Top Items:
Ralph Vartabedian / Los Angeles Times:
Scientists say a now-dominant strain of the coronavirus appears to be more contagious than original — Scientists have identified a new strain of the coronavirus that has become dominant worldwide and appears to be more contagious than the versions that spread in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic …
Discussion:
Mother Jones, Raw Story and WCMH-TV
Jay Rosen / PressThink:
The plan is to have no plan — “There is no genius there, only a damaged human being playing havoc with our lives.” … The plan is to have no plan, to let daily deaths between and one and three thousand become a normal thing, and then to create massive confusion about who is responsible …
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway
RELATED:
Tobias Hoonhout / National Review:
Researcher Behind Model Predicting 3,000 Daily Deaths Claims It Was Not ‘Intended to Be a Forecast’
Researcher Behind Model Predicting 3,000 Daily Deaths Claims It Was Not ‘Intended to Be a Forecast’
Discussion:
Washington Post and Mother Jones
Politico:
POLITICO Playbook: How much would you pay for a ‘virtual dinner’ with Hillary Clinton?
POLITICO Playbook: How much would you pay for a ‘virtual dinner’ with Hillary Clinton?
Discussion:
Associated Press, Political Wire and Washington Post
New York Times:
Models Project Sharp Rise in Deaths as States Reopen
Models Project Sharp Rise in Deaths as States Reopen
Discussion:
NBC News, Gothamist, WGN-TV, Fox News, Washington Post, New York Post, The Week, The Guardian, CNN, Raw Story, Letters from an American, KTLA, Palmer Report, fox8.com, Los Angeles Times, HuffPost and Axios
Mike Dennison / KBAO-TV:
MSU Poll: Bullock leads Daines in Senate contest — Bullock up 46-39; within margin of error — MT's U.S. Senate race attracting money from across the country. — HELENA — A new poll from Montana State University shows Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock leading Republican Sen. Steve Daines …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Forbes, The Hill, Washington Times and Iowa Starting Line
New York Post:
Trump: Coronavirus briefings will return, blasts ‘angry’ CBS News reporter — WASHINGTON — President Trump said Monday that “everybody” enjoyed his White House coronavirus briefings — including himself — and vowed they will be back, just not daily. — In an Oval Office interview …
Discussion:
Mediaite, IJR, The Daily Caller, Deadline, POLITICUSUSA and Lawyers, Guns & Money
Marina Villeneuve / Associated Press:
Another 1,700 virus deaths reported in NY nursing homes — ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York state is reporting more than 1,700 previously undisclosed deaths at nursing homes and adult care facilities as the state faces scrutiny over how it's protected vulnerable residents during the coronavirus pandemic.
Discussion:
National Review, The Hill, Twitchy and Sean Hannity
RELATED:
Alanna Durkin Richer / Associated Press:
US senators seek probe of veterans homes after virus deaths
Ken Dilanian / NBC News:
Trump's intel chief pick vows to ‘speak truth to power’ — John Ratcliffe made the promise in his opening remarks at his confirmation hearing Tuesday. — John Ratcliffe, the Texas congressman whose bid to be director of national intelligence fell apart last summer amid evidence he exaggerated …
RELATED:
Joseph Goldstein / New York Times:
15 Children Are Hospitalized With Mysterious Illness Possibly Tied to Covid-19 — The health authorities in New York City issued an alert saying that the children had a syndrome that doctors do not yet fully understand. — Fifteen children, many of whom had the coronavirus …
National Geographic:
Fauci: No scientific evidence the coronavirus was made in a Chinese lab — In an exclusive interview, the face of America's COVID-19 response cautions against the rush for states to reopen, and offers his tips for handling the pandemic's information deluge. — SCIENCE CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, ABC7, Tangle, Fox News, Financial Times, HuffPost and Raw Story
Quint Forgey / Politico:
'They're all LOSERS': Trump lashes out at conservative critics over new coronavirus ad — President Donald Trump late Monday lashed out online against a cadre of conservative critics seeking to thwart his reelection bid — a group that includes attorney George Conway, the husband of White House counselor Kellyanne Conway.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Mediaite and Talking Points Memo
RELATED:
CNN:
Barr urges Trump administration to back off call to fully strike down Obamacare — Washington (CNN)Attorney General William Barr made a last-minute push Monday to persuade the administration to modify its position in the Obamacare dispute that will be heard at the Supreme Court this fall …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, National Review, KTLA, Reason and Raw Story
Michelle Goldberg / New York Times:
Democrats, Tara Reade and the #MeToo Trap — Don't compare the case against Joe Biden to the one against Brett Kavanaugh. — Here is one thing that Christine Blasey Ford and Tara Reade have in common: The Intercept reporter Ryan Grim was pivotal in publicizing their stories.
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, Redstate, The Daily Beast, New York Post and Breitbart
RELATED:
Eli Yokley / Morning Consult:
After Watching Biden Deny Reade's Claims, 1 in 4 Democrats Want a Different Nominee
After Watching Biden Deny Reade's Claims, 1 in 4 Democrats Want a Different Nominee
Discussion:
VICE, The Hill, New York Times, Outside the Beltway, Mediaite, Spectator USA and IJR
Rebecca Shabad / NBC News:
Trump says ‘bailouts’ unfair to GOP since states needing aid ‘run by Democrats in every case’ — The president said in an interview that N.Y., Calif. and Illinois “have been mismanaged over a long period of time.” — WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump says it would be unfair to Republicans …
RELATED:
Washington Post:
Americans widely oppose reopening most businesses, despite easing of restrictions in some states, Post-U. Md. poll finds — Americans clearly oppose the reopening of restaurants, retail stores and other businesses, even as governors begin to lift restrictions that have kept the economy locked …
Discussion:
The Bulwark, Daily Kos and The Week
New York Times:
Coronavirus in the U.S.: An Unrelenting Crush of Cases and Deaths — While cities like New York have seen a hopeful drop in cases, upticks in other major cities and smaller communities have offset those decreases. — In New York City, the daily onslaught of death from the coronavirus has dropped to half of what it was.
