The Commentariat -- May 24, 2020

Afternoon Update:

The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments Sunday are here. The Washington Post's live updates for Sunday are here.

Justin Wise of the Hill: "Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Stephen Hahn on Sunday warned that the U.S. has to yet to contain the novel coronavirus, as states gradually reopen and people flock to parks and beaches during Memorial Day weekend.... 'It is up to every individual to protect themselves and their community,' he [said]. 'Social distancing, hand washing and wearing masks protect us all.'" ~~~

~~~ Adam Kelsey of ABC News: "As Americans continue to emerge from quarantines and stay-at-home orders amid the coronavirus pandemic, ... Donald Trump declared this week that 'we are not closing our country' if the United States is hit by a second wave of infections. But in an interview on ABC's "This Week" Sunday..., [Dr. Deborah Birx] said it is 'difficult to tell' whether such a step may be necessary." ~~~

~~~ Eleanor Mueller of Politico: "Places of worship 'may not be safe for those with preexisting conditions' despite orders from President Donald Trump that they be allowed to reopen immediately, White House coronavirus coordinator Deborah Birx said Sunday. 'Although it may be safe for some to go to churches and social distance, it may not be safe for those with pre-existing conditions," Birx told Chris Wallace on 'Fox News Sunday.' 'That's why in "phase one" and "phase two," we've asked for those individuals with vulnerabilities to really ensure that they are protected and sheltering in place while we open up America.'" Mrs. McC: Doctor Debbie is still trying to find a balance between reality & trumpity. It's not working very well.

Arkansas. Zack Budryk of the Hill: "Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) defended the steps his state has taken to reopen even as it saw its largest single-day increase in coronavirus cases Thursday. 'We have to manage the risk,' Hutchinson said on 'Fox News Sunday.' 'We take the virus very seriously, it's a risk, it causes death, but you can't cloister yourself at home, that is just contrary to the American spirit.'" Mrs. McC: Huh. Apparently a shrug qualified as a defense.

North Carolina. Jordan Green in the Raw Story: "The husband of the woman who leads the Reopen NC movement says people should be willing to kill, if necessary, to resist the 'New World Order' and emergency orders imposed by state government to contain the coronavirus pandemic.... [Adam] Smith said in ... videos [he posted to Facebook] that he feels called by God and by his understanding of the Constitution to prepare for a violent showdown.... Ashley Smith, the cofounder of Reopen NC and the movement's most visible leader, is organizing simultaneous rallies in five cities -- Raleigh, Charlotte, Greensboro, Asheville and Wilmington -- on Monday to commemorate Memorial Day and protest Gov. Roy Cooper's [D] handling of the coronavirus response. The rallies have attracted considerable support from Republican politicians...."

Senate Race. Alabama. Trump Projects Again. Justine Coleman of the Hill: "President Trump said in a new interview that Jeff Sessions wasn't 'mentally qualified' to be attorney general, and was a 'disaster' while in office."

Back to Fox "News"? Thibault Larger of Politico: "Richard Grenell will step down as U.S. ambassador to Berlin in a few weeks, according to a report from German outlet Die Welt based on information from the German Press Agency.... Donald Trump in February called Grenell back to Washington to take over as head of U.S. intelligence on an interim basis, replacing former acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire. Grenell's term as Trump's top intelligence official is coming to an end. Last week, the U.S. Senate confirmed Texas Rep. John Ratcliffe to succeed Grenell in the job. In early March, the Daily Wire reported that Grenell had informed the White House that he did not wish to return to Berlin once his interim role in Washington was over."

Zen Soo of the AP: "Hong Kong police fired tear gas and a water cannon at protesters in a popular shopping district Sunday, as thousands took to the streets to march against China's move to impose national security legislation on the city. Pro-democracy supporters have sharply criticized a proposal, set to be approved by China's rubber-stamp parliament this week, that would ban secessionist and subversive activity, as well as foreign interference, in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory. The pro-democracy camp says the proposal goes against the 'one country, two systems' framework that promises Hong Kong freedoms not found in mainland China." ~~~

~~~ Jacob Knutson of Axios: "White House national security adviser Robert O'Brien said on NBC's 'Meet the Press' Sunday that the U.S. government will likely impose economic sanctions on Hong Kong and China if Beijing moves ahead with a proposed national security law for Hong Kong that could constrain the special region's autonomy."

New York Times Editors: There are "10 United States military installations across the South that were named for Confederate Army officers during the first half of the 20th century.... The namings reflect a federal embrace of white supremacy that found its most poisonous expression in military installations where black servicemen were deliberately placed under the command of white Southerners.... As the military opened more and more such bases across the country, the history notes, it 'actually spread federally sponsored segregation into areas where it had never before existed with the force of law.' In other words, the base names were part of a broad federal sellout to white supremacy that poisoned the whole of the United States.... Bases named for men who sought to destroy the Union in the name of racial injustice are an insult to the ideals servicemen and women are sworn to uphold -- and an embarrassing artifact of the time when the military itself embraced anti-American values. It is long past time for those bases to be renamed."

Déjà vu< All Over Again. Holly Otterbein of Politico: "Pennsylvania could determine the presidency. But it might not be clear for days who won the state on Nov. 3. Election officials throughout the critical battleground, which is implementing no-excuse mail-in voting for the first time ever amid a pandemic, say they are unlikely to finish counting those ballots the night of the general election.... Less than two weeks away from the state's [June 2] primary, some election officials in the state said they lack the needed funding and staff to handle the massive influx of mail-in ballots they've received for that race. They also said the fact that they legally can't start counting those ballots until the morning of Election Day is complicating matters. In addition to delaying a final tally, the chaos and confusion could sow distrust ahead of the general election and give fodder to those seeking to discredit its results." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: The odds are high that we won't know the presidential (and many other) election results the day after the election. And if you think the Florida vote count in 2000 was crooked (it was), we ain't seen nothin' like what we can expect from Trump & his team of rabid acolytes (Supremes included) during the time between the polls' closing & results being announced.

~~~~~~~~~~

~~~ For a readable version, here's a pdf via the NYT. ~~~

~~~ John Grippe of the New York Times: "Instead of the articles, photographs or graphics that normally appear on the front page of The New York Times, on Sunday, there is just a list: a long, solemn list of people whose lives were lost to the coronavirus pandemic."

The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments Saturday are here. The Washington Post's live updates for Saturday are here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

** The Big Grift, Ctd. Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times: "Many Americans understand that Trump bungled the public health response to the coronavirus, but polls suggest that they don't appreciate the degree to which Trump and Congress also bungled the economic response -- or manipulated it to benefit those who least need help.... While ... Trump and his allies in Congress seek to tighten access to food stamps, they are showing compassion for one group: zillionaires. Their economic rescue package quietly allocated $135 billion ... for the likes of wealthy real estate developers. [The average benefit to these developers is $1.6 million.] My Times colleague Jesse Drucker notes that Trump himself, along with ... Jared Kushner, may benefit financially from this provision.... A single mom juggling two jobs gets a maximum $1,200 stimulus check -- and then pays taxes so that a real estate mogul can receive $1.6 million.... The fine print was mysteriously slipped into the March economic relief package, even though it has nothing to do with the coronavirus and offers retroactive tax breaks for periods long before Covid-19 arrived. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island and Representative Lloyd Doggett of Texas, both Democrats, have asked the Trump administration for any communications that illuminate how this provision sneaked into the 880-page bill.... The House of Representatives is trying to repeal the Zillionaire Giveaway, but Trump and his congressional allies are resisting." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

The federal government needs to get its s@#t together. -- Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, in a tweet March 14 ~~~

~~~ ** Greg Miller, et al., of the Washington Post: "In the final days before the United States faced a full-blown epidemic, President Trump made a last-ditch attempt to prevent people infected with the coronavirus from reaching the country. 'To keep new cases from entering our shores,' Trump said in an Oval Office address on March 11, 'we will be suspending all travel from Europe to the United States for the next 30 days.'... Harrowing scenes of interminable lines and unmasked faces crammed in confined spaces [at airports] spread across social media. The images showed how a policy intended to block the pathogen's entry into the United States instead delivered one final viral infusion. As those exposed travelers fanned out into U.S. cities and suburbs, they became part of an influx from Europe that went unchecked for weeks and helped to seal the country's coronavirus fate. Epidemiologists contend the U.S. outbreak was driven overwhelmingly by viral strains from Europe rather than China.... The travel mayhem was triggered by many of the same problems that plagued the U.S. response to the pandemic from the outset: Early warnings were missed or ignored. Coordination was chaotic or nonexistent. Key agencies fumbled their assignments. Trump's errant statements undermined his administration's plans and endangered the public." This is a damning report of how Trump & his administration, which should have known better after the chaos caused by his Muslim ban, exacerbated the coronavirus pandemic. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Debbie Donnie. Philip Bump of the Washington Post: "Of all of the times that White House coronavirus task force member Deborah Birx has said things clearly intended for President Trump's benefit, few were as transparent as her comments on Friday afternoon. She was walking through the improvements in the rate of spread of the coronavirus, drawing attention to regions still at risk. 'I'm going to call your attention to the top three states, the top three states with the largest percent,' she said -- 'and this is so you can all make your decisions about going outside, and social distancing, potentially playing golf if you're very careful and you don't touch the flags and all of those issues.... A bit later, she ... [said,] 'So we're asking continuously for you all to be outside. To enjoy your Memorial Day weekend. To play golf.'... A few seconds later: 'Please, as you go out this weekend to understand, you can go out, you can be outside...,' she said.... And lo, a report from the White House press pool on Saturday morning: 'President Trump is returning to the golf course on this pleasant, sunny Saturday,' it read." Mrs. McC: Okay, she added, as afterthoughts, you could play tennis or go to the beach. And go ahead, take a hike, Tony Fauci. A less caustic CNN story about Trump's golf outing is here. ~~~

~~~ Dan Friedman of Mother Jones: "... Donald Trump, who in 2014 attacked Barack Obama for golfing during an Ebola outbreak that ultimately took the lives of two Americans, hit the links on Saturday as the number America deaths attributed to coronavirus neared 100,000.... Trump traveled Saturday by motorcade from Washington, DC, to Sterling, Virginia, locales in which stay-at-home orders leave golf off limits to regular residents. It was his first golf outing since March 8, but also his 250th as president. As he often does, Trump played at one of his own courses, a practice that helps promote his floundering hospitality business and forces the Secret Service to spend taxpayer funds at Trump properties."

