Don't whitewash the GOP's extremism on full display during Whitmer protest  —  We were promised it wasn't a Republican protest.  We were promised people were just upset they couldn't golf or buy seeds (in stores) during a pandemic that's already killed 2,000 of their neighbors.

Donald Trump's Greatest Escape  —  His audacity masked his desperation.  —  It was the spring of 1995.  Donald Trump was this close to finished.  He had spent the previous five years constantly, and barely, avoiding financial ruin and what he worried would be a permanent stain of personal bankruptcy.

Early peek at data on Gilead coronavirus drug suggests patients are responding to treatment  —  A Chicago hospital treating severe Covid-19 patients with Gilead Sciences' antiviral medicine remdesivir in a closely watched clinical trial is seeing rapid recoveries in fever and respiratory symptoms …

Michael Cohen will be released from prison due to pandemic  —  (CNN)The federal Bureau of Prisons has notified Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's former personal attorney, that he will be released early from prison due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to people familiar with the matter and his lawyer.

Smugglers sawed into Trump's border wall 18 times in one month in San Diego area, records show  —  Smugglers sawed into new sections of President Trump's border wall 18 times in the San Diego area during a single one-month span late last year, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection records obtained …

Influential Covid-19 model uses flawed methods and shouldn't guide U.S. policies, critics say  —  A widely followed model for projecting Covid-19 deaths in the U.S. is producing results that have been bouncing up and down like an unpredictable fever, and now epidemiologists are criticizing …

Enough with the WFH sweatpants.  Dress like the adult you're getting paid to be  —  I've waited, watched and bit my tongue during the last month of the pandemic-induced work-from-home era but I just can't take it any more.  Please, can we all put away those sweatpants, ratty, gray …

Matt Gaetz rents office space from longtime friend and donor — at taxpayer expense  —  Florida GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz has spent nearly $200,000 in taxpayer funds renting an office from a longtime friend, adviser, campaign donor and legal client.  —  Both men said in separate interviews Gaetz …

Joe Biden's VP pick better be a Black woman - and it needs to be Kamala Harris  —  OPINION: At this point, Biden's not trying to break box office records - he just doesn't want to flop.  —  Some casting decisions make sense the moment the movie is announced.

Small-Business Rescue Shows Not All States Are Created Equal  —  During the first 10 days of the federal government's small-business rescue program, the spigot was wide open in Nebraska.  Firms there got enough money to cover about three-fourths of the state's eligible payrolls.

For Mark Meadows, Transition From Trump Confidant to Chief of Staff Is a Hard One  —  Weeks into the job, Mr. Meadows has confronted the same problems that frustrated his three predecessors.  It hasn't helped him with his new White House colleagues that he's emotional and sometimes cries.

After Fauci urged caution in reopening the economy, Fox News turned to Dr. Phil for a second opinion  —  After Anthony S. Fauci, the nation's leading infectious disease expert, explained the White House's new guidelines for states to slowly reopen their economies in a three-phase process …

Trump's Culture Warriors Are a Literal Death Cult Now  —  In Trumpworld, reopening is just a matter of will.  And strength.  And devotion to the leader.  —  BEAST INSIDE  —  You know where this is headed, right?  We all know.  Donald Trump and the Republicans are going to turn …

Trump's Pandemic Plan: “Absolute Authority,” No Responsibility  —  The novel coronavirus brings out the same old, same old President.  —  A week ago, President Trump foreshadowed his growing anxiety over when and how to end the Great Shutdown, a decision he is well aware will have existential consequences …

We Won't Know the Exact Moment When Democracy Dies  —  In the early days of the Trump Presidency, there was a lot of speculation about when, if, and how we would pass the point of no return, when we would know that American democracy had been destroyed.  That conversation faded after a while, drowned out by the din of Trumpian news.

Trump slams Pelosi, Schumer over lack of small business relief amid coronavirus  —  President Trump blasted House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer for failing to come to an agreement on additional funding for small businesses amid the c oronavirus crisis …

Coronavirus could complicate Trump's path to reelection  —  NEW YORK (AP) — The coronavirus is poised to reshape the political map, pummeling battleground states and alarming Republicans who see early signs of an election that could be a referendum on President Donald Trump's management of the crisis.

