass executive order: […]
TikTok Teens and K-Pop Stans Say They Sank Trump Rally
President Trump’s campaign promised huge crowds at his rally in Tulsa, Okla., on Saturday, but it failed to deliver. Hundreds of teenage TikTok users and K-pop fans say they’re at least partially responsible. TikTok users and fans of Korean pop music groups claimed to have registered potentially hundreds of thousands of tickets for Trump’s campaign […]
U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman agrees to step down after Trump fires him, House Democrats launch probe
Attorney General William Barr said Saturday that at his request, President Donald Trump had fired Geoffrey Berman, the U.S. Attorney in Manhattan. Shortly afterwards, Berman, who had defied Barr’s earlier demand for his resignation, announced that he would not resist the order and would step down, leaving the high-profile prosecutor’s office in the hands of […]
Trump Rally Fizzles as Attendance Falls Way Short of Campaign’s Expectations
President Trump’s attempt to revive his re-election campaign sputtered badly on Saturday night as he traveled to Tulsa for his first mass rally in months and found a far smaller crowd than his aides had promised him, then delivered a disjointed speech that did not address the multiple crises facing the nation or scandals battering […]
6 Trump campaign members in Tulsa test positive for the coronavirus ahead of rally
Six members of President Donald Trump’s campaign staff who are in Tulsa, Oklahoma, to set up for the president’s first campaign rally in months have tested positive for the coronavirus, the campaign announced Saturday. The president’s campaign said they had performed hundreds of tests before the rally, his first since March 2, and Tim Murtaugh, […]
Novel coronavirus hospitalizations increasing in 17 states
An ABC News analysis found that hospitalizations for COVID-19 are increasing in 17 states across the country, with experts warning that the U.S. is by no means out of the first wave. The states that saw the increases were Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, South […]
Tulsa Health Official Has A Stark Wake-Up Call For People Attending Trump Rally
People attending President Donald Trump’s indoor campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Saturday should self-isolate for two weeks following the event, the city’s top health official has urged. Bruce Dart, executive director of the Tulsa Health Department, told CNN’s Don Lemon on Friday that attendees should also get tested for the coronavirus at least a […]
1 of 3 Louisville police officers in Breonna Taylor case to be fired, mayor says
One of the three police officers involved in the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky, is being fired, Mayor Greg Fischer announced Friday. The chief of the Louisville Metro Police Department, Rob Schroeder, is initiating termination procedures against the officer, Brett Hankison, the mayor said in a statement. It is the first significant […]
William Barr Says U.S. Attorney In Manhattan Is Resigning. U.S. Attorney Says No, He’s Not.
U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman is leaving as head of the powerful Southern District of New York, Attorney General William Barr announced late Friday. The Manhattan office is one of the nation’s mightiest districts, trying major cases against the mobsters, terrorists — and allies of President Donald Trump, including his former personal lawyer Michael Cohen. But Berman […]
Oklahoma Supreme Court to consider whether to delay Tulsa rally
The Oklahoma State Supreme Court will hear a lawsuit appeal to enforce safety measures at President Donald Trump’s rally on Saturday. Tulsa attorney Clark Brewster will make a court appearance before the Oklahoma Supreme Court on Thursday by phone at 3 p.m., according to court records. Earlier this week, a judge denied a lawsuit from […]
Trump lashes out at Supreme Court after DACA ruling doesn’t go his way
President Donald Trump lashed out at the Supreme Court on Thursday after the high court ruled in a 5-4 decision that his administration cannot carry out its plan to shut down the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. The Obama-era immigration program has allowed nearly 800,000 young people, known as Dreamers, to remain in the […]
Fox News poll: Biden extends lead over Trump amid protests
President Donald Trump is trailing his Democratic rival Joe Biden by the widest margin this year, according to a Fox News poll released Thursday. The poll, conducted from June 13 to 16, found 50 percent of respondents would vote for Biden, compared to 38 for Trump. That’s a sharp change from last month’s poll, which […]
Amy Klobuchar Withdraws From VP Search, Says Biden Should Select Woman of Color