Maureen Dowd of the New York Times unmasks the MOOM: "... Trump is afraid his followers will think he's a wimp if he wears [a mask], that he's conceding the danger of a pandemic many in MAGA-land think is exaggerated or some sort of hoax. The mask should be a medical signal, not a political one. But Trump rejects the mask because of a misbegotten image of masculinity and power. In denying the mask, he denies reality, science and the fact that the country is in a crouch.... Even as Trump tries to paint Joe Biden as gaga, he is doing something truly gaga: He is running the government that is responding to the worst pandemic in a century at the same time he is the leader of the resistance to his own government, urging people and states to open up whenever they see fit, recommending Clorox injections, stifling Dr. Fauci, refusing to wear the mask." Mrs. McC: One of Dowd's better columns, IMO.

Apoorva Mandavilli of the New York Times: "A vaccine developed in China appears to be safe and may protect people from the new coronavirus, researchers reported on Friday. The early-stage trial, published in the Lancet, was conducted by researchers at several laboratories and included 108 participants aged 18 to 60. Those who received a single dose of the vaccine produced certain immune cells, called T cells, within two weeks." However, the report lists numerous caveats that suggest the initial trial indicates the vaccine may be of limited value, especially to the most at-risk populations.

Florida. Langston Taylor of the Tampa Bay Times: "Going further than previous comments that led to her ouster this week, a former data manager for Florida's Department of Health said Friday that a top official directed her to change data to downplay the threat of COVID-19 in rural counties leading up to the reopening of the state. In text messages to the Tampa Bay Times, Rebekah Jones said the Deputy Secretary for Health, Dr. Shamarial Roberson, directed her to 'manipulate' data used in the state's plan to lift stay-at-home orders. That reopening plan was first presented by Gov. Ron DeSantis during an April 29 news conference. Jones said the manipulated data was included in that presentation."

Florida Man. Kaelan Deese of the Hill: "A Florida man who spat and coughed on a police officer after claiming to have COVID-19 was indicted on federal terrorism charges. A federal grand jury in Tampa returned the indictment Wednesday against James Jamal Curry, 31, for committing a biological weapon hoax, a local CBS affiliate in Miami reported." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Michigan. Alana Wise of NPR: "Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel on Friday said President Trump had directly threatened the health and safety of her state's residents through his coronavirus response, including his recent refusals wear a mask in public and defense of those protesting stay-at-home orders. 'He has risked the health, safety and welfare of everyone who lives in this state, and I will not remain silent and just twiddle my thumbs as I see him do that,' Nessel told NPR's All Things Considered. His choice not to wear a mask, she said, 'sends the worst possible message at the worst possible time.'... Trump, who traveled to Michigan Thursday, called Nessel 'The Wacky Do Nothing Attorney General of Michigan,' in a tweet after she, on CNN, compared the president to a 'petulant child' for not wearing a mask during most of his visit this week to a Ford Motor Co. plant.'" Mrs. McC: Nessel was on CNN Saturday night, too. She said Trump "comes up with 'policies' at 2 am after getting a text message from Sean Hannity or something." (Slight paraphrase.) Of course I liked her immediately.

Minnesota. Kaelan Deese of the Hill: "A reporter was allegedly harassed for wearing a mask outside an Albany, Minn., tavern's reopening that turned into a protest following a judge's move to impose a restraining order keeping the bar shut.... In video footage captured from the event, two women appeared to be chanting, 'Take it off!' at [KARE 11 reporter Lou] Raguse, referring to a mask he was wearing. Sounds of coughing could be heard as protesters followed him while he walked away from the scene.... The reopening of the tavern was intended to be a celebration before Attorney General Keith Ellison filed a lawsuit and requested an injunction by Stearns County Judge William Cashman to stop its reopening. The gathering of 200 people outside the tavern quickly became a protest of the judge's order. Reopening the tavern would have directly violated Democratic Gov. Tim Walz's 'Stay Safe Minnesota' order...." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Missouri. Contact Tracing. Faith Karimi of CNN: "Two Missouri hairstylists potentially exposed 140 clients to coronavirus when they worked for up to eight days this month while symptomatic, health officials said. The Springfield-Greene Health Department announced Saturday that a second hairstylist tested positive for coronavirus, and may have exposed 56 clients at the same Great Clips salon. A day earlier, it had said another hairstylist with coronavirus at the same salon potentially exposed 84 customers and seven coworkers."

North Dakota. GOP Governor: Wear a Mask! Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: North Dakota's Republican governor "Doug Burgum on Friday offered a plea to stop the madness. Burgum suggested the debate over masks was being needlessly politicized and that those who are bucking federal health officials' guidance should rethink their posture. 'I would really love to see in North Dakota that we could just skip this thing that other parts of the nation are going through where they're trading a divide -- either it's ideological or political or something -- around masks versus no mask,' Burgum said. 'This is a, I would say, senseless dividing line, and I would ask people to try to dial up your empathy and your understanding.... If someone is wearing a mask, they're not doing it to represent what political party they're in or what candidates they support,' Burgum said, before his voice began breaking. 'They might be doing it because they've got a 5-year-old child who's been going through cancer treatments. They might have vulnerable adults in their life who currently have covid, and they're fighting.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) A TPM story is here.

Pride in the Time of Coronavirus. A Semicentennial. JD Shadel in the Washington Post: "... this June ... will mark a half-century since activists assembled for the first-ever gay-pride marches through the streets of New York City, Los Angeles and San Francisco.... Because of the coronavirus pandemic, more than 475 Pride events have been canceled or postponed. Now, to go on at all, Trans Pride Seattle and dozens of other celebrations are scrambling to digitize.... 'The idea of a year without Pride was unacceptable,' said Cathy Renna, communications director for the National LGBTQ Task Force and an organizer for the most ambitious online project of all, a sweeping broadcast called Global Pride... slated for July 27.... So far, about 350 Prides have indicated their desire to participate, allowing organizers to spotlight queer hot spots.... The event will feature political speakers, musical performances, celebrity cameos, stories from locals and possibly, to encourage engagement, at-home videos shared by participants."

