Top Items:
Fox News:
Sources believe coronavirus originated in Wuhan lab as part of China's efforts to compete with US — EXCLUSIVE: COVID-19 originated in a Wuhan laboratory not as a bioweapon, but as part of China's effort to demonstrate that its efforts to identify and combat viruses are equal to or greater …
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Yeganeh Torbati / ProPublica:
Trump Administration Officials Warned Against Halting Funding to WHO, Leaked Memo Shows — ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they're published. — An internal memorandum written by U.S. officials …
Discussion:
New York Times, The White House, Daily Kos, NPR, CNN and The Hill
Ben Lowsen / The Diplomat:
Did Xi Jinping Deliberately Sicken the World?
Did Xi Jinping Deliberately Sicken the World?
Discussion:
The National Interest and Fox News
CNN:
US explores possibility that coronavirus started in Chinese lab, not a market
US explores possibility that coronavirus started in Chinese lab, not a market
Discussion:
Mirror.co.uk, The American Conservative and Fox News
Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
The WHO that Trump wants to defund saves lives. Just ask his State Department.
The WHO that Trump wants to defund saves lives. Just ask his State Department.
Discussion:
The Hill, Politico and The Daily Signal
Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Trump's ugly new blame-shifting scam spotlights his own failures
Trump's ugly new blame-shifting scam spotlights his own failures
Discussion:
New York Times, Crooked Media, Raw Story, Just Security, ABC News, HuffPost, Daily Kos and Reason
Washington Post:
We've never backed a Democrat for president. But Trump must be defeated. — The authors are on the advisory board of the Lincoln Project. — This November, Americans will cast their most consequential votes since Abraham Lincoln's reelection in 1864. We confront a constellation of crises …
Discussion:
CNN
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William Feuer / CNBC:
Drinking alcohol can make the coronavirus worse, the WHO says in recommending restricting access — Drinking alcohol can increase the risk of catching Covid-19 and governments around the world should limit access during coronavirus lockdowns, the World Health Organization said late Tuesday.
Nicholas Kristof / New York Times:
Trump's Deadly Search for a Scapegoat
Trump's Deadly Search for a Scapegoat
Discussion:
BBC, The Gateway Pundit, MIT Technology Review and The Federalist
Annie Karni / New York Times:
Ivanka Trump, Disregarding Federal Guidelines, Travels to N.J. for Passover — Ms. Trump herself has not followed the federal guidelines advising against discretionary travel, leaving Washington for another one of her family's homes. — WASHINGTON — Ivanka Trump, President Trump's eldest daughter …
Discussion:
The US Sun and Raw Story
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New York Times:
Trump's ‘Opening Our Country Council’ Runs Into Its Own Opening Problems — Instead of a formal council, the president created several industry groups, and joined four calls with them. But some participants had no notice they would be included, and others could not join in.
Washington Post:
Trump's attempt to enlist businesses in reopening push gets off to rocky start — President Trump's attempt to enlist corporate executives in a push to reopen parts of society amid the coronavirus pandemic got off to a rocky start Wednesday, with some business leaders complaining the effort …
Discussion:
New York Times, Raw Story, The Daily Signal, NB Blog and The White House
Tracey Tully / New York Times:
After Anonymous Tip, 17 Bodies Found at Nursing Home Hit by Virus — There have been 68 recent deaths of residents and nurses from the facility in a small New Jersey town. — The call for body bags came late Saturday. — By Monday, the police in a small New Jersey town had gotten …
Discussion:
New York Post, The US Sun, New Jersey Herald, Raw Story and The Daily Caller
Brett Samuels / The Hill:
Trump threatens to adjourn both chambers of Congress — President Trump on Wednesday called on the Senate to either confirm his nominees to vacancies across the administration or formally adjourn, threatening to use executive power to try and force both chambers of Congress to adjourn.
