One former aide said she saw “senior White House political staff actively undermine the doctors by attempting to manipulate scientific data on the virus and force changes to CDC guidances.” — In yet another revelation regarding the Trump Administration’s concerted effort to downplay the threat of Covid-19 to the American people, new reporting shows top White House officials pressured the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to encourage in-person schooling, despite scientific evidence that the virus is airborne and can be…

“He truly represents a core value of why we are free — because we have freedom of the press,” Weiwei said. — Artist and Chinese dissident Ai Weiwei staged a silent protest Monday outside the Old Bailey Court in London as critics pan the media for largely ignoring the extradition hearing of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, whose trial enters its fourth week of witness testimony. “He truly represents a core value of…

“Our democracy is at stake. Trump is trying to steal an election, and the press should say so, every day until Election Day.” — Major news outlets failed the American people, critics say, when they chose to bury coverage of President Donald Trump’s Wednesday comment that he would not commit to a peaceful transition of power—a statement watchdogs say demanded above-the-fold, front-page headlines that simply did not materialize.

“The real question is: Are we prepared, collectively, to do what it takes to avoid that number?” — If world leaders don’t act to slow the spread of Covid-19, the global death toll from the virus could top two million before a successful vaccine is circulated, the World Health Organization warned Friday. “It’s certainly unimaginable, but it’s not impossible,” Dr. …

“Not being reimbursed by Medicare would be crippling — akin to a household losing nearly half its income.” — Rural healthcare advocates are urging lawmakers to extend payment deadlines or consider loan forgiveness as part of Covid-19 relief efforts. “We’re trying to stress to members of Congress that the Covid-19 pandemic has not left rural America,” Mason Zeagler, government affairs senior associate at the National Rural Health Association (NRHA)…

“It is a gross abuse of public trust, and with each conflict, he becomes more complicit in the destruction of the ethical norms that form the cornerstone of a working democracy.” — In its continuing research into President Donald Trump’s conflicts of interest, a government watchdog group released a new report Thursday that shows the commander-in-chief has engaged in 3,403 conflicts of interest since taking office-an average of more than two conflicts per day since being sworn in in January of 2017.

“An American president does not praise violence against a reporter for doing his job. That is what an ugly, insecure two-bit dictator does.” — Free speech advocates warned against President Donald Trump’s authoritarian rhetoric demonizing journalists following a speech at a rally in Pennsylvania on Tuesday in which the commander-in-chief celebrated violence against members of the press. “Trump has been inciting hatred of reporters for years,” Mark Follman, national affairs editor for Mother Jones…

“I fled civil war when I was eight,” said the Minnesota Democrat. “An eight-year-old doesn’t run a country even though you run our country like one.” — Congresswoman Ilhan Omar fired back at President Donald Trump Tuesday night following a speech the United States president gave at a rally in Pennsylvania, where he once again aimed his racist rhetoric at the Minnesota Democrat lawmaker to cheers from a mostly maskless crowd.

“This legislation passing means I won’t have to have those whispered conversations with my daughters about how the government turns its back on our Native women,” one advocate said. — As lawmakers Tuesday celebrated the U.S. House’s long-overdue passage of two bills aimed at helping local and national law enforcement agencies track and prosecute crimes against Native American women and girls, tribal advocates-while pleased the measures are moving forward-cautioned that there is more work ahead.