memeorandum: It's the duty of the White House press secretary to hold briefings. But not like this. (Jonathan Karl/Washington Post)

3:15 PM ET, July 11, 2020

Top Items:

Trump's commutation of Roger Stone's sentence is an unforgivable betrayal of his office — THERE ARE no doubt thousands of people in federal prison who deserved a presidential commutation more than Roger Stone. But after President Trump's intervention on Friday, Mr. Stone will serve none of his prison sentence.

Discussion: The Guardian, IJR, Outside the Beltway, Bloomberg, The Hill, Reason, Balloon Juice, Mother Jones, Axios and The Crime Report

David Frum / The Atlantic:

Stone Walks Free in One of the Greatest Scandals in American History — Roger Stone's best trick was always his upper-class-twit wardrobe. He seemed such a farcical character, such a Klaxon-alarm-from-a-mile-away goofball—who could take him seriously? — Aldrich Ames, Robert Hanssen: They had tradecraft.

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, Mother Jones, Mediaite, BuzzFeed News and The Week

Lee Moran / HuffPost:
Mitt Romney Slams Donald Trump's Commutation For Roger Stone: ‘Historic Corruption’

Discussion: Bloomberg, Redstate and Axios

Lawfare:
Trump's Aberrant Pardons and Commutations

Discussion: Washington Post and Outside the Beltway

Peter Baker / New York Times:
In Commuting Stone's Sentence, Trump Goes Where Nixon Would Not

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, NBC News and POLITICUSUSA

Jeffrey Toobin / New Yorker: The Roger Stone Case Shows Why Trump Is Worse Than Nixon

Veronica Stracqualursi / CNN:
Pelosi blasts Roger Stone commutation as ‘an act of staggering corruption’ as Trump defends move

Discussion: Mother Jones, Twitchy and The Gateway Pundit

Lawfare:
The Roger Stone Commutation Is Even More Corrupt Than It Seems

Discussion: Bloomberg, Reason, The Week, TheBlaze and Talking Points Memo

Marshall Cohen / CNN:
Debunking 12 lies and falsehoods from the White House statement on Roger Stone's commutation

Discussion: Bloomberg, Mediaite, WHDH-TV and Washington Post

Max Boot / Washington Post:
The worst president ever keeps getting worse

Discussion: Raw Story

Speaker Nancy Pelosi:
Pelosi Statement on Trump Commuting Sentence of Campaign Advisor Roger Stone

Discussion: NPR, The Hill, Politico and CNN

The White House:
Statement from the Press Secretary Regarding Executive Grant of Clemency for Roger Stone, Jr.

William Kristol / The Bulwark: The Filthy Air — Trump gives Roger Stone his Get Out of Jail Free card.

New York Times:
Trump Commutes Sentence of Roger Stone in Case He Long Denounced

Gerald Tracy / WOAI:

‘I thought this was a hoax’: Patient in their 30s dies after attending ‘COVID party’ — SAN ANTONIO, Texas (WOAI/KABB) - A patient in their 30s died from the coronavirus after attending what is known as a “COVID party,” according to health care officials. Chief Medical Officer …

Discussion: Fox News, Raw Story, Mediaite, HillReporter.com and The Sun

Jeremy Kohler / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

Portland Place couple who confronted protesters have a long history of not backing down — ST. LOUIS — When Black Lives Matter protesters marched up Kingshighway on June 28 and turned through an iron gate into the magnificent private street of Portland Place, they encountered a couple who have for years …

Discussion: Quiz Category

Christine Byers / KSDK-TV:

McCloskeys served with search warrant, police take rifle shown in viral pictures — Sources told 5 On Your Side police seized one of the weapons, the rifle, from the couple and they told police their attorney has the pistol seen in photos. — ST. LOUIS — 5 On Your Side …

Discussion: KMOV-TV, The Western Journal, Disrn, The Daily Wire, Twitchy, The Daily Caller, Power Line, The Federalist, The Hill, The Gateway Pundit, Fox News, TheBlaze and New York Post

Dom Calicchio / Fox News:

Missouri couple who defended home have rifle seized during police search: report — There was no immediate indication the McCloskeys were arrested or charged with a crime — Authorities in St. Louis executed a search warrant Friday evening at the home of Mark and Patricia McCloskey …

Discussion: Redstate, Breitbart, Townhall and Twitchy

New York Times:

'I Don't Want to Go Back': Many Teachers Are Fearful and Angry Over Pressure to Return — Teachers say crucial questions about how schools will stay clean, keep students physically distanced and prevent further spread of the virus have not been answered. — Many of the nation's 3.5 million …

Discussion: Just The News, NPR, The Daily Caller, Deadline and KTLA

New York Times:
Reopening Schools Will Be a Huge Undertaking. It Must Be Done.