New Zealand. Damien Cave of the New York Times: "Pandemics are often described as crises of communication, when leaders must persuade entire populations to suspend their lives because of an invisible threat. Watching [New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda] Ardern on Facebook, her favored conduit, is a lesson in rhetorical blending: epidemiology brightened with empathy, law leavened with mom jokes. And it has been strikingly effective." Here's how Ardern coaxed New Zealanders to adhere to a severe, country-wide lockdown:

~~~ AND, BTW, here's how Donald Trump encouraged Americans to face the disease:

The Judge Gets a Lawyer. Carol Leonnig & Spencer Hsu of the Washington Post: "The federal judge who refused a Justice Department request to immediately drop the prosecution of former Trump adviser Michael Flynn has hired a high-profile trial lawyer to argue his reasons for investigating whether dismissing the case is legally or ethically appropriate. In a rare step that adds to this criminal case's already unusual path, U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan has retained Beth Wilkinson to represent him in defending his decision to a federal appeals court in Washington, according to a person familiar with the hire who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter. The U.S. District Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit is now examining the judge's actions and the larger case against Flynn after lawyers for President Trump's former national security adviser asked the court to force Sullivan to toss Flynn's guilty plea." A Law & Crime story is here.

Space Farce. Bryan Bender of Politico: "The United States Space Force..., the newest branch of the American military, first championed by ... Donald Trump two years ago, tried to generate some serious headlines this month with its first recruiting commercial, an otherworldly 30-second spot summoning volunteers 'to plan for the possible while it's still impossible.' Instead, it was ambushed by the trailer for Steve Carell's much-awaited Netflix series 'Space Force,' which came out just hours earlier.... In a country stuck at home watching TV, starved for new content, the absurd comedy is one of the more exciting cultural events of the season, a 'The Office'-style lampooning stuffed with big names -- Carell, Lisa Kudrow, John Malkovich, Jane Lynch, Noah Emmerich and Jimmy O. Yang.... It's fair to say that the first new military branch in 73 years is at serious risk of being eclipsed entirely by a workplace parody.... The show is already the watercooler chatter of the year among Pentagon brass and at the far-flung bases where the real Space Force is being carved out of the Air Force." ~~~

Elections 2020

Washington Post Editors: "Out of Ukraine this week came audio recordings that have every appearance of a Kremlin scheme to tar ... Joe Biden. The president's son, Donald Trump Jr., who welcomed Russian aid against Hillary Clinton in 2016, tweeted them out and implied they were damning -- though in fact there is absolutely nothing damning about them. Meanwhile, Republican congressional leaders did their part to advance the myth that Mr. Biden's activities in Ukraine were scandalous. The recordings came from Andriy Derkach, a Ukrainian lawmaker connected to the Russian intelligence services. Mr. Derkach said they show that Mr. Biden in 2015 pressured then-Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko to help Burisma, [a Ukrainian company that employed Biden's son as a board member].... In fact, nowhere in the highly edited audio files does Mr. Biden discuss Burisma or his son.... Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), the chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, this week led his panel to authorize a subpoena of records related to Burisma and Hunter Biden, and he has said he wants to release a report on the matter before the election.... It is perverse that Mr. Johnson and the Trump camp seek to warp that good turn into an election-year liability for Mr. Biden. Their apparent lack of concern about the prospect of standing shoulder-to-shoulder with malign foreign actors is even more disgraceful."

Reid Epstein of the New York Times: "Senator Elizabeth Warren, whose full-throated opposition to high-dollar fund-raising events was a central tenet of her presidential campaign, has agreed to host such a gathering of donors for Joseph R. Biden Jr., the presumptive Democratic nominee, who is considering her to be his running mate.The online event is set to take place on June 15, according to three people with knowledge of the plans.... During her presidential run, Ms. Warren explicitly vowed not to attend private fund-raisers or dial up rich donors.... Ms. Warren built a network of high-dollar donors as a senator from Massachusetts and previously attended fund-raising events, building up her own campaign war chest before she entered the Democratic presidential race."

No, These Worrywarts Aren't Nuts. Trump Is. Reid Epstein of the New York Times: "A group of worst-case scenario planners -- mostly Democrats, but also some anti-Trump Republicans -- have been gaming out how to respond to various doomsday options for the 2020 presidential election.... The [doomsday-planners'] anxiety has intensified in recent weeks as the president continues to attack the integrity of mail voting and insinuate that the election system is rigged, while his Republican allies ramp up efforts to control who can vote and how.... [Joe] Biden ... has suggested more than once that Mr. Trump might try to disrupt or delay the election.... Marc Elias..., who leads the Democratic National Committee's legal efforts to fight voter suppression efforts..., [believes the biggest] threat ... is the possibility that the Trump administration could act in October to make it harder for people to vote in urban centers in battleground states -- possibilities, he said, that include declaring a state of emergency, deploying the National Guard or forbidding gatherings of more than 10 people." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Hey, don't give Trump any ideas. You can bet he, Javanka, Karl Rove & maybe others already are gaming out ways to "win" if Trump loses.

Elise Viebeck of the Washington Post: "The coronavirus pandemic is rapidly transforming this year's elections, changing the way tens of millions of people cast ballots and putting thousands of election officials at the center of a pitched political fight as they rush to adapt with limited time and funding. In a watershed moment for American voting, nearly 30 states have changed rules or practices for this year's primaries or the general election in response to the public health threat posed by covid-19, according to a tally by The Washington Post. The new policies affect roughly 86.6 million registered voters -- including more than 40 million people who now have the temporary right to cast an absentee ballot because of the virus.... The largely bipartisan wave of change has been hit by political turbulence as President Trump raises unfounded doubts about the security of voting by mail and threatens to punish states where Democratic leaders are facilitating it." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: If we had a decent Supreme Court, which we don't, it would take up one of these suits wending its way through the courts & tell Donald Trump to STFU & get the hell out of the way. ~~~

~~~ News Flash: Darryl Issa Is Still a Jerk. Jeremy White of Politico: "Republican congressional candidate Darrell Issa and a conservative group [Judicial Watch] are suing to block California's move to an all-mail November election. They are legally challenging Gov. Gavin Newsom's directive that elections officials mail every registered voter a ballot for the November election, making California the first state to switch to vote by mail due to coronavirus concerns. Newsom called the move a necessary response to the pandemic since voters at crowded vote centers could be exposed if they cast in-person ballots." Issa is the Republicans' nominee in California's 50th Congressional district. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

The Commentariat -- May 23, 2020

Afternoon Update:

The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments Saturday are here. The Washington Post's live updates for Saturday are here.

GOP Governor: Wear a Mask! Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: North Dakota's Republican governor "Doug Burgum on Friday offered a plea to stop the madness. Burgum suggested the debate over masks was being needlessly politicized and that those who are bucking federal health officials' guidance should rethink their posture. 'I would really love to see in North Dakota that we could just skip this thing that other parts of the nation are going through where they're trading a divide -- either it's ideological or political or something -- around masks versus no mask,' Burgum said. 'This is a, I would say, senseless dividing line, and I would ask people to try to dial up your empathy and your understanding.... If someone is wearing a mask, they're not doing it to represent what political party they're in or what candidates they support,' Burgum said, before his voice began breaking. 'They might be doing it because they've got a 5-year-old child who's been going through cancer treatments. They might have vulnerable adults in their life who currently have covid, and they're fighting.'"

Minnesota. Kaelan Deese of the Hill: "A reporter was allegedly harassed for wearing a mask outside an Albany, Minn., tavern's reopening that turned into a protest following a judge's move to impose a restraining order keeping the bar shut.... In video footage captured from the event, two women appeared to be chanting, 'Take it off!' at [KARE 11 reporter Lou] Raguse, referring to a mask he was wearing. Sounds of coughing could be heard as protesters followed him while he walked away from the scene.... The reopening of the tavern was intended to be a celebration before Attorney General Keith Ellison filed a lawsuit and requested an injunction by Stearns County Judge William Cashman to stop its reopening. The gathering of 200 people outside the tavern quickly became a protest of the judge's order. Reopening the tavern would have directly violated Democratic Gov. Tim Walz's 'Stay Safe Minnesota' order....

Florida. Kaelan Deese of the Hill: "A Florida man who spat and coughed on a police officer after claiming to have COVID-19 was indicted on federal terrorism charges. A federal grand jury in Tampa returned the indictment Wednesday against James Jamal Curry, 31, for committing a biological weapon hoax, a local CBS affiliate in Miami reported."

** The Big Grift, Ctd. Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times: "Many Americans understand that Trump bungled the public health response to the coronavirus, but polls suggest that they don't appreciate the degree to which Trump and Congress also bungled the economic response -- or manipulated it to benefit those who least need help.... While ... Trump and his allies in Congress seek to tighten access to food stamps, they are showing compassion for one group: zillionaires. Their economic rescue package quietly allocated $135 billion ... for the likes of wealthy real estate developers. [The average benefit to these developers is $1.6 million.] My Times colleague Jesse Drucker notes that Trump himself, along with his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, may benefit financially from this provision.... A single mom juggling two jobs gets a maximum $1,200 stimulus check -- and then pays taxes so that a real estate mogul can receive $1.6 million.... The fine print was mysteriously slipped into the March economic relief package, even though it has nothing to do with the coronavirus and offers retroactive tax breaks for periods long before Covid-19 arrived. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island and Representative Lloyd Doggett of Texas, both Democrats, have asked the Trump administration for any communications that illuminate how this provision sneaked into the 880-page bill.... The House of Representatives is trying to repeal the Zillionaire Giveaway, but Trump and his congressional allies are resisting."

The federal government needs to get its s@#t together. -- Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, in a tweet March 14 ~~~

~~~ ** Greg Miller, et al., of the Washington Post: "In the final days before the United States faced a full-blown epidemic, President Trump made a last-ditch attempt to prevent people infected with the coronavirus from reaching the country. 'To keep new cases from entering our shores,' Trump said in an Oval Office address on March 11, 'we will be suspending all travel from Europe to the United States for the next 30 days.'... Harrowing scenes of interminable lines and unmasked faces crammed in confined spaces [at airports] spread across social media. The images showed how a policy intended to block the pathogen's entry into the United States instead delivered one final viral infusion. As those exposed travelers fanned out into U.S. cities and suburbs, they became part of an influx from Europe that went unchecked for weeks and helped to seal the country's coronavirus fate. Epidemiologists contend the U.S. outbreak was driven overwhelmingly by viral strains from Europe rather than China.... The travel mayhem was triggered by many of the same problems that plagued the U.S. response to the pandemic from the outset: Early warnings were missed or ignored. Coordination was chaotic or nonexistent. Key agencies fumbled their assignments. Trump's errant statements undermined his administration's plans and endangered the public." This is a damning report of how Trump & his administration, which should have known better after the chaos caused by his Muslim ban, exacerbated the coronavirus pandemic.

News Flash: Darryl Issa Is Still a Jerk. Jeremy White of Politico: "Republican congressional candidate Darrell Issa and a conservative group [Judicial Watch] are suing to block California's move to an all-mail November election. They are legally challenging Gov. Gavin Newsom's directive that elections officials mail every registered voter a ballot for the November election, making California the first state to switch to vote by mail due to coronavirus concerns. Newsom called the move a necessary response to the pandemic since voters at crowded vote centers could be exposed if they cast in-person ballots." Issa is the Republicans' nominee in California's 50th Congressional district.

