Top Items:
Washington Post:
Fired inspector general was examining whether Pompeo had a staffer walk his dog, handle dry cleaning, official says — The State Department inspector general fired by President Trump was looking into allegations that a staffer for Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was performing domestic errands …
Discussion:
Redstate, Talking Points Memo, The Hill, The Root, POLITICUSUSA, NBC News, Fox News, Axios, Common Dreams, Columbia Journalism Review, Raw Story, Mediaite and Breitbart, more at Mediagazer »
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Glenn Platt / Washington Post:
Trump's purge just got much more corrupt. Here's what's coming next. — President Trump's abrupt decision to remove the inspector general of the State Department constitutes the latest in a string of corrupt efforts to remove public servants who prioritize real oversight and accountability over protecting Trump at all costs.
Discussion:
Patterico's Pontifications and Raw Story
Edward Wong / New York Times:
Inspector General's Firing Puts Pompeo's Use of Taxpayer Funds Under Scrutiny
Inspector General's Firing Puts Pompeo's Use of Taxpayer Funds Under Scrutiny
Discussion:
Raw Story, Lawfare, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Daily Kos
New York Times:
F.B.I. Is Said to Find Links Between Pensacola Gunman and Al Qaeda — The gunman in December's shooting, a Saudi cadet who had trained with the U.S. military, had been in contact with the terrorist group, officials said. — WASHINGTON — Federal investigators found cellphone evidence …
Discussion:
Axios and The Daily Caller
RELATED:
Eric Tucker / Associated Press:
Official: FBI finds link between Pensacola gunman, al-Qaida — The FBI has found a link between the gunman in a deadly attack at a military base last December and an al-Qaida operative, a U.S. official said Monday. — Attorney General William Barr and FBI Director Chris Wray were set …
Jason Wilson / The Guardian:
US lockdown protests may have spread virus widely, cellphone data suggests — Devices associated with protesters travelled up to hundreds of miles after rallies where few precautions were taken — Cellphone location data suggests that demonstrators at anti-lockdown protests …
Discussion:
POLITICUSUSA
Ben Smith / New York Times:
Is Ronan Farrow Too Good to Be True? — He has delivered revelatory reporting on some of the defining stories of our time. But a close examination reveals the weaknesses in what may be called an era of resistance journalism. — It was a breathtaking story, written by The New Yorker's marquee reporter …
Discussion:
The Wrap, Mediaite and Althouse, more at Mediagazer »
Denise Grady / New York Times:
Coronavirus Vaccine Trial by Moderna Shows Promising Early Results — The company said its preliminary test in 8 healthy volunteers was safe. It is on an accelerated timetable to begin a larger human trial soon. — The first coronavirus vaccine to be tested in people appears to be safe …
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Nick Valencia / CNN:
Senior CDC official rebukes White House trade adviser's criticism as tensions escalate over reopening strategy — (CNN)A senior official from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Sunday offered a pointed rebuke of White House trade adviser Peter Navarro's scathing criticism …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Daily Kos, Raw Story, The Hill, Washington Post and NBC News
RELATED:
Stephen Collinson / CNN:
Trump officials deflect blame for US death toll, escalate reopening push
Alex Isenstadt / Politico:
Swing-state Republicans warn Trump's reelection is on shaky ground — Donald Trump has made clear he will attack Joe Biden unmercifully in order to ensure the election is a choice between him and Joe Biden — rather than an up-or-down vote on the president's handling of the coronavirus.
Discussion:
Raw Story
CBS News:
Full Transcript: Fed Chair Jerome Powell's 60 Minutes interview on economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic — Jerome Powell lays out his thoughts on getting the economy back to its pre-coronavirus numbers. The transcript from the Federal Reserve chairman's interview with Scott Pelley.
Discussion:
CNBC, HuffPost, Axios, Just The News, The American Independent, IJR, New York Post, Fox News and Politico
CNN:
Former Australian PM calls out the ‘Murdoch mafia’ — Kevin Rudd, a former prime minister of Australia, argues that Rupert Murdoch's media empire is a “cancer on democracy” in the U.S., U.K. and Australia, using “mafia"-like intimidation tactics against dissenting voices.
