memeorandum: In Hong Kong, a Proxy Battle Over Internet Freedom Begins (Paul Mozur/New York Times)

7:45 PM ET, July 7, 2020

Top Items:

Mary Trump's Book Accuses the President of Embracing ‘Cheating as a Way of Life’ — The president's niece, Mary L. Trump, is the first to break ranks with the family and release a tell-all memoir. — Mary L. Trump, President Trump's niece, plans to publish a tell-all family memoir next week …

Lachlan Cartwright / The Daily Beast:

Mary Trump Book Claims Trump Praised Her Breasts and His Own Sister Called Him a Clown — Mary Trump's explosive tell-all about the president details her uncle's comments about her body, his cheating on the SAT's, and how his own sister called him a clown. — Mary Trump's book …

Discussion: Washington Post, Little Green Footballs, The Wrap, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Raw Story, Mediaite and New York Times

Washington Post:

Trump's worldview forged by neglect and trauma at home, his niece says in new book — A tell-all book by President Trump's niece describes a family riven by a series of traumas, exacerbated by a daunting patriarch who “destroyed” Donald Trump by short-circuiting his “ability to develop …

Discussion: The Root, Raw Story, Mediaite, The Intellectualist, The Daily Caller and Al Jazeera

Jonathan Swan / Axios:

Mary Trump book: How she leaked Trump financials to NYT — In her new memoir, President Trump's niece reveals how she leaked hordes of confidential Trump family financial documents to the New York Times in an effort to expose her uncle, whom she portrays as a dangerous sociopath.

Discussion: Washington Post, The Sun, Political Wire and Politico

CNN:

Mary Trump levels scathing criticism of President in new book obtained by CNN — (CNN)Donald Trump's niece Mary Trump levels scathing criticism of the President in her forthcoming book, accusing him of being a “sociopath” and charging that Trump's “hubris and willful ignorance” dating back to his early days threatens the country.

Discussion: Refinery29, VICE, The Week and New York Post

Daniel Lippman / Politico: Psychological disorders and family squabbles: 9 details from the book by Donald Trump's niece

Lynn Sweet / Chicago Sun-Times:
Mary Trump says uncle Donald may have ‘undiagnosed learning disability’ in new book

Discussion: Raw Story

Daniel Bates / Daily Mail: Donald Trump was a victim of ‘child abuse’ …

Business Insider:
Trump cheated on his SAT by paying someone to take it for him, according to Mary Trump's new book

Discussion: Raw Story and Washington Post

Martin Pengelly / The Guardian:
Donald Trump's behavior was shaped by his ‘sociopath’ father, niece writes in bombshell book

Discussion: Raw Story and Balloon Juice

Elliot Ackerman / Harper's:

A Letter on Justice and Open Debate — We welcome responses at letters@harpers.org — Our cultural institutions are facing a moment of trial. Powerful protests for racial and social justice are leading to overdue demands for police reform, along with wider calls for greater equality …

Discussion: Redstate, Mediaite, The Wrap, No More Mister Nice Blog, IJR, Fox News, TheBlaze, The Daily Beast, The Daily Caller, Breitbart, Lawyers, Guns & Money, New York Post and Althouse, more at Mediagazer »

Fredrik deBoer:

ending the charade — I am perpetually annoyed that we continue to have culture war battles out of habit long after they have ceased to mean anything. For example, the liberal insistence that the media or the academy do not have liberal biases. Of course, the mainstream media is hostile to the interests of the Trump administration.

Terrence McCoy / Washington Post:

Brazil's Bolsonaro tests positive for coronavirus — RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazilian President Bolsonaro, who has sought repeatedly to minimize the coronavirus as he urges the country back to work, has tested positive for covid-19, he told reporters on Tuesday.