~~~~~~~~~~

The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments Friday are here. The Washington Post's live updates for Friday are here. (Also linked yesterday.)

Alayna Treene of Axios: "President Trump announced Friday that he was declaring churches and places of worship as 'essential places that provide essential services,' and said that he would override governors to allow them to open 'right now.'... 'Some governors have deemed liquor stores and abortion clinics as essential, but have left out churches and other houses of worship. It's not right,' Trump said from the White House podium." Mrs. McC: Trump took no questions & of course he didn't elaborate on what authority a president* has to "override governors." Because Article II, I guess. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

The most frightening thing about Trump's threat to order churches reopened isn't that he has the power to do that -- he doesn't. It's that Republican judges will be emboldened to order churches reopened now that the president is calling for it. -- Ian Millhiser of Vox, in a tweet (via LG&$) ~~~

~~~ Peter Baker of the New York Times: "Mr. Trump ... [read] from a prepared text before leaving after just about a minute without taking questions. The White House could not explain what power the president actually has to override the governors, and legal experts said he did not have such authority, but he could take states to court on religious freedom grounds, which could be time consuming. Attorney General William P. Barr ... has been threatening legal action against California.... Mr. Trump took a far more confrontational approach on Friday than his public health advisers. After delays and revisions ordered by the White House, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released nonbinding guidelines for places of worship to reopen while still advising them to act 'in accordance with the guidance and directives of state and local author.'" ~~~

~~~ So like, this would seem to be out: ~~~

~~~ Elana Schor of the AP: "... Donald Trump's declaration that religious services should be 'essential' comes at a precarious point in the national balancing act that pits the call of worship against the risk of coronavirus. Even before Trump's comments Friday, which came alongside the release of guidance for reopening faith organizations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Christian leaders in several states made plans to welcome back congregants on the week of Pentecost, May 31. The new CDC guidance could energize houses of worship that might want to reopen their doors, despite evidence of ongoing risk of the virus spreading through communal gatherings. While it suggests steps such as asking congregants to cover their faces and limiting the sharing of worship aids, the CDC document says it is 'not meant to regulate or prescribe standards for interactions of faith communities.'" ~~~

~~~ Because here's what happened when some Americans went to church during the pandemic: ~~~

~~~ Jill Colvin of the AP: "Twice this week, Trump has not only dismissed the findings of studies but suggested -- without evidence -- that their authors were motivated by politics and out to undermine his efforts to roll back coronavirus restrictions. First it was a study funded in part by his own government's National Institutes of Health that raised alarms about the use of hydroxychloroquine, finding higher overall mortality in coronavirus patients who took the drug while in Veterans Administration hospitals.... The Lancet, one of the world's oldest and most well respected medical journals, published a new study Friday that echoed those findings. 'If you look at the one survey, the only bad survey, they were giving it to people that were in very bad shape. They were very old, almost dead,' Trump told reporters Tuesday. 'It was a Trump enemy statement.' He offered similar pushback Thursday to a new study from Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health. It found that more than 61% of COVID-19 infections and 55% of reported deaths -- nearly 36,000 people -- could have been been prevented had social distancing measures been put in place one week sooner.... 'Columbia's an institution that's very liberal,' Trump told reporters Thursday. 'I think it's just a political hit job, you want to know the truth.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Roger Cohen of the New York Times: "The European Union, that entity with a stubborn heartbeat, has emerged better from the pandemic than China or the United States. The fear-driven Chinese cover-up of the coronavirus and the chaotic denialism of the Trump administration have been the two main contributors to the disaster.... This is the Age of Undoing -- of world order, of international law, of truth, of America's word. It is a dangerous time, as Germany knows better than any nation. Autocracy feeds on fear, misery, resentment and lies. It did in the 1930s; it does now. Better to love your country with a broken heart than to love it blind." Thanks to P.D. Pepe for the link. ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: I have long cringed at the notion of "American exceptionalism." I did not fully imagine how far down that embarrassing, xenophobic concept would take us nor how quickly, but here we are. And the country can descend further. Politicians will never stand up to exceptionalists, many or most of whom are nationalists in see-through disguise. Rather, even relatively liberal democrats like Barack Obama embrace the myth of American exceptionalism, although liberal politicians will temper it a bit with aspirations for improvement. We have been carefully taught.

Monica Hesse of the Washington Post: "... a lot of bonkers behavior can be overlooked when it's committed by a man in a suit at a lectern." ~~~

How to testing pic.twitter.com/y9iwLK0N12

— Sarah Cooper (@sarahcpr) May 9, 2020

     ~~~ Also watch Cooper's "How to Medical" at the WashPo link above. (If you don't have a WashPo subscription, here's the Twitter link for "How to Medical.") Thanks to Ken W. for the links.

Reid Wilson of the Hill: "In an interview with The Hill, Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), urged caution and said the rapid development of a safe and effective vaccine was not guaranteed.... Vaccine candidates, even promising ones, fail more often than they succeed, [Fauci indicated].... Fauci said he was 'fairly certain' that if production is started this summer and ramped up, 'you could have 100 million doses by the end of the year and maybe a couple of hundred million doses by the beginning of next year.' 'I mean that's aspirational,' he said. 'The companies think that they can do that with the right financial backing.'... Fauci declined to comment on President Trump's decision to take hydroxychloroquine, a drug that studies show is actually associated with higher death rates among those who take it."

Laura Reiley of the Washington Post: "The Trump administration withdrew one of the largest contracts in its signature effort to use farm surplus to feed hungry Americans, capping a chaotic process that industry experts say relied too heavily on companies with little demonstrated experience in farming, food chains or food banks. Contracts totaling more than $107 million went to a San Antonio event planner, an avocado mail-order company, a health-and-wellness airport kiosk company and a trade finance corporation, according to the Agriculture Department's announcement of contract awards. But the USDA bypassed the country's three largest food distribution companies, as well as nonprofit organizations with long histories of feeding the poor on a large scale, according to Tom Stenzel, president of the United Fresh Produce Association (UFPA).... The contracts were awarded under the Farmers to Families Food Box program, launched last week with a visit by Ivanka Trump to a Laurel, Md., wholesale produce company. About $1.2 billion in contracts have been awarded." Mrs. McC: Obviously, food is rotting & people are going hungry unnecessarily because the Trump administration can't do anything right. But, hey, all that matters is that Ivanka got a nice photo-op out of it. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Yet Another Trumpy Grifter. Yeganeh Torbati & Derek Willis of ProPublica: "A former White House aide won a $3 million federal contract to supply respirator masks to Navajo Nation hospitals in New Mexico and Arizona 11 days after he created a company to sell personal protective equipment.... Zach Fuentes..., Donald Trump's former deputy chief of staff, secured the deal with the Indian Health Service with limited competitive bidding and no prior federal contracting experience. The IHS told ProPublica it has found that 247,000 of the masks delivered by Fuentes' company -- at a cost of roughly $800,000 -- may be unsuitable for medical use. An additional 130,400, worth about $422,000, are not the type specified in the procurement data, the agency said. What's more, the masks Fuentes agreed to provide -- Chinese-made KN95s -- have come under intense scrutiny from U.S. regulators amid concerns that they offered inadequate protection."

** Doctor Trump, Medicine Man, Ctd. Ariana Cha & Laurie McGinley of the Washington Post: "A study of 96,000 hospitalized coronavirus patients on six continents found that those who received an antimalarial drug promoted by President Trump as a 'game changer' in the fight against the virus had a significantly higher risk of death compared with those who did not. People treated with hydroxychloroquine, or the closely related drug chloroquine, were also more likely to develop a type of irregular heart rhythm, or arrhythmia, that can lead to sudden cardiac death, it concluded." This story is free to nonsubcribers. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Joseph Goldstein & Jesse McKinley of the New York Times: "Even as doctors and scientists around the world race to develop treatments and vaccines for Covid-19, New York State has become the center of a parallel effort to investigate an unnerving aspect of the outbreak: an illness that is sickening a small but growing number of children. The ailment has now been reported in at least 161 children in New York[, three of whom died], making the state's caseload one of the largest publicly reported anywhere. Hundreds of other children across the United States and in Europe have also been sickened with the illness, now called multisystem inflammatory syndrome.... The inquiries into why it is occurring, and whether a treatment can be found, could have an impact on how the authorities handle the reopening of schools and other activities for children."

Joel Achenbach, et al., of the Washington Post: "The coronavirus may still be spreading at epidemic rates in 24 states, particularly in the South and Midwest, according to new research that highlights the risk of a second wave of infections in places that reopen too quickly or without sufficient precautions.... Some states have had little viral spread or 'crushed the curve' to a great degree and have some wiggle room to reopen their economies without generating a new epidemic-level surge in cases. Others are nowhere near containing the virus. The [study's] model, which has not been peer reviewed, shows that in the majority of states, a second wave looms if people abandon efforts to mitigate the viral spread.... Other models released in recent days captured a similarly mixed picture." The main model cited, created by Imperial College London, is explained here. Mrs. McC: Either I'm too dense or the report is too dense, but I found it too difficult for the casual reader to follow.

California. Garcetti Hurt Trump's Feelings. Brooke Seipel of the Hill: "Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti received a letter from the Trump administration on Friday warning extended or 'heavy-handed' stay-at-home orders may be illegal. 'Reports of your recent public statements indicate that you suggested the possibility of long-term lockdown of the residents in the City and County of Los Angeles, regardless of the legal justification for such restrictions, reads the letter addressed to Garcetti and Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer. 'Any such approach may be both arbitrary and unlawful.'... The letter from the Trump administration comes a day after Garcetti swiped at Trump for not wearing a face mask at many of his public outings. Asked during an interview with MSNBC about Trump's decision against wearing a face mask, Garcetti responded: 'Simply put, I say real men wear face masks.'" Not specified in the Hill story who signed the retribution letter.

New York. Bernard Condon, et al., of the AP: "More than 4,300 recovering coronavirus patients were sent to New York's already vulnerable nursing homes under a controversial state directive that was ultimately scrapped amid criticisms it was accelerating the nation's deadliest outbreaks, according to a count by The Associated Press.... Whatever the full number, nursing home administrators, residents' advocates and relatives say it has added up to a big and indefensible problem for facilities that even Gov. Andrew Cuomo -- the main proponent of the policy -- called 'the optimum feeding ground for this virus.'... Cuomo, a Democrat, on May 10 reversed the directive, which had been intended to help free up hospital beds for the sickest patients as cases surged. But he continued to defend it this week...." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Geoff Bennett & Monica Alba of NBC News: "It's been more than six months since ... Donald Trump claimed to have started his annual physical at Walter Reed hospital but the White House is declining to explain why he has yet to complete the yearly doctor's examination ... despite Trump announcing this week he was taking an unproven and potentially dangerous drug after being exposed to an aide who tested positive for coronavirus."

Matt Zapotosky & Devlin Barrett of the Washington Post: "FBI Director Christopher A. Wray has ordered an internal review of how the bureau handled its investigation of Michael Flynn..., the bureau said in a statement Friday. The review, which will be handled by the FBI's inspection division, will both seek to 'determine whether any current employees engaged in misconduct' and evaluate broader FBI policies and procedures to 'identify any improvements that might be warranted,' the statement said. The review is unusual, particularly because Attorney General William P. Barr already had commissioned St. Louis U.S. Attorney Jeff Jensen earlier this year to examine the handling of Flynn's case. The statement said the FBI's review will 'complement' that work, and Jensen's examination will take priority. Jensen is one of a number of U.S. attorneys whom Barr has commissioned to investigate matters of interest to [Donald] Trump." Mediaite has an item here.

John Hudson & Paul Sonne of the Washington Post: "The Trump administration has discussed whether to conduct the first U.S. nuclear test explosion since 1992 in a move that would have far-reaching consequences for relations with other nuclear powers and reverse a decades-long moratorium on such actions, said a senior administration official and two former officials familiar with the deliberations. The matter came up at a meeting of senior officials representing the top national security agencies May 15, following accusations from administration officials that Russia and China are conducting low-yield nuclear tests -- an assertion that has not been substantiated by publicly available evidence and that both countries have denied."

Annie Karni of the New York Times: "... on Friday, Kayleigh McEnany, the White House press secretary, did not just reveal that the president was sending his salary to the Department of Health and Human Services to help 'support the efforts being undertaken to confront, contain and combat the coronavirus.' She also displayed the president's private bank account and routing numbers.... For an average civilian, that information could be used to withdraw or deposit money, make online purchases or hack an account.... A bank was almost certain to have additional protections in place on the account of a high-profile person like the president." Mrs. McC: So if you've been laid off or otherwise financially damaged by the coronoavirus, it seems completely legit for you to arrange for Donald J. Trump to transfer some of his ill-gotten gains into your account. If you're questioned, just say McEnany made clear, by the very nature of the donation, that Trump wants to help you.

Presidiential Race

Quint Forgey of Politico: "Former Vice President Joe Biden told a popular black radio personality Thursday that he 'ain't black' if he was still weighing whether to support ... Donald Trump in November's general election -- provoking outrage from the White House's Republican allies and inducing queasiness among even some Democratic operatives." Mrs. McC: Chuck Todd was very upset by Biden's remark. I'm not. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Astead Herndon & Katie Glueck of the New York Times: "Former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. ... apologized Friday afternoon for telling a radio host that black voters torn between voting for him and President Trump 'ain't black,' remarks that ignited a firestorm online. 'I shouldn't have been such a wise guy,' Mr. Biden said in a call with the U.S. Black Chambers. 'I shouldn't have been so cavalier.'" Mrs. McC: Sorry. If you're still trying to decide between Biden & Trump, you ain't black, you ain't female, you ain't woke, you ain't hardly a human bean. ~~~

