memeorandum: This rural Virginia community thought it could escape the pandemic. Now, it has among the highest number of new cases in the state. (Laura Vozzella/Washington Post)

12:05 PM ET, September 6, 2020

Top Items:

Erica Orden / CNN:

In tell-all book, Michael Cohen says Trump hired a ‘Faux-Bama’ during White House run — (CNN)Before Donald Trump ever sought the Oval Office, he was preoccupied by its occupant President Barack Obama, publicly questioning his birthplace and privately describing him as “a Manchurian candidate” …

Discussion: Breitbart, Althouse, Axios, Raw Story and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Washington Post:

In new book, former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen describes alleged episodes of racism and says president likes how Putin runs Russia — President Trump's longtime lawyer and personal fixer, Michael Cohen, alleges in a new book that Trump made “overt and covert attempts to get Russia to interfere …

Discussion: Axios, Slate, The Root, Mediaite, Associated Press, KTLA, The Hill, One America News Network, The Daily Beast, Raw Story, Amazon.com and Political Wire

CBS News:

CBS News Battleground Tracker: National, Wisconsin contests steady amid protests; more think Biden trying to calm situation — The presidential horse race remains unchanged by recent protests — Joe Biden still leads President Trump by the same margins nationally and in the battleground state of Wisconsin.

Discussion: Bloomberg, Associated Press, The Hill and POLITICUSUSA

Harry Enten / CNN:

Trump's law and order campaign isn't working — (CNN)Poll of the week: A new CNN/SSRS poll has former Vice President Joe Biden leading President Donald Trump by a 51% to 43% margin. — That 8-point margin matches a Grinnell College/Selzer & Co. poll published this week as well and is in-line with the national polling average.

Discussion: Townhall and The Hill

Gabby Orr / Politico:

Trump prepares a new fall offensive: Branding Kamala Harris — Kamala Harris is about to get the Trump treatment. — President Donald Trump has long excelled at ridiculing opponents and fomenting rivalries among those around him — from contestants on “The Apprentice” to his top aides inside the White House.

Discussion: The Hill, POLITICUSUSA, Raw Story and NBC News

Bloomberg:

Trump Ended 2018 France Trip Having Art Loaded on Air Force One — President decided he wanted pieces from ambassador's residence — Painting, bust, figurines flown home to display at White House — After Donald Trump's planned trip to a French cemetery for fallen Marines …

Discussion: NBC News

New York Times:

At Least 4 Boats Sink During ‘Trump Boat Parade’ in Texas, Officials Say — No injuries were immediately reported at the event, which was taking place on Lake Travis. — The authorities rescued numerous people from the waters of Lake Travis in Texas on Saturday after at least four boats sank …

Discussion: ABC News, Meduza.io, The Gateway Pundit, ABC7, CBS Dallas / Fort Worth, Bloomberg, New York Post, The Hill, Slate, KRON4, The Guardian, Political Wire and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Karen Ruiz / Daily Mail:
Multiple vessels sink during a Trump Boat Parade on Lake Travis in Texas and people are rescued from the water - as nationwide MAGA celebrations kick off for the Labor Day weekend

Discussion: Axios

KEYE:
Multiple boats in distress, sinking at Trump Boat Parade on Lake Travis

Discussion: Fox News, The Daily Caller, POLITICUSUSA, Mediaite, Raw Story and Law & Crime

Blake Montgomery / The Daily Beast:
At Least 4 Boats Sink During Disastrous Trump Parade in Texas

Discussion: Townhall, Reuters and ABC7

Hojun Choi / Austin American-Statesman:
Hundreds rally but some boats are swamped in Lake Travis parade for Trump

Discussion: NBC News

KVUE-TV:
‘Many boats in distress,’ several have sunk during ‘Trump Boat Parade’ on Lake Travis, TSCO says

Discussion: New York Daily News

Todd J. Gillman / Dallas Morning News:

Trump erases Biden's lead in Texas, as Hegar chips away at Cornyn's edge in Senate race — New Dallas Morning News/UT-Tyler poll shows Texas remains a battleground, but the president has regained momentum despite ongoing pandemic and economic woes. — WASHINGTON - Texas remains a toss-up in the presidential race.