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) removed herself from the running to be the Democratic vice presidential nominee, an acknowledgment that her chances at the slot had dwindled dramatically since the death of George Floyd at the hands of police officers in her home state late last month. Announcing her decision on MSNBC’s “The Last Word” on […]
Supreme Court rules Trump cannot end DACA in big win for ‘Dreamer’ legal immigrants
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the Trump administration cannot carry out its plan to shut down the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which has allowed nearly 800,000 young people, known as “Dreamers,” to avoid deportation and remain in the U.S. The decision is a big legal defeat for President Donald Trump on […]
Tulsa Health Official Urges Rally Postponement As Oklahoma Sees Spike In COVID-19 Cases
The top health official in Tulsa, Oklahoma, urged the Trump campaign Wednesday to postpone its upcoming rally in the city, pointing out that the state just saw its largest daily increase in COVID-19 cases and that a massive public gathering could cause another spike. “I know so many people are over COVID, but COVID is […]
Trump’s Midnight Twitter Rant Against John Bolton Backfires Spectacularly
President Donald Trump fired off a late-night attack on John Bolton amid new allegations featured in the former national security advisor’s upcoming book. But given the nature of Trump’s attack, it didn’t go well. Trump, who famously vowed to hire only “the best and most serious people,” now says that Bolton was a “wacko,” a “dope,” “incompetent” […]
Ex-Atlanta police officer who shot Rayshard Brooks charged with felony murder
The former Atlanta police officer who fatally shot Rayshard Brooksin the parking lot of a Wendy’s restaurant has been charged with felony murder, the district attorney’s office announced Wednesday. The man, Garrett Rolfe, who was fired by the Atlanta Police Department after the June 12 shooting, faces 11 total counts, Fulton County District Attorney Paul […]
Jennifer Rubin: Republicans are in retreat — and look wimpy
Republicans must dimly understand how badly out of step with the country they are. Reports suggest that even the White House is now considering changing the names of military bases honoring Confederate figures. President Trump signed a toothless executive order Tuesday in a weak attempt to convey some concern about the deaths of African Americans […]
Bolton Says Trump Impeachment Inquiry Missed Other Troubling Actions
John R. Bolton, the former national security adviser, says in his new book that the House in its impeachment inquiry should have investigated President Trump not just for pressuring Ukraine to incriminate his domestic foes but for a variety of instances when he sought to intervene in law enforcement matters for political reasons. Mr. Bolton […]
Trump signs executive order on policing amid mounting pressure over lethal incidents
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on policing Tuesday amid increasing pressure and nationwide protests over the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Rayshard Brooks and other Black people in custody or at the hands of law enforcement officers. “Today is about pursuing common sense and fighting, fighting for a cause like we seldom […]
Trump Administration Sues To Block Release Of Bolton Book
The Trump administration sued former national security adviser John Bolton on Tuesday to block the publication of a book that the White House says contains classified information. The suit in Washington’s federal court follows warnings from President Donald Trump that Bolton could face a “criminal problem” if he doesn’t halt plans to publish the book. […]
McConnell rejects calls to ‘scrub out’ Confederate statues from Capitol
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday rebuffed Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s calls for nearly a dozen Confederate statues to be removed from the Capitol, saying it was an attempt to “airbrush” history. “What I do think is clearly a bridge too far is this nonsense that we need to airbrush the Capitol and scrub out […]
Florida, Arizona and Texas report record number of daily Covid-19 cases this week
Loosening restrictions and increasing public gatherings may make it seem as though the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic is over, but just this week Florida, Texas and Arizona set daily records for new cases. The states are among 18 across the nation seeing increasing trends in new cases from one week to the next. More […]
Bob Cesca: A brief history of the “Lost Cause”… Why this toxic myth still appeals to so many white Americans
By now it should be obvious to anyone paying attention that Donald Trump is one of the most notorious revisionists of any modern president, routinely authoring his own myths, lies and tall tales to counter the brutal reality of his incompetence, malevolence and despotism. It started from Day One, with his easily debunked insistence that his […]