~~~ Jonathan Capehart of the Washington Post: "What has been described as a 'testy exchange' between the popular African American interviewer [Charlamagne tha God] with 2.1 million Twitter followers and the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee was nothing of the sort.... When heard in the context of the previous 17 minutes and 21 seconds, you know that Biden is joking around. Perhaps he got a little too comfortable talking to a community with which he has a strong relationship that spans decades." ~~~

Lisa Lerer, et al., of the New York Times: "The lawyer for Tara Reade, the former Senate aide who has accused Joseph R. Biden Jr. of sexual assault, said Friday that he was no longer representing her, just two weeks after taking her on as a client.The lawyer, Douglas H. Wigdor, has been a leading plaintiff's attorney of the #MeToo era. His firm is best known for bringing discrimination cases against Fox News -- and its former star host Bill O'Reilly -- and Harvey Weinstein, and his presence at Ms. Reade's side gave her claims added legal heft.... Mr. Wigdor, a conservative Republican [who supported] ... President Trump in 2016 ..., had a parting shot for the news media.... 'Much of what has been written about Ms. Reade is not probative of whether then-Senator Biden sexually assaulted her, but rather is intended to victim-shame and attack her credibility on unrelated and irrelevant matters,' he said." (This is an update of a story linked early yesterday.) A Politico story is here.

~~~ Gabby Orr of Politico: "The anxiety over Trump's standing with the Christian right surfaced after a pair of surveys by reputable outfits earlier this month found waning confidence in the administration's coronavirus response among key religious groups, with a staggering decline in the president's favorability among white evangelicals and white Catholics. Both are crucial constituencies that supported Trump by wide margins in 2016 and could sink his reelection prospects if their turnout shrinks this fall. The polls paint a bleak picture for Trump, who has counted on broadening his religious support by at least a few percentage points to compensate for weakened appeal with women and suburban populations.... To safeguard his relationship with religious conservatives, Trump on Friday demanded that America's governors permit houses of worship to immediately reopen, and threatened to 'override' state leaders who decline to obey his directive." ~~~

      ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Joe Biden, BTW, is an actual, practicing white Roman Catholic. If you're still trying to decide between Biden & Trump, you ain't Catholic. ~~~

~~~ Trump Prefers Fake Polls. Philip Bump of the Washington Post: "Every once in a while, President Trump tweets something like this: '96% Approval Rating in the Republican Party. Thank you!'... He doesn't offer a source for the purported poll number because there is literally no evidence that a source exists. For more than a year, Trump's just occasionally shared random assessments of his popularity within his party, never offering any explanation for where the figure came from.... Unlike any real poll number, the figure never goes down, only up. This is as good a sign as any that Trump's just making this up. Real polling shows that Trump's approval with Republicans, while high, is substantially less than 96 percent.... [Poor] poll results from Trump's favorite network [Fox 'News'] clearly stung. The next tweet after Trump shared his fake 96 percent approval rating was one disparaging Fox's legitimate poll as fake. '.FoxNews should fire their Fake Pollster. Never had a good Fox Poll!'"

Annals of Journalism, Ctd. Justin Baragona of the Daily Beast: "Fox News anchor Chris Wallac debunked ... Donald Trump's false claims that fraud is rampant in mail-in voting, noting on Friday morning that there is simply no evidence to support the president's assertions. With Trump threatening to withhold federal funds from Nevada and Michigan if they went forward with sending absentee ballots and applications to voters, Wallace -- who has been a favorite target of Trump's -- pointed out that the president's repeated complaints about mail-in voting are largely baseless."

Congressional Races

Alabama. Dennis Romero of NBC News: "Former Attorney General Jeff Sessions stood up to his old boss Friday after ... Donald Trump encouraged Alabama voters to reject Sessions in his bid to return to the U.S. Senate. Trump on Friday afternoon once again tweeted his endorsement for Sessions' rival, college football coach Tommy Tuberville, in the primary contest for the seat Sessions held before joining Trump's Cabinet. Trump tweeted, 'Alabama, do not trust Jeff Sessions.'... Sessions responded ... on Twitter, 'Your personal feelings don't dictate who Alabama picks as their senator, the people of Alabama do.'... Sessions and Tuberville finished neck and neck in March in a Republican primary, setting up the July 14 runoff contest. The winner of the runoff will face Sen. Doug Jones, D-Ala., in November."

California. AP: "National and state Republicans have withdrawn their support from a California congressional candidate over offensive online posts about Muslims and Hillary Clinton that he says are not his words. House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy has called the posts disturbing but has not withdrawn his endorsement of Ted Howze, who is facing freshman Democrat Josh Harder in the farm belt's swing 10th District. However, McCarthy said in a statement that he 'will take action immediately if Mr. Howze is found to be the originator of these posts.'... Howze said he was the target of 'maliciously false attacks...,' [which] he attributed ... to 'national Democrats and their left-wing media' who see him as a threat to Harder, who ousted Republican Rep. Jeff Denham in 2018."

