At a press conference at the Pentagon on Thursday, President Obama called Donald Trump's warnings of a "rigged" election "ridiculous" — "What does that mean?" he asked. "I've never heard anybody complain about being cheated before the game is over" — said that the Islamic State is losing but will still be able to create "the kinds of fear and concern that elevates their profile," and dismissed claims by Trump and other Republicans that a $400 million cash payment to Iran in January was ransom for four U.S. prisoners freed at the time time.

"We do not pay ransom for hostages," Obama said, asserting that the money was the first installment of a $1.7 billion settlement of outstanding, potentially much more expensive claims by Iran, and noting that his administration disclosed the deal in January and the media reported on it. "It wasn't a secret. We were completely open about it," Obama said. "The only bit of news is that we paid cash," he added, explaining that "we couldn't wire the money" because "we don't have a banking relationship with Iran, which is part of the pressure we applied on them."

Donald Trump also talked about the cash payment to Iran on Thursday, with his campaign accusing Obama of a "cover-up" and Trump himself describing a video of the cash delivery in some detail at a rally in Portland, Maine, saying Iran took and released the footage to embarrass Obama:

The thing about the video, notes the New York Daily News, is that "no one — including American intelligence officials — has any idea what he was talking about." When Trump first described the video of the "top secret" cash delivery at a rally Wednesday in Daytona Beach, his campaign told CBS News that Trump was actually referring to footage of the freed Americans walking off a plane in Geneva that has been played repeatedly on Fox News, and when The Washington Post sent that footage to Trump spokeswoman Hope Hicks, she said that "yes," that's what Trump was talking about, "merely the b-roll footage included in every broadcast."

Trump will start receiving classified intelligence briefings soon — they haven't begun yet, campaign manager Paul Manafort says — and when he does, Obama said Thursday, Trump needs to act like a serious presidential candidate, which "means being able to receive these briefings and not spread them around." Peter Weber

The Hennepin County Medical Examiner's office has ruled that George Floyd's death was a homicide, with Floyd experiencing "a cardiopulmonary arrest while being restrained."

Floyd, 46, died last week after a Minneapolis police officer placed his knee on his neck and kept it there for several minutes. The incident was recorded, and Floyd is heard saying, "I can't breathe."

The medical examiner's office released its report on Monday, listing Floyd's cause of death as "cardiopulmonary arrest complicating law enforcement subdual, restraint, and neck compression." The document said Floyd had coronary artery disease and hypertensive heart disease, and there were "no physical findings that support a diagnosis of traumatic asphyxia or strangulation." The office also cautioned that its finding is "not a legal determination of culpability or intent, and should not be used to usurp the judicial process."

Earlier in the day, the Floyd family released the results of a private autopsy it commissioned, which listed "asphyxiation from sustained pressure" as the cause of death. Attorney Benjamin Crump said the report stated "asphyxiation from sustained pressure" was the cause of death, and there was "neck and back compression that led to a lack of blood flow to the brain."

The officer who put his knee on Floyd's neck, Derek Chauvin, was arrested on Friday and charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter. Three other officers who were on the scene have been fired, but not charged with any crimes. Catherine Garcia

Police used tear gas and flash grenades to disperse a crowd of protesters gathered at Lafayette Square across from the White House on Monday evening, in order for President Trump to pose for photos in front of the historic St. John's Church.

The crowd was cleared out right before Trump began speaking from the White House Rose Garden, calling on state and local governments to have law enforcement "dominate the streets" before he deployed the military.

St. John's was built in 1816, and on Sunday night, a fire was set in the church's basement; it was quickly extinguished by firefighters. After walking over, Trump posed for photos in front of the church, and briefly held up a Bible, telling reporters, "It's a Bible." He only stayed for a few minutes, and was joined by Attorney General William Barr, National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien, and his son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner. Catherine Garcia

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Ct.) on Monday afternoon demanded that Twitter remove a message from Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) that called for the hunting down of anti-fascist activists.