Discussion:
Politico, Associated Press and Axios, more at Mediagazer »
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Colby Itkowitz / Washington Post:
Trump threatens to adjourn Congress to get his nominees but likely would be impeded by Senate rules — President Trump threatened to shut down both chambers of Congress to allow him to fill vacancies in his administration without Senate approval. — He spent several minutes …
NBC News:
Michigan Gov. Whitmer faces fierce backlash over strict stay-at-home order — “We're responsible adults and can be trusted to go out in public,” said one critic. — DETROIT — Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed one of the most restrictive stay-at-home orders in the country late last week …
Discussion:
WJBK-TV, One America News Network, Washington Free Beacon, MLive.com, Instapundit, Redstate, Breitbart, Just The News, Forbes, Big League Politics, NB Blog and Axios
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Politico:
White House snubs Azar, installs Trump loyalist Michael Caputo as HHS spokesperson — The White House is installing Trump campaign veteran Michael Caputo in the health department's top communications position, Caputo confirmed to POLITICO. — The move is designed to assert more White House control …
Jacqueline Feldscher / Politico:
Pentagon barred from discussing Trump in JEDI contract probe — The Pentagon's inspector general “could not definitively determine” whether the White House influenced the procurement process for a major cloud computing contract because senior Defense Department officials were barred …
Discussion:
ABC News and Associated Press, more at Techmeme »
Washington Post:
Trump denied he wanted his name on stimulus checks. Here's how it happened. — When President Trump publicly denied on April 3 that he wanted his signature on stimulus checks that would be sent to millions of Americans struggling amid a pandemic, officials in the Treasury Department …
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Peter Hamby / Vanity Fair:
Baseball? Coachella? Handshakes? Tinder? Anthony Fauci on the New Rules of Living With Coronavirus — Dr. Anthony Fauci wasn't at Donald Trump's side for his daily coronavirus task force briefing on Tuesday. But Fauci's aggressive and unpredictable media tour continued on Snapchat …
Discussion:
New York Post, The US Sun and The Daily Caller
Shahar Ziv / Forbes:
Why Are Rich Americans Getting $1.7 Million Stimulus Checks? — I teach students and grads how to ace their personal finances. — A $1.7 million stimulus check? — While wealthy Americans are not eligible for the comparatively measly $1,200 stimulus checks that are now being disbursed …
Discussion:
Raw Story, Washington Post and ABC News
New York Times:
Navy May Reinstate Fired Captain to Command of Roosevelt — Adm. Michael Gilday has indicated that he may reinstate Captain Crozier, who was removed from command after pleading for more help fighting a coronavirus outbreak on his ship. — WASHINGTON — The Navy is looking into whether …
Jessica Piper / Bangor Daily News:
Sara Gideon leapfrogs Susan Collins in fundraising ahead of 2020 US Senate race — loading... Welcome, You're signed in as: {{credentials.userName}} — Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Sara Gideon raised $7.1 million during the first quarter of 2020, surpassing Republican Sen. Susan Collins.
Los Angeles Times:
Coronavirus could halt L.A. concerts, sporting events until 2021, Garcetti says — Los Angeles may hold off on allowing big gatherings until 2021 because of the coronavirus threat, according to an internal Los Angeles Fire Department email reviewed by The Times.
Discussion:
Fox News, Axios, Associated Press, The Stranger, The Hill, CNN, courthousenews.com, Breitbart, Mediaite, Politico and ProFootballTalk
Bloomberg:
Rescue Fund to Run Dry Today, Leaving Small Firms Shut Out — Small fims have been flooding banks with loan applications — Congress is debating allocating an additional $250 billion — A $349 billion federal relief program for U.S. small businesses is expected to run out of money this afternoon …
Discussion:
Slate, Politico, Wall Street Journal, Washington Free Beacon, Reason, Eater NY, Redstate, National Review and Twitchy
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Zachary Warmbrodt / Politico:
Big restaurant chains get small business aid, sparking backlash
Big restaurant chains get small business aid, sparking backlash
Discussion:
The Hill, Equitable Growth and One America News Network
Anick Jesdanun / Associated Press:
Apple rolls out cheaper iPhone as pandemic curbs spending — NEW YORK (AP) — Apple is releasing a new iPhone that will be vastly cheaper than the models it rolled out last fall when the economy was booming and the pandemic had yet to force people to rethink their spending.
