memeorandum: Joe Biden is a man of faith. That could help him win over some White evangelicals. (Sarah Mucha/CNN)

7:55 AM ET, July 19, 2020

Top Items:

Inside Trump's Failure: The Rush to Abandon Leadership Role on the Virus — The roots of the nation's current inability to control the pandemic can be traced to mid-April, when the White House embraced overly rosy projections to proclaim victory and move on.

Discussion: Raw Story and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Washington Post:

Trump administration pushing to block new money for testing, tracing and CDC in upcoming coronavirus relief bill — White House posture angers some GOP senators who are trying to include billions of dollars in the bill — The Trump administration is trying to block billions of dollars …

Discussion: Sputnik News, Wall Street Journal, Common Dreams, KTLA, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Talking Points Memo, Bloomberg, Raw Story, The Hill and The Guardian

New York Times:
Coronavirus Live Updates: Trump Administration Aims to Block New Funding for Testing and Tracing

Discussion: UPI

CNN: White House objects to Senate GOP push for more CDC money for coronavirus testing and tracing

Gary Langer / ABC News:

Pandemic surge damages Trump, boosting Biden's White House bid: POLL — Public preference for Biden in trust to handle the pandemic has soared. — Public preference for Joe Biden over Donald Trump in trust to handle the coronavirus pandemic has soared since March in the latest ABC News …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Fox News, Off the Kuff and Bloomberg

Washington Post:

Biden leads by double digits as coronavirus takes a toll on the president, Post-ABC poll finds — President Trump faces a significant challenge in his bid to win reelection in November, with former vice president Joe Biden holding a double-digit lead nationally and the president's approval …

Discussion: CNN

Harry Enten / CNN:

Trump wants a ‘law and order’ election. He's losing that battle. — (CNN)President Donald Trump is struggling on the most important non-economic issues of the day. — His disapproval rating on both the coronavirus and race relations are in the 30s, and his Democratic opponent …

Discussion: Politico, Axios and Daily Kos

Holly Otterbein / Politico:

Trump leans on 2016 tactic to crack Biden support — PHILADELPHIA — President Donald Trump's campaign is pouring millions of dollars into a plan to weaken Joe Biden among swing state voters of color — and it's creating a sense of déjà vu among Democratic operatives.

Discussion: NBC News and Washington Post

Joel Anderson / Slate:

Do Not Call John Lewis a “Hero” if You Stood in His Way — On March 9, 1998, John Lewis returned to the site of his bloodiest, most brutal confrontation in the fight for civil rights. Lewis had shown up in Selma, Alabama, that day to commemorate the 33rd anniversary of the “Bloody Sunday” …

Discussion: Mother Jones, Vox and Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Greg Bluestein / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

What happens to John Lewis' seat in Congress after his death — Facing a tight legal deadline, Georgia Democrats are seeking online applications to succeed the late U.S. Rep. John Lewis. — The state party said Saturday that potential contenders must complete an application by Sunday evening …

Discussion: Raw Story

Marisa Schultz / Fox News:
President Trump pays tribute to John Lewis, a ‘civil rights hero’

Discussion: Politico, New York Post, NBC News, The Hill and Townhall

Adam Harris / The Atlantic:
The World John Lewis Helped Create

Discussion: HISTORY, The Week, FOX31 Denver and Mother Jones

Katie Rogers / New York Times:
Trump Weighs In on the Death of John Lewis, One of His Most Vocal Critics

Discussion: Informed Comment, The Week and Sputnik News

Jennifer Haberkorn / Los Angeles Times: John Lewis, civil rights icon and longtime congressman, dies

Jonathan Capehart / Washington Post:
John Lewis practiced what he preached. We are a better nation for it.

Discussion: Florida Politics, Associated Press, The Guardian, Daily Kos, The Hill and New York Times

Adam Serwer / The Atlantic:
John Lewis Was an American Founder

Discussion: CNBC and NPR

Gillian Brockell / Washington Post:
At the 1963 March on Washington, civil rights leaders asked John Lewis to tone his speech down

Discussion: Vanity Fair, Fox News, The Nation, Disrn and Vox

New York Times:

Federal Officers Deployed in Portland Didn't Have Proper Training, D.H.S. Memo Said — Rather than tamping down persistent protests in Portland, Ore., a militarized presence from federal officers seems to have re-energized them. — PORTLAND, Ore. — The heavily armed federal agents facing …

Discussion: The Western Journal, The Hill, Raw Story, Twitchy, Lawyers, Guns & Money and U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley …

CNN:
US attorney requests DHS investigation after video shows masked, camouflaged federal authorities …

Discussion: NBC News, Forbes, Al Jazeera, Twitchy, The Hill, New York Post, Daily Kos and Mother Jones

Conrad Wilson / OPB:
Oregon Sues Federal Agencies Over Protest Enforcement

Discussion: Breitbart, KGW-TV, The Week, Fox News and The Gateway Pundit

Apoorva Mandavilli / New York Times:

Older Children Spread the Coronavirus Just as Much as Adults, Large Study Finds — The study of nearly 65,000 people in South Korea suggests that school reopenings will trigger more outbreaks. — In the heated debate over reopening schools, one burning question has been whether …

Ariana Eunjung Cha / Washington Post:

‘Superspreading’ events, triggered by people who may not even know they are infected, propel coronavirus pandemic — Most spread the virus to only a few people — or none at all. But studies show a small percentage transmit it with alarming efficiency. — PLEASE NOTE

Randy DeSoto / The Western Journal:

Look on MSNBC Host's Face Is Priceless as Experts Unanimously Agree US Should Reopen Schools — Share on Facebook(9.1k) Tweet P Share Email Print — The look on MSNBC host Craig Melvin's face when all the doctors interviewed by sister network NBC News for a story said they would send …

Eder Campuzano / Oregonian:

Feds, right-wing media paint Portland as ‘city under siege.’ A tour of town shows otherwise — As Cory Alexander and her daughter Nevaeh Belka stroll through downtown Portland, a mural catches the 9-year-old's eye. — The wall of black plywood surrounding the Pioneer Place Apple Store …

CNN:

85 infants under age 1 tested positive for coronavirus in one Texas county — (CNN)Eighty-five infants under age 1 have tested positive for coronavirus in one Texas county. And local officials are imploring residents to help stop its spread as the state becomes one of the newest hotspots.

Discussion: UPI and WHDH-TV

The Texas Tribune:
With 4 in 5 Texans living in a “red zone,” coronavirus hot spots are moving targets

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, New York Post and ABC13

Speaker Nancy Pelosi:

Pelosi, Blumenauer Issue Joint Statement on Trump Administration Actions in Portland — Washington, D.C. - Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Representative Earl Blumenauer of Portland, Oregon issued this statement regarding the Trump Administration's violent tactics used against protestors in Portland, Oregon:

Discussion: Axios

Adam Shaw / Fox News:

As city violence surges, liberal mayors engage in social media feuds with Trump officials — President Trump has not dialed down tensions, either — As violence and unrest surge in major cities across the U.S., liberal mayors are taking a combative stance toward the Trump administration …

Discussion: Politico

Yelena Dzhanova / CNBC:

Fauci holds up New York as model for fighting coronavirus — ‘They did it correctly’ — National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci on Friday praised New York for its handling of the coronavirus pandemic, saying the state did it “correctly.”

Discussion: Twitchy