memeorandum: Biden slams Arbery shooting as ‘grave injustice,’ demands investigation (Adam Edelman/NBC News)

5:35 PM ET, May 7, 2020

Top Items:

AP Exclusive: Admin shelves CDC guide to reopening country — GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — A set of detailed documents created by the nation's top disease investigators meant to give step-by-step advice to local leaders deciding when and how to reopen public places such as mass transit …

CNN:

One of Trump's personal valets has tested positive for coronavirus — (CNN)A member of the US Navy who serves as one of President Donald Trump's personal valets has tested positive for coronavirus, CNN has learned Thursday, raising concerns about the President's possible exposure to the virus.

Discussion: JustOneMinute, Talking Points Memo, The Hill, CNBC, Vox, Politico, The Week, Breitbart, HuffPost, Mediaite, WBRZ, Raw Story, Political Flare, Forbes, Daily Kos, Axios, WGN-TV, The Daily Caller, Just The News, IJR, The Sun, Deadline, The Root, New York Post and Washington Post

Associated Press:

Face masks make a political statement in era of coronavirus — WASHINGTON (AP) — The decision to wear a mask in public is becoming a political statement — a moment to pick sides in a brewing culture war over containing the coronavirus. — While not yet as loaded as a “Make America Great Again” …

Discussion: Washington Post, Forbes, The Capitolist, Political Flare, Raw Story, The Week, Fox News and KTLA

Philip Bump / Washington Post:

The sharp hypocrisy of the White House position on testing — There's a straightforward way in which businesses and other institutions can relax social distancing measures without spurring a surge in new coronavirus infections: frequent and repeated assessments of employee health, including tests for those showing signs of infection.

Discussion: NPR, ABC News, Grand Forks Herald, The Hill, Mediaite, Common Dreams, CNBC, Raw Story and Forbes

Paul Waldman / Washington Post:

Republicans now want us to embrace mass death — The message from President Trump and Republicans on coronavirus has gone through multiple phases, each as misleading and/or bizarre as the last. First they told us the virus would barely touch us. Then they said it was serious, but Trump's management would quickly make it disappear.

Discussion: Politico, Twitchy, Raw Story and POLITICUSUSA

Associated Press:
Trump tells allies his wearing a mask would ‘send the wrong message’, make him look ridiculous

Discussion: Redstate, POLITICUSUSA and The American Independent

NBC News:
Trump's personal valet tests positive for coronavirus

Discussion: The Week

NBC News: White House considers measures to boost economy without Congress

Justin Caruso / The Daily Caller: Former CDC Official: Trump Should Quarantine For 14 Days, Could Have Coronavirus

Washington Post:
Live updates: White House wants CDC to revise guidelines to reopen U.S.; dire warning issued on job losses

Discussion: CNN, The Daily Caller, Talking Points Memo and The Hill

Libby Cathey / ABC News:
Government coronavirus response updates: Trump military aide tests positive for coronavirus, White House says

Discussion: Palmer Report, NBC News, IJR, Raw Story, One America News Network, The Daily Beast, Mediaite and Fox News

Devlin Barrett / Washington Post:
Trump vows complete end of Obamacare law despite pandemic

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Progress Pond, Lawyers, Guns & Money and NBC News

Associated Press:

AP Exclusive: Justice Dept dropping Flynn's criminal case — WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department on Thursday said it is dropping the criminal case against President Donald Trump's first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, abandoning a prosecution that became a rallying cry for Trump …

Discussion: Redstate, Axios, National Review, CNBC, IJR, The Gateway Pundit, Law & Crime, HuffPost, Big League Politics, Political Wire, Raw Story, The Week, Daily Kos, emptywheel and Instapundit

New York Times:

Justice Dept. Drops Case Against Michael Flynn — The extraordinary move came after the former national security adviser had fought the case in court for months, a reversal after pleading guilty twice and cooperating with investigators. — WASHINGTON — The Justice Department is dropping …

Discussion: The Atlantic, Discourse.net and emptywheel

Politico:

DOJ drops criminal case against Michael Flynn — The Justice Department has abandoned its prosecution of President Donald Trump's former national security adviser Michael Flynn, throwing in the towel on one of the most prominent cases brought by special counsel Robert Mueller.

Discussion: Townhall, Talking Points Memo, Redstate, Power Line, The Guardian, Breitbart, Sean Hannity and The Hill

Washington Post:

Justice Dept. moves to drop case against Michael Flynn, former Trump adviser who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI — The Justice Department moved Thursday to drop charges against former national security adviser Michael T. Flynn, who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his Russian contacts during the presidential transition.

Discussion: Fox News, Sean Hannity and The Mahablog

Zachary Basu / Axios:
Top Michael Flynn prosecutor moves to withdraw from case

Discussion: Townhall, Breitbart and Raw Story

Brooke Singman / Fox News:
DOJ drops case against Michael Flynn, in wake of internal memo release

Discussion: The Hill

Brooke Singman / Fox News:
Michael Flynn prosecution: A timeline of Trump's ex-national security adviser's case

Discussion: BuzzFeed News and Spectator USA

Nancy Rommelmann / Reason:

She Said Anthony Fauci Sexually Assaulted Her. Now She Says Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman Paid Her to Lie. — I'd just finished Saturday morning's second cup of coffee when an email popped through, subject line: “Exposing Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman.” — “Hi Nancy, I hope you are having a nice weekend.

Discussion: Mediaite

Travis Gettys / Raw Story:
Woman who accused Fauci of sex assault now says Trump supporters paid her to lie

Discussion: Political Flare

Laura McGann / Vox:

The agonizing story of Tara Reade — Tara Reade, a former staff assistant in Joe Biden's Senate office, on April 11. Max Whittaker/New York Times/Redux — I started reporting on Tara Reade's story a year ago. Here's what I found, and where I'm stuck.