Pence Misleadingly Blames Coronavirus Spikes on Rise in Testing
Vice President Mike Pence encouraged governors on Monday to adopt the administration’s explanation that a rise in testing was a reason behind new coronavirus outbreaks, even though testing data has shown that such a claim is misleading. “I would just encourage you all, as we talk about these things, to make sure and continue to […]
Charlie Pierce: This Is the Fire That the President* Is Willing to Play With for Political Advantage
The prion disease that has afflicted American conservatism—and the Republican Party, which is its outward expression—ever since Ronald Reagan fed the movement the monkey brains in 1979 now has reached full-blown epidemic proportions. It’s beyond even that which researchers anticipated would happen with the election of the current president* of the United States, although he […]
The Supreme Court’s Rejection of Sanctuary City Case Is a ‘Major Setback’ for the Trump Administration
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected the Trump administration’s request for the justices to hear arguments in a legal challenge to California’s “sanctuary city” laws, which protect undocumented immigrants from deportation. While the decision is likely to be overshadowed by the Court’s watershed civil rights ruling granting gay, lesbian, and transgender workers protection from […]
In landmark case, Supreme Court rules LGBTQ workers are protected from job discrimination
The Supreme Court ruled Monday that federal anti-discrimination laws protect gay and transgender employees, a major gay rights ruling written by one of the court’s most conservative justices. Justice Neil M. Gorsuch and Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. joined the court’s liberals in the 6 to 3 ruling. They said Title VII of the […]
Atlanta police officer fired, police chief resigns after Rayshard Brooks death during confrontation at Wendy’s drive-thru
The fatal shooting of an Atlanta man by a city police officer at a fast-food restaurant late Friday night launched a day of protests and the resignation of the department’s highest-ranking official on Saturday. Officials have identified the man as 27-year-old Rayshard Brooks. Read the rest of the story at ABC News.
Eric Boehlert: How Trump’s mental health became the third rail of American journalism
Trump woke Tuesday morning and decided to advertise his unstable mind again. Pointing to a niche cable TV conspiracy claim made by a former Sputnik reporter, Trump suggested the 75-year-old peace activists who was pushed to the ground in Buffalo last week by two police officers was possibly affiliated with an alleged terror ring. Trump […]
The Rude Pundit: Donald Trump Wants More Violence at the BLM Protests So He Can Pretend He’s Tough
Look, I’m just gonna spitball here on what I really think happened on Monday, June 1, when protesters at Lafayette Square, right near the White House, were pushed out by a bullshit combination of Park Police, National Guard, and Secret Service, along with various other law enforcement officers. Sure, sure, the story we’ve heard, that […]
Trump Struggles To Pronounce General Douglas MacArthur’s Name, Lift Water Glass During West Point Speech
President Donald Trump appeared to struggle several times during a commencement address he delivered Saturday afternoon at West Point, including stumbling over the pronunciation of the name of the legendary World War II General Douglas MacArthur and needing two hands to lift a glass of water. The New York Daily News described Trump’s delivery of the […]
As coronavirus cases climb, some local officials put reopening on hold
A rise in coronavirus cases is spurring leaders in some cities and states to delay reopening additional businesses and warn that a return to stricter shutdown orders is possible should cases continue to climb. White House guidelines for reopening called for states to reevaluate after each phase and move backward if the virus spreads. Nationwide, […]
Trump moves Tulsa campaign rally scheduled for Juneteenth after facing backlash
President Trump has moved his campaign rally that was originally scheduled for June 19 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, to the following day. The rally’s original date sparked criticism because June 19, otherwise known as Juneteenth, marks the day that slavery ended in the U.S. The rally also drew condemnation for taking place in Tulsa, the site […]
Seattle protesters set up ‘autonomous zone’ after police evacuate precinct
“THIS SPACE IS NOW PROPERTY OF THE SEATTLE PEOPLE” reads a giant black banner with red lettering at the “Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone,” an area around the abandoned police precinct that demonstrators moved into, setting up tents with plans to stay. The Seattle Police Department vacated the East Precinct on Monday night, and protesters against […]