Trump's coronavirus self-protection plan: Spread responsibility to the states  —  President Trump's reopening plan includes lots of hurdles for states, but the key factor for him was that he got to fire the pistol, Axios' Jonathan Swan reports.  —  Why it matters: Even though he's delegating to governors …

Coronavirus: China updates death toll in Wuhan, adds 1,300 to total  —  Rumors of more victims in China have been fueled by pictures of long lines of people waiting to collect ashes of cremated relatives.  —  Nearly 1,300 people who died of the coronavirus in the Chinese city of Wuhan …

Bill Gates, at Odds With Trump on Virus, Becomes a Right-Wing Target  —  The Microsoft co-founder turned philanthropist has been attacked with falsehoods that he created the coronavirus and wants to profit from it.  —  In a 2015 speech, Bill Gates warned that the greatest risk to humanity …

Florida blocks COVID-19 information from public as Gov. Ron DeSantis touts transparency  —  When the Miami Herald sought information from the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner's Office last month about COVID-19 deaths in the epicenter of Florida's coronavirus outbreak, attorneys …

Trump appears to back those protesting social distancing measures  —  President Trump on Friday appeared to back protesters in three states with Democratic governors who are gathering in opposition to extended stay-at-home orders and other restrictions meant to limit the spread of the coronavirus.

Loeffler to Fox News: Criticizing My Coronavirus Stock Trades Is Just a ‘Socialist Attack’  —  “This is a political attack that is designed to distract from the issue at hand and to use this outbreak to play politics,” she insisted.  —  Embattled Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) …

Time to fire Jared and Ivanka  —  / AFP PHOTO / MANDEL NGAN (Photo credit should read MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images)  —  Peter Bergen is CNN's national security analyst, a vice president at New America and a professor of practice at Arizona State University.

Heartland hotspots: A sudden rise in coronavirus cases is hitting rural states without stay-at-home orders  —  NY Gov extends stay-at-home order until at least May 15th  —  Washington (CNN)The test results came back on Easter Sunday.  Tammy had been feeling “kind of crappy” …

My Wild, Totally Surreal Experience Covering a Trump Coronavirus Briefing  —  “Your forehead, please,” said the woman in a mask.  —  She was a medical technician sitting in a tent outside the northwest gate of the White House in the otherwise deserted section of Pennsylvania Avenue that is usually crammed with tourists in April.

Coronavirus updates: China's official death toll jumps after major revision  —  The coronavirus has killed more than 147,000 people around the world, including over 33,300 people in the United States, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.  The number of people who were infected …

Here's a state that's quietly reversing the tea party's damage  —  A decade ago, the tea party movement — remember them? — helped power a smashing Republican victory in the 2010 midterms, leading not just to GOP control of the House of Representatives, but also to a massive Republican takeover in state governments across the country.

China's Economy Shrinks, Ending a Nearly Half-Century of Growth  —  The contraction comes at a time when the rest of the world needs an economic boost, underscoring how momentous the task of reviving the global economy will be.  —  The Americans Who Straggled in Good Times, and Now Struggle in a Crisis

Democratic super PAC launches $15 million ad blitz slamming Trump on China and coronavirus  —  American Bridge has launched a counterattack as Trump and his allies attack Biden on China's role in the spread of coronavirus.  —  A Democratic super PAC has launched a $15 million ad campaign …

Army Decides a Pandemic Is a Good Time to Give GOP Donors $569 Million to ‘Build the Wall’  —  What coronavirus crisis?  Big Republican donors get a half-billion dollar, no-bid deal that one watchdog calls “a travesty that must be investigated and audited immediately.”  —  BEAST INSIDE

Coronavirus clue?  Most cases aboard U.S. aircraft carrier are symptom-free  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Sweeping testing of the entire crew of the coronavirus-stricken U.S. aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt may have revealed a clue about the pandemic: The majority of the positive cases …

Beaches, parks to reopen in Jacksonville, Fla., on Friday  —  The mayor of Jacksonville, Fla., said that the city's beaches and parks will reopen at 5 p.m. Friday, but with restrictions as the coronavirus outbreak continues across the state and country.  —  The beaches and parks will be open …

The Trump administration paid a bankrupt company with zero employees $55 million for N95 masks, which it's never manufactured  — The Trump administration has awarded a $55 million contract for N95 masks to a company with no experience producing medical supplies and whose parent company filed for bankruptcy protection last year.

Trump doesn't do much other than create chaos  —  President Trump earlier this week insisted that governors report to him and he has “total” control.  Neither is true.  And while it is true that there is a complex, difficult task for the federal government to perform in reactivating the economy …