memeorandum: This is the final nail in the coffin for Hong Kong's autonomy (Washington Post)

9:45 AM ET, May 25, 2020

Top Items:

On weekend dedicated to war dead, Trump tweets insults, promotes baseless claims and plays golf — As the death toll in the novel coronavirus pandemic neared 100,000 Americans this Memorial Day weekend, President Trump derided and insulted perceived enemies and promoted a baseless conspiracy theory, in between rounds of golf.

Discussion: Mediaite, The Hill, Raw Story, Slate, Mother Jones, Vox and Contemptor, more at Mediagazer »

Annie Karni / New York Times:

Trump Promotes Posts From Racist and Sexist Twitter Feed — On a somber Memorial Day weekend, the president did not mention the mounting coronavirus toll and instead retweeted personal attacks on his political rivals. — WASHINGTON — On a weekend when the nation was bracing …

Discussion: The Hill and Slate

Justine Coleman / The Hill:

GOP lawmaker calls on Trump to stop promoting Scarborough conspiracy theory: ‘It will destroy us’ — Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) called on President Trump to stop promoting “the completely unfounded conspiracy” theory regarding the death of an intern for MSNBC “Morning Joe” anchor and former Florida lawmaker Joe Scarborough.

Discussion: JONATHAN TURLEY and Mediaite

Craig Pittman / Washington Post:

Florida family grieves as Trump spreads debunked conspiracy theory to attack MSNBC host — A little after 8 a.m. on July 20, 2001, a couple arriving for an appointment opened an unlocked front door at an office in the Florida panhandle town of Fort Walton Beach and discovered a woman lying on the floor, dead.

Discussion: KDFX-TV, more at Mediagazer »

Peter Baker / New York Times:

Trump Tweets and Golfs, but Makes No Mention of Virus's Toll — Coronavirus deaths in the United States approached a staggering 100,000, a number the president once predicted would never be reached. — WASHINGTON — As President Trump's motorcade pulled into his golf club in Virginia …

Discussion: Vox and Variety

Jonathan Swan / Axios:

Scoop: Inside the secret talks to overhaul the GOP platform — For the past six months, top Trump campaign officials, reporting to Jared Kushner, have been working on a radical overhaul of the Republican Party platform. — Driving the news: The Trump campaign's Bill Stepien has been leading the process …

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, Politico and Raw Story

Jonathan Swan / Axios:
Trump seeks visual contrast with Biden as economy begins to reopen

Discussion: Associated Press and Althouse

Amy Gardner / Washington Post:

Federal judge guts Florida law requiring felons to pay fines before they can vote — A federal judge has gutted a Florida state law requiring felons to pay all court fines and fees before they can register to vote, clearing the way for thousands of Floridians to register in time for the November presidential election.

Discussion: Daily Kos, Politico, One America News Network and Axios

Tom Nichols / The Atlantic:

Donald Trump, the Most Unmanly President — So many mysteries surround Donald Trump: the contents of his tax returns, the apparent miracle of his graduation from college. Some of them are merely curiosities; others are of national importance, such as whether he understood the nuclear-weapons briefing given to every president.

Discussion: Althouse and Raw Story

Nick Perry / Associated Press:

New Zealand leader carries on with TV interview during quake — New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern barely skipped a beat when an earthquake struck during a live television interview — WELLINGTON, New Zealand — New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern barely skipped a beat …

William Boston / Wall Street Journal:

More Than 100 in Germany Found to Be Infected With Coronavirus After Church's Services — Social distancing was observed and building disinfected for affected Sunday May 10 ceremonies, says senior member — BERLIN—At least 107 people have been found to be infected with the new coronavirus …

Discussion: Vox

Ellen Barry / New York Times:

They Survived the Worst Battles of World War II. And Died of the Virus. — Inside the Holyoke Soldiers' Home was a man who had served as a jailer to Hitler's top aide. A man who had rescued Japanese kamikaze pilots from the sea. A man who carried memories of a concentration camp.

Washington Post:

As Trump removes federal watchdogs, some loyalists replacing them have ‘preposterous’ conflicts — The political appointee President Trump installed last week to investigate waste, fraud and abuse at the Transportation Department is the same official in charge of one of the agency's key divisions.

Jack Blanchard / Politico:

Furious backlash after Boris Johnson defends aide's lockdown journey — U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson will chair a tense bank holiday Cabinet meeting this morning with the Tory Party in a state of near-mutiny over his decision to stand by lockdown-flouting aide Dominic Cummings.

Discussion: Mirror.co.uk, Telegraph, Sky News and One America News Network

New York Times:

Wealthiest Hospitals Got Billions in Bailout for Struggling Health Providers — Twenty large chains received more than $5 billion in federal grants even while sitting on more than $100 billion in cash. — A multibillion-dollar institution in the Seattle area invests in hedge funds …

Washington Post:

This is the final nail in the coffin for Hong Kong's autonomy — Joshua Wong is the secretary general of Demosisto. Glacier Kwong is a digital rights and political activist in Hong Kong. — Beijing has just hammered the final nail in the coffin for Hong Kong's autonomy.