Georgia. Maggie Haberman, et al., of the New York Times: "President Trump's advisers are increasingly concerned about Senator Kelly Loeffler's campaign in Georgia, a newly competitive state where the president's own poll numbers have tightened against former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., according to people briefed on the discussions. Ms. Loeffler, a financial services executive with no previous government experience, was appointed to the position in December 2019 [by Gov. Brian Kemp] after the long-serving Republican, Johnny Isakson, announced he would retire for health reasons. She is running in a special election for the seat this fall, facing nearly two dozen candidates in the jumbled race, including two well-financed Democrats. One opponent in particular -- Representative Doug Collins, a Republican ally of Mr. Trump -- has gained strength in the field.... Because the field is so crowded, Georgia officials expect no candidate to get a majority, forcing a runoff. And the president's team is planning to stay out of the race until the runoff approaches, which wouldn't be until January 2021, according to the people briefed on the discussions."

Oregon. Will Steakin & Meg Cunningham of ABC News: "Republicans in Oregon this week nominated a Senate candidate [-- Jo Rae Perkins --] with a deep history of promoting and vowing support for the QAnon conspiracy theory, providing the fringe movement its largest electoral platform yet and roiling Republicans over having a candidate who openly embraces baseless conspiracy theories.... When asked about supporting Perkins in the general election, the Republican National Committee did not comment. The Oregon state Republican Party issued a lukewarm and seemingly reluctant statement saying, 'By virtue of being the GOP nominee, this is what we do - support them in winning the general election.' The National Republican Senatorial Committee would not express support for Perkins and instead responded when asked with a list of unrelated allegations against Democratic Senate candidates before saying 'and THIS is what ABC News is focused on.'"

South Carolina. Jonathan Capehart of the Washington Post: "A new ad out today from LindseyMustGoPAC, a super PAC with an obvious objective, uses the three-term senator's own words to dramatize what happened to [Lindsey] Graham in an effort to destroy his credibility and sow doubts about his character." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

Ted Johnson of Deadline: "A federal judge in San Diego dismissed One America News Network's defamation lawsuit against Rachel Maddow, MSNBC and Comcast, concluding that Maddow was stating her opinion when she said that the right-leaning channel 'really, literally is paid Russian propaganda.' [U.S. District Judge Cynthia Bashant] also said that the defendants could seek attorneys fees and costs.... Herring Networks, the owner of One America, said that it would appeal."

Way Beyond the Beltway

Valerie Pacheco of AFP: "Brazilians got a shocking look Friday at an expletive-laced meeting between President Jair Bolsonaro and his cabinet when a Supreme Court judge released a video at the center of an investigation targeting the far-right leader. The April 22 cabinet meeting is under scrutiny by prosecutors probing allegations by former justice minister Sergio Moro that Bolsonaro tried to interfere in federal police investigations. But it could prove just as damaging to Bolsonaro's 18-month-old government for other sordid details it contains. They include the president using profanity to insult governors, the education minister calling to throw Supreme Court justices in jail and the environment minister urging the government to legalize mining and farming in the Amazon rainforest while the world is distracted by the coronavirus pandemic. The video came to light when Moro resigned two days after the meeting. In a damaging final press conference, the then-justice minister, a popular anti-corruption crusader, accused Bolsonaro of 'political interference' in the federal police." Mrs. McC: Obviously Bosonaro, like Trump, suffers from Ditator Personality Disorder.

The Commentariat -- May 22, 2020

Afternoon Update:

The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments Friday are here. The Washington Post's live updates for Friday are here.

** Doctor Trump, Medicine Man, Ctd. Ariana Cha & Laurie McGinley of the Washington Post: :A study of 96,000 hospitalized coronavirus patients on six continents found that those who received an antimalarial drug promoted by President Trump as a 'game changer' in the fight against the virus had a significantly higher risk of death compared with those who did not. People treated with hydroxychloroquine, or the closely related drug chloroquine, were also more likely to develop a type of irregular heart rhythm, or arrhythmia, that can lead to sudden cardiac death, it concluded." This story is free to nonscribers. The Raw Story has a summary report here. ~~~

~~~ Jill Colvin of the AP: "Twice this week, Trump has not only dismissed the findings of studies but suggested -- without evidence -- that their authors were motivated by politics and out to undermine his efforts to roll back coronavirus restrictions. First it was a study funded in part by his own government's National Institutes of Health that raised alarms about the use of hydroxychloroquine, finding higher overall mortality in coronavirus patients who took the drug while in Veterans Administration hospitals.... The Lancet, one of the world's oldest and most well respected medical journals, published a new study Friday that echoed those findings. 'If you look at the one survey, the only bad survey, they were giving it to people that were in very bad shape. They were very old, almost dead,' Trump told reporters Tuesday. 'It was a Trump enemy statement.' He offered similar pushback Thursday to a new study from Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health. It found that more than 61% of COVID-19 infections and 55% of reported deaths -- nearly 36,000 people -- could have been been prevented had social distancing measures been put in place one week sooner.... 'Columbia's an institution that's very liberal,' Trump told reporters Thursday. 'I think it's just a political hit job, you want to know the truth.'"

Alayna Treene of Axios: "President Trump announced Friday that he was declaring churches and places of worship as 'essential places that provide essential services,' and said that he would override governors to allow them to open 'right now.'... 'Some governors have deemed liquor stores and abortion clinics as essential, but have left out churches and other houses of worship. It's not right,' Trump said from the White House podium." Mrs. McC: Trump took no questions & of course he didn't elaborate on what authority a president* has to "override governors." Because Article I maybe.

Laura Reiley of the Washington Post: "The Trump administration withdrew one of the largest contracts in its signature effort to use farm surplus to feed hungry Americans, capping a chaotic process that industry experts say relied too heavily on companies with little demonstrated experience in farming, food chains or food banks. Contracts totaling more than $107 million went to a San Antonio event planner, an avocado mail-order company, a health-and-wellness airport kiosk company and a trade finance corporation, according to the Agriculture Department's announcement of contract awards. But the USDA bypassed the country's three largest food distribution companies, as well as nonprofit organizations with long histories of feeding the poor on a large scale, according to Tom Stenzel, president of the United Fresh Produce Association (UFPA).... The contracts were awarded under the Farmers to Families Food Box program, launched last week with a visit by Ivanka Trump to a Laurel, Md., wholesale produce company. About $1.2 billion in contracts have been awarded." Mrs. McC: Obviously, food is rotting & people are going hungry unnecessarily because the Trump administration can't do anything right. But, hey, all that matters is that Ivanka got a nice photo-op out of it.

New York. Bernard Condon, et al., of the AP: "More than 4,300 recovering coronavirus patients were sent to New York's already vulnerable nursing homes under a controversial state directive that was ultimately scrapped amid criticisms it was accelerating the nation's deadliest outbreaks, according to a count by The Associated Press.... Whatever the full number, nursing home administrators, residents' advocates and relatives say it has added up to a big and indefensible problem for facilities that even Gov. Andrew Cuomo -- the main proponent of the policy -- called 'the optimum feeding ground for this virus.'... Cuomo, a Democrat, on May 10 reversed the directive, which had been intended to help free up hospital beds for the sickest patients as cases surged. But he continued to defend it this week...."

Quint Forgey of Politico: "Former Vice President Joe Biden told a popular black radio personality Thursday that he 'ain't black' if he was still weighing whether to support ... Donald Trump in November's general election -- provoking outrage from the White House's Republican allies and inducing queasiness among even some Democratic operatives." Mrs. McC: Chuck Todd was very upset by Biden's remark. I'm not.

Lisa Lerer, et al., of the New York Times: "The lawyer for Tara Reade, the former Senate aide who has accused Joseph R. Biden Jr. of sexual assault, said Friday that he was no longer representing her, just two weeks after taking her on as a client.The lawyer, Douglas H. Wigdor, has been a leading plaintiff's attorney of the #MeToo era. His firm is best known for bringing discrimination cases against Fox News -- and its former star host Bill O'Reilly -- and Harvey Weinstein, and his presence at Ms. Reade's side gave her claims added legal heft.... Mr. Wigdor, a conservative Republican [who supported] ... President Trump in 2016 ..., had a parting shot for the news media.... 'Much of what has been written about Ms. Reade is not probative of whether then-Senator Biden sexually assaulted her, but rather is intended to victim-shame and attack her credibility on unrelated and irrelevant matters,' he said." This is an update of a story linked earlier. A Politico story is here.

Senate Race. South Carolina. Jonathan Capehart of the Washington Post: "A new ad out today from LindseyMustGoPAC, a super PAC with an obvious objective, uses the three-term senator's own words to dramatize what happened to [Lindsey] Graham in an effort to destroy his credibility and sow doubts about his character." ~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~

The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments Thursday are here. The Washington Post's live updates for Thursday are here. (Also linked yesterday.)

Arman Azad of CNN: "In new guidance for mathematical modelers and public health officials, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is estimating that about a third of coroftrumnavirus infections are asymptomatic. The CDC also says its 'best estimate' is that 0.4% of people who show symptoms and have Covid-19 will die, and the agency estimates that 40% of coronavirus transmission is occurring before people feel sick. The agency cautions that those numbers are subject to change as more is learned about Covid-19.... Still, the agency says its estimates are based on real data collected by the agency before April 29." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Since the vast majority of those tested in the U.S. before April 29 did have symptoms, what this means to me is that the number of coronavirus infections in the U.S. is much higher than the 1.61 million American residents with confirmed cases, a number that of course does not include those who did have symptoms but could not or did not get tested.

Seeing Way Too Much Fuckface on von Clownstick. Brett Samuels of the Hill: "President Trump on Thursday did not wear a mask during a tour of a Ford factory in Michigan being used to produce ventilators, despite the company's policy requiring everyone to wear personal protective equipment to prevent the spread of coronavirus. The president walked around the factory floor without a face covering, even as Ford executives who joined him wore masks." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

Who Was That Masked Man? Mark Meadows (I think) with an unidentified MOOM at a Michigan Ford factory Thursday. One clue as to the ID of the masked MOOM: short fingers. Photo via Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.). H/T to Rachel Maddow.

     ~~~ Update. Alana Wise of NPR: "President Trump on Thursday briefly wore a protective face mask during his visit to a Ford Motor Co. plant -- away from reporters' view -- after stoking concern about his resistance to wearing the expert-recommended gear.... Ford said in a statement that Chairman Bill Ford had 'encouraged President Trump to wear a mask when he arrived. He wore a mask during a private viewing of three Ford GTs from over the years. The President later removed the mask for the remainder of the visit.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Kevin Liptak of CNN: "... Donald Trump brought a navy blue mask stamped with the presidential seal to a Ford plant in Michigan on Thursday. But he refused to wear it in front of cameras. 'I didn't want to give the press the pleasure of seeing it,' Trump said before showing off his fabric face covering, which he said he'd briefly strapped on backstage before removing for a tour of the factory. 'It was very nice. It looked very nice. They said not necessary.'" Mrs. McC: Another lie. Ford chair Bill Ford said Trump should wear the mask. That made it "necessary." ~~~

