Top Items:
Washington Post:
Biden offers major change to tax proposal in effort to secure infrastructure deal with Republicans — Instead of raising corporate tax rates to 28 percent, Biden has offered to create a new tax floor of 15 percent for businesses that pay very little. — President Biden signaled …
Discussion:
The Hill, CNBC, Daily Kos and New York Times
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Politico:
POLITICO Playbook: SCOOP: What Biden told Capito in their Oval Office meeting — DRIVING THE DAY — A seemingly sleepy post-Memorial Day week turned surprisingly newsy late Wednesday into this morning. Here's what you need to know to understand the three big storylines overnight: — INFRASTRUCTURE
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, New York Times, The American Independent, New Republic, ABC News and The Daily Beast
Katherine Eban / Vanity Fair:
The Lab-Leak Theory: Inside the Fight to Uncover COVID-19's Origins — Throughout 2020, the notion that the novel coronavirus leaked from a lab was off-limits. Those who dared to push for transparency say toxic politics and hidden agendas kept us in the dark. — I. A Group Called DRASTIC
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New York Post:
Fauci emails all the more reason for US to get to bottom of COVID origins
Fauci emails all the more reason for US to get to bottom of COVID origins
Discussion:
NewsNation Now
CNN:
What Fauci's emails reveal — and what they don't
What Fauci's emails reveal — and what they don't
Discussion:
spectator.us, The Daily Dot, RealClearMarkets and Page Array
Washington Post:
FBI investigating Postmaster General Louis DeJoy in connection with his political fundraising — The FBI is investigating Postmaster General Louis DeJoy in connection with campaign fundraising activity involving his former business, according to people familiar with the matter and a spokesman for DeJoy.
Andrea Salcedo / Washington Post:
As a vet spoke about Memorial Day's roots in Black history, his mic was cut. It was no accident. — Retired Army Lt. Col. Barnard Kemter was midway through his speech at a Memorial Day ceremony in an Ohio cemetery when he started discussing the role that freed Black enslaved people played in an early event honoring Civil War dead.
Discussion:
Common Dreams, Raw Story and New York Post
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Phil Keren / Akron Beacon Journal:
Veteran's microphone cut off when he discusses Blacks' role in establishing Memorial Day — Event organizer turned down sound for part of speech; Speaker says he was censored by Hudson American Legion — HUDSON — What at first blush appeared to be a short audio malfunction at Monday's Memorial …
Discussion:
BizPac Review, Balloon Juice, Lawyers, Guns & Money and TheGrio
Washington Post:
Trump has grown increasingly consumed with ballot audits as he pushes falsehood that election was stolen — Former president Donald Trump remains relentlessly focused on the false claim that the November election was stolen from him and is increasingly consumed with the notion …
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New York Times:
Trump Administration Secretly Seized Phone Records of Times Reporters — The admission by the Biden Justice Department followed similar recent disclosures to The Washington Post and CNN. — WASHINGTON — The Trump Justice Department secretly seized the phone records of four …
Discussion:
HotAir, Washington Post, IJR, The Daily Caller, The Hill, KEYT-TV, Mediaite, Raw Story and Insider, more at Mediagazer »
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The White House:
Memorandum on Establishing the Fight Against Corruption as a Core United States National Security Interest … Section 1. Policy. Corruption corrodes public trust; hobbles effective governance; distorts markets and equitable access to services; undercuts development efforts …
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The White House:
FACT SHEET: Establishing the Fight Against Corruption as a Core U.S. National Security Interest — The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to tackling corruption as an economic and national security priority, and has pledged to lead international efforts to bring transparency …
Discussion:
Associated Press
Marc Caputo / Politico:
Federal prosecutors looking into whether Gaetz obstructed justice — MIAMI — Federal prosecutors are examining whether Rep. Matt Gaetz obstructed justice during a phone call he had with a witness in the sex-crimes investigation of the Florida congressman, according to two sources familiar with the case.
Discussion:
Fox News, Raw Story, CNN, Orlando Weekly, The Hill, Talking Points Memo, HuffPost, Florida Politics, Daily Kos and Insider
Axios:
COVID-19 cases hit lowest point in U.S. since pandemic began — The U.S. has brought new coronavirus infections down to the lowest level since March 2020, when the pandemic began. — The big picture: Nearly every week for the past 56 weeks, Axios has tracked the change — more often than not …
Discussion:
Townhall and BizPac Review
Katie Herzog / Common Sense with Bari Weiss:
What Happens When Doctors Can't Tell the Truth? — I always thought that if you lived through a revolution it would be obvious to everyone. As it turns out, that's not true. Revolutions can be bloodless, incremental and subtle. And they don't require a strongman.
Discussion:
New York Times and Chicago Sun-Times
Mark Joseph Stern / Slate:
Law Student Who Made Fun of the Federalist Society Will Be Allowed to Graduate After All — Update, 9: 30 p.m.: Stanford has concluded that Nicholas Wallace engaged in protected speech, dropped its investigation, and lifted the hold on his diploma. Wallace has confirmed that he will be allowed to graduate.
Discussion:
Washington Post, FIRE, Mediaite, Above the Law, Crooks and Liars, Mercury News, Althouse, National Review, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Raw Story
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Neil Vigdor / New York Times:
A Law Student Mocked the Federalist Society. It Jeopardized His Graduation.