Discussion:
TheStreet, ZDNet and The National Interest, more at Techmeme »
California Governor:
Governor Newsom Announces New Initiatives to Support California Workers Impacted by COVID-19 — Governor announces new initiative to expand call center hours at the Employment Development Department to better assist Californians with unemployment insurance applications
Discussion:
Fox News, Axios, CNBC, The Daily Caller, Forbes, Mother Jones, IJR and The Hill
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Caitlin Oprysko / Politico:
Biden: People are dying while Trump is ‘having temper tantrums’ — Joe Biden on Wednesday accused President Donald Trump of throwing “temper tantrums” rather than showing concern for those affected by the coronavirus pandemic, escalating his criticism of Trump following a series …
Discussion:
Fox News, POLITICUSUSA, Axios and The Hill
ProPublica:
Attorney General Barr Refuses to Release 9/11 Documents to Families of the Victims — The move comes after President Donald Trump promised to help families, who accuse Saudi Arabia of complicity in the attacks. Barr says he cannot even explain why the material must stay secret without putting national security at risk.
Zach Montague / New York Times:
Coronavirus Cases at D.C. Whole Foods Highlight Risks Facing Grocery Workers — A cluster of infections at the store in the heart of trendy downtown Washington is not an isolated episode, as the nation's grocery workers increasingly fall ill. — WASHINGTON — An outbreak of coronavirus infections …
Discussion:
WUSA and The Guardian
Chuck Ross / The Daily Caller:
FISA BOMBSHELL: Russian Intelligence Knew Christopher Steele Was Investigating Trump During 2016 Campaign — Two Russian intelligence operatives were aware as early as July 2016 that former British spy Christopher Steele was investigating Donald Trump, according to newly declassified information …
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit and National Review
The Economist:
Graphic detail — PRESIDENT DONALD Trump has often likened the American experience of the covid-19 pandemic to a war. In many ways, the public-health battle against the coronavirus has resembled a military one. Health-care workers, like soldiers on the front lines, are sacrificing their lives.
Politico:
Trump's call with Wall Street didn't go as planned — In these unprecedented times, America's biopharmaceutical companies are coming together to achieve one shared goal: beating COVID-19. We are sharing learnings from clinical trials in real time with governments and other companies to advance the development of additional therapies.
Washington Post:
In coronavirus scramble for N95 masks, Trump administration pays premium to third-party vendors — The Trump administration has awarded bulk contracts to third-party vendors in recent weeks in a scramble to obtain N95 respirator masks, and the government has paid the companies more than $5 per unit …
Jamie Lovegrove / Post and Courier:
Lindsey Graham outraised by Democrat Jaime Harrison in SC's record-setting Senate race — COLUMBIA — U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham's Democratic challenger Jaime Harrison outraised the incumbent Republican for the first time in the race over the initial three months of 2020 …
Joe Kovacs / WND:
Rush Limbaugh offers Trump: Take over my radio show — ‘With proper training and proper instruction, I could see that’ — Talk-show legend Rush Limbaugh is making an extraordinary offer to President Donald Trump, giving the commander in chief a chance to connect with even more Americans by taking over his top-rated radio program.
Discussion:
New York Times, more at Mediagazer »
Ian Millhiser / Vox:
Kentucky just made it harder to vote during a pandemic — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell speaks to the media at the Capitol on April 9. Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images — Wisconsin-style tactics come to Kentucky. — Kentucky's heavily Republican legislature voted Tuesday …
Discussion:
Associated Press and The Root
Courier-Journal:
Protests erupt outside Capitol over Beshear's handling of pandemic, disrupting briefing — FRANKFORT, Ky. - Impatient protesters demanding Gov. Andy Beshear reopen Kentucky disrupted his televised Wednesday afternoon pandemic update, chanting, blowing horns and shouting into a megaphone outside …
Discussion:
The Hill