~~~ Paul Farhi of the Washington Post: "By ultimately not wearing a mask in front of the cameras at Ford, Trump managed to subvert the carefully-arranged 'optics' of the visit -- which for any other president would serve as a feel-good story about leadership, corporate nimbleness and the production of lifesaving medical gear. Instead, his mask-querade dominated news coverage." ~~~

~~~ David Nakamura of the Washington Post: "Since resuming their travel schedules, President Trump and Vice President Pence have focused on battleground states crucial to their reelection chances, staging official government events at a time when presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden and his top surrogates say they are unable to safely return to the campaign trail.... The president's trips, in particular, have taken on clear campaign overtones as he pushes for states to move beyond the pandemic and restart their economies despite continuing public health concerns and the rising death toll. Supporters have lined the streets to greet his motorcade as they hold American flags and Trump campaign signs, disregarding social distancing rules and outnumbering a smaller set of protesters. 'This country is poised for an epic comeback. This is going to be an incredible comeback. Watch. It's already happening,' Trump told the audience at the Ford plant. He added: 'I think we're going to do better the second time and it's very important that we win the second time or everything that we've done, including manufacturing jobs, all this, it's going to be not in a very good position.'"

Michigan. Beth LeBlanc of the Detroit News: "A Court of Claims judge ruled Thursday that Gov. Gretchen Whitmer had the legal authority to extend Michigan's state of emergency under the Emergency Powers of the Governor Act, calling claims to the contrary 'meritless' in a ruling GOP leaders vow to appeal. But Judge Cynthia Stephens noted the governor exceeded her authority by trying to extend the emergency under the Emergency Management Act of 1976, which requires legislative authority. But Stephens upheld the constitutionality of the Emergency Powers of the Governor Act of 1945."

Tom Winter & Dareh Gregorian of NBC News: "Michael Cohen is just the latest well-connected federal prisoner to be sent home early because of the coronavirus, even though he has served only a third of his sentence -- well shy of the 50 percent threshold federal officials often cite in denying requests for early release. By contrast, prisoners like Eddie Brown, an Oklahoma man who has served a bigger portion of his sentence than Cohen and also cites health problems, remain behind bars, raising questions about the Bureau of Prisons' opaque process and its fairness.... Groups and relatives advocating for the release of prisoners at risk from the virus say they don't begrudge well-connected people achieving that goal. The problem, they said, is that many other people who could meet [AG William] Barr's criteria languish in prison, without legal help, unable to understand the complex process or lacking connections to help them as the pandemic spreads.... The release process has been marked by foot-dragging and confusion, critics say, and a federal judge in a ruling Tuesday labeled the results 'paltry.'"

Julian Barnes & Adam Goldman of the New York Times: "President Trump has blamed many others for his administration's flawed response to the coronavirus.... In recent weeks, he has also faulted the information he received from an obscure analyst [named Beth Sanner] who delivers his intelligence briefings. Mr. Trump has insisted that the intelligence agencies gave him inadequate warnings about the threat of the virus, describing it as 'not a big deal.' Intelligence officials have publicly backed him, acknowledging that ... Sanner ... underplayed the dangers when she first mentioned the virus to him on Jan. 23.... But by focusing on a single briefing, some former officials said, his criticism seemed both personal and misplaced.... In blaming Ms. Sanner, a C.I.A. analyst with three decades of experience, Mr. Trump ignored a host of warnings he received around that time from higher-ranking officials, epidemiologists, scientists, biodefense officials, other national security aides and the news media about the virus's growing threat. Mr. Trump's own health secretary had alerted him five days earlier to the potential seriousness of the virus.

"Mr. Trump ... is particularly difficult to brief on critical national security matters, according to interviews with 10 current and former intelligence officials familiar with his intelligence briefings. The president veers off on tangents and getting him back on topic is difficult, they said. He has a short attention span and rarely, if ever, reads intelligence reports, relying instead on conservative media and his friends for information. He is unashamed to interrupt intelligence officers and riff based on tips or gossip he hears from the former casino magnate Steve Wynn, the retired golfer Gary Player or Christopher Ruddy, the conservative media executive. Mr. Trump rarely absorbs information that he disagrees with or that runs counter to his worldview, the officials said. Briefing him has been so great a challenge compared with his predecessors that the intelligence agencies have hired outside consultants to study how better to present information to him."

Annals of "Journalism," Ha Ha Ha. Do As We Say, Not As We Do. Tommy Christopher of Mediaite: "The denizens of Fox & Friends urged New York businesses to reopen en masse despite lockdown orders and a still-deadly coronavirus pandemic, but they did so from the safety of their own homes and secure locations. On Thursday morning, the trio of regular hosts were joined by legal analyst Andrew Napolitano to discuss Thursday's New York Post cover, which features a photograph of the city's skyline and a giant headline that blares 'IT NEEDS TO END. NOW.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

David Sanger of the New York Times: "President Trump has decided to withdraw from another major arms control accord, according to senior administration officials, and will inform Russia on Friday that the United States is pulling out of the Open Skies Treaty, negotiated three decades ago to allow nations to fly over each other's territory with elaborate sensor equipment to assure that they are not preparing for military action. Mr. Trump's decision may be viewed as more evidence that he is preparing to exit the one major arms treaty remaining with Russia: New START, which limits the United States and Russia to 1,550 deployed nuclear missiles each. It expires in February..., and Mr. Trump has insisted that China must join what is now a U.S.-Russia limit on nuclear arsenals." A Hill summary report is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Edward Wong & Lara Jakes of the New York Times: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo "has not tried to hide his political ambitions. But he has chosen not to disclose certain meetings that appeared to be linked to those plans while on taxpayer-funded trips. The exact number of the meetings is unclear, though there is a pattern of activity.... In [at least three such meetings], Mr. Pompeo did not put the visits on his public schedule. He and his aides avoided telling the reporters traveling with them about the meetings.... Such activities are coming under greater scrutiny after congressional aides said last weekend that the State Department inspector general, Steve A. Linick, who was fired by Mr. Trump last Friday at Mr. Pompeo's urging, had opened an investigation into potential misuse of department resources by Mr. Pompeo for the personal benefit of him and his wife." ~~~