A Law Student Mocked the Federalist Society. It Jeopardized His Graduation.
Discussion:
The Hill, Stanford Today and Mediaite
Associated Press:
Candidate interrupted by sex toy on drone, punched at event — ALBUQUERQUE, N.M (AP) — A New Mexico sheriff who is running for mayor of Albuquerque was interrupted while on stage at a campaign event by a flying drone with a sex toy attached to it and a man who punched him.
Discussion:
Albuquerque Journal, Political Wire, Crooks and Liars, New York Post, Mock Paper Scissors and Associated Press
Katelyn Polantz / CNN:
Rep. Mo Brooks is avoiding an insurrection lawsuit. Rep. Eric Swalwell hired a private investigator to find him. — (CNN)Republican Rep. Mo Brooks is avoiding a lawsuit from his Democratic colleague Rep. Eric Swalwell that seeks to hold him accountable for the January 6 Capitol insurrection …
Discussion:
Washington Post, USA Today, The Hill, Axios, The Daily Caller, Alternet.org and Raw Story
Politico:
Sources: Dem lobbying firm under federal investigation for Burisma work — The Justice Department is investigating the work of a consulting firm linked to the president's son for potential illegal lobbying, four people familiar with the probe told POLITICO.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, New York Post, The Hill, BizPac Review, The Western Journal, National Review, Twitchy and Insider
Michele L. Norris / Washington Post:
Germany faced its horrible past. … Shortly after the National Museum of African American History and Culture opened in 2016 on the National Mall, I was speaking to some patrons of a successful nonprofit about the importance of candid racial dialogue in politics and in the places we live, work and worship.
Dennis Aftergut / The Bulwark:
Why the Manhattan District Attorney Should Have Trump Worried — Donald Trump's case won't be Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance's first high-profile prosecution. — On May 25, the day after Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. announced that he had convened a criminal grand jury …
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars
George Conway / Washington Post:
Republican senators managed to outdo themselves in cowardice — Republican senators have managed to outdo themselves in cowardice — which is quite a feat. — Last week's Senate vote blocking a national commission to investigate the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol was even more appalling …
Discussion:
The Hill, Alternet.org, The Atlantic, Insider and YouTube
Elie Mystal / The Nation:
The Miseducation of White Children — The attacks on critical race theory are just another attempt to prevent this country from reckoning with its racist past and present—by keeping white kids ignorant. — President Joe Biden went to Tulsa, Oklahoma this week to honor the victims of the 1921 massacre on …
Erin Banco / Politico:
Biden admin reveals plans for first 25 million donated vaccine doses — The Biden administration has announced which countries will share in the first 25 million Covid-19 vaccine doses donated by the U.S. to help low- and middle-income nations combat the pandemic.
Discussion:
NBC News, Associated Press and KTLA
Hanaa' Tameez / Nieman Lab:
The Washington Post opinion section is leaning into local with “Voices Across America” — Fans of The Washington Post's opinion section will get to experience a wider range of viewpoints starting this month. On June 1, the Post announced the launch of Voices Across America …
Washington Post:
Biden privately called Lawrence Summers, a critic of White House agenda, to discuss economy — President Biden recently called former Treasury Secretary Lawrence H. Summers, a Democrat who has been openly critical of his economic agenda, to acknowledge Summers's concerns and ask him to explain …
Politico:
Supreme Court narrows scope of sweeping cybercrime law — The justices agreed with a broad range of critics that prosecutors had been misusing the 35-year-old law. — The U.S. Supreme Court building is shown. Drew Angerer/Getty Images — The Supreme Court has sharply curtailed the scope …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, NBC News, Insider and Protocol, more at Techmeme »
Charles Fain Lehman / Washington Free Beacon:
What Woke's Worth and Why — In early 2019, Ta-Nehisi Coates delivered the inaugural “Distinguished Diversity Lecture” at the Ohio State University. Coates's hourlong engagement, which included a reading, a moderated conversation, and an audience Q&A, cost OSU $41,500.
Discussion:
Christopher F. Rufo
New York Times:
India and Israel Inflame Facebook's Fights With Its Own Employees — The social network wrongly bowed to government demands to take down content in the countries, employees said, in more signs of internal dissent. — SAN FRANCISCO — When India's government ordered Facebook and other tech companies …
Alex Horton / Washington Post:
Rep. Dan Crenshaw's search for ‘woke military’ complaints draws ridicule — and war movie quotes — Reports from the field have been grim. — A male soldier wearing dresses at a combat field hospital. Insubordination and the theft of strawberries on a Navy ship.
Discussion:
The Hill
Maryclaire Dale / Associated Press:
NFL pledges to halt ‘race-norming,’ review Black claims — PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The NFL on Wednesday pledged to halt the use of “race-norming” — which assumed Black players started out with lower cognitive function — in the $1 billion settlement of brain injury claims and review past scores for any potential race bias.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Twitchy, USA Today, Slate, Insider, RedState, The Daily Caller, Al Jazeera and ProFootballTalk
Olafimihan Oshin / The Hill:
Cuomo accuser: 'He's like Darth Vader, he scares everyone' … Lindsey Boylan, the first woman to accuse New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) of sexual harassment, called him an “abusive man” and compared him to “Darth Vader” in an interview on Hill.TV's “Rising.”