Top Items:
Del Quentin Wilber / Los Angeles Times:
FBI serves warrant on senator in investigation of stock sales linked to coronavirus — Federal agents seized a cellphone belonging to a prominent Republican senator on Wednesday night as part of the Justice Department's investigation into controversial stock trades he made as the coronavirus …
New York Times:
Ex-F.B.I. Official Is Said to Undercut Justice Dept. Effort to Drop Flynn Case — Prosecutors questioned a former F.B.I. official whose notes were used to buttress their motion to dismiss the charge against the president's first national security adviser. — WASHINGTON — A key former F.B …
Discussion:
The Bulwark, New York Magazine, Redstate, Breitbart, Raw Story, Mother Jones, Vanity Fair and Daily Kos
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Spencer Hsu / Washington Post:
Court asks retired judge to oppose Justice Dept. effort to drop Michael Flynn case, examine if ex-Trump adviser committed perjury — Michael Flynn's sentencing judge Wednesday asked a former federal judge to explore whether Trump's former national security adviser should face a contempt hearing …
Discussion:
The Bulwark, Redstate and Just The News
Katie Benner / New York Times:
Judge Appoints Outsider to Take On Justice Dept. in Flynn Case — A retired judge will also examine whether the former national security adviser committed perjury. — WASHINGTON — The federal judge overseeing the case against President Trump's former national security adviser Michael T. Flynn appointed …
Discussion:
Raw Story, Breitbart, The Gateway Pundit, The Daily Caller, POLITICUSUSA, Axios, Washington Post, Power Line and Fox News
Politico:
Federal judge mulls contempt charge against Michael Flynn — A federal judge is signaling that he might pursue perjury or contempt charges against former national security adviser Michael Flynn over his effort to abandon a guilty plea to a charge of lying to the FBI.
Discussion:
CBS News, New York Times, Fox News, Associated Press, Daily Kos, The Daily Beast and Mediaite
Wall Street Journal:
More Than One Dozen Obama Officials Requested ‘Unmasking’ That Revealed Michael Flynn in Intelligence Reports — The list includes administration Vice President Joe Biden and CIA Director John Brennan — The National Security Agency received and approved requests from more than a dozen …
Discussion:
Daily Kos, The Hill, Balloon Juice, NB Blog, Fox News, Raw Story, POLITICUSUSA, Power Line and Washington Post
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Deb Riechmann / Associated Press:
Q&A: What does ‘unmasking’ someone in an intel report mean?
Q&A: What does ‘unmasking’ someone in an intel report mean?
Discussion:
Florida Politics, emptywheel, Raw Story, The Hill, Fox News, Politico, Redstate, Breitbart and Twitchy
Julie Pace / Associated Press:
Obama emerges as central figure in 2020 presidential race
Obama emerges as central figure in 2020 presidential race
Discussion:
Washington Post
New York Times:
Republicans Release Names of Obama-Era Officials in ‘Unmaskings’ That Revealed Flynn
CBS News:
Trump's marks for handling COVID-19 outbreak decline - CBS News poll — Americans continue to say they trust medical professionals for virus information, but Republicans also rank President Trump about as highly among their trusted sources, even as others give him his lowest marks to date for handling the outbreak.
Discussion:
The Hill and Washington Post
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CBS News:
Public says coronavirus containment still going badly in U.S., CBS News poll finds — There's fierce debate over when to reopen the U.S. economy, and the partisan gap is opening wide. Americans feel the timeline for things to return to “normal” has been pushed back dramatically.
Jamie Ross / The Daily Beast:
Trump Feared Testing Too Many People for Virus Would Spook Stock Markets, Says Report — FAILURE TO ACT — President Trump was wary of making preparations for the coronavirus pandemic because he was concerned doing so would sent the stock market into a panic, the Financial Times reports.
Discussion:
Raw Story
RELATED:
Edward Luce / Financial Times:
Inside Trump's coronavirus meltdown — When the history is written of how America handled the global era's first real pandemic, March 6 will leap out of the timeline. That was the day Donald Trump visited the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.
jsonline:
Wisconsin Supreme Court strikes down Wisconsin's stay-at-home order that closed businesses to limit spread of coronavirus — MADISON - The Wisconsin Supreme Court has struck down Gov. Tony Evers' order shutting down daily life to limit the spread of coronavirus — marking the first time a statewide order …
Discussion:
The Hill, Raw Story, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Washington Post, CNN, The Gateway Pundit, Twitchy and Daily Kos
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Ian Millhiser / Vox:
The Wisconsin Supreme Court's conservative majority strikes down state stay-home order
Todd Richmond / Associated Press:
Wisconsin high court tosses out governor's stay-home order
Wisconsin high court tosses out governor's stay-home order
Discussion:
Breitbart and The Guardian
Associated Press:
Emails: Trump nominee involved in shelving CDC virus guide — WASHINGTON (AP) — A former chemical industry executive nominated to be the nation's top consumer safety watchdog was involved in sidelining detailed guideline s to help communities reopen during the coronavirus pandemic, internal government emails show.
