Top Items:
Washington Post:
The U.S. was beset by denial and dysfunction as the coronavirus raged — By the time Donald Trump proclaimed himself a wartime president — and the coronavirus the enemy — the United States was already on course to see more of its people die than in the wars of Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq combined.
Discussion:
Mother Jones, Raw Story, No More Mister Nice Blog, POLITICUSUSA, Blue Virginia and The Moderate Voice
Natasha Bertrand / Politico:
‘A searing time for whistleblowers’: Ousted intel watchdog wrote private letter to Schumer — Two weeks before he was fired, Intelligence Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson told the Senate's top Democrat that the past six months had been “a searing time for whistleblowers,” …
RELATED:
Jonathan Swan / Axios:
Trump considers billionaire ally Steve Feinberg for senior intel role — President Trump is seriously considering installing billionaire investor Steve Feinberg in a senior role at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, according to four sources familiar with the planning.
Discussion:
The Guardian, Raw Story and Wall Street Journal
Tal Axelrod / The Hill:
Burr says intelligence watchdog should be ‘independent’ after inspector general firing
Burr says intelligence watchdog should be ‘independent’ after inspector general firing
Discussion:
Politico, Mediaite and Talking Points Memo
David Ignatius / Washington Post:
Inside the ouster of Capt. Brett Crozier — Civilian control of the military is part of the American bedrock. Acting Navy secretary Thomas Modly used that prerogative unwisely Thursday when he short-circuited a preliminary military investigation and fired an aircraft carrier captain …
Discussion:
Lawyers, Guns & Money, Breitbart, CNN and New York Times
RELATED:
Juan Perez Jr / Politico:
'He shouldn't be talking that way': Trump rips ousted Navy captain
'He shouldn't be talking that way': Trump rips ousted Navy captain
Discussion:
CNN, Breitbart, Task & Purpose and The National Interest
Sean Sullivan / Washington Post:
Some top Sanders advisers urge him to consider withdrawing — A small group of Bernie Sanders's top aides and allies — including his campaign manager and his longtime strategist — have encouraged the independent senator from Vermont to consider withdrawing from the presidential race …
RELATED:
Natasha Korecki / Politico:
Wisconsin Republicans reject governor's call to delay Tuesday's primary — Wisconsin's Republican-led legislature refused to delay Tuesday's primary election, formally rejecting on Saturday a call from the state's Democratic governor, Tony Evers, to halt in-person voting amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Discussion:
Common Dreams
RELATED:
Richard L. Hasen / Los Angeles Times:
Op-Ed: How Republicans are using the pandemic to suppress the vote
Op-Ed: How Republicans are using the pandemic to suppress the vote
Discussion:
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, New York Times, Jacobin, Washington Post and Business Insider
Katrin Bennhold / New York Times:
A German Exception? Why the Country's Coronavirus Death Rate Is Low — The pandemic has hit Germany hard, with more than 92,000 people infected. But the percentage of fatal cases has been remarkably low compared to those in many neighboring countries. — They call them corona taxis …
Discussion:
Bloomberg, NB Blog, NPR and National Review
New York Times:
430,000 People Have Traveled From China to U.S. Since Coronavirus Surfaced — There were 1,300 direct flights to 17 cities before President Trump's travel restrictions. Since then, nearly 40,000 Americans and other authorized travelers have made the trip, some this past week and many with spotty screening.
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, Kaiser Health News and Washington Post
Nick Boykin / WUSA:
Wharf fish markets packed on a Saturday, social distancing not being practiced — Though social distancing is what is needed nowadays, many were still present at Wharf fish markets in the District. And it was packed! — WASHINGTON — The fish markets in D.C.'s Wharf community looked packed on Saturday …
Joshua Zeitz / Politico:
Why the Trump Administration Won't Be Able to Make the Stimulus Work — When he signed the $2 trillion Covid-19 rescue package last week, President Donald Trump was visibly pleased. He touted it as the “single biggest economic relief package” in U.S. history, which will deliver “urgently needed relief” to Americans.