Discussion: The Bulwark and The Daily Caller

Alana Wise / NPR:
Rep. Ocasio-Cortez Says Biden Sexual Assault Allegation ‘Not Clear-Cut’

Discussion: Breitbart, IJR, VICE and The Hill

Joe Concha / The Hill:
Tara Reade sits down with Megyn Kelly for on-camera interview

Discussion: The Week, Breitbart, Deadline, Sean Hannity and The Daily Caller

CNN:

Kayleigh McEnany called Trump comment ‘racist,’ ‘hateful’ and ‘not the American way’ in 2015 — White House Press Secretary didn't support candidate Trump — (CNN)New White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany was a harsh critic of then-candidate Donald Trump before she became a fierce advocate for him …

Discussion: Raw Story

Alex Isenstadt / Politico: Trump intensifies war with Democrats over voting laws

Alex Isenstadt / Politico:
Trump campaign to unload on Biden with negative ad onslaught

Discussion: Forbes, The Hill and Florida Politics

Ed Mazza / HuffPost:
James Carville Warns Trump: Your ‘Grifter’ Campaign Aides Are Lying To You

Discussion: Palmer Report and Balloon Juice

New York Times:

Travel From New York City Seeded Wave of U.S. Outbreaks — The coronavirus outbreak in New York City became the primary source of infections across much of the country by early March, researchers have found. — Munich — Paris — London — Rome — Barcelona, Spain — Rafina, Greece

Discussion: Townhall, New York Post, National Review, Twitchy, Louder With Crowder and Instapundit

Charles M. Blow / New York Times:

The Killing of Ahmaud Arbery — Another black man falsely assumed to be a criminal is dead. — The video is short and shocking. — It's taken from the perspective of a vehicle following a young black man running at a jogger's pace. The jogger is 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery.

Discussion: The Federalist, Washington Post, Hotair, Daily Kos, The Bread Line, The Week, ABC News, The Sun and Vox

David French / The Dispatch:
A Vigilante Killing in Georgia

Discussion: Law & Crime, The Guardian, Tangle, VICE and Washington Post

Adam Edelman / NBC News:
Biden slams Arbery shooting as ‘grave injustice,’ demands investigation

Discussion: Politico, The Hill, Breitbart, wabe.org and Senator Kelly Loeffler

Washington Post:

Trump administration asks Supreme Court to stop release of Mueller material — The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to temporarily block a ruling that requires the Justice Department to give Congress certain secret grand jury material from the investigation conducted by former special counsel Robert S. Mueller III.

Discussion: Axios and Second Nexus

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

McConnell under mounting GOP pressure to boost state aid — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is facing growing calls within his own conference to increase financial assistance to state and local governments, something the GOP leader shut down during recent coronavirus relief talks with Democrats.

Discussion: One America News Network

Billy House / Bloomberg:
Pelosi Dismisses Trump Call on Payroll, Capital Gains Taxes

Discussion: The Hill

Joe Pompeo / Vanity Fair:

“I Feel Like This Is End Times”: Will the Coronavirus Crisis Finally Crush New York's Tabloids? — The Post and the News, crucial pillars of the city's mindset, are reeling, with little hope in site. Could Rupert Murdoch sell the Post? — On March 25, as death and disease were consuming New York City …

more at Mediagazer »

Matt Olberding / Lincoln Journal Star:

Health district to stop reporting meatpacking cases — At least one Nebraska health department says it will no longer report specific COVID-19 case numbers linked to meatpacking plants after Gov. Pete Ricketts said the state will not release information related to specific businesses and only do so by industry.

Michael Grabell / ProPublica: What Happened When Health Officials Wanted to Close a Meatpacking Plant, but the Governor Said No

Wall Street Journal:

U.S. to Remove Patriot Missile Batteries from Saudi Arabia — Removing missiles, other measures mark end of recent military buildup to counter Iran, officials say — WASHINGTON—The U.S. is removing Patriot antimissile systems from Saudi Arabia and is considering reductions to other military capabilities …

Discussion: Al Jazeera

Noah Bierman / Los Angeles Times:

Can't decipher Trump-speak? Meet Margaret, the computer bot — Bill Frischling's moment of inspiration came three years ago, when Margaret, his artificial intelligence bot, tried to transcribe a 127-word section of a speech by President Trump. — The passage, ostensibly commemorating a World War II battle, careened wildly.

Andrew Joseph / STAT:

A snapshot of coronavirus in the U.S.: A high plateau of new cases portends more spread — For all the talk of a second wave of coronavirus cases hitting the United States this fall, one consideration is often lost: The country is still in the throes of the first wave of this pandemic.

Jennifer Jacobs / Bloomberg:

Trump Says He Discussed Russia ‘Hoax’ With Putin in Phone Call — President Donald Trump said he discussed the U.S. investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday, calling the probe a “hoax.” — During a meeting …

Jeffrey Collins / Associated Press:

Woman killed by alligator in SC was doing homeowner's nails — COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The woman attacked and killed by an alligator in a gated community along the South Carolina coast was visiting the homeowner to do her nails and was trying to touch the animal when it grabbed her, authorities said.

Conrad Swanson / Denver Post:

Colorado GOP Chair Ken Buck pressured local official to submit incorrect election results — Fellow Republican says congressman tried to bully him into committing a crime — Colorado Republican Party Chair Ken Buck, a U.S. representative from Windsor, pressured a local party official …

Discussion: The American Independent, Fox News, The Week and Mediaite