memeorandum: America's national greatness myths are shattering. Can they survive? Should they? (USA Today)

10:45 AM ET, July 26, 2020

Top Items:

Coronavirus ravaged Florida, as Ron DeSantis sidelined scientists and followed Trump — ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — As Florida became a global epicenter of the coronavirus, Gov. Ron DeSantis held one meeting this month with his top public health official, Scott Rivkees, according to the governor's schedule.

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money and Political Wire

Steve Contorno / Tampa Bay Times:
Ron DeSantis was supposed to star at Trump's Florida convention. Not anymore.

Discussion: Balloon Juice

CNN:

CNN Polls: Biden leads in three key states Trump won in 2016 — (CNN)With 100 days remaining until Election Day, voters in three critical battleground states swing in former Vice President Joe Biden's way, according to new Arizona, Florida and Michigan CNN polls conducted by SSRS.

Discussion: Marist Poll, The Hill and Politico

Associated Press:

100 Days: Trump faces headwinds as Election Day draws near — WASHINGTON (AP) — With the November election 100 days away, more Americans say the country is heading in the wrong direction than at any previous point in Donald Trump's presidency, putting the incumbent in a perilous position …

Discussion: Politico and Axios

Lauren Gambino / The Guardian: Biden holds daunting lead over Trump as US election enters final stretch

Karen Tumulty / Washington Post:

Reagan Foundation to Trump, RNC: Quit raising money off Ronald Reagan's legacy — The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute, which runs the 40th president's library near Los Angeles, has demanded that President Trump and the Republican National Committee (RNC) …

Discussion: Mediaite, Daily Kos and Raw Story

Marina Pitofsky / The Hill:
Reagan Foundation asks Trump campaign, RNC to stop using former president's name to raise money

Discussion: The Inquisitr

Jess Bidgood Globe / The Boston Globe:

A bipartisan group secretly gathered to game out a contested Trump-Biden election. It wasn't pretty — WASHINGTON — On the second Friday in June, a group of political operatives, former government and military officials, and academics quietly convened online for what became a disturbing exercise …

Discussion: Raw Story

USA Today:

America's national greatness myths are shattering. Can they survive? Should they? — Live long enough and you can see the rise and fall of myths in real time. It does not take statues being pulled from their pedestals to reveal the fragility of the conjured history upon which so much of society depends.

Michael Wilson / New York Times:

Empty Towers, No Power Lunches: Ghostly Midtown Is Omen for N.Y.C. — 7,500 workers are missing from a famous building. A food cart sells 10 hot dogs a day. The virus's effect on one block could be a vision of the city's future. — Editors and account managers at the Time & Life Building …

Kelly Mena / CNN:

Rep. Ted Yoho resigns from board of Christian organization following AOC incident — Washington, DC (CNN)Florida GOP Rep. Ted Yoho has resigned from the board of a Christian organization that works to fight hunger following his tense exchange with Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York.

Discussion: Mediaite, New York Post, The Hill and Axios

Colby Itkowitz / Washington Post: Rep. Ted Yoho removed from board of Christian charity over his comments about Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Allison Quinn / The Daily Beast:

Fox News' Jesse Watters: QAnon Has ‘Uncovered a Lot of Great Stuff’ — BECAUSE OF COURSE — Fox News host Jesse Watters says a pro-Trump, right-wing conspiracy theory movement that was deemed a terror threat by the FBI has actually “uncovered a lot of great stuff.”

Lucian K. Truscott IV / Raw Story:

‘This whole house of cards is gonna collapse’: GOP shutters Senate with US on verge of economic catastrophe — As Senate Republicans headed home for the weekend without extending unemployment insurance benefits or approving other economic relief programs that could help millions of Americans weather …

Nicky Robertson / CNN:
McConnell hopes to send next coronavirus relief bill to House within three weeks

Discussion: WKYT-TV and Talking Points Memo

Politico:
Meadows, Mnuchin make rare weekend trip to the Hill amid coronavirus relief talks

Discussion: ABC News, Fox News, The Hill and One America News Network

New York Times:

Fires and Pepper Spray in Seattle as Police Protests Widen Across U.S. — From Los Angeles to New York, protesters marched in a show of solidarity with demonstrations in Portland, Ore. In Seattle, they smashed windows and set fires. A shooting at a protest in Austin, Texas, left one man dead.

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, Slate, UPI, CBS News, The Hill, Oregonian, KIRO, Althouse, KMTV, Associated Press and Axios

New York Times:
Videos Show How Federal Officers Escalated Violence in Portland

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Associated Press, Slate, Talking Points Memo and Washington Post

Paul Kane / Washington Post:

As pandemic limits scrutiny, GOP fears lesser-known Democratic candidates will steamroll to Senate majority — In Iowa, Sen. Joni Ernst (R) has challenged her Democratic competitor to six debates, starting in August. In North Carolina, Sen. Thom Tillis (R) pressed his Democratic opponent …

Discussion: Raw Story and Balloon Juice

Robert McMillan / Wall Street Journal:

Election Officials Are Vulnerable to Email Attacks, Report Shows — Six jurisdictions used software that Russian spies have targeted in cyberattacks — Many of the thousands of county and local election officials who will be administering November's presidential election are running email systems …

Jamie Goldberg / Oregonian:

Downtown Portland businesses, derailed by pandemic, say protests present a new challenge — Adam Milne, the owner of Old Town Pizza & Brewing, realized he had to shut down his flagship Portland taproom on July 9 after the business closed out the day with just $18.75 in sales.

Christina Ruffini / CBS News:

Controversial U.S. Ambassador to Iceland wants firearm, security for Reykjavik post — The U.S. Ambassador to Iceland wants to carry a gun. — Despite being assigned to one of the safest countries in the world, Jeffrey Ross Gunter has been “paranoid” about his security since coming to Reykjavik last year …

Elliot C. Williams / DCist:

Here's What We Know About The March On Washington 2020 | DCist — In early June, an anonymous group began spreading online flyers for a March on Washington 2020, slated for Aug. 28, to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s historic “I Have a Dream” speech and accompanying march that took place 57 summers ago.

Richard Haass / Washington Post:

What Mike Pompeo doesn't understand about China, Richard Nixon and U.S. foreign policy — Richard Haass is president of the Council on Foreign Relations and author of “The World: A Brief Introduction.” — Secretary of State Mike Pompeo delivered a blistering speech about China on Thursday.

New York Times: Once a Source of U.S.-China Tension, Trade Emerges as an Area of Calm

Chuck Ross / The Daily Caller:

A Russia Analyst Living In the US Has Been Identified As Christopher Steele's Primary Dossier Source — The mystery of the primary source for dossier author Christopher Steele has finally been solved. — Igor Danchenko, a Russia analyst living in the U.S., has been identified …

Discussion: Townhall, The Gateway Pundit, Mother Jones and Fox News