Billboard Magazine reports: With Pride Month coming to an end on Tuesday (June 30), virtual celebrations around the world are officially wrapping up — but singer and actress Nikki Blonsky is giving herself one more thing to celebrate before the festivities are over. On Sunday (June 28), Blonsky, who played the role of Tracy Turnblad in the 2007 film version …

The New York Times reports: President Trump’s re-election campaign has begun spending heavily on Facebook ads that also promote the social media pages of his campaign manager, Brad Parscale, running more than $325,000 in such ads, mostly in recent weeks. Until this week, Mr. Parscale was one of only three people whose Facebook and Instagram pages the campaign had used …

The Florida Phoenix reports: Gov. Ron DeSantis reiterated Tuesday that he’s not turning back his plans to reopen the state’s economy as the daily number of positive test results from COVID-19 edged up again above 6,000. “We’re not going back, closing things,” the governor said. The state reported 6,093 infections coming in overnight, pushing the total to 152,434 and the …

Politico reports: Last Monday, Commerce deputy secretary Karen Dunn Kelley [photo] informed Census Bureau director Steven Dillingham and his career deputy, Ron Jarmin, that the two new appointees, Commerce aides Nathaniel T. Cogley and Adam Korzeniewski, had been installed in senior roles at the Census Bureau — a move that blindsided both of them, according to a Census Bureau official. …

The Denver Post reports: Gov. Jared Polis on Tuesday closed Colorado bars for in-person service — after allowing them to reopen at limited capacity on June 19 — due to the increasing spread of the novel coronavirus. The move comes as Colorado has seen COVID-19 cases increase in the past two weeks. Other states experiencing surges in infections have also …

Engadget reports: Facebook isn’t just limiting the spread of “boogaloo” groups on its platform — it’s tossing many of those groups out. The social media giant has banned accounts and pages from the pro-civil-war group after deeming a violent network that breaks the company’s Dangerous Individuals and Organizations policy. Facebook primarily removed 220 accounts, 106 groups, 28 pages and 95 …

The New York Post reports: The St. Louis lawyers who pulled weapons on protesters marching past their home are being investigated for possible criminal charges, the city’s lead prosecutor has revealed. Mark and Patricia McCloskey — who went viral after brandishing an AR-15-style rifle and a silver-colored handgun, respectively — were the only ones to lodge a police report over …

Reuters reports: New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has agreed with the City Council to cut $1 billion from the New York Police Department’s funding in the municipal budget for the 2021 fiscal year, which is due to be passed later on Tuesday, even as some lawmakers described the cuts as insufficient. The coronavirus pandemic created a $9 billion …

Just out today from Pew Research: In the presidential contest, Donald Trump faces a 10 percentage point deficit in his race against Joe Biden: 54% of registered voters say if the election were held today, they would support Biden or lean toward voting for him, while 44% support Trump or lean toward supporting him. By well more than two-to-one (68% …

The Texas Tribune reports: The Texas Medical Association on Tuesday called on the Republican Party of Texas to cancel its in-person July convention scheduled to take place in Houston, one of the country’s coronavirus hot spots. The latest development comes one day after The Texas Tribune reported on the Texas Medical Association’s sponsorship of the convention, an indoor gathering that …

Just in from the Lincoln Project: The Lincoln Project’s latest video, “Betrayed,” released today, lays bare the thoughts of former U.S Navy Seal Dan Barkhuff and his feelings towards the President. Many current and former American service members feel betrayed by Donald J. Trump. Navy Seal Barkhuff is just one story. We now know Trump received written briefings as early …

The Christian Post reports: Grace City Church, a fast-growing Hillsong Family church in Lakeland, Florida, waded into the divisive issue of mask-wearing in Florida Sunday when it announced that it would ask members to wear masks after the church’s husband and wife team of lead pastors revealed they had been infected with the new coronavirus. During an online service Sunday, …

The Hill reports: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said on Tuesday that Russia should not be readmitted to the Group of Seven (G-7), breaking with President Trump who has repeatedly floated having Moscow attend the group’s summits. Asked if Russia should be let back into the economic group, McConnell told reporters: “Absolutely not.” Trump said late last month that …

Fox News reports: While Biden’s press conference in Delaware was ostensibly about how he would respond to the coronavirus pandemic, the former vice president slammed the current White House occupant for his response to reports that Russian intelligence operatives offered to pay bounties to Taliban-linked militants who killed U.S. troops in Afghanistan. Trump on Sunday denied that he had been …

CNN reports: President Donald Trump’s campaign has scrapped plans to hold a rally in Alabama next weekend amid concerns about coronavirus infections rising in the US, CNN has learned. Trump was slated to travel to the state ahead of the Senate race between his former attorney general Jeff Sessions and the former Auburn University football coach Tommy Tuberville, but plans …

The New York Times reports: American officials intercepted electronic data showing large financial transfers from a bank account controlled by Russia’s military intelligence agency to a Taliban-linked account, which was among the evidence that supported their conclusion that Russia covertly offered bounties for killing U.S. and coalition troops in Afghanistan, according to three officials familiar with the intelligence. Though the …

Vice News reports: A judge in New York State just slapped a temporary restraining order on President Trump’s niece, ordering her to hold off on publishing her damning tell-all book about her uncle until the court can issue a final ruling. The decision marks a near-term victory for Trump’s younger brother, Robert Trump, in his legal battle to keep Mary …

Jared Holt reports at Right Wing Watch: Turning Point USA chief creative officer Benny Johnson attempted to claim that a white ​couple that aimed firearms at Black Lives Matter protesters in St. Louis​, Missouri, were not supporters of President Donald Trump​, but rather Democratic Party voters. Johnson turned to Federal Election Commission data to support his claim, but there was …

Charisma News reports: Kathy DeGraw knows what it’s like to be shackled with fear. That spirit gripped her for a good portion of her life, she says. But once she found deliverance from that demonic spirit, DeGraw not only experienced the freedom she desired for her own life, but God gave her the tools to help others discover it as …

Forbes reports: In a Tuesday hearing with the Senate Help Committee on the state of the coronavirus, Dr. Anthony Fauci said he is “very concerned” about rise in coronavirus cases across the U.S. as the nation sees 40,000 new cases per day. “The numbers speak for themselves,” said Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease. …