Nicholas Grossman / Arc Digital:
Republicans vs. Imaginary Biden

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money

New York Times:

A New Front in America's Pandemic: College Towns — The coronavirus is spiking around campuses from Texas to Iowa to North Carolina as students return. — IOWA CITY, Iowa — Last month, facing a budget shortfall of at least $75 million because of the pandemic, the University …

Discussion: Politico

New York Times:

In Final Stretch, Biden Defends Lead Against Trump's Onslaught — The president is attempting to overtake his Democratic challenger with a strategy of racial polarization in heavily white Midwestern states, even as Democrats make inroads in the Republican-leaning South and West.

Discussion: Associated Press, Dallas Morning News, NBC News, Axios, Raw Story, Politico, Fox News, The Guardian, Townhall, Breitbart, MSNBC, TheBlaze, POLITICUSUSA and The Mahablog

Laura Vozzella / Washington Post:

This rural Virginia community thought it could escape the pandemic. Now, it has among the highest number of new cases in the state. — ST. PAUL, Va. — In the brightest red corner of Virginia, where “Trump Digs Coal” signs dot the Appalachian mountain hollers, Jerry Estep first brushed off the coronavirus as an urban plague.

Anne Steele / Wall Street Journal:

Companies Recruit 350,000 Poll Workers for U.S. Election — Hundreds of businesses are giving employees paid time off to work the polls and to vote — Big employers including Gap Inc.'s Old Navy, Target Corp. and Warby Parker are telling employees they can take paid time off to volunteer …

Nancy Dillon / New York Daily News:

He once thought Hillary Clinton and Lady Gaga ate babies. Now he wants to help people out of QAnon — Stephen Ross went from being one of Lady Gaga's “little monsters” in high school to believing she was a cannibal pedophile. — The Massachusetts native says he was a sheltered kid with …

Jelani Cobb / New Yorker:

Our Long, Forgotten History of Election-Related Violence — President Trump has sparked dangerous lawlessness, but killing and destruction linked to political antagonisms are nothing new for this country. — In the fall of 1856, according to news reports, a Baltimore resident named Charles Brown was …

Jim Acosta / CNN:

Trump referred to Marines buried at cemetery in France in crude and derogatory terms, a former senior administration official says — (CNN)President Donald Trump referred to fallen US service members at the Aisne-Marne cemetery in crude and derogatory terms during a November 2018 trip to France …

Discussion: NBC News, ABC News, The Hill, New York Post, Daily Kos, Washington Post, The Gateway Pundit, TVNewser and FITSNews

David Ignatius / Washington Post:
Trump's bad marriage with the military has finally exploded

Discussion: Raw Story

Salena Zito / Washington Examiner:

What Joe Biden didn't let himself see in Pennsylvania — PITTSBURGH — Sometimes, we are presented with opportunities that could change how we view the world outside the bubble of our daily lives. One event can change how we see people, talk to people, and understand people and where they live …

Ben Riley-Smith / Telegraph:

Exclusive: Leaked meeting notes show Boris Johnson said Trump was ‘making American great again’ — The Prime Minister is quoted telling the US ambassador in August 2017, when foreign secretary, that Mr Trump was doing ‘fantastic stuff’ — Boris Johnson privately told US diplomats that Donald Trump was …

Discussion: Raw Story and Spectator USA

Edward Wong / New York Times:

China Freezes Credentials for Journalists at U.S. Outlets, Hinting at Expulsions — CNN, The Wall Street Journal and Getty Images are affected. Chinese officials told journalists their fate depends on what the Trump administration does to Chinese media employees.

Jennifer De Pinto / CBS News:

Voters skeptical about potential COVID-19 vaccine and say that one this year would be rushed - CBS News poll — Skepticism about getting a coronavirus vaccine has grown since earlier this summer, and most voters say if a vaccine were made available this year, their first thought …

The Texas Tribune Festival:

Live + Replay — Tags — Tribune CEO Evan Smith sits down with reporters and pundits to discuss the top stories of the week and to look ahead to the November election. — Tune in to watch this program at 10am Central time on Sept. 6. Can't watch LIVE?

Jack Arnholz / ABC News:

Ohio Gov. DeWine, Rep. Demings call for protesters to remain peaceful — The bipartisan call for peaceful protests comes as some have grown violent. — The Republican governor from Ohio and a Democratic congresswoman from Florida called for demonstrations to remain peaceful Sunday after violent clashes between protesters this week.

Discussion: The Hill

Oregonian:

100 Days of Protests in Portland — How one of America's whitest major cities became the center of the national conversation over systemic racism and police brutality. — By Eder Campuzano | The Oregonian/OregonLive, Brooke Herbert | The Oregonian/OregonLive, Beth Nakamura |

Discussion: Breitbart, ABC News, One America News Network and New York Post