.@PressSec says neither Trump nor Pence were briefed on US intelligence that a Russian intelligence unit offered bounties to Taliban-linked militants to attack coalition forces.
But she doesn't deny the validity of the US intel itself, as first reported by the NYT pic.twitter.com/E0Ju499Gcs

— Jeremy Diamond (@JDiamond1) June 27, 2020

Russia denies report spy unit paid Taliban to attack NATO forces https://t.co/96MDjrhYOu pic.twitter.com/AszoTxNHva

— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) June 27, 2020

This raises the obvious and very serious question: The US had intelligence that Russia was paying militants to kill US & allied troops, and officials decided NOT to tell the president or VP about it?

— Josh Lederman (@JoshNBCNews) June 27, 2020

If the national security adviser knew about this, why didn't he brief the president?
If the SecDef knew about this, why didn't he?
If the intelligence community knew about this, why wasn't it in the PDB?
Do senior officials not trust the president with intelligence about Russia? https://t.co/ZutZqyF4jt

— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) June 27, 2020

I don’t believe this for a minute, but if it were true, it means that Trump is not even pretending to serve as commander in chief. And no one around him has the guts to ask him to. More evidence of their deadly incompetence. https://t.co/pW6lw5QwJR

— Susan Rice (@AmbassadorRice) June 27, 2020

First, Donald Trump encouraged Russia to interfere in our democracy, and they did.

Now, Russia is secretly paying militants to *kill* U.S. troops. Trump has known for months but apparently done nothing to stop them. Meanwhile, he's helping Russia's effort to rejoin the G7. https://t.co/dZWU7uAbmq

— Tammy Duckworth (@SenDuckworth) June 27, 2020

After Trump learned Russia was trying to kill US troops in Afghanistan he announced plans to remove US troops from Germany. A move that only benefits one country: Russia.

— Ben Rhodes (@brhodes) June 27, 2020

I am really outraged by Trump's indifference to Putin paying Taliban terrorists to kill American soldiers. I can't imagine my anger if one of my sons were deployed in Afghanistan right now. https://t.co/wOIfZpXt6f

— Michael McFaul (@McFaul) June 27, 2020

1,700 troops will support Trump "Salute to America" celebrations July 4: Pentagon https://t.co/9yEsrNUOET pic.twitter.com/f53gtwit5K

— The Hill (@thehill) June 27, 2020

Reporters are trained to look for patterns that are suspicious. And time and again one stands out with Donald Trump. Why is he so slavishly devoted to Putin? There is a spectrum of possible answers, ranging from craven to treasonous. One day I hope and suspect we will find out.

— Dan Rather (@DanRather) June 27, 2020

The two leaders Trump never has a bad word to say about are MBS and Putin. Think about it: never. https://t.co/7meXkfVU3V

— Ben Rhodes (@brhodes) June 27, 2020

Something important to know about the Russia/Trump like killing US soldiers story: Biden will get a full intelligence briefing in a few weeks about the time of the (virtual) convention. He'll be able to ask gazillion questions. He will know everything that's going on – directly.

— Kurt Eichenwald (@kurteichenwald) June 27, 2020

In late March, as much of the U.S. was starting to shut down, the Northeast was the main epicenter of the pandemic.

Now, the virus has moved dramatically to the South, with sharp spikes in cases in Florida, Georgia and Texas. https://t.co/iaqyEZQqoD pic.twitter.com/xts1YMR4kn

— The New York Times (@nytimes) June 26, 2020

Texas cities say state is making pandemic worse https://t.co/3sFpUmhkqh pic.twitter.com/o77viUhz9U

— The Hill (@thehill) June 27, 2020

In reversal, the Trump administration will extend support to coronavirus testing sites in Texas. https://t.co/h2Zw3dF2C6

— ABC News (@ABC) June 27, 2020

President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence have repeatedly attributed the increase in the coronavirus case count in the United States to an increase in testing.

