Politics

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., attends a press conference Friday on Capitol Hill. Pelosi told NPR that she agreed with Joe Biden that mask usage should be mandated on the federal level.

Nancy Pelosi Calls Trump 'Cowardly' For Not Wearing Mask, Supports Federal Mandate

5:33pm June 26, 2020

by Alana Wise

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she agrees with presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden that masks should be a federal mandate as the country grapples with a spike in confirmed coronavirus cases.

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Long-time partners Ann Willoughby, left, and Barb Goldstein, from Durham, North Carolina, leave the Durham County Register of Deeds office in downtown Durham on Wednesday, May 9, 2012, comforting each other after being denied a marriage license.

5 Years After Same-Sex Marriage Decision, Equality Fight Continues

5:27pm June 26, 2020

by Jeff Brady

Since the legalization of same-sex marriage in all 50 states, the LGBTQ rights movement has expanded its vision. This year's celebration comes after another big Supreme Court decision last week.

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Government Accountability Office Says State Department Lacks Diversity

5:27pm June 26, 2020

by Michele Kelemen

The U.S. Department of State has been vowing for years to make its workforce look like the country itself. But the Government Accountability Office says the department lacks diversity.

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Crew members shovel pollock onboard a trawler on the Bering Sea. The fishing industry has been hit by COVID-19, but the federal agency that manages it has banned mention of the pandemic without preapproval.

Federal Agency Tells Employees 'No Reference To Anything COVID Related'

5:13pm June 26, 2020

by Nat Herz

In an internal memo this week, the National Marine Fisheries Service bars references to the coronavirus pandemic without preapproval. It suggests alternatives such as "in these extraordinary times."

Politics & Government

President Trump's Attempts To Define And Disqualify Biden Are Having Mixed Results

4:13pm June 26, 2020

by Mara Liasson

President Trump's campaign is hard at work, trying to define and disqualify presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden. But so far, it has had mixed results.

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New Research Shows People Are Not As Divided Along Political Lines As They Think

4:13pm June 26, 2020

by Hannah Allam

It is no secret that the U.S. citizens are deeply divided along political lines. But a new study has found that Americans are not nearly as divided as they might think.

The White House Coronavirus Task Force Gives Its 1st Public Briefing In Months

4:13pm June 26, 2020

The White House coronavirus task force gave its first public briefing in months on Friday after daily COVID-19 case numbers have reached record levels.

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Vice President Pence holds a White House Coronavirus Task Force briefing Friday at the Department of Health and Human Services.

Coronavirus Task Force Flags Rising Cases With Fresh Appeal For Vigilance

3:59pm June 26, 2020

by Alana Wise

Vice President Pence acknowledges that key parts of the country are seeing new infections but said the U.S. has made progress overall and that the task force is working closely with affected states.

Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C., speaks at a news conference on District of Columbia statehood efforts on June 16.

House Casts Historic Vote To Make D.C. The 51st State. Trump And The Senate Say No

2:59pm June 26, 2020

by Barbara Sprunt

The Democrats who control the House want to make a political point with a vote expected to confer statehood on the District of Columbia. The GOP opposes it.

LGBTQ Activist Cleve Jones: 'I'm Well Aware How Fragile Life Is'

1:26pm June 26, 2020

by Terry Gross

Jones lost countless friends to the AIDS epidemic. He became an activist after Harvey Milk's assassination: "Meeting Harvey, seeing his death, it fixed my course." Originally broadcast Nov. 29, 2016.

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