Discussion: BBC, Bloomberg, Vox, Associated Press, NPR, Daily Kos, The Intellectualist, The Week and Fox News

New York Times:
Coronavirus Live Updates: Trump Administration Gives Formal Notice That U.S. Will Leave the W.H.O. Next Year

Discussion: Redstate, The Western Journal, The Hill and Vanity Fair

Washington Post:
Trump administration sends letter withdrawing U.S. from World Health Organization over coronavirus response

Discussion: NPR, Financial Times and Fox News

Jacob Knutson / Axios:
Trump administration notifies UN of intent to withdraw from WHO

Discussion: Washington Post

Brett Samuels / The Hill:
Trump administration moves to formally withdraw US from WHO

Discussion: Associated Press, NBC News, Fox News, Al Jazeera, Breitbart, One America News Network, TheBlaze, IJR, Disrn and New York Post

Helen Branswell / STAT:
Trump administration submits formal notice of withdrawal from WHO

Discussion: Common Dreams and Foreign Policy

Peter S. Goodman / New York Times:

Sweden Has Become the World's Cautionary Tale — Its decision to carry on in the face of the pandemic has yielded a surge of deaths without sparing its economy from damage — a red flag as the United States and Britain move to lift lockdowns. — LONDON — Ever since the coronavirus emerged in Europe …

Judd Gregg / The Hill:

The coming Biden coup — It is more than a possibility, and slightly less than a likelihood, that Joe Biden will be elected president in November. — Biden has made it clear that a woman will be his running mate. — What is becoming equally apparent is that he may be cornered into choosing …

Discussion: Mother Jones, Washington Post, National Review, Wall Street Journal and The Atlantic

Katie Glueck / New York Times:
They Voted Third Party in 2016, but Now They've Settled on Biden

Discussion: Morning Consult

NBC News:

Trump ‘going with his gut’ in fanning racism, frustrating some White House aides — WASHINGTON — Some White House officials are privately expressing frustration over President Trump's recent embrace of a message stoking racial and cultural divisions. — The Trump allies are telling …

Quint Forgey / Politico:
Mulvaney: Trump faces ‘real headwinds’ if election turns into ‘referendum’ on him

Discussion: New York Times, CNN, Mother Jones, Breitbart and Los Angeles Times

Washington Post:

Trump's attacks on mail voting are turning Republicans off absentee ballots — President Trump's relentless attacks on the security of mail voting are driving suspicion among GOP voters toward absentee ballots — a dynamic alarming Republican strategists, who say it could undercut their own candidates, including Trump himself.

Michelle Ye Hee Lee / Washington Post: In new guidance, CDC recommends alternatives in addition to in-person voting to avoid spreading coronavirus

Aaron Gordon / VICE:

Post Office Delivery Trucks Keep Catching on Fire — Hundreds of the iconic Post Office delivery trucks have caught on fire in recent years, thanks to a 30-year-old fleet and a manufactured budget crisis. — Aaron Gordon — On April 30, 2016, a United States Post Office letter carrier in Fall River …

Politico:

Republicans in danger of losing huge portion of their women senators — Senate Republicans could lose nearly half of the women currently in their caucus come November after recently making painstaking gains — the latest potential blow to the party in the Trump era.

Discussion: Raw Story and Scripting News

Emily Cochrane / New York Times:
Hemmed In by the Pandemic, Collins Battles for Survival in Maine

Discussion: The Hill, The Week, Daily Kos, Mediaite and Bangor Daily News

Tim Elfrink / Washington Post:

Tucker Carlson suggests Sen. Tammy Duckworth, who lost her legs in Iraq, hates America — Before launching a broadside against Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Fox News host Tucker Carlson acknowledged that it's not easy to go after a Purple Heart recipient who lost both her legs while serving her country in Iraq.

Discussion: The American Independent, The Hill, Washington Monthly, Talking Points Memo, Althouse, CBS Chicago, Redstate, IJR, POLITICUSUSA, Twitchy, The Week, Mediaite and The Wrap

Tim Miller / Rolling Stone:

What 9 GOP Campaign Consultants Really Think About Republicans' Chances in November — The mood in MAGA-land: “Every shred of evidence points to a likely ass kicking” — Shooting rubber bullet grenades at protesting priests. Catastrophically botching the pandemic response, resulting in a public health and economic calamity.