These assertions are not backed up by the data, a ProPublica analysis shows. https://t.co/Ljz9D8pecB

— ProPublica (@propublica) June 27, 2020

BREAKING: Vice President Mike Pence has postponed campaign events scheduled for Arizona and Florida as coronavirus cases jump in both states https://t.co/0yQQLf6f0U

— Bloomberg (@business) June 27, 2020

It's ridiculous that Pence is burdening Dallas with a pointless visit when they're grappling with the pandemic. And please don't try to intimidate critics by unctuous appeals to religion or respect for people of faith. No one's faith requires @VP to speak in person at a service. https://t.co/SsScTtkk3h

— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) June 27, 2020

For the third time in four days, Florida broke its record for new cases of COVID-19 in a day, with the Florida Department of Health reporting nearly 10,000 new cases on Saturday. Florida now has 132,545 total cases of the virus, sixth most in the country. https://t.co/P9ytQaRQYj

— Jon Cooper 🇺🇸 (@joncoopertweets) June 27, 2020

#Florida's senior senator is focused on what's really important to the public. https://t.co/PFV2sWEwBt

— Craig Pittman (@craigtimes) June 27, 2020

.@mollyjongfast: "Trumpism—that state of having insane racist moron candidates running for something they’re completely unqualified for—is alive and well" https://t.co/YG1YnWZOU2

— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) June 27, 2020

"No lessons have been learned." Despite lawmakers' promises to avoid the mistakes made in 2008, much of the $2.2 trillion dollar bailout package went to wealthy institutions and people https://t.co/way42M9Y7T

— TIME (@TIME) June 27, 2020

Mississippi is the most heavily black state in America. About damn time. https://t.co/Cmfwjillng

— Ida Bae Wells (@nhannahjones) June 27, 2020

narrator: the UK is heading for its biggest rise in unemployment and steepest fall in GDP for decades pic.twitter.com/f3u1TIz9Zl

— Jim Pickard (@PickardJE) June 27, 2020

Ex CSA Sir David King:
“Johnson viewed pandemic as ‘distraction’ from Brexit. Cummings’ free market ideology crippled our response. Between the 2 men’s actions, w hospital handshaking & Barnard Castle eye testing, the govt has ‘lost all moral authority’.” https://t.co/E0Dbd06T5i

— Sarah Ludford 🔶pro-European (@SarahLudford) June 27, 2020

Johnson’s government singularly useless at ducking obvious disasters. https://t.co/ZA0SZkbOe9

— Tim Walker (@ThatTimWalker) June 27, 2020

The cleanup operation is already underway after a number of Liverpool fans gathered at Pier Head to celebrate @LFC winning the league. @MerseyPolice have put a dispersal order in place until 28th June. pic.twitter.com/VX7kQ0sbCs

— BBC Radio Merseyside (@bbcmerseyside) June 27, 2020

The news in brief:

– The civil service told Robert Jenrick to reject Richard Desmond's development.
– Jenrick ignored them, and so suffered an embarrassing legal defeat.
– The government wants to keep Jenrick in post, and to reform the civil service.

— Henry Mance (@henrymance) June 27, 2020

What fresh wankery is this? https://t.co/o1BAmqzObd

— Declan Gaffney (@djmgaffneyw4) June 27, 2020

LGBT+ marches from London to New York call for end to racism https://t.co/GsWptm2tLk

— The Guardian (@guardian) June 27, 2020

First image of the new Irish Cabinet – led by Taoiseach @MichealMartinTD & Tánaiste @LeoVaradkar pic.twitter.com/FnudgPR8WT

— Darran Marshall (@DarranMarshall) June 27, 2020

Congratulations to Taoiseach @MichealMartinTD & the new Irish government starting today – I look forward to working together ☘️

Special thanks to @LeoVaradkar, @simoncoveney & @HMcEntee for our excellent team work during the #Brexit negotiations.

Go n-éirí libh, a chairde!

— Michel Barnier (@MichelBarnier) June 27, 2020

Milton Glaser, the designer of "I Love NY" logo, dies at 91. https://t.co/2BhYpmj2rQ

— ABC News (@ABC) June 27, 2020