Discussion: Althouse, The Daily Signal, Gizmodo, Chalkbeat and Politics K-12

Jonathan Karl / Washington Post:

It's the duty of the White House press secretary to hold briefings. But not like this. — Jonathan Karl, the author of “Front Row at the Trump Show,” covers the White House for ABC News and is president of the White House Correspondents' Association. — On the Monday following President …

Discussion: Mediaite

CNN:

Democrats, it's too soon to cheer Trump's defeat — Opinion by Arick Wierson and Bradley Honan — Arick Wierson, who writes frequently for CNN Opinion, is a six-time Emmy Award-winning television producer and a former senior media adviser to New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Discussion: Sputnik News and Instapundit

Associated Press:

Coronavirus deaths take a long-expected turn for the worse — NEW YORK (AP) — A long-expected upturn in U.S. coronavirus deaths has begun, driven by fatalities in states in the South and West, according to data on the pandemic. — The number of deaths per day from the virus had been falling for months …

Discussion: Outside the Beltway

Sonny Soleil / WTF Florida?:

Commissioner who Voted Against Masks in Critical Condition with COVID-19 — St. Augustine (WTFF) - St. Johns County Commissioner Paul Waldron caught the coronavirus and went into septic shock after voting against a motion to mandate masks for county employees last week.

Discussion: Florida Politics

Andrew Feinberg / The Independent:

White House insiders are worried that ‘unhinged conspiracy theorists’ are being given more and more powerful roles at the Pentagon — 'It's like these individuals are living in a complete alternate reality,' one source told me, adding that the idea of such people still serving in government was ‘terrifying’

Discussion: Raw Story

New York Times:

'I Couldn't Do Anything': The Virus and an E.R. Doctor's Suicide — Dr. Lorna Breen was unflappable — until she faced a new enemy. — On an afternoon in early April, while New York City was in the throes of what would be the deadliest days of the coronavirus pandemic …

USA Today:

‘Republicans are really fed up’: GOP increasingly splits with Trump as his polls drag — WASHINGTON - Weeks before President Donald Trump accepts his party's nomination, cracks are deepening within the party as a host of GOP lawmakers distance themselves from the Republican standard bearer …

Discussion: Raw Story and POLITICUSUSA

Oliver Darcy / CNN:

Tucker Carlson's top writer resigns after secretly posting racist and sexist remarks in online forum — New York (CNN Business)Editor's note: This article quotes racist, homophobic and sexist language, much of which has not been censored. — The top writer for Fox News host Tucker Carlson …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Hill, Raw Story, Alternet.org, Contemptor, Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Guardian, POLITICUSUSA, TVNewser, Mediaite, The Wrap and Deadline, more at Mediagazer »

Maria Copeland / Campus Reform:

Police say Texas A&M student who found racist notes on his car put them there — A report from the university police department concluded that the student was responsible for the act. — A student at Texas A&M University who reported that racist notes had been left on his car windshield is responsible for the act, police say.

Discussion: TheBlaze

Ashe Schow / The Daily Wire:
HATE CRIME HOAX: Student Claims He Found Racist Notes On His Car. Police Say He Wrote Them.

Discussion: The College Fix

David Rutz / Washington Free Beacon:

NBC Contributor Reveals He Never Had Coronavirus After Network Documented His Recovery — An NBC medical expert who was brought on air nearly a dozen times to detail his struggle with COVID-19 never had the virus, he revealed this week. — After believing he had the coronavirus in spite …

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Townhall, Disrn, The Federalist, Breitbart, us20.forward-to-friend.com and The Gateway Pundit

Jonathan Martin / New York Times:

Georgia. Ohio. Texas. Democrats Tell Biden to Go Big (He's Being Cautious). — This election, some Democrats argue, offers the party the provocative possibility of a new path to the presidency, even as others warn against overconfidence. — WASHINGTON — With President Trump's poll numbers sliding …

Discussion: Axios and The Week

Nathan L. Gonzales / Roll Call:

Rating changes: Democratic control of Senate more likely because of Trump — Alaska, South Carolina seats in play; McSally an underdog — ANALYSIS — After Donald Trump's unexpected victory in 2016, there's a temptation to avoid making political projections. But one election result shouldn't cause us to ignore the data.

Discussion: The Guardian

Washington Post:

On a D.C. street beset by gun violence, calls to fix policing, not defund it — The children marching for Davon McNeal through the darkened streets of historic Anacostia this week shouted, “Kids' Lives Matter.” Adults implored the crowd: “What. Is. His. Name?” to a thunderous ovation of “Davon.”