‘It was like being preyed upon’: Portland protesters say federal officers in unmarked vans are detaining them  —  When several men in green military fatigues and generic “police” patches sprang out of an unmarked gray minivan in front of Mark Pettibone in the early hours of Wednesday morning, his first instinct was to run.

See You Next Friday: A Farewell Letter  —  The good news is that my last column in this space is not about “cancel culture.”  Well, almost.  I agree with some of the critics that it's a little nuts to say I've just been “canceled,” sent into oblivion and exile for some alleged sin.  I haven't.

White House portraits of Bill Clinton and George W. Bush moved from prominent space to rarely used room  —  WH: Trump's doing a lot of things at once amid case surge  —  (CNN)The official portraits of former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush were removed from the Grand Foyer …

Fox News Staffers Erupt Over Network's Racism: Bosses ‘Created a White Supremacist Cell’  —  SH*T.'  —  A heated early-June phone call between Fox execs and Black staffers was just the beginning of an internal revolt against racism at the network, insiders told The Daily Beast.

EXCLUSIVE: The Trump campaign is investigating campaign spending, Parscale contracts  — The Trump campaign has launched an internal audit of spending irregularities during Brad Parscale's tenure as campaign manager.  — Jeff DeWit, the 2020 campaign chief operating officer …

White House blocks CDC from testifying on reopening schools next week  —  (CNN)The White House is blocking US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Robert Redfield and other officials from the agency from testifying before a House Education and Labor Committee hearing …

Breonna Taylor was alive after police shot her, records indicate.  No one tried to treat her  —  LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Just after midnight March 13, three Louisville police officers fired more than 20 bullets into Breonna Taylor's apartment, striking her five times.  —  But she didn't die — not right away.

David Shor's Unified Theory of American Politics  —  David Shor got famous by getting fired.  In late May, amid widespread protests over George Floyd's murder, the 28-year-old data scientist tweeted out a study that found nonviolent demonstrations were more effective than “riots” …

Trump expected to exclude undocumented migrants from U.S. census  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump is expected to soon issue an executive order that would ban undocumented immigrants from being included in the 2020 census count of every person living in the United States, a source familiar with the matter said on Friday.

Fox host Chris Wallace fact-checks Trump claim Biden wants to defund police  —  “Fox News Sunday” anchor Chris Wallace in a new interview shut down President Trump's claim that presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden is in favor of defunding the police.

Pentagon bans Confederate flag in way to avoid Trump's wrath  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — After weeks of wrangling, the Pentagon on Friday will ban displays of the Confederate flag on military installations, in a carefully worded policy that doesn't mention the word ban or that specific flag.

A Detailed Map of Who Is Wearing Masks in the U.S.  —  In some American neighborhoods, it's hard to spot even one person outside without a face covering.  In others, your odds of seeing many maskless people are quite high.  —  Public health officials believe that face coverings …

St. Louis Gun Couple to Join Friday Night Trump Campaign Event  —  The St. Louis couple at the center of a firestorm over their armed confrontation with a crowd of Black Lives Matter protesters will join an official Trump campaign event on Friday night.  —  Mark and Patricia McCloskey …

Hackers Tell the Story of the Twitter Attack From the Inside  —  Several people involved in the events that took down Twitter this week spoke with The Times.  What might have been a pursuit of Bitcoin spun out of control.  —  OAKLAND, Calif. — A Twitter hacking scheme that targeted political …

Graffiti on monument commemorating Nazi SS division being investigated as a hate crime by police … An incident involving graffiti spray painted on a monument to those who fought in Adolf Hitler's SS is being investigated as a hate crime by an Ontario police force.

With coronavirus antibodies fading fast, vaccine hopes fade, too  —  Disturbing new revelations that permanent immunity to the coronavirus may not be possible have jeopardized vaccine development and reinforced a decision by scientists at UCSF and affiliated laboratories to focus exclusively on treatments.

Will there be a ‘Trump Crimes Commission’ if Biden wins in November?  There might have to be  —  'I don't care about the chaos that might result by opening up the presidential archives after Trump so that the public can see what the heck is going on'  —  If the November 3 general election turns …

House Rating Changes: 20 Races Move Towards Democrats  —  President Trump's abysmal polling since the pandemic began is seriously jeopardizing down-ballot GOP fortunes.  We may be approaching the point at which dozens of House Republicans will need to decide whether to cut the president loose and run on a …

Suspect Is Arrested in Grisly Killing of Tech C.E.O. Fahim Saleh  —  Mr. Saleh, 33, was found dismembered and decapitated inside his Manhattan apartment.  —  The former personal assistant of a young tech entrepreneur found decapitated and dismembered in his Manhattan apartment was arrested early …

A serious response to those mocking me for wearing a mask  —  Adjusting my face mask, I walked to the counter of a party store near my cottage in northern Michigan.  “Six bags of garbage,” I said, handing the woman $18 for the privilege of throwing my vacation waste into her dumpster.

Over 100 Houston Doctors Slam Rep. Dan Crenshaw for “Spreading Dangerous Disinformation” on Coronavirus  —  More than 100 doctors, medical professionals, and emergency room physicians in the Houston area have signed their names to a letter condemning Republican Rep. Daniel Crenshaw …

Most Bay Area schools will be blocked from reopening classrooms under Newsom order  —  SACRAMENTO — Schools in much of California will be blocked from reopening in-person classes this fall unless they meet strict guidelines to protect students and staff, and unless counties where they are located slow …

State Department releases cable that launched claims that coronavirus escaped from Chinese lab  —  The State Department has released an internal cable from 2018 detailing the concerns of U.S. Embassy officials in China about a lack of adequately trained personnel at a virology lab in Wuhan …

New Emails Reveal Warm Relationship Between Kamala Harris And Big Tech  —  As California attorney general, Harris saw Facebook and other budding monopolies as allies rather than threats.  —  Though it has been lost in the mists of other scandals, back in 2014, Facebook was in the middle …

Ruth Bader Ginsburg announces cancer recurrence, says chemotherapy yielding ‘positive results’  —  Washington (CNN)Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said Friday she is undergoing chemotherapy to treat a recurrence of cancer.  The treatment is yielding “positive results.”

Mnuchin suggests Treasury, SBA should forgo verifying how small business loans were spent  —  Lawmakers question Trump administration officials over handling of $600 billion Cares Act lending program  —  Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin suggested Friday that the government should consider forgiving …

Fox Attacks the Washington Post—in the Best Way Possible  —  Okay, we mean an actual fox.  And an actual copy of the Post.  —  It can be hard to have easy, reliable access to the news necessary to keep you informed.  Especially if you don't have a computer, a smartphone, or a subscription to a paper.

Trump's Fumbling of the Coronavirus Crisis Could Kill the College Football Season  —  The president is marinating in a midsummer mess of his own creation, and his epic failure of leadership will result in a ruined college football season.  —  One of Donald Trump's favorite things …

Operation Grant seeks to stop President Trump's re-election in Ohio: John Weaver and Bill Kristol  —  “We are now in the midst of trying times when every one must be for or against his country, and show his colors too, by his every act.  Whatever may have been my political opinions before, I have one sentiment now.