Discussion: Chicago Sun-Times

Paul Mozur / New York Times:

In Hong Kong, a Proxy Battle Over Internet Freedom Begins — As the city grapples with new restrictions on online speech, American tech giants are on the front line of a clash between China and the United States over the internet's future. — As Hong Kong grapples with a draconian new security law …

Discussion: Adweek, Townhall and Hong Kong Free Press HKFP, more at Mediagazer »

Arjun Kharpal / CNBC:
U.S. is ‘looking at’ banning TikTok and Chinese social media apps, Pompeo says

Discussion: Axios, The Daily Signal, Slate, Breitbart, The Daily Caller, The Week, NBC News, One America News Network and The Verge, more at Techmeme »

Collin Binkley / ABC News:

DeVos rejects part-time reopening for schools amid pandemic — Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is assailing plans by some local districts to offer in-person instruction only a few days a week — Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on Tuesday assailed plans by some local districts to offer …

Discussion: Politico, The Hill, The Daily Beast and The American Independent

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:

Trump is in deep trouble. His own allies are privately admitting why. — For many weeks, the basic story that President Trump told the country — and himself — went like this: The only thing restraining us from roaring back to greatness is the oppressive restrictiveness of overzealous officials …

Discussion: CNN, The Week and Raw Story

Politico:

Lawmakers paralyzed over response to Russian bounty intel — Members of Congress were consumed last week with reports that the Russian government was paying bounties to Taliban militants who killed U.S. troops overseas. But they now appear poised to do little — if anything — about it.

William Davis / The Daily Caller:

Ilhan Omar Calls For The ‘Dismantling’ Of US Economy, Political System — Democratic Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar called for the “dismantling” of the U.S. economy and political system Tuesday. — “As long as our economy and political systems prioritize profit without considering who is profiting …

Discussion: Fox News, The Gateway Pundit and TheBlaze

Lesley Goldberg / Hollywood Reporter:

‘MacGyver,’ ‘Magnum P.I.’ Boss Peter Lenkov Fired at CBS — The network has parted ways with one of its top showrunners after an investigation into what sources say were multiple claims that he created a toxic work environment. — Following an investigation into multiple claims …

Discussion: Variety, The Hill and The Wrap

Ben Popken / NBC News:

Here are some of the billionaires who got PPP loans while small businesses went bankrupt — Billionaire property developer Joe Farrell, a prominent Republican fundraiser, received up to $1 million in taxpayer coronavirus relief funds, according to federal data released Monday.

Discussion: Vanity Fair, OpenSecrets.org, Unprecedented and Washington Post, more at Mediagazer »

Roger Sollenberger / Salon:

Mike Flynn swears allegiance to QAnon in Fourth of July video — Flynn tagged his lawyers and an organization founded by Charlie Daniels, who died two days later — President Donald Trump's first national security adviser Mike Flynn tweeted a video on Independence Day in which he administers …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Intellectualist and Big League Politics

Greg Bluestein / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

Loeffler opposes WNBA's plan to spread ‘Black Lives Matter’ message — U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler objected to the WNBA's plans to honor the Black Lives Matter movement, warning Tuesday that subscribing to a “particular political agenda undermines the potential of the sport and sends a message of exclusion.”

Discussion: The Hill, Axios, One America News Network, Sports Illustrated, Washington Times, Mediaite, Chicago Sun-Times, UPROXX, NPR, WNBA.com, WTOP and The Guardian

Kevin M. Kruse / Vanity Fair:

Why a Biden Administration Shouldn't Turn the Page on the Trump Era — The Obama-Biden administration wanted to move forward rather than hold Wall Street bankers and CIA torturers accountable. If elected, Biden should follow FDR's playbook and expose his predecessor's corruption and mismanagement instead.

Orion Rummler / Axios:

Fauci: “False narrative” to take comfort in lower coronavirus death rate — Anthony Fauci said at an event with Sen. Doug Jones (D-Ala.) on Tuesday “that it's a false narrative to take comfort in a lower rate of death” from the coronavirus in the U.S., warning: “There's so many other things that are dangerous and bad about the virus.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, The American Independent, POLITICUSUSA and Dr. Anthony Fauci talks …

Jacob Knutson / Axios:

At least 5 Republican senators say they will not attend GOP convention — At least five GOP senators have said they will not attend next month's Republican National Convention in Jacksonville either due to coronavirus concerns or political reasons. — Why it matters: For some …

Discussion: The American Independent, CBS News, WHDH-TV and Raw Story

Sophie Lewis / CBS News:

Growing number of Texas sheriffs refuse to enforce governor's mask requirement — A growing number of sheriffs in Texas say they are refusing to follow a recent executive order requiring masks in public. Governor Greg Abbott's mandate aims to slow the spread of coronavirus, as cases in the state soared past 200,000 on Tuesday.

Discussion: The American Spectator