Biden unveils proposal to reopen the economy, slams Trump’s ‘one-point plan’
Joe Biden on Thursday blasted President Donald Trump for failing to offer a comprehensive plan on how to reopen the economy amid the coronavirus pandemic, while also unveiling his own proposals on how how to do so safely. At an in-person round-table discussion with community leaders in Philadelphia, Biden said the federal government had “abdicated […]
Joint Chiefs Chairman Milley discussed resigning over role in Trump’s church photo op
The Pentagon’s top general discussed resigning amid criticism over his participation in President Donald Trump’s controversial photo opportunity at a Washington church, three defense officials familiar with the matter told NBC News. Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, apologized over the incident Thursday, saying, “I should not have been there.” […]
Dow sinks 1,800 as virus cases rise, deflating optimism
Stocks fell sharply on Wall Street on Thursday as coronavirus cases in the U.S. increased again, deflating recent optimism that the economy could recover quickly from its worst crisis in decades. The Dow Jones Industrial Average sank more than 1,800 points and the S&P 500 dropped 5.9%, its worst day since mid-March, when stocks had […]
Trump to resume campaign rallies with June 19 event in Tulsa without any pandemic protections
President Donald Trump’s signature campaign rallies are back in business, after a gap of more than three months because of the coronavirus pandemic. Trump announced on Wednesday that his reelection campaign would be holding a rally in Tulsa, Okla., on June 19 and would also be holding rallies in Florida, Texas and Arizona — as […]
Trump says he will ‘not even consider’ renaming military bases honoring Confederates
President Donald Trump said Wednesday he would “not even consider” renaming Army bases that honor Confederate leaders who fought to protect slavery and uphold white supremacy despite nationwide reckoning over racial discrimination in the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd. “The United States of America trained and deployed our HEROES on these Hallowed Grounds, […]
‘It’s a lot of pain:’ George Floyd’s brother tearfully demands police reforms during emotional Congressional hearing
George Floyd’s brother Philonise pleaded in a highly emotional statement to members of Congress on Wednesday that they pass police reforms and listen to the calls around the world to “stop the pain.” During a particularly devastating moment during his testimony to members of the House Judiciary Committee, Floyd sobbed as he discussed how tragic […]
US hits over 2 million coronavirus cases as hospitalizations go up in some states
The US surpassed 2 million confirmed coronavirus cases Wednesday night as new hotspots emerge and hospitalizations go up in some states. Nearly 113,000 people have died from Covid-19 nationwide, according to Johns Hopkins University. The spike in numbers highlights how complicated it is to stop the spread of the virus despite improvement in early hotspots […]
‘Worst Nightmare’ Coronavirus Pandemic Far From Over, Fauci Warns
Describing COVID-19 as his “worst nightmare” come to life, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, said Tuesday that a lot is still unknown about the coronavirus and warned the ongoing pandemic is far from over. “Oh my goodness. Where is it going to end? We’re still at the beginning of really understanding,” Fauci, […]
‘Haven’t read the damn thing’: Republican senators dodge questions about Trump’s conspiracy tweet
Republican senators don’t want to talk about President Donald Trump’s tweet. Some say they haven’t read it. Others say they don’t want to know about it. Yet others say they have a policy of not discussing what the president says on Twitter. That’s perennially true — but perhaps never more so than on Tuesday, when […]
A final farewell to George Floyd, whose death touched off national protests
Mourners vowing to be good Samaritans in the fight for racial justice packed a Houston church Tuesday and paid tribute to George Floyd, whose death while in police custody touched off worldwide protests against racism and police brutality. Capping a three-state, nearly weeklong memorial, Floyd’s loved ones said final goodbyes at The Fountain of Praise […]
Georgia election ‘catastrophe’ in largely minority areas sparks investigation
Hourslong waits, problems with new voting machines and a lack of available ballots plagued voters in majority minority counties in Georgia on Tuesday — conditions the secretary of state called “unacceptable” and vowed to investigate. Democrats and election watchers said voting issues in a state that has been plagued for years by similar problems, along […]
Bob Cesca: All the president’s garbagemen… Has Trump finally lit a dumpster fire his enablers can’t put out?