Rebecca Klar / The Hill:
Schwarzenegger holds up mock Trump University diploma in commencement speech — Actor and former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) held up a mock Trump University degree as part of a virtual commencement address to the graduating class of 2020. — “You are celebrating that journey today …
Discussion:
Breitbart and POLITICUSUSA
Tim Miller / The Bulwark:
Trump's Weekend of Scandal Was Hiding in Plain Sight — It's going on right now and no one can see it because of the chaff. — The Washington Post published a picture of Stacey Abrams wearing a cape this weekend. — You may have seen it, since in certain corners of the conservative news media …
Discussion:
Raw Story
The Daily Beast:
Busted: Pentagon Contractors' Report on ‘Wuhan Lab’ Origins of Virus Is Bogus — TRY AGAIN — A military contractors' report circulating on Capitol Hill claims to have evidence that COVID-19 escaped from a Chinese lab. It's filled with information that's just plain wrong.
Discussion:
Task & Purpose
Nancy Cook / Politico:
Trump's reopening troubles play out in his White House — As President Donald Trump urges businesses across the country to reopen and Americans to return to work, he and his administration are projecting a sense of normal after months of disruption because of the coronavirus.
Discussion:
The Hill
RELATED:
Nancy Cook / Politico:
Trump keeps his staff in flux with White House musical chairs
Trump keeps his staff in flux with White House musical chairs
Discussion:
Raw Story
Michael Wines / New York Times:
Freed by Court Ruling, Republicans Step Up Effort to Patrol Voting — Officials seek to recruit 50,000 poll watchers and spend millions to fight voter fraud. Democrats say the real goal is to stop them from voting. — WASHINGTON — Six months before a presidential election in which turnout …
Geoffrey Skelley / FiveThirtyEight:
Are Older Voters Turning Away From Trump? — There are different “gaps” in American politics, but one that has consistently shown up in recent presidential elections is the age gap. That is, younger voters tend to vote more Democratic and older voters tend to vote more Republican.
Discussion:
Political Wire
Molly Jong-Fast / The Daily Beast:
It's Official: Laura Ingraham Wants Your Grandmother to Die — Testing and tracing are just a Democratic conspiracy. Go out. Go to bars. Spread disease. Sorry, grandma, you've had a good run. — BEAST INSIDE — Friday night Laura Ingraham admitted she thinks maybe it's time to stop coddling granny.
Bloomberg:
Over 100 Million in China's Northeast Face Renewed Lockdown — Conditions return to height of China's epidemic in February — Frustration as restrictions tighten again after earlier easing — Some 108 million people in China's northeast region are being plunged back under lockdown conditions …
Discussion:
Gizmodo
Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:
This is why Trump is back to attacking Obama — It makes zero sense, you would think, for President Trump to attack his predecessor, since President Barack Obama is the most popular politician around (next to his wife) — someone who instills in Democrats a feeling of solidarity, of nostalgia for decent leadership and of hope.
Discussion:
National Review, POLITICUSUSA, Raw Story and Contemptor
Joan E Greve / The Guardian:
Democrats feel tide turning their way in battle to flip US Senate — The electoral map does not favor Republicans and the pandemic has helped put them on defense in states they once thought safe — Just three months ago, centrist Democrats were panicking.
Erica Werner / Washington Post:
$500 billion Treasury fund meant for coronavirus relief has lent barely any money so far, oversight commission finds — A Congressional Oversight Commission created by Cares Act issues its first report even though it still doesn't have a chair. — A $500 billion Treasury Department fund created …
Christian Schneider / The Bulwark:
A Picture Is Worth 100,000 Lives — “A picture shows me at a glance what it takes dozens of pages of a book to expound,” wrote Russian novelist Ivan Turgenev, in his 1862 classic Fathers and Sons. — But for some pictures, Turgenev might be undershooting the mark.
Ranjan Roy / Margins and Can Duruk:
Doordash and Pizza Arbitrage — There is such a thing as a free lunch — If capitalism is driven by a search for profit, the food delivery business confuses the hell out of me. Every platform loses money. Restaurants feel like they're getting screwed. Delivery drivers are poster children for gig economy problems.
Discussion:
The Drive, more at Techmeme »
CNN:
A person who was Covid-19 positive attended a church service and exposed 180 people, officials say — (CNN)A person who later learned they were positive for Covid-19 attended a California religious service on Mother's Day, exposing 180 other people to the novel coronavirus, according to local health officials.
Amy Harder / Axios:
Trump's energy chief: Banks are “redlining” oil and gas investments — Bank restrictions on the financing of oil and gas drilling in the Arctic are akin to past practices —known as redlining — of not loaning to communities of color, Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette told Axios in an exclusive interview.
Rebecca Woolington / Tampa Bay Times:
In Florida, 83 percent of coronavirus deaths are people 65 and older — The Tampa Bay Times analyzed data and reports from the Florida Department of Health and medical examiners offices around the state. — As the novel coronavirus has spread across Florida, much has remained uncertain …