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

Judge Orders Cohen Released, Citing ‘Retaliation’ Over Tell-All Book  —  A judge agreed that federal officials had returned Michael D. Cohen to prison because he wanted to publish a book this fall about President Trump.  —  A federal judge on Thursday ordered that Michael D. Cohen be released …

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

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

Romney Says He Will Oppose Shelton's Confirmation to Fed Board  —  Republican Senator Mitt Romney of Utah said he will vote against Judy Shelton, one of two Trump administration nominees to the Federal Reserve's Board of Governors.  —  “I'm not going to be endorsing,” Romney told reporters Thursday.

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

Trump Is Putting On a Show in Portland  —  The very idea seems, on the face of it, sheer madness.  In Portland, Oregon, federal security officers dressed for combat—wearing jungle-camouflage uniforms with unclear markings, carrying heavy weapons, using batons and tear gas—are patrolling the streets …

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

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

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

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

Latest poll of Florida: Joe Biden 50%, Donald Trump 44%  —  A new survey shows Joe Biden's support on the rise in the Sunshine State.  —  If the presidential election were held today, 50% of Florida voters would pick Biden and 44% would vote for Donald Trump, according to fresh numbers from St. Pete Polls.

Amazon Met With Startups About Investing, Then Launched Competing Products  —  Some companies regret sharing information with tech giant and its Alexa Fund; ‘we may have been naive’  —  When Amazon.com Inc.'s AMZN -2.52% venture-capital fund invested in DefinedCrowd Corp. …

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

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

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

Larry Hogan Isn't Coming to Save the Republican Party  —  When you press him on it, Larry Hogan will admit that he's faintly amused by all the media adulation.  As the Republican governor of Maryland, he has enjoyed glowing coverage for standing up to President Donald Trump.

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

We're police officers.  You should know our names.  That goes for Portland, too.  —  Anonymity is for CIA officers (a job I also held), not for federal law enforcement countering protesters in America.  It denies local accountability.  —  My name is Patrick Skinner, and I'm a local police officer.

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

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

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

Teacher: I was a reluctant Trump voter.  Coronavirus is the end of my Republican identity.  —  I am a special education teacher and lifelong Republican who reluctantly voted for Donald Trump in 2016 as the less bad of two bad choices.  When the pandemic hit, the incompetence of the man …

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

Adam Silver Gives Max Donation to Biden Campaign  —  According to the Federal Election Commission, itemized receipts have shown NBA commissioner Adam Silver committing the max donation towards the Joe Biden campaign.  Listed on Page 817 of the report, Silver even listed his occupation as “NBA / Commissioner.”

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

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