WASHINGTON House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday she is ordering the removal from the Capitol of portraits honoring four previous House speakers who served in the Confederacy. In a letter to the House clerk, Pelosi requested the immediate removal of portraits depicting former speakers Robert Hunter of Virginia, James Orr of South Carolina and Howell Cobb and Charles Crisp, both of Georgia. Hunter, who served at nearly every level of the Confederacy, including as Confederate secretary of state, served as speaker from 1839-41. Cobb served as speaker from 1849-51, while Crisp served after the Civil War, from 1891-95. Earlier this month, Pelosi urged the removal of Confederate statues from the Capitol and the renaming of U.S. military bases that honor Confederate Army officers.

On Thursday, the Senate confirmed Kenneth Braithwaite, a former U.S. ambassador to Norway and a 1984 graduate of the Naval Academy, as Navy secretary. The decision not to have a live Naval Academy graduation ceremony reflects concern about the coronavirus pandemic. It stands in contrast to the Air Force, which held a scaled-back live graduation ceremony in Colorado Springs, Colorado on April 18. The Army is scheduled to hold a U.S. Military Academy live graduation ceremony at West Point, New York, on June 13 with President Donald Trump as the commencement speaker. In the virtual spirit of Friday's Naval Academy event, Milley, chimed in with a Twitter note of encouragement to the graduates.

Photo by Neilson Barnard/Getty Images(CNN) - Robert Hunter, the man behind many of the Grateful Dead's most iconic lyrics, died Monday night at the age of 78. "Robert Hunter has been just as integral a part of the legacy of the Grateful Dead as those who recorded the music to accompany his words." Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart wrote on his Facebook page, "We loved Bob Hunter and will miss him unimaginably." Grateful Dead guitarist Bob Weir wrote on Twitter, "If I'm gonna count my blessings, Robert Hunter and his imagination are gonna be up at the top of that list. The writer and poet collaborated with the Grateful Dead on songs ranging from "Friend of the Devil" and "Truckin'" to "Dark Star" and "Touch of Grey."