RELATED:
Ali Zaslav / CNN:
Schumer fails to pass resolution to release CDC reopening guidance
Schumer fails to pass resolution to release CDC reopening guidance
Discussion:
Raw Story
Libby Cathey / ABC News:
Coronavirus government response updates: Trump rejects Fauci's caution on reopening schools
Coronavirus government response updates: Trump rejects Fauci's caution on reopening schools
Discussion:
Associated Press, The Hill, Politico, NBC News, Mediaite, Breitbart and POLITICUSUSA
Bloomberg:
Abbott Virus Test Used at White House Faces Accuracy Concern — Device missed 48% of positives in one test, NYU study says — Findings of study have yet to be reviewed by other scientists — The coronavirus test from Abbott Laboratories used at the White House to get rapid answers …
Discussion:
Mediaite and The American Independent
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Politico:
McConnell pines for Pompeo as Kansas chaos looms — Senate Republicans have a problem in Kansas. And they still think Mike Pompeo is the solution. — Staring at a messy primary, a credible Democratic challenger and a real battle for Senate control, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell …
RELATED:
New York Post:
NYC health head rejected NYPD mask plea: 'I don't give two rats' asses about your cops' — New York City's health commissioner blew off an urgent NYPD request for 500,000 surgical masks as the coronavirus crisis mounted — telling a high-ranking police official that “I don't give two rats' asses about your cops,” The Post has learned.
Discussion:
The Daily Caller and Fox News
Jeff Cox / CNBC:
Weekly jobless claims total 2.981 million, bringing coronavirus tally to 36.5 million — New claims for unemployment insurance totaled 2.981 million last week. — That brings the rolling total during the coronavirus crisis to 36.5 million, though the weekly tally has declined for six straight weeks.
RELATED:
New York Times:
Coronavirus Live Updates: Over 36 Million Have Lost Jobs in Two Months — A whistle-blower plans to tell House lawmakers that “2020 will be the darkest winter in modern history” if the country does not improve its virus response. The Fed warned of long-term pain without urgent intervention …
Discussion:
The Lancet, Vox and The Guardian
RELATED:
Ricardo Alonso-zaldivar / Associated Press:
US immunologist warns of ‘darkest winter’ if virus rebounds
US immunologist warns of ‘darkest winter’ if virus rebounds
Discussion:
ABC News
New York Times:
Born Into Carnage, 18 Afghan Babies Face an Uncertain Fate — A day after gunmen stormed a maternity ward and slaughtered new mothers at random, the authorities struggled to reconnect their children with families. — KABUL, Afghanistan — When the carnage was over, the dead bodies bagged …
Discussion:
BBC, Task & Purpose and Washington Post
Haley Sweetland Edwards / TIME:
There Are Sensible Ways to Reopen a Country. Then There's America's Approach — This brutal spring, the U.S. faces two great crises. Over the past 14 weeks, 84,000 Americans have died of COVID-19. — That's 28 times the death toll of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, more than the U.S. combat deaths …
Brad Plumer / New York Times:
In a First, Renewable Energy Is Poised to Eclipse Coal in U.S. — The coronavirus has pushed the coal industry to once-unthinkable lows, and the consequences for climate change are big. — WASHINGTON — The United States is on track to produce more electricity this year from renewable power …
Bloomberg:
U.S. Likely to Get Sanofi Vaccine First If It Succeeds — Funding for research boosts U.S. push to reopen economy — French company's chief seeks to raise awareness in Europe — Americans will likely get Sanofi's Covid-19 vaccine before the rest of the world if the French pharmaceutical giant can successfully deliver one.
Discussion:
New York Post and Politico
Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:
NeverTrump becomes NeverRepublican — Conservative commentator William Kristol explained in an interview for The Post that he finds it impossible to go back to the Republican Party. “Trump's been renominated, and liberating the party from Trump or Trumpism seems awfully far-fetched,” Kristol said.
Discussion:
Raw Story
Nicholas Kristof / New York Times:
America's True Covid Toll Already Exceeds 100,000 — The reported numbers leave out thousands of deaths clearly resulting from the pandemic. — Many supporters of President Trump believe that the figures for coronavirus fatalities are inflated, and Trump himself shared a tweet doubting the accuracy of some virus figures.
Discussion:
Raw Story
New York Times:
Businesses Chafing Under Covid-19 Lockdowns Turn to Armed Defiance — Armed militia-style protesters have helped businesses across Texas defy coronavirus lockdowns and reopen. Protesters say they are enforcing the Constitution. — SHEPHERD, Texas — When Jamie Williams decided to reopen …
Sam Schechner / Wall Street Journal:
France Threatens Big Fines for Social Media With Hate-Speech Law — Social-media companies must remove content deemed hateful in France within 24 hours, or face fines of up to 4% of global revenue — PARIS—France is empowering regulators to slap large fines on social-media companies …