Axios

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) announced on Thursday that she is withdrawing her name from consideration as Joe Biden's running mate, AP reports.

Why it matters: Masto, one of a dozen or so women under consideration for Biden's VP pick, was the first Latina woman elected to the Senate in 2016. Former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) had advocated on her behalf as a potential Biden running mate.

George Floyd, 46, moved to Minnesota to improve his life and become his "best self," but instead, he is dead because of Minneapolis police.

The latest: Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz declared a state of emergency and activated the state's National Guard in response to violent clashes over the past two days between police and protesters in the Twin Cities.

President Trump said in the Oval Office Thursday that he would seek to shut down Twitter if it continued to not be "honorable" in its fact-checking and if there was a legal way to do so.

Reality check: Trump does not have the unilateral power to shut down social media platforms. Legal experts agree that doing so would be a violation of the First Amendment.

President Trump signed an executive order on Thursday designed to limit the legal protections that shield social media companies from liability for the content users post on their platforms.

What they're saying: "Currently, social media giants like Twitter receive an unprecedented liability shield based on the theory that they are a neutral platform, which they are not," Trump said in the Oval Office. "We are fed up with it. It is unfair, and it's been very unfair."

Senate Judiciary Chair Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) encouraged federal judges in their mid-to-late 60s to retire before this November's election to ensure that Republicans can replace them with conservatives, per an interview on Thursday with radio host Hugh Hewitt.

Why it matters: Republicans are anxious to hold on to their Senate majority and maintain control over judiciary confirmations. The GOP's grip on both the White House and Senate since 2016 has permitted the party to boost conservatives in courts — including two Supreme Court justices.

President Trump is escalating his response to Twitter’s fact check of his recent tweets about mail-in voting, issuing an executive order that's designed to begin limiting social media's liability protections. Dan digs in with Axios' Margaret Harding McGill.

Go deeper: Twitter vs. Trump... vs. Twitter

Minneapolis City Council Vice President Andrea Jenkins called on state and local officials Thursday to declare racism a public health emergency — while also urging protestors to keep "peace and calm in our streets" in the wake of the death of George Floyd.

The big picture: Jenkins, the first openly transgender black woman elected to public office in the U.S., addressed a press conference after the city's mayor, Jacob Frey, announced an "all-out effort to restore peace and security in our city" after a second night of clashes between police and protesters left one person dead.

Sen. Robert Casey (D-Pa.) said Thursday he believes former Vice President Joe Biden has a chance at winning Pennsylvania, a swing state, if urban and suburban turnout is high in 2020.

What Casey is saying: "What we cannot do though is allow ourselves to take our eye off the ball with regards to the small towns and rural areas. Doesn't mean you're going to win them, but you've got to get a certain number in those communities, and that's where 2016 didn't work out very well."

• Casey says Biden's appeal in his native state is "his decency, his experience, his compassion...that's what a lot of folks are looking for."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi lambasted Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell Thursday for delaying moving forward on the next coronavirus relief package.

The big picture: McConnell has said for weeks that Congress should wait until it has assessed the impact of the $2 trillion CARES Act passed in March.

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Hillary Clinton's vice presidential pick in 2016, announced Thursday that both he and his wife, Anne Holton, tested positive for coronavirus antibodies after suffering from flu-like symptoms in March and April.

What he's saying: While Kaine said their doctors believed they might have the virus after previously testing positive for the flu, he and his wife were not tested because of a shortage at the time — and the fact that they were both working remotely and isolated at home already.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg argued on CNBC's "Squawk Box" Thursday that social media platforms should not police political speech, and that "people should be able to see what politicians say.”

Why it matters: Zuckerberg was responding to Twitter's decision this week to fact-check a pair of President Trump's tweets that claimed that mail-in ballots are "substantially fraudulent." Twitter's label, which directs users to "get the facts" about mail-in voting, does not censor Trump's tweets.

House Democrats pulled legislation Thursday that would have renewed expired domestic surveillance laws and strengthened transparency and privacy protections amid broad opposition from President Trump, House GOP leadership and progressive Democrats.

Why it matters: The failure to reauthorize the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) comes as Trump continues to attack the intelligence community, which he claims abused the law to surveil his 2016 campaign and Trump administration officials.

Charles Koch, chairman and CEO of Koch Industries since 1967, plans a book this fall based on the principle that "what made societies successful was empowering not just a few at the top, but people throughout society." 

Koch was at his desk at his Wichita headquarters when I talked to him about the book, which he said "is geared toward people who see problems and injustices in society, to help them see a way they can become social entrepreneurs."

Joe Biden will help close out the Texas Democratic Party's all-virtual convention next week as one of the event’s major speakers.

Why it matters: The coronavirus is changing conventions as we know them. Given Texas' size, the event could serve as a test run of sorts for large-scale virtual events, as planners consider whether at least some aspects of the Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee in August should be virtual.

Federal Election Commission commissioner Ellen Weintraub posted an extensive fact-checking thread to Twitter late Wednesday debunking claims by President Trump and some Republicans that mail-in voting can lead to fraud.

Why it matters: Weintraub weighed in after Trump threatened to take action against Twitter for fact-checking him on his earlier unsubstantiated posts claiming mail-in ballots in November's election would be fraudulent, and she directly addressed Twitter's action against the president in her post.

A man died in a Minneapolis shooting during a second night of clashes between police and protesters in the city over the death of George Floyd, an African American man who died in police custody, per AP.

The latest: Police said officers were responding to reports of a stabbing just before 9:30 p.m. and found a man lying in "grave condition on the sidewalk" with a gunshot wound, CBS Minnesota notes. One man is in custody over the suspected homicide, AP reports.

The Texas Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that "a voter's lack of immunity to COVID-19" doesn't qualify them to apply for a mail-in ballot because it's "not a 'disability' as defined by the Election Code."

Details: The court denied the request of the state's Republican attorney general to stop local election officials from sending vote-by-mail ballots because a voter's lack of immunity to the coronavirus does not constitute a disability. The judges were confident clerks "will comply with the law in good faith."

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Wednesday encouraged people to wear face masks during the coronavirus pandemic, hours before the U.S. COVID-19 death toll surpassed 100,000, per Politico.

Why it matters: President Trump has been resisted wearing face coverings in public and ridiculed Democratic presidential rival Joe Biden for doing so this week. But McConnell reportedly sided with CDC guidelines during a Kentucky event to deliver his message to young people. "There's no stigma attached to wearing a mask," he said, per Politico. "There’s no stigma attached to staying six feet apart." McConnell has also taken to posting images to Instagram in recent days of himself wearing a mask.

Go deeper: CDC issues guidelines for reopening offices: Masks, handshake bans and more

President Trump tweeted Wednesday evening that he's asked federal investigators to expedite an investigation into the death in police custody of George Floyd, which sparked protests this week.

The big picture: "At my request, the FBI and the Department of Justice are already well into an investigation as to the very sad and tragic death in Minnesota of George Floyd," Trump tweeted. "I have asked for this investigation to be expedited and greatly appreciate all of the work done by local law enforcement. My heart goes out to George’s family and friends. Justice will be served!" Minneapolis's mayor said Tuesday the four officers involved in the incident had been fired.

Go deeper: Biden compares "tragic" death of George Floyd to Eric Garner