The White House violated the law when it withheld aid to Ukraine, a nonpartisan government agency concluded.

The Government Accountability Office announced its legal decision Thursday, saying the Office of Management and Budget's withholding of Ukraine aid that Congress had appropriated was not lawful.

"Faithful execution of the law does not permit the president to substitute his own policy priorities for those that Congress has enacted into law," the Government Accountability Office said. "OMB withheld funds for a policy reason, which is not permitted under the Impoundment Control Act (ICA). ... Therefore, we conclude that OMB violated the ICA."

The withheld aid to Ukraine in July 2019 was at the center of the House impeachment inquiry into President Trump, which examined allegations that the president froze the aid to pressure Ukraine into announcing an investigation that might benefit him in the 2020 presidential election. The House last month passed two articles of impeachment charging Trump with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, and the Senate's impeachment trial is expected to begin next week.

An Office of Management and Budget spokesperson said "we disagree with GAO's opinion" and that "OMB uses its apportionment authority to ensure taxpayer dollars are properly spent consistent with the president's priorities and with the law." Brendan Morrow

Mary L. Trump's book contains some predictably explosive claims about her uncle, who also happens to be the president of the United States.

Despite the Trump administration's attempts to shut down publication of Mary Trump's book Too Much and Never Enough, The New York Times got a copy and pulled out some of its juiciest tidbits on Tuesday. Among them is the story of how President Trump got into college in the first place: by cheating, Mary Trump claims.

Trump went to high school in Queens, New York, before attending Fordham University for two years and then transferring to the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. But to get into Fordham in the first place, Trump paid a proxy to take the SAT exam for him, Mary Trump writes. The high score on the test later helped him get into Wharton, where he earned his bachelor's degree, Mary Trump claims — an education Trump brags about to this day. Trump's associates have tried to bury his educational records from the New York Military Academy and Fordham.

Read more highlights of Mary Trump's book — including his sister's reported criticism of his presidential run — at The New York Times. Kathryn Krawczyk

The United States may have increased the number of coronavirus tests conducted daily, but numerous cities are continuing to face major issues keeping up with demand as new cases accelerate across the country.

A new report in The New York Times delves into what it describes as "a new testing crisis" in the United States, as "demand for testing has soared, surpassing capacity" while states experience a spike in COVID-19 cases. The issues with testing arising all over the country stem from three main problems, the Times writes: "a shortage of certain supplies, backlogs at laboratories that process the tests, and skyrocketing growth" in COVID-19 cases.

In particular, the report describes one New Orleans testing site that ran out of tests just five minutes after opening its doors and ended up having to turn people away, while in Phoenix, some people have had to wait "as long as eight hours" to get tested. Plus, certain cities, including San Antonio and Austin, are responding to increased demand by just testing people with symptoms, even though people without symptoms can also contract and spread the virus.

"The United States of America needs a more robust national testing strategy," Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego told the Times, while Johns Hopkins Hospital infectious disease expert Dr. Morgan Katz said these issues are "terrifying" and point to "a failure of the system." Read more at The New York Times. Brendan Morrow

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said Tuesday that he tested positive for the coronavirus after developing mild symptoms, including a fever. He said the fever has subsided and that he's feeling "well, normal."

Bolsonaro has remained one of the biggest outliers among world leaders when it comes to the pandemic. He's frequently downplayed the risk of the virus, describing it as a "little cold," while often joining large crowds of his supporters and, on occasion, attending gatherings without wearing a mask. On a national level he has pushed back against efforts to shut down aspects of the country's economy.

Meanwhile, Brazil has emerged as one of the pandemic's persistent hot spots. More than 65,000 people in the world's sixth most populous nation have died from COVID-19 complications, while more than 1.5 million have been infected with the virus. Those numbers only reflect the confirmed cases, however — experts believe the true toll is much higher, with some accusing the government of hiding the data. Tim O'Donnell

President Trump has some unfounded complaints about the media fueled by some unfounded interpretations of what recent COVID-19 numbers mean.

In a Tuesday tweet, Trump shared a headline from the conservative news outlet The Washington Times that reported a "tenfold decrease" in death rates from COVID-19, and claimed the U.S. now has the "lowest mortality rate in the world." Trump then complained that "the fake news" wasn't reporting "these most important of facts," seemingly unaware that the number doesn't indicate coronavirus victory.

As it turns out, news outlets Trump has called "fake" were reporting on America's sinking mortality rate long before Trump tweeted his complaint. CNN fact-checked Trump's claim by noting data from Johns Hopkins puts the U.S.'s coronavirus mortality rate at 4.5 percent as of Monday morning, the sixth highest rate in the world.

While it's true that the mortality rate has fallen dramatically in recent weeks, The Washington Post explains why that's not necessarily an indication of success. Mortality rate is the percentage of those who've died compared to cases as a whole, meaning more positive tests, especially among young people, will only drive the death rate down. It also doesn't account for the fact that many people with COVID-19 face severe and debilitating illness even without dying. Kathryn Krawczyk

Did some small businesses get shut out of the initial Payroll Protection Program pool by mistake?

Axios' Dan Primack raised the idea Tuesday while breaking down the Treasury Department's disclosure process Monday. The names of 660,000 small businesses that received loans of at least $150,000 from the program to stay afloat during the coronavirus pandemic were released, but several companies on the list said they never even applied for one.

Reporters caught a few of these potential data errors, but Axios notes they only called a tiny percentage of the businesses on the lengthy list. If the error rate is representative of the larger sample, that raises questions about how many loans actually went out, leaving open the possibility that small businesses that didn't make the cut — and subsequently had to close shop or lay off employees — because the initial funds were supposedly exhausted actually should have been able to get the assistance they needed.

The Treasury Department hasn't explained the disclosure mistakes yet, and it's possible there's nothing more to it, but Axios suggests a full audit will be needed to pinpoint the problem. Read more at Axios. Tim O'Donnell

America's dad is continuing his push for "common sense" during the coronavirus pandemic.

Tom Hanks spoke to Today on Tuesday morning in his first live TV interview since he and his wife, Rita Wilson, recovered from COVID-19 earlier this year. The actor reflected on his experience having "crippling crackling body aches" and compared the pandemic to World War II, another time when Americans were called upon to do their part.

"There was a sensibility [during World War II] that permeated all of society, which was, do your part," he said. "We're all in this together."

Hanks went on to say that the idea of similarly doing your part during the pandemic by wearing a mask, practicing social distancing, and washing your hands "should be so simple."

"It's such a small thing," he said. "It's a mystery to me how somehow that has been wiped out of what should be ingrained in the behavior of us all. Simple things. Do your part."

While Hanks observed that "a huge majority of Americans get it," he decried the "ignorance" of those who don't.

"There is a darkness on the edge of town here, folks," he said. "Let's not confuse the fact: it's killing people. ... I don't know how common sense has somehow been put in question in regards to this."

Hanks previously called out those who don't do their part during the pandemic by wearing a mask, practicing social distancing, and washing their hands, saying, "If anybody cannot find it in themselves to practice those three very basic things – I just think shame on you." Brendan Morrow