Top Items:
Politico:
White House weighing plan to replace Azar — White House officials are weighing a plan to replace Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, according to four people familiar with the discussions. — Among the names on the short list to replace Azar are White House coronavirus coordinator …
RELATED:
Paul Farhi / Washington Post:
The White House tried to move a reporter to the back of the press room, but she refused. Then Trump walked out. — A White House official ordered a CNN reporter to give up her front-row seat and move to the back of the press room before President Trump's briefing on Friday …
Discussion:
Contemptor and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »
Erik Wemple / Washington Post:
The White House attempts to humiliate CNN's Kaitlan Collins — CNN on Friday made sure its viewers knew not to inject bleach to protect themselves from covid-19. In multiple segments, the network's hosts denounced President Trump's unfathomably dumb remarks from Thursday evening …
Discussion:
CNN
Wall Street Journal:
White House in Talks to Replace Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar — Discussions follow criticism of his handling of the Trump administration's early response to the coronavirus pandemic — Administration officials are discussing replacing Health and Human Services Secretary …
Discussion:
The Hill
Washington Post:
Kim Jong Un's train spotted at coastal resort, intel reports scotch death rumors — TOKYO — Evidence that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is still alive and in the coastal resort of Wonsan is mounting, as satellite images showed his train apparently traveled there in the past few days …
Discussion:
The Week
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Barbara Demick / New Yorker:
In North Korea, the Fourth Man Could Be a Woman — The conventional wisdom is that a woman could never ascend to the leadership of North Korea, a country stuck in a time warp of passé fashions, hairdos, music, and social mores. A toxic mix of Confucianism and totalitarianism indentures women …
Discussion:
New York Post, New York Times, Mediaite, Althouse, The Gateway Pundit, PJ Media Home and Reuters
Hyung-jin Kim / Associated Press:
Satellite imagery finds likely Kim train amid health rumors
Satellite imagery finds likely Kim train amid health rumors
Discussion:
The Week and Washington Times
Washington Post:
13 hours of Trump: The president fills briefings with attacks and boasts, but little empathy — President Trump strode to the lectern in the White House briefing room Thursday and, for just over an hour, attacked his rivals, dismissing Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden as a …
Discussion:
Daily Kos
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Lauren Aratani / The Guardian:
Trump says briefings ‘not worth the effort’ amid fallout from disinfectant comments
Trump says briefings ‘not worth the effort’ amid fallout from disinfectant comments
Discussion:
Washington Post, Axios, Gothamist, Conservative News Today, HuffPost and TalkLeft
Charles Duhigg / New Yorker:
Seattle's Leaders Let Scientists Take the Lead. New York's Did Not — The initial coronavirus outbreaks on the East and West Coasts emerged at roughly the same time. But the danger was communicated very differently. — The first diagnosis of the coronavirus in the United States occurred …
Nicole Winfield / Associated Press:
Perfect storm: Lombardy's virus disaster is lesson for world — ROME (AP) — As Italy prepares to emerge from the West's first and most extensive coronavirus lockdown, it is increasingly clear that something went terribly wrong in Lombardy, the hardest-hit region in Europe's hardest-hit country.
Helena Bottemiller Evich / Politico:
USDA let millions of pounds of food rot while food-bank demand soared — Tens of millions of pounds of American-grown produce is rotting in fields as food banks across the country scramble to meet a massive surge in demand, a two-pronged disaster that has deprived farmers of billions of dollars …
Washington Post:
'We're basically ill-prepared': Hobbled House majority frets about its effectiveness amid pandemic — House Democrats have blasted President Trump's response to the coronavirus pandemic as inept and dangerous. Party leaders insisted on the creation of a special committee to root out abuse …
Discussion:
ncsl.org
San Francisco Chronicle:
Exclusive: Coronavirus caused heart to rupture in nation's first known victim, autopsy shows — The Santa Clara woman whose death from COVID-19 is the earliest so far known in the United States suffered a massive heart attack caused by coronavirus infection, signs of which were found throughout her body …
CNN:
A Labradoodle breeder, an internet thug and a college senior walk into the White House — Michael D'Antonio is the author of the book “Never Enough: Donald Trump and the Pursuit of Success” and co-author with Peter Eisner of “The Shadow President: The Truth About Mike Pence.”