Richard Fausset / New York Times:
Money for Welfare Instead Funded Concerts, Lobbyists and Football Games, Audit Finds — According to a state audit, Mississippi allowed tens of millions of dollars in federal anti-poverty funds to be used in ways that did little or nothing to help the poor.
Discussion:
Mississippi Office … and The Hill
Margaret Talev / Axios:
Two-thirds of Americans doubt the coronavirus death toll — Most Americans say they doubt the U.S. death count — but whether they think it's actually higher or lower depends on whether they're Democrats or Republicans, according to the latest installment of the Axios-Ipsos Coronavirus Index.
Discussion:
Washington Times
Sydney Morning Herald:
Australian intelligence knocks back US government's Wuhan lab virus claim — Australian intelligence agencies have questioned evidence trumpeted by United States officials supposedly linking the coronavirus to a Wuhan laboratory as concerns within the government grow that the push …
RELATED:
Dan Sabbagh / The Guardian:
Five Eyes network contradicts theory Covid-19 leaked from lab
Five Eyes network contradicts theory Covid-19 leaked from lab
Discussion:
Raw Story, VICE, globaltimes.cn, NBC News, Vanity Fair, FiveThirtyEight and The National Interest
Peter Wehner / The Atlantic:
The President Is Unraveling — In case there was any doubt, the past dozen days have proved we're at the point in his presidency where Donald Trump has become his own caricature, a figure impossible to parody, a man whose words and actions are indistinguishable from an Alec Baldwin skit on Saturday Night Live.
Discussion:
Raw Story, The Week, Mediaite and The Intellectualist
Marc Tracy / New York Times:
Newspaper's Top Editor Is Now a ‘Homeless’ Blogger — A 54-year-old journalist lost his job running an Indiana newspaper, as well as the apartment that went with it. He moved to a Motel 6. — On Wednesday he was laid off. On Friday he was living in a Motel 6.
New York Times:
‘Pelosi,’ by Molly Ball: An Excerpt — From an early age, Nancy D'Alesandro realized her mother never had much chance to be a person. — Annunciata Lombardi had always wanted more out of life. After high school, she found work as an auctioneer, but she gave it up to get married at nineteen.
Howard Forman / The Bulwark:
The President Should Resign — If Donald Trump really wants to do what is right for the American public, save lives, and save the economy, he should resign—soon. — Since about February 20, when the stock market began its plunge, the world has understood that the coronavirus outbreak was more than a regional concern.
Discussion:
Raw Story, The Bulwark Podcast and CNN
Brian Stelter / CNN:
CNN sends Trump campaign cease-and-desist letter for misleading ad — New York (CNN Business)A lawyer for CNN's parent company WarnerMedia has written a cease-and-desist letter to President Trump's re-election campaign over the misleading contents of a new campaign ad.
Rod Dreher:
Woke Totalitarianism Wins A Big One — Some commenters on this blog think I'm way out of line saying that the totalitarian threat in the US comes much more from the left than the right. Didn't I see the men with rifles in the Michigan statehouse? (Yes, I did — and I criticized them.)
Discussion:
Breitbart, Washington Post and The Federalist, more at Mediagazer »
Ryan J. Foley / Associated Press:
Coronavirus cuts ‘deep scars’ through meatpacking cities — IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — As the coronavirus spread from the nation's meatpacking plants to the broader communities where they are located, it burned through a modest duplex in Waterloo, Iowa. — In the downstairs unit lived Jim Orvis …
Katie Rogers / New York Times:
Most Events in the Lincoln Memorial Are Banned. Trump Got an Exception. — Citing the “extraordinary crisis” of the coronavirus, the interior secretary relaxed the rules so the president could hold a Fox News interview in one of the nation's most hallowed spaces.
Discussion:
NPS.gov, The Hill, Daily Kos, Mediaite, POLITICUSUSA, Raw Story, The Daily Beast and CNN
Glenn T. Stanton / The Federalist:
Why You Shouldn't Add The Q To LGBT — Not adding the Q to LGBT has to do with some very important particulars of the gay and lesbian movement and its public relations goals. — Today, most people are adding the “Q” to LGBT. They shouldn't, and let me explain why. — Some add the Q through innocent mindlessness.
Sarah Mucha / CNN:
Biden's campaign to feature his letter exchanges with supporters in new digital series called ‘Sincerely, Joe Biden’ — (CNN)After Susan Sahai watched Joe Biden's town hall for front line workers in the coronavirus crisis, she decided to write him a letter.
Discussion:
Sincerely, Joe and The Hill
Paul Krugman / New York Times:
Trump and His Infallible Advisers — Beware men who never admit having been wrong. — “You have 15 people, and the 15 within a couple of days is going to be down close to zero.” — We have contained this, and the economy is “holding up nicely.” — It's not nearly as serious as the common flu.
Discussion:
Raw Story, The Nation and Digby's Hullabaloo
Rich Lowry / National Review:
Lockdown Extremism Is a Vice — We've flattened the curve. Now let states and municipalities decide when to loosen up. — We will be in a fight against the coronavirus for months, if not years, and yet it is time to declare mission accomplished on one very important goal.
Discussion:
Mediaite