Top Items:
Wall Street Journal:
A Presidential Smear — Trump imitates the Steele dossier in attacks on Joe Scarborough. — By The Editorial Board — Donald Trump sometimes traffics in conspiracy theories—recall his innuendo in 2016 about Ted Cruz's father and the JFK assassination—but his latest accusation …
Discussion:
The Hill, New York Times, CNBC, The Nation, Progress Pond, The Daily Caller, Raw Story, POLITICUSUSA and Mediaite
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Washington Examiner:
Trump's slanderous attack on Joe Scarborough is incompatible with leadership — Nearly two decades ago, when Joe Scarborough was a conservative Republican member of Congress from Florida, his office suffered a tragedy. One of his staff, a 28-year-old woman, named Lori Klausutis …
Discussion:
Washington Post, POLITICUSUSA, Fox News and Twitchy
Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:
Trump Is Smearing Joe Scarborough Because Republicans Reward His Bullying — The United States is in the midst of its worst economic catastrophe in 90 years, and its deepest public-health crisis in more than 100, and the president is laser-focused on the co-host of a morning cable-news talk …
Discussion:
Townhall and Washington Post, more at Mediagazer »
Guy Benson / Townhall:
Analysis: Trump's Conspiratorial Cruelty and Impulsive Feuding is One of Joe Biden's Greatest 2020 Assets
Analysis: Trump's Conspiratorial Cruelty and Impulsive Feuding is One of Joe Biden's Greatest 2020 Assets
Discussion:
Breitbart, Media Matters for America and Conservative News Today
Steve Contorno / Tampa Bay Times:
Trump press secretary Kayleigh McEnany has voted by mail 11 times in 10 years — The Republican spokeswoman has said it shouldn't be available to everyone. — For a week, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany has defended President Donald Trump's assault on vote-by-mail, insisting …
Discussion:
POLITICUSUSA and Raw Story
Daniel Lewis / New York Times:
Larry Kramer, Playwright and Outspoken AIDS Activist, Dies at 84 — He worked hard to shock the country into dealing with AIDS as a public-health emergency. But his confrontational approach could sometimes overshadow his achievements. — Larry Kramer, the noted writer whose raucous …
Discussion:
Variety, The Wrap, Raw Story, Rolling Stone, New York Post and The Guardian
Rashaan Ayesh / Axios:
“Close them down”: Trump threatens action against social media platforms — President Trump threatened to shut down or regulate social media platforms due to anti-conservative bias in a pair of Wednesday tweets — the day after Twitter's first fact-check against the president's claims on its platform.
Discussion:
NPR, Washington Post, Politico, American Enterprise Institute, IJR, ABC News and One America News Network
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Marty Johnson / The Hill:
Trump threatens social media outlets with regulation, closure after fact check added to tweet
Trump threatens social media outlets with regulation, closure after fact check added to tweet
Discussion:
Townhall, National Review, Breitbart, Fortune, The Root and Patterico's Pontifications
Charles Sykes / The Bulwark:
Don't Blame Twitter — You can't mistake the pus for the infection.
Don't Blame Twitter — You can't mistake the pus for the infection.
Discussion:
Variety, Raw Story and The Atlantic
Zeke Miller / Associated Press:
Trump threatens social media after Twitter fact-checks him
Trump threatens social media after Twitter fact-checks him
Discussion:
Vanity Fair, Discourse Blog, Real Clear Politics and Associated Press
Nancy Cook / Politico:
‘Why are you not burying him?’: Trump allies fret over rising Biden threat — Some of President Donald Trump's political allies and donors are starting to get antsy. — With only five months until the November general election, several Trump advisers, campaign veterans and prominent Republicans …
Discussion:
The Daily Caller
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Alex Isenstadt / Politico:
Trump's 2016 campaign brass warns he's in trouble in 2020 — David Bossie and Corey Lewandowski, two key allies and former political advisers to Donald Trump, went to the White House last week to issue him a warning: The president was slipping badly in swing states, and he needed to do something to fix it.
Politico:
Grenell to join Trump campaign
Grenell to join Trump campaign
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Fox News, The Daily Caller, Townhall and Twitchy
Adam Shaw / Fox News:
Pompeo officially declares Hong Kong ‘no longer autonomous,’ slams China intervention — Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday officially declared that Hong Kong is no longer autonomous from China, days after Beijing moved to impose new national security legislation on the territory.
Discussion:
ABC News and Fox Business
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New York Post:
New book claims Bill Clinton had an affair with Ghislaine Maxwell — Bill Clinton had an affair with British-born socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, who is accused of helping recruit underage victims for notorious pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, according to a blockbuster new book.