Donald Trump’s presidency has always been propped up with chicken wire and spit. Which is to say: this president is so grotesquely out of his depth that he requires copious backstopping in order to artificially appear as if he’s not quite as incompetent as he actually is. Since the beginning, my rule for observing the […]
AG Barr Contradicts Trump’s Claim of Bunker ‘Inspection,’ Says President Was Rushed to Bunker By Secret Service Amid Protests
During a Monday interview on Fox News, Attorney General Bill Barr contradicted President Donald Trump’s claim that he had merely visited visited the White House’s secure bunker as part of a dress rehearsal in case he should later need it. Trump was reportedly upset that the press reported of his retreat to the underground bunker during […]
Trump’s job approval falls amid racial unrest, while Biden jumps to 14-point lead
President Donald Trump’s overall job approval rating dropped 7 percentage points over the past month, according to a survey released Monday that also shows him trailing former Vice President Joe Biden by 14 points ahead of the general election in November. The CNN poll showed that 38 percent of respondents said they approve of the […]
Charlie Pierce: The Word ‘Reform’ Has Lost All Credibility When It Comes to Policing
Apparently, we’re going to squabble over the semantic difference between “defunding” the police and “dismantling” a renegade police force, as has happened in Minneapolis in the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd. The White House is going all-in, beating the word “defunding” into a weapon in its upcoming retrograde and Nixonian “law ’n order” […]
Mitt Romney takes part in protest supporting Black Lives Matter near White House
Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, joined demonstrators Sunday marching to the White House in protest of George Floyd’s death in the custody of Minneapolis police. About 1,000 protesters marched through Washington. Read the rest of the story at NBC News
Colin Powell backs Biden, says Trump has ‘drifted’ from Constitution
Former Secretary of State Colin Powell criticized President Trump for threatening to use active-duty U.S. troops against protesters, saying it shows he has “drifted away” from the U.S. Constitution. In a CNN interview, Powell aimed a broad critique at Trump’s approach to the military, a foreign policy that he said was causing “disdain” abroad and […]
Majority of Minneapolis City Council commits to dismantling city’s police department
A majority of the Minneapolis City Council agreed Sunday to dismantle the city’s police department after the in-custody killing of George Floyd, a council member said. In an interview with NBC News, Councilman Jeremiah Ellison said the council would work to disband the department in its “current iteration.” “The plan has to start somewhere,” he […]
Eric Boehlert: Why New York Times and Facebook employees are rebelling
Even during a pandemic that has unleashed historic unemployment and at a time when media jobs are vanishing at a stunning rate, some brave employees at Facebook and New York Times have had enough, and risked their careers by calling out their employers over the way they constantly bow down to authoritarian Republican power in […]
The Rude Pundit: The Terrorist Cops of America
Black and brown and LGBTQ and so many other people know this already: What we call “policing” in too many places in the United States might more properly be called “government-sponsored terrorism.” For what else is the purpose of the way in which police around the country have responded to anti-racism and anti-police violence protesters […]
A ‘misclassification error’ made the May unemployment rate look better than it is. Here’s what happened.
When the U.S. government’s official jobs report for May came out on Friday, it included a note at the bottom saying there had been a major “error” indicating that the unemployment rate likely should be higher than the widely reported 13.3 percent rate. The special note said that if this “misclassification error” had not occurred, […]
Biden vows police reform after sealing Democratic nomination to challenge Trump
When Joe Biden announced he was running for president, he framed his campaign as “a battle for the soul of this nation,” saying President Trump threatened its core values by condoning the racism of torch-carrying neo-Nazis who marched in 2017 through Charlottesville, Va. The former vice president, who has captured the 1,991 delegates he needed […]
Trump demanded 10,000 active-duty troops deploy to streets in angry Oval Office rant
In a heated and contentious debate in the Oval Office last Monday morning, President Trump demanded the military put 10,000 active duty troops into the streets immediately, a senior administration official told CBS News. Attorney General William Barr, Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Joint Chiefs Chairman Mark Milley objected to the demand, the official said. […]
TONIGHT’S THE NIGHT! THE VERY FIRST SEXY LIBERAL VIRTUAL TOUR SHOW!!
OMG…we’re BAAAACK! We’re bringing the tour to you! It’s Stephanie Miller’s Sexy Liberal Virtual Tour! All the Sexy Liberals… Stephanie Miller, John Fugelsang, Frangela, and Hal Sparks will bring you a night of Sexy Liberal comedy into your own home! The first show will be Saturday, June 6th at 9pm ET / 6pm PT. We […]
Confirmed coronavirus cases are rising faster than ever
New cases of the novel coronavirus are rising faster than ever worldwide, at a rate of more than 100,000 a day over a seven-day average. In April, new cases never topped 100,000 in one day, but since May 21, there have only been less than 100,000 on five days, according to data from Johns Hopkins […]
Goodell says NFL was wrong not to encourage players to protest peacefully
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell on Friday apologized to players for not listening to their concerns regarding racism sooner. In a video posted to Twitter, Goodell offered his condolences to families who have endured “police brutality,” including George Floyd, a black man who died while in Minneapolis police custody last week; Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old woman […]
