memeorandum: Coronavirus pandemic may lead to 75,000 “deaths of despair” from suicide, drug and alcohol abuse, study says (Serena Gordon/CBS News)

2:55 PM ET, May 8, 2020

Top Items:

Team Trump Wants Flynn Back for 2020, Sees Him as Its ‘Nelson Mandela’ — Can a disgraced former national security adviser become a campaign MAGA hero? We may soon find out. — With the Justice Department announcing Thursday that it would drop the case against Michael Flynn …

Discussion: The Hill, Talking Points Memo, New York Times, The Intellectualist, Raw Story, Donald J. Trump for President, Breitbart, Letters from an American, The Daily Beast and Washington Post

New York Times:

The Appalling Damage of Dropping the Michael Flynn Case — It embeds into official U.S. policy a shockingly extremist view of law enforcement as the enemy of the American people. — The authors are law professors at Georgetown. — Criminal law specialists and members of the law enforcement community are tough to really shock.

Washington Post:

After Flynn reversal, Trump signals his FBI director is on thin ice — President Trump voiced uncertainty Friday over the future of his FBI director, Christopher A. Wray, a day after the Justice Department moved to throw out the guilty plea of the president's former national security adviser, Michael T. Flynn.

Discussion: Raw Story, Vox and The Mahablog

Jan Wolfe / Reuters:
Skeptical judge could hold up Trump administration's bid to clear Flynn, legal experts say

Discussion: Vanity Fair, Axios and Washington Post

Asha Rangappa / Washington Post: Pardoning Flynn would have looked bad. Dropping the charges is far worse.

David Ignatius / Washington Post:
If Michael Flynn did nothing wrong, why didn't he tell the truth?

Discussion: Mother Jones

Lawfare:
An Ugly Day for the Justice Department

Discussion: The Atlantic, Vox, Washington Monthly, New York Times, Politico, Washington Post, Patterico's Pontifications and Twitchy

Christina Wilkie / CNBC:

Vice President Mike Pence staffer tests positive for coronavirus — An aide to Vice President Mike Pence has tested positive for coronavirus. — The confirmation came one day after news that President Donald Trump's personal valet had also tested positive. — Pence staff member tests positive for coronavirus: NBC

Discussion: Daily Kos, The Daily Caller and WHOTV

David Mack / BuzzFeed News:

No, Mike Pence Did Not Deliver Empty Boxes To A Nursing Home For A Publicity Stunt — BuzzFeed News has reporters across five continents bringing you trustworthy stories about the impact of the coronavirus. To help keep this news free, become a member and sign up for our newsletter, Outbreak Today.

Discussion: Washington Post, The Federalist and Breitbart

Jennifer Jacobs / Bloomberg:
Pence Aide Tests Positive for Virus, Delaying Trip to Iowa

Discussion: CNN and Slate

NBC News:
Pence staff member tests positive for coronavirus

Discussion: ABC News, Raw Story and Washington Post

Zeke Miller / Associated Press:
Trump offers Biden rapid COVID-19 test to resume travel

Discussion: The Hill

David Badash / Raw Story:
Kimmel roasts Mike Pence after he's caught on hot mic joking about carrying ‘empty’ PPE boxes into a nursing home

Discussion: The Daily Beast and Political Flare

Morgan Chalfant / The Hill:
Trump says he'd help Biden get access to rapid COVID tests

Discussion: Breitbart and Sean Hannity

Ben White / Politico:

Political fantasy battles economic reality after tens of millions of jobs lost — The U.S. economy is sitting in its deepest hole since the Great Depression, with more than 33 million Americans losing their jobs in just seven weeks and an unemployment rate now at 14.7 percent …

Discussion: Washington Post, CBS News, Calculated Risk, Vanity Fair, Marketplace, Raw Story, Breitbart, fox8.com, Talking Points Memo and The Week

Christopher Rugaber / Associated Press:
A devastating jobs report for April will show virus's impact

Discussion: NPR, Common Dreams, Financial Times, Observer, Politico and The Gateway Pundit

Jeff Cox / CNBC:
A record 20.5 million jobs were lost in April as unemployment rate jumps to 14.7%

Discussion: New York Times and Twitchy

Elizabeth Spiers / Washington Post:

I worked for Jared Kushner. Of course he says his covid-19 failure is a success. — President Trump's son-in-law always casts himself as the genius cleaning up someone else's problems. — Jared Kushner's coronavirus response team, we learned this week, is fumbling because it's largely staffed with inexperienced volunteers.

Discussion: The American Spectator, The Intercept, Raw Story, A Scammer Darkly, Just The News, Brookings and The Daily Caller

Alexandra Jaffe / Associated Press:

Prominent lawyer, Trump donor representing Biden accuser — WASHINGTON (AP) — Tara Reade, a former Senate staffer who alleged Joe Biden sexually assaulted her 27 years ago, is being represented by a prominent lawyer and political donor to President Donald Trump's 2016 Republican campaign.