In response to the protests against police brutality that have swept the nation, Gaetz tweeted, "Now that we clearly see antifa as terrorists, can we hunt them down like we do those in the Middle East?" President Trump, Attorney General William Barr, and their allies have accused left-wing anti-fascist protesters of turning demonstrations into riots and engaging in destructive behavior, despite intelligence showing people from the far-right and far-left have been involved.

Murphy, who has been one of the leading voices for gun control since the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, tweeted that Twitter needed to take Gaetz's tweet down "RIGHT NOW. The survivors of mass shootings are lighting up my phone. They are scared to death this will inspire someone to start shooting into a crowd tonight. They are right."

Twitter did not remove the message, instead adding a label to it that reads, "This Tweet violated the Twitter Rules about glorifying violence. However, Twitter has determined that it may be in the public's interest for the Tweet to remain accessible." Gaetz had an odd response for Murphy, tweeting that "every real Democrat ran for president and you ran to Twitter." Catherine Garcia

President Trump on Monday evening made his first remarks on the police brutality protests that have been taking place across the United States, avoiding the underlying issues behind the demonstrations and instead threatening to increase the military presence in cities around the country.

Trump said that governors and mayors must establish an "overwhelming law enforcement presence until the violence has been quelled," or else he will "deploy the United States military and quickly solve the problem for them." He stated that he "strongly recommended to every governor to deploy the National Guard in sufficient numbers, that we dominate the streets," which is something that is already being done in at least 15 states and Washington, D.C.

Trump also called himself the "president of law and order and an ally of all peaceful protesters," before declaring that "the nation has been gripped by professional anarchists, violent mobs, arsonists, looters, criminals, rioters, antifa, and others." He accused these groups of committing "acts of domestic terror," and promised to "prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law" and mobilize "all available federal resources, civilian and military, to stop the rioting and looting, to end the destruction and arson, and to protect the rights of law-abiding Americans, including your Second Amendment rights."

The United States, Trump proclaimed, has "one beautiful law," and that is "the foundation of our prosperity, our freedom, and our very way of life." If there is "no safety, there is no future," he added, and Americans "must never give in to anger or hatred." Catherine Garcia

A new outbreak of the Ebola virus has hit the Democratic Republic of Congo, with five deaths reported in the northwestern Equateur province, UNICEF said Monday.

This is the 11th Ebola outbreak to hit the country, CNN reports, and one of the victims is a 15-year-old girl. There are four other reported cases, and those patients are in an isolation unit at a hospital in Mbandaka. The deaths occurred between May 18 and 30, UNICEF said, and were confirmed as being Ebola-related on Sunday.

The Democratic Republic of Congo is still trying to end an outbreak that started in the eastern part of the country in 2018, which has resulted in 3,406 cases and 2,243 deaths, the World Health Organization said. Health officials said there have been no new cases in that outbreak over the last 21 days, which is the Ebola incubation period, and if there are no new cases after 42 days, they will be able to determine whether the outbreak is over.

Ebola is passed via bodily fluids, and the fatality rate can range from 25 percent to 90 percent, depending on the outbreak. This new outbreak comes as the country is also dealing with COVID-19, which has killed 72 people, and a measles epidemic, which has killed 6,779 people since last year. Catherine Garcia

Numerous TV networks owned by ViacomCBS just went dark for more than eight minutes to pay tribute to George Floyd one week after his death.

MTV and Comedy Central were among the ViacomCBS stations that on Monday starting at 5:00 p.m. ET aired the words "I can't breathe" for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, alongside the sound of breathing, reports CNBC. A Minneapolis police officer who has since been fired and charged with murder last week kneeled on Floyd's neck for that length of time while Floyd said that he couldn't breathe, and his death has sparked nationwide outrage and protests.

A message at the bottom of the screen during the ViacomCBS blackout urged viewers to text "DEMANDS" to 55156, promoting the civil rights organization Color of Change.

ViacomCBS President of Entertainment and Youth Brands Chris McCarthy previously announced that "we will go dark across our brands and platforms to mark the time in which George Floyd was brutally killed as a tribute to Mr. Floyd and other victims of racism" in a employee memo, in which he also pledged to "use our platforms to shine a light on the realities of racial injustice and call for equality." Brendan Morrow