Mar 20, 2017

Trump: "Democrats made up and pushed Russian story"

FBI Director James Comey will testify on Capitol Hill today, where he's expected to publicly reveal for the first time whether the FBI is investigating Trump campaign ties to Russia, in addition to potentially clearing up any remaining questions on Trump's unsubstantiated wiretapping claims.

Ahead of that hearing, President Trump tweeted:

James Clapper and others stated that there is no evidence Potus colluded with Russia. This story is FAKE NEWS and everyone knows it! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 20, 2017

The Democrats made up and pushed the Russian story as an excuse for running a terrible campaign. Big advantage in Electoral College & lost! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 20, 2017

The real story that Congress, the FBI and all others should be looking into is the leaking of Classified information. Must find leaker now!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 20, 2017

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Axios

Updated 1 hour ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios

Global: Total confirmed cases as of 3 p.m. ET: 11,514,395 — Total deaths: 535,453 — Total recoveries — 6,223,819 — Map.
U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 3 p.m. ET: 2,910,023 — Total deaths: 130,090 — Total recoveries: 906,763 — Total tested: 35,512,916 — Map.
Public health: Case growth outpacing testing in hotspots
States: Cuomo accuses Trump of "enabling" the coronavirus surge — West Virginia becomes latest state to mandate facial coverings.
Politics: Meadows says Trump "is right" to claim 99% of coronavirus cases are "harmless."

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Orion Rummler

1 hour ago - Politics & Policy

Amy Cooper charged for calling police on Black bird-watcher in Central Park

A white woman who called 911 to accuse a Black man of threatening her life in Central Park in March faces misdemeanor charges for making a false report, the Manhattan District Attorney's office announced Monday.

The big picture: The May 25 incident, which was caught on film, was one of several viral episodes that helped catalyze massive Black Lives Matter protests against the police killings of Black people in the U.S.

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Axios

1 hour ago - Politics & Policy

McEnany defends Trump's tweet about Bubba Wallace and Confederate flag

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said during a press briefing Monday that President Trump "was not making a judgment one way or the other" about NASCAR's decision to ban the Confederate flag and that his attack on Bubba Wallace was an attempt to stand up for NASCAR fans who are unfairly painted as racist.

The state of play: McEnany was repeatedly grilled by reporters over the president's inflammatory tweet, in which he demanded that NASCAR's only Black driver apologize after the FBI determined that he was not a target of a hate crime and claimed that ratings had dropped after the sport banned the Confederate flag at its events.