Discussion:
The Daily Caller and Spectator USA
Jessica Garate / KRQE-TV:
Did the governor break her own rules? — ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) -Did Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham play by her own rules during the public health order? KRQE News 13 has learned in April, when she ordered non-essential businesses to shut down and lectured all New Mexicans to stay home …
Discussion:
Political Wire, Twitchy and The Gateway Pundit
Jeremy Herb / CNN:
Trump tweet throws House vote on government surveillance powers into doubt — Hurd slams FISA court abuses: ‘Absolutely outrageous’ — (CNN)A House vote to reauthorize national security surveillance authorities that have been expired since March was thrown into doubt on Wednesday following …
Discussion:
Politico
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The Guardian:
Revealed: conservative group fighting to restrict voting tied to powerful dark money network — Honest Elections Project, part of network that pushed supreme court pick Brett Kavanaugh, is now focusing on voting restrictions — A powerful new conservative organization fighting to restrict voting …
Discussion:
Politico
Amanda Terkel / HuffPost:
Jennifer Carroll Foy Jumps Into Virginia Governor's Race, Hoping To Make History — If elected, she would be the first female governor of Virginia, and the first Black female governor of any state. — Jennifer Carroll Foy is jumping into the 2021 gubernatorial race in Virginia …
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Graham Moomaw / Virginia Mercury:
'The status quo isn't working': Carroll Foy launches run for Va. governor
'The status quo isn't working': Carroll Foy launches run for Va. governor
Discussion:
Blue Virginia
Big Jim / ProPublica:
The Billionaire Governor Who's Been Sued Dozens of Times for Millions in Unpaid Bills — Gov. Jim Justice is West Virginia's richest man. Over the last three decades, lawsuits over unpaid bills have cost his constellation of companies more than $128 million in judgments and settlements.
Helen Branswell / STAT:
New research rewrites history of when Covid-19 took off in the U.S. — and points to missed chances to stop it — New research has poured cold water on the theory that the Covid-19 outbreak in Washington state — the country's first — was triggered by the very first confirmed case of the infection in the country.
Chip Brownlee / Alabama Political Reporter:
“We're surging:” Alabama reports largest COVID-19 increases to date — Alabama saw its largest single-day increase in new COVID-19 cases Monday, according to the state, as daily case counts continue an upward trend and hospitals across the state report increasing hospitalizations.
David Ignatius / Washington Post:
Pompeo's ‘Madison Dinners’ aren't scandalous. I went to one. — When assessing the Trump administration, let's make sure that our outrage meters are well-calibrated, so that we don't waste time on trivial topics. A case in point is the recent uproar over the “Madison Dinners” …
Discussion:
Politico
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Thomas L. Friedman / New York Times:
Mike Pompeo Is the Worst Secretary of State Ever
Mike Pompeo Is the Worst Secretary of State Ever
Discussion:
Discourse.net
Andrew Desiderio / Politico:
Marco Rubio zeroes in on Russia — not Obama — Donald Trump's allies on Capitol Hill are pushing aggressive new investigations targeting the president's political opponents. Marco Rubio isn't joining the fray. — As Rubio assumes the acting chairmanship of the Senate Intelligence Committee …
Joe DePaolo / Mediaite:
CNBC Segment Explodes as Andrew Ross Sorkin Accuses Joe Kernen of Being in the Tank for Trump During Crisis: ‘100,000 PEOPLE DIED!’ — A CNBC debate over the stock market completely exploded early Wednesday, with two Squawk Box hosts throwing down in a vicious debate which saw one accusing …
John Hudson / Washington Post:
Trump administration to end Iran deal waivers in a blow to Obama-era pact — The Trump administration is ending sanctions waivers that allow Russian, Chinese and European companies to do work at sensitive Iranian nuclear sites, following an internal battle between Iran hawks and a more aggressive group …
Veronica Stracqualursi / CNN:
Fauci says he wears a mask to be a symbol of what ‘you should be doing’ — Washington (CNN)Dr. Anthony Fauci on Wednesday called for a cautious approach to reopening the US and implored Americans to wear face masks in public, comments that are at odds with President Donald Trump's push to have America quickly return to normalcy.
Richard Haass / Washington Post:
Trump's foreign policy doctrine? The Withdrawal Doctrine. — Richard Haass is president of the Council on Foreign Relations and author of “The World: A Brief Introduction.” — President Trump has been in the Oval Office for more than three years and has yet to claim a foreign policy doctrine of his own.
Discussion:
The Daily Signal and The Nation
Eli Yokley / Morning Consult:
Among Rumored Vice Presidential Candidates, Warren Would Give Biden the Biggest Boost — Electorate is split on the Massachusetts senator, but she would help Biden with minorities, voters under 45 — 26% say placing Warren on the ticket would make them more likely to vote for Biden; 23% say it'd make them less likely.
Discussion:
Spectator USA
Natasha Korecki / Politico:
California DA launches investigation into Tara Reade testimony — The Monterey County District Attorney's office has launched an investigation into whether Tara Reade lied on the witness stand while acting as an expert witness. — Reade, under the name Alexandra McCabe …
Discussion:
Power Line, VICE and The Daily Caller
Associated Press:
Spike in South Korea virus cases shows perils of reopening — SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — As Mediterranean beaches and Las Vegas casinos laid out plans to welcome tourists again, South Korea announced a spike in new infections Wednesday and considered reimposing social distancing restrictions …
Discussion:
National Review and Stars & Stripes
Associated Press:
AP-NORC poll: Half of Americans would get a COVID-19 vaccine — Only about half of Americans say they would get a COVID-19 vaccine if the scientists working furiously to create one succeed, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
Discussion:
The Week
Zachary Brennan / Politico:
Fauci: Hydroxychloroquine not effective against coronavirus — National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci on Wednesday became the first Trump administration official to say definitively that hydroxychloroquine is not an effective treatment for the coronavirus, based on the available data.
Discussion:
Breitbart
Dana Milbank / Washington Post:
Hell hath no fury like a president suckered — Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Anger Management Class) followed the plan to the letter. — The House Oversight Committee held a video Q&A Tuesday with Christi Grimm, the civil servant who earned a verbal lashing from President Trump …
Discussion:
Politico and New York Post