Discussion:
Raw Story
Tia Mitchell / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Questions remain about who is handling Kelly Loeffler's stock transactions — U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler has provided no proof that financial advisers making stock transactions on her behalf have total control over decision-making. — The Georgia senator has been accused …
Discussion:
The Mahablog
RELATED:
Matthew Rozsa / Salon:
Ethics group calls for GOP Sen. Kelly Loeffler to be investigated after more stock sales revealed
Ethics group calls for GOP Sen. Kelly Loeffler to be investigated after more stock sales revealed
Discussion:
Raw Story
Lee Fang / The Intercept:
Coronavirus Hasn't Stopped Jared Kushner's Real Estate Empire from Hounding Tenants with Debt Collection, Eviction Lawsuits — Jared Kushner's family real estate company, which owns and manages thousands of apartment units, continued its aggressive eviction practices and debt collection lawsuits as Americans wait for government relief.
Discussion:
The Atlantic, israpundit.org and Politico
RELATED:
Ari Fleischer / USA Today:
As Trump reaches for hope and journalists shoot him down, reporters end up looking bad — Journalists have a vital role to play in keeping our country free, but if this becomes a fight with Trump, they can't win. — If President Trump is a wartime president, does that make Washington reporters wartime correspondents?
Maureen Dowd / New York Times:
Larry David, Master of His Quarantine — Who better than the father of “Seinfeld” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm” to guide us through the thicket of being together, alone? — Our lives now depend on staying home and doing nothing. — We are cooped up with no end in sight, getting increasingly irascible.
Discussion:
Deadline and InsideHook
Hannah Murphy / Financial Times:
Zoom admits user data ‘mistakenly’ routed through China — Videoconferencing app under pressure over security and privacy issues — Zoom, the videoconferencing app that has become wildly popular during the coronavirus crisis, admitted that it had “mistakenly” routed some user data through China …
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, more at Techmeme »
Lisa Boothe / The Hill:
How deadly is the coronavirus? — How deadly is the coronavirus? It is a simple but vital question that we don't know the answer to right now. With American lives and livelihoods on the line, we need a science-based baseline from which to make public policy decisions.
Adam Schefter / ESPN:
Sources: President Donald Trump says NFL season should start on time — In a conference call with major league sports commissioners on Saturday, President Donald Trump said he believes the NFL season should start on time in September, sources familiar with the call told ESPN.
Discussion:
New York Post, Talking Points Memo, The Comeback, Breitbart, ProFootballTalk, The Wrap and Fox News
Harmeet Kaur / CNN:
Married for 51 years, they died of Covid-19 six minutes apart — Adrian and Stuart Baker were married for more than 51 years, and their family called them inseparable. On March 29, they both died of complications due to Covid-19 — just six minutes apart.
Discussion:
New York Post and Florida Politics
Kaelan Deese / The Hill:
Georgia beaches reopen after governor's executive order — Some Georgia beaches will reopen this weekend following an executive order issued by Gov. Brian Kemp (R) that overrode local shelter-in-place mandates from a number of cities. — A spokesperson for Kemp told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution …
Discussion:
State Representative …, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Washington Post:
Live updates: Confirmed coronavirus cases top 300,000 in U.S. as Fauci stresses social distancing is ‘our most important tool’ — The Washington Post is providing this story for free so that all readers have access to this important information about the coronavirus.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo
Politico:
Virus hot spots in South poised for disproportionate suffering — St. John the Baptist Parish, just southeast of Baton Rouge, La., has a population of just over 43,000 — and the highest per capita coronavirus mortality rate in the nation. — Frantic local officials instituted an overnight curfew …
Discussion:
Raw Story
CNN:
Why these 8 Republican governors are holding out on statewide stay-at-home orders — (CNN)Just eight US governors have decided against issuing statewide directives urging their residents to stay at home as the outbreak of the coronavirus escalates and spreads across the country, the last holdouts in the nation.
Discussion:
grandforksherald.com and Iowa Starting Line
Helen Branswell / STAT:
An interview with the CDC director on coronavirus, masks, and an agency gone quiet — Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, describes the coronavirus pandemic as the greatest public health crisis in a century. — And yet the storied agency that Redfield leads …
Discussion:
LiveScience, The Conversation, WCMH-TV and HuffPost
Katy Stech Ferek / Wall Street Journal:
GM Seeks Tariff Relief for Ventilator Parts — Some of the parts for manufacturing life-saving ventilators need to come from China — WASHINGTON—General Motors Co. is asking the Trump administration to drop import tariffs on Chinese parts that the auto maker needs to make ventilators …
Neil Bedi / Tampa Bay Times:
Florida saw a pandemic coming and prepared. Then state leaders started to cut. — As health officials warned Floridians were at “grave risk,” the state dismantled the defenses it built against a coronavirus-like crisis. — Fifteen years ago, Florida braced for a pandemic.