~~~ Lara Seligman, et al., of Politico: "Secretary of State Mike Pompeo disregarded the advice of high-level officials at the State Department, Pentagon and within the intelligence community in invoking an emergency waiver last year to circumvent congressional review of billions of dollars in arms sales to the U.S. allies in the Persian Gulf region, according to two former administration officials and three congressional sources. That decision was under investigation by a government watchdog who was fired last week at Pompeo's urging, and it has fueled renewed accusations from lawmakers that the Trump administration bucked the will of Congress and even violated the law when it fast-tracked the weapons sales.... During meetings last spring of the National Security Council at several levels, high-level career and political officials from the Pentagon, State Department and intelligence community agreed that there had been no change in Tehran's behavior to justify invoking emergency authorities and advised against doing so.... 'Our conclusion was, "Nobody supports this being an emergency, so we think that the declaration wouldn't have any grounds and we shouldn't do it,"' the ex-official added." ~~~

~~~ Kylie Atwood of CNN: "Secretary of State Mike Pompeo pushed State Department officials to find a way to justify the emergency declaration that he had already decided to implement in order to fast-track the $8 billion arms sale to Saudi Arabia last year -- stunning career diplomats, four sources have told CNN. 'They seemed to have a game plan and it had to be justified,' said a State Department official who told CNN they had communicated what happened to the State Department's Office of the Inspector General during an interview late last year, as part of the watchdog's investigation into Pompeo's move to fast track the sale. 'The attitude was very Trumpian,' the official added. Pompeo's demand meant State Department officials had to reverse engineer the situation to provide the justification for a decision which was made in an aggressive and unconventional manner, the sources said. The probe into the secretary's push on the Saudi weapons sale is in the spotlight after ... Donald Trump fired State Department inspector general Steve Linick, at Pompeo's request last week."

All the Best People, Ctd. Martin Matishak of Politico: "The Senate on Thursday confirmed Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-Texas) as ... Donald Trump's top intelligence official, in a move aimed at ending nine months of reshuffling at the top of the nation's spying establishment. Lawmakers voted 49-44 in a party-line vote to confirm Ratcliffe as the sixth director of national intelligence since the office was created in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.... Trump had originally picked Ratcliffe for the job in July, after the Texas Republican had put on an aggressive public display in his grilling of ... Robert Mueller. But ... [Ratcliffe] soon withdrew his name amid questions about whether he had inflated his resume." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Kyle Cheney of Politico: "The federal judge overseeing the tumultuous case of former national security adviser Michael Flynn has until May 31 to explain his rationale for declining to immediately dismiss the case against Flynn after the Justice Department moved to drop the matter. A panel of judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia say district court judge Emmet Sullivan must respond within 10 days to a request by Flynn that the higher court force him to drop the case. Circuit Court Judges Karen Henderson, Robert Wilkins and Neomi Rao also offered the Justice Department a chance to weigh in on the matter by the same deadline."

Elections 2020

Mr. President, it is a federal crime to withhold money from states with the purpose of interfering with people's right to vote. So, you may want to talk to your lawyer, Bill Barr, about that. -- Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) on MSNBC, Wednesday

Every once in a while you get the president of the United States popping up and screaming against vote-by-mail, but states and both political parties are organizing their people for it. It's a bizarre cognitive dissonance. -- Michael Waldman of the Brennan Center for Justice ~~~

~~~ Michael Wines of the New York Times: "By threatening on Wednesday to withhold federal grants to Michigan and Nevada if those states send absentee ballots or applications to voters, President Trump has taken his latest stand against what is increasingly viewed as a necessary option for voting amid a pandemic. What he has not done is stop anyone from getting an absentee ballot. In the face of a pandemic, what was already limited opposition to letting voters mail in their ballots has withered. Eleven of the 16 states that limit who can vote absentee have eased their election rules this spring to let anyone cast an absentee ballot in upcoming primary elections -- and in some cases, in November as well. Another state, Texas, is fighting a court order to do so. Four of those 11 states are mailing ballot applications to registered voters, just as Michigan and Nevada are doing. And that does not count 34 other states and the District of Columbia that already allow anyone to cast an absentee ballot, including five states in which voting by mail is the preferred method by law." ~~~

~~~ Trump Lied about Why He Voted Absentee. Anthony Man of the Orlando Sun Sentinel: "On April 7, Trump said he voted by mail 'because I'm allowed to.' When a reporter asked about his mail ballot for the March primary, he explained it's 'called "out of state." You know, why I voted? Because I happen to be in the White House and I won't be able to go to Florida to vote.' [White House Press Secretary Kayleigh] McEnany [said] ... Wednesday that [Trump] voted by mail in Florida's presidential primary [because] his job kept him away from his legal residence in Palm Beach County.... [BUT] Trump was in Palm Beach County ... on March 7 and 8, the first weekend of early voting for the March 17 presidential primary. He didn't leave until Monday morning March 9.... White House press pool reports show he spent part of the both weekend days at his Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach. The golf club is across the street from a library where early voting was offered from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. both days." ~~~

~~~ Another Trump Election Conspiracy Theory Falls Apart. Marc Caputo of Politico: "A Trump election conspiracy theory has fallen apart after Florida's law enforcement agency said it had found no widespread voter fraud in the 2018 races for Senate and governor.... Donald Trump had complained repeatedly about election 'fraud' and theft in heavily populated, Democrat-rich Broward and Palm Beach counties, which had slowly but erratically updated their vote totals after polls closed on Election Day.... As Republican margins shrank, Trump stepped up his misleading attacks on 'the Broward Effect' of 'found' votes and, later, 'missing or forged' ballots. In all, he tweeted Florida election conspiracy theories and complaints 10 times over the course of a week. Two days after the election, [then-Gov. Rick] Scott [R] was perilously close to losing his Senate bid to unseat incumbent Bill Nelson. He held a rare press conference at the governor's mansion to demand an investigation and said he was suing Palm Beach and Broward counties."

Michigan is a great state. I've gotten tremendous business to go to Michigan. Michigan is one of the reasons I ran. I was honored in Michigan long before I thought about -- I was honored as the Man of the Year in Michigan at a big event. I remember so well. -- Donald Trump, Wednesday ~~~

An absolutely authentic portrait of me, Mrs. Bea McCrabbie, back when Time named me "Person of the Year."~~~ Michigan's Man of the Year. Daniel Dale, CNN's Trump fact-checker, has a good post on Trump's oft-repeated false claim that he was once named Michigan's Man of the Year. Dale also found a explanation that seems to solve the mystery of the genesis of Trump's crazy claim.

Kate Taylor & Sarah Mervosh of the New York Times: "The actress Lori Loughlin and her husband, Mossimo Giannulli, a fashion designer, have agreed to plead guilty to charges that they conspired to get their daughters admitted to the University of Southern California as crew recruits, prosecutors announced on Thursday, a reversal for the couple after months of maintaining their innocence in the nation's largest-ever admissions prosecution. Under the terms of the agreement, which still needs approval by a judge, Ms. Loughlin, 55, agreed to serve two months in prison, pay a $150,000 fine and serve two years of supervised release with 100 hours of community service. If the deal is approved, Mr. Giannulli, 56, is expected to serve five months in prison, pay a $250,000 fine and serve two years of supervised release with 250 hours of community service." An ABC News story is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Beyond the Beltway

California. Lisa Lerer, et al., of the New York Times: "Defense lawyers in California are reviewing criminal cases in which Tara Reade, the former Senate aide who has accused Joseph R. Biden Jr. of sexual assault, served as an expert witness on domestic violence, concerned that she misrepresented her educational credentials in court. Then known as Alexandra McCabe, Ms. Reade testified as a government witness in Monterey County courts for nearly a decade, describing herself as an expert in the dynamics of domestic violence who had counseled hundreds of victims. But lawyers who had faced off against her in court began raising questions about the legitimacy of her testimony, and the verdicts that followed, after news reports this week that Antioch University had disputed her claim of receiving a bachelor's degree from its Seattle campus. The public defender's office in Monterey County has begun scrutinizing cases involving Ms. Reade and compiling a list of clients who may have been affected by her testimony, according to Jeremy Dzubay, an assistant public defender in the office." Politico's story is here. ~~~

~~~ Alexander Nieves of Politico: "University of California regents voted Thursday to stop requiring high school students to submit an SAT or ACT score for admission, the biggest blow yet to the traditional standardized tests as leaders of the elite public system attempt to address fairness concerns. UC's new policy, proposed by system President Janet Napolitano, calls for the SAT and ACT to be suspended through 2024 as the university attempts to develop its own testing standard. The tests will be completely eliminated in 2025, regardless of whether a new or modified UC-specific standard has been approved for use.... The vote comes after decades of opposition to standardized testing from civil rights groups and education experts who say it favors wealthier, predominantly white students who can pay for extensive test prep." A New York Times story is here.

Georgia. Rick Rojas of the New York Times: "The man who filmed the pursuit and shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery, the 25-year-old black man who was killed after an encounter with two white men, was arrested on Thursday in connection with the killing, Georgia authorities said. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said in a statement that the man, William Bryan, 50, [who is white,] was arrested on charges of felony murder and criminal attempt to commit false imprisonment. The two other men, Gregory McMichael, 64, and Travis McMichael, 34, were charged with murder and aggravated assault this month.... Mr. Bryan was considered a participant in the pursuit long before the video emerged online.

Way Beyond

China/Hong Kong. Keith Bradsher, et al., of the New York Times: "China is moving to impose new national security laws that would give the Communist Party more control over Hong Kong, threatening to erode the freedoms that distinguish the global, commercial city from the rest of the country. The proposal, announced on Thursday, reignited the fear, anger and protests over the creeping influence of China's authoritarian government in the semiautonomous region. It also inflamed worries that Beijing is trying to dismantle the distinct political and cultural identity that has defined the former British colony since it was reclaimed by China in 1997." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

News Lede

New York Times: "A Pakistan International Airlines plane with at least 99 people aboard crashed on Friday in a residential neighborhood near the airport in Karachi, Pakistan's largest city, and rescue officials reported dozens of casualties. The plane, Flight 8303, an Airbus A320, was en route from the eastern city of Lahore to Karachi and crashed at 2:37 p.m., officials said. There were at least 91 passengers and eight crew members on board, Pakistani officials said. Nasir Hussain Shah, a provincial minister, said at least two people had survived the crash but had injuries."