Discussion: Townhall, The Federalist, The Daily Beast, New York Post, Reason, The Hill and The Week, more at Mediagazer »

Matt Fountain / San Luis Obispo Tribune:
Exclusive: 1996 court document confirms Tara Reade told of harassment in Biden's office

Burgess Everett / Politico:

'We're going to fill it': Republicans ready for any Supreme Court vacancy — Senate Republicans are quietly beginning to contemplate the possibility of an election-year confirmation battle for the Supreme Court. — Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's hospitalization this week and the looming end …

Discussion: Vanity Fair, Breitbart, One America News Network and Raw Story

Jordain Carney / The Hill: Republicans not sold on new round of relief checks

Anna Merlan / VICE:

‘Plandemic’ Is Dangerous, Viral Nonsense — Judy Mikovits has an urgent story to tell. In essence, it goes like this: Top government scientists are responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, and a lot else besides. She knows because she was once one of them, before they tried to destroy …

Discussion: BuzzFeed News and Poynter, more at Mediagazer »

NBC News: As ‘#Plandemic’ goes viral, those targeted by discredited scientist's crusade warn of ‘dangerous’ claims

Will Sommer / The Daily Beast:
Discredited Doctor and Sham ‘Science’ Are the Stars of Viral Coronavirus Documentary ‘Plandemic’

Discussion: Retraction Watch and No More Mister Nice Blog

Christian Boone / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

Glynn County commissioner says DA blocked arrests after fatal shooting — Glynn County Commissioner Peter Murphy on Friday said that he had determined that District Attorney Jackie Johnson's office refused to allow Glynn police to make arrests immediately after the Feb. 23 shooting death of Ahmaud Abery.

Discussion: New York Post

Nelly Miles / Georgia Bureau of Investigation:
Ahmaud Arbery Death Investigation

Discussion: Vox, Townhall, CNN, INDIVISIBLE VENTURA, Associated Press, New York Times, The Hill, KTLA, The Guardian, wabe.org, The Daily Beast, ABC News, NPR, Reason, Common Dreams, Raw Story, The Trace, IJR, The Week, Mother Jones, The Root, Daily Kos, Just The News, Law & Crime, Forbes, Slate and fox8.com

Asawin Suebsaeng / The Daily Beast:

Team Trump Considers Drive-In Theater Campaign Rallies After Coronavirus Destroyed His Preferred Option — The president wants to get back on the trail. His aides are trying to figure out how. — President Donald Trump is thirsting to hold campaign rallies again.

The Daily Beast:

Gretchen Whitmer's Chilling Call With the White House — In Ep. 6 of The New Abnormal, co-hosts Rick Wilson and Molly Jong-Fast talk with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer about a scary call with the White House and the ad that drove Trump batty. — Between being the object of Trump's vitriol and dealing …

Discussion: One America News Network

Washington Post:

White House pandemic supply project swathed in secrecy and exaggerations — On May 1, as White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany defended the Trump administration's response to the coronavirus pandemic, an illustration of an airplane flying to the moon appeared on the monitors beside her.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

Serena Gordon / CBS News:

Coronavirus pandemic may lead to 75,000 “deaths of despair” from suicide, drug and alcohol abuse, study says — COVID-19 has directly claimed tens of thousands of U.S. lives, but conditions stemming from the novel coronavirus — rampant unemployment, isolation and an uncertain future …

Discussion: Well Being Trust, Redstate, Louder With Crowder, The Daily Caller and The Week

Sean Davis / The Federalist:

Obama Defense Official Evelyn Farkas Admitted She Lied On MSNBC About Having Evidence Of Collusion — Former Obama administration defense official Evelyn Farkas testified under oath that she lied during an MSNBC interview when she claimed to have evidence of alleged collusion …

Discussion: Redstate and The Gateway Pundit

Jeremy Barr / Hollywood Reporter:

The Downside of Being a Fox News Journalist? Getting Asked About Sean Hannity — News anchors Chris Wallace and Bret Baier have faced frequent questions about the network's powerful opinion hosts and their commentary. — Chris Wallace was getting frustrated. — “I'm here.

Colby Hall / Mediaite:

WATCH: Morning Joe Airs Damning Montage of Trump's Rhetoric as Coronavirus Death Toll Rose — Morning Joe aired a damning montage of President Donald Trump's public statements over the roughly three months that the deadly Covid-19 contagion has taken the lives of nearly 75,000 American lives.

Jonathan Swan / Axios:

Scoop: Trump officials' dysfunction harms delivery of coronavirus drug — A complete breakdown in communication and coordination within the Trump administration has undermined the distribution of a promising treatment, according to senior officials with direct knowledge of the discussions.

Discussion: Raw Story, CNN and The Hill

Andrew Romano / Yahoo News:

New Yahoo News/YouGov coronavirus poll: Almost one in five say they won't get vaccinated — As a number of states begin to reopen their economies, a clear majority of Americans believe they are moving too fast, according to a new Yahoo News/YouGov coronavirus poll. Even residents of the reopened states agree.

Discussion: Forbes and Mediaite

Kendall Karson / ABC News:
Reopening the country seen as greater risk among most Americans: POLL

Discussion: The Week and FiveThirtyEight

Rod Dreher:

Anti-Mask Snowflakes Of The Right — Look, I understand people are mad about social distancing and wearing masks, but a lot of people on the Right are losing their minds. Here's something from a column by Dan Fagan in my local paper, the Baton Rouge Advocate: … I'd say you've boiled your brain, Cap.

Garrett M. Graff / Politico:

Experts Knew a Pandemic Was Coming. Here's What They're Worried About Next. — You might feel blindsided by the coronavirus, but warnings about a looming pandemic have been there for decades. Government briefings, science journals and even popular fiction projected the spread of a novel virus …

William Feuer / CNBC:

California identifies nail salons as source of coronavirus community spread, Gov. Newsom says — Community spread of the coronavirus in California began in a nail salon, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Thursday, as other states allow their manicurists to reopen. — “This whole thing started …

Discussion: Breitbart and The Week

Phil Willon / Los Angeles Times: First Californian to get coronavirus in community spread was infected at a nail salon, Newsom says

Burgess Everett / Politico:

Democratic senators propose $2,000 monthly payments to most Americans — A trio of Democratic senators are pitching a big idea: pay most American families thousands of dollars each month until the coronavirus's economic crisis subsides. — On Friday, Sens. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) …