The Washington Post reports: A senior executive at the U.S. Postal Service delivered a PowerPoint presentation in July that pressed officials across the organization to make the operational changes that led to mail backups across the country, seemingly contradicting months of official statements about the origin of the plans, according to internal documents. The presentation stands in contrast with agency …

The Marietta Times reports: Noncompliance with state mask mandates during an eighth-grade football game at Logan and video-recorded resistance resulted in the tasing and arrest of a Marietta City Schools parent Wednesday. Logan Athletic Director Theresa Schultheiss confirmed the incident publicly shared via two social media videos online Wednesday. Schultheiss said the venue hosted 300 fans for the game Wednesday, …

“The way we’re reporting deaths from the virus makes it sound like the two hundred-and-some thousand people died from the virus. You hear it everyday. You heard it tonight. You heard it last night. “We’ve hit — they say — an ominous number, ladies and gentlemen. Two hundred thousand people have died from the coronavirus. That is the biggest lie …

The Christian Post reports: Louisiana Pentecostal Pastor Tony Spell, who was charged for violating state orders by holding in-person worship services during the coronavirus pandemic lockdowns, was prevented from entering a courthouse Tuesday because he refused to wear a mask. Spell, the pastor of Life Tabernacle Church in Baton Rouge, appeared at the 19th Judicial District Courthouse as he faced …

Yahoo Finance reports: Another 870,000 Americans filed for first-time unemployment benefits last week, unexpectedly rising slightly from the prior week to reaffirm a slowdown in the U.S. economic recovery. The U.S. Department of Labor released its weekly jobless claims report at 8:30 a.m. ET Thursday. At 870,000, Thursday’s figure represented the fourth consecutive week that new jobless claims came in …

The Washington Post reports: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo brought his campaign to redefine and prioritize human rights to the United Nations on Wednesday, declaring that such protections around the world are in “crisis.” Pompeo delivered his remarks via videotape during a U.S.-hosted event at the United Nations General Assembly. He quickly pivoted from the 1948 U.N. declaration that is …

Fast Company reports: Facebook has said it will reject political ads that spread misinformation about the outcome of the November 3 election, several hours after Fast Company reported that the company’s stated policies would do nothing to prevent a candidate such as Donald Trump from declaring victory before the final results are tabulated. “We will be rejecting political ads that …

CNBC reports: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death Friday helped prompt a surge in voter registration, according to voting groups. Since then, these organizations have seen a wave of engagement that carried through to National Voter Registration Day, which was Tuesday. Just over 62% of those they helped register were female. Those who registered the most through Vote.org were …

The Daily Beast reports: A leading congressional ally of President Donald Trump alleged last week that Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) threatened to withhold financial support for the president’s re-election effort unless he helped get her top primary opponent out of the race. According to Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), Loeffler or her representatives approached the Trump campaign and offered to spend …

Politico reports: President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the White House may not approve tougher FDA guidelines for authorizing the emergency use of any coronavirus vaccines. “That has to be approved by the White House,” Trump said. “We may or may not approve it.” Trump also suggested that the FDA’s decision to revise the standards, first issued in June, “was …

The Hill reports: Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) pushed back on Wednesday against President Trump, who refused to commit to a peaceful transition of power should he lose the election in November. Romney, who is one of the GOP senators most willing to publicly criticize Trump, is the first Republican lawmaker to weigh in on the president’s comments made from the …

The Williamette Week reports: Portland Parks and Recreation has denied a permit for a planned Proud Boys and Patriot Prayer rally in Delta Park on Saturday. In a statement, City Commissioner Amanda Fritz, who oversees city parks, said the rally of right-wing groups would violate social distancing guidelines during the COVID-19 pandemic. It remains unclear whether the permit denial will …

The Stars & Stripes reports: Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., introduced a bill Wednesday that would ban the use of camouflage uniforms by federal law enforcement following criticism during the summer that federal agents assigned to control racial protests looked like National Guard troops. “The Trump administration’s decision to deploy federal law enforcement officers outfitted in camouflage uniforms in response to …

NBC News reports: More than 200 retired generals and admirals endorsed Joe Biden for president in a letter published Thursday, saying he had the character and judgment to serve as commander-in-chief instead of President Donald Trump, who has failed “to meet challenges large or small.” Some of the officers who signed the letter supporting Biden had retired only in the …

The Louisville Courier Journal reports: Two Louisville Metro Police officers were shot in downtown Louisville Wednesday night, just eight hours after an indictment was returned in the Breonna Taylor case. Interim LMPD chief Robert Schroeder confirmed two officers were shot and sustained non life-threatening injuries. One officer is in surgery, and the other is alert and in stable condition. Schroeder …

Deadline Hollywood reports: Fox has locked in two of the tentpoles of its Sunday animation block for two more years. The network has renewed flagship Family Guy for Seasons 19 and 20 and the Emmy-winning Bob’s Burgers for a 12th and 13th season. The two long-running series, along with animated stalwart The Simpsons, come from 20th Television. The Simpsons was …

Gothamist reports: Event organizers today announced that this year’s New Year’s Eve celebration in Times Square will be “a virtually enhanced celebration.” Organizers say there will be “an extremely limited group of in-person honorees, socially distanced, who will reflect the themes, challenges and inspirations of 2020.” Otherwise, their announcement makes it sound like Times Square will be mostly human-free for …

CNN reports: President Donald Trump would not commit to saying he would provide a peaceful transition of power after Election Day. “Well, we’re going to have to see what happens. You know that I’ve been complaining very strongly about the ballots and the ballots are a disaster,” Trump said at a press briefing at the White House on Wednesday evening, …

NBC News reports: Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody on Wednesday called for an investigation into an effort backed by Mike Bloomberg to help restore the voting rights of thousands of felons ahead of the November election. “Today, I sent a letter to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Federal Bureau of Investigation into potential violations of election laws,” …

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports: Gov. Mike Parson postponed an event in St. Louis Wednesday and a debate on Friday after First Lady Teresa Parson tested positive for COVID-19. Later Wednesday, in a brief statement, Parson said he also has tested positive, but was awaiting the results of a second test to confirm that result. Earlier Wednesday, Kelli Jones, a …