Ramesh Ponnuru / Bloomberg:
America Isn't Actually Doing So Badly Against Coronavirus — The U.S., like all countries, has made its share of mistakes, but that doesn't make it a “failed state.” — We don't have enough tests for Covid-19 in the U.S. President Donald Trump spent weeks minimizing the threat …
Charles Gaba / ACA Signups:
Michigan (and elsewhere): For anyone using the “It's a Detroit problem!” dog whistle, I have some bad news for you. — For the past month, I've spent an awful lot of time tracking COVID-19 cases and fatalities on a state-by-state level. I'm obviously not the only one doing this …
Discussion:
Axios
Katherine Shaver / Stamford Advocate:
Experts worry ‘quarantine fatigue’ is starting — Researchers tracking smartphone data say they recently made a disturbing discovery: For the first time since states began implementing stay-at-home orders in mid-March to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus, Americans are staying home less.
Joseph Wulfsohn / Fox News:
CNN ‘Larry King’ episode featuring Biden accuser's mother disappears from Google Play catalog — The 1993 episode of CNN's “Larry King Live” featuring an anonymous caller who was later identified as the mother of Biden accuser Tara Reade was no longer listed in Google Play's catalog late Saturday.
Discussion:
Twitchy, The Gateway Pundit, Conservative News Today, The Daily Caller, KTLA and Slate
Sean Sullivan / Washington Post:
Democrats see Senate suddenly within reach, boosted by Biden's ascent — Joe Biden's unexpectedly rapid consolidation of the Democratic presidential nomination has upended calculations in both parties about the U.S. Senate landscape, with Democrats hopeful that Biden can actively help …
New York Times:
One Rich N.Y. Hospital Got Warren Buffett's Help. This One Got Duct Tape. — The inequities of New York City's health care system are clear at a public hospital in a section of Brooklyn hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. — It has been hours since the 71-year-old man in Room 3 …
Goli Sheikholeslami / WNYC News:
Statement From CEO Goli Sheikholeslami To The NYPR Staff On The Death Of WNYC's Richard Hake — It's with a heavy heart that I write to inform you that our beloved colleague and friend Richard Hake passed away suddenly on Friday at home. We are in touch with his family, and the exact cause of death hasn't yet been determined*.
Kevin D. Williamson / National Review:
A Federal Bailout Won't Fix States' Finances — This contagion has nothing to do with coronavirus. — Bailing out the Illinois state pension system is the worst idea from a week in which we were discussing the health benefits of mainlining Lysol. — (Please do not mainline Lysol. It will kill you.)
Associated Press:
Hawaii's governor extends stay-at-home order until May 31 — HONOLULU (AP) — Gov. David Ige on Saturday extended the state's state-at-home order and the mandatory quarantine for visitors through May 31. — “This was not an easy decision. I know this has been difficult for everyone.
Jonathan Rauch / The Atlantic:
The Revenge of George Wallace — Wallace never won the presidency, but the base he mobilized has found a home in today's Republican Party. — Contributing writer at The Atlantic — T — he republican party has been taken over by an unscrupulous populist demagogue.
Matt Viser / Washington Post:
With rallies banned, Joe Biden welcomes voters to another kind of show — Gov. Jay Inslee told Joe Biden he had used a 30-mile bike ride to clear his head from “ludicrous noises out of the White House.” Sen. Amy Klobuchar joked how her husband, after fully recovering from the novel coronavirus …
J. Edward Moreno / The Hill:
Trump, Putin issue joint commemorative statement triggering concerns from government officials — President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a joint statement on Saturday commemorating the 75th anniversary of a World War II meeting of U.S. and Soviet troops at the Elbe river in 1945.
Discussion:
New York Post and Wall Street Journal
Mark Leibovich / New York Times:
Trump Turns Shared American Experiences Into Us vs. Them — Nostalgia for a time when Democratic leaders could embrace Republican leaders in a moment of crisis — and when a bipartisan group would gather for an annual roasting in Washington. — WASHINGTON — Last weekend …