memeorandum: She Said Anthony Fauci Sexually Assaulted Her. Now She Says Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman Paid Her to Lie. (Nancy Rommelmann/Reason)

5:15 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, Breitbart, Mediaite, HuffPost, Forbes, WBRZ, Raw Story, Political Flare, Daily Kos, Axios, WGN-TV, The Daily Caller, Just The News, IJR, The Sun, Deadline, The Week, 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

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: White House considers measures to boost economy without Congress

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, Fox News and Mediaite

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

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

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

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: Axios, Redstate, National Review, CNBC, The Gateway Pundit, HuffPost, Big League Politics, Raw Story, Law & Crime, 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, Power Line, Breitbart, Law & Crime, The Hill, Sean Hannity and The Daily Beast

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: 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

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

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

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

David French / The Dispatch:
A Vigilante Killing in Georgia

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

Christian Living / Russell Moore:
The Killing of Ahmaud Arbery and the Justice of God

Discussion: Raw Story

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, National Review, Twitchy, Louder With Crowder and Instapundit

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

Politico:

Supreme Court overturns ‘Bridgegate’ convictions as Christie slams ‘political crusade’ — The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday tossed the federal government's case in the infamous “Bridgegate” scandal, clearing the convictions of two allies of former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.

Discussion: Fox News, Washington Post, The Hill, Althouse, NBC News and Axios

Adam Kredo / Washington Free Beacon:

Congress Backs Australian Call for Investigation Into China Over Coronavirus Deceit — Bipartisan consensus emerges that China must be held accountable — A bipartisan delegation in Congress is showing support for the Australian government's call to investigate China over its cover …

Tom Cotton / Featured Items:
Cotton Bill Renames Chinese Embassy Street “Li Wenliang Plaza”

Discussion: Townhall and The Hill

Josh Rogin / Washington Post:
GOP to launch ‘China Task Force’ that Democrats bailed on

Discussion: Fox News, Townhall, Politico, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Breitbart, The Hill, Defeat the Virus, The Daily Caller, china.diplo.de and Axios

Ed Mazza / HuffPost:

James Carville Warns Trump: Your ‘Grifter’ Campaign Aides Are Lying To You — Trump aides are “giving him fake polls” so they can continue to make money off the failing campaign, the Democratic political consultant says. — Democratic political consultant James Carville said President Donald Trump …

Discussion: Palmer Report and Balloon Juice

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

Discussion: Forbes, The Hill and Florida Politics

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 »

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.

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

Discussion: The Hill

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

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

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.

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

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.

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.