News

Editor’s Choice: Scroll below for our monthly blend of mainstream and alternative May 2020 news and views

Note: Excerpts are from the authors’ words except for subheads and occasional “Editor’s notes” such as this.

May 5

Pandemic Politics

• Washington Post, President erupts at George Conway for video about the ‘deadly virus Trump ignored,’
• New York Times, Trump Administration Signals It Will Wind Down Virus Task Force
• Washington Post, Kushner virus effort said to be hampered by inexperienced volunteers
• Washington Post, Fact Checker Analysis: Trump trots out two claims attacking Obama during Fox town hall
• Washington Post, Trump’s pick for intelligence chief pledges in Senate hearing to keep politics out of job
• Washington Post, Trump cheers on governors as they ignore White House guidelines in race to reopen
• Washington Post, Americans widely oppose reopening most businesses, poll finds
• Washington Post, Analysis: Fox News, Trump allies keep floating debunked theories about an inflated virus death toll

Virus Victims

• Washington Post, As virus spreads in jails and prisons, correctional officers fear for themselves and their loved ones
• Washington Post,15 children in NYC have developed an unusual inflammatory syndrome linked to covid-19

World News

• Washington Post, Kim Jong Un appears to be alive after all. So why did CNN and other news outlets report he was on his deathbed?
• Washington Post, Philippines closes down its largest broadcaster
• Washington Post, Venezuela’s Maduro says American ‘mercenaries’ held in attempt to incite rebellion

Pandemic Politics

Washington Post, President erupts at George Conway for video about the ‘deadly virus Trump ignored,’ Fred Barbash, May 5, 2020. George T. Conway III, prominent attorney and husband of White House counselor Kellyanne Conway, has been trying with only modest success to provoke President Trump’s Twitter wrath for the better part of his presidency. He finally succeeded close to 1 a.m.…

Editor’s Choice: Scroll below for our monthly blend of mainstream and alternative May 2020 news and views

Note: Excerpts are from the authors’ words except for subheads and occasional “Editor’s notes” such as this.

May 20

Top News Headlines

• New York Times, Live U.S. Updates: C.D.C. Releases Guidance That the White House Had Rejected
• Washington Post, HHS watchdog who exposed hospital shortages to testify before House panel
• New York Times, Cyclone Live Updates: Storm Makes Landfall as India and Bangladesh Take Shelter
• Daily Commercial News (Canada), World Trade Center 7 building did not collapse due to fire: Report
• Architects & Engineers For 9/11 Truth, Canada’s Top Construction News Site Covers Ongoing Challenge to NIST Report

Pandemic Media News

• New York Times, How the ‘Plandemic’ Movie and Its Falsehoods Spread Online
• New York Times, At Fox News, Mixed Message on Malaria Drug: ‘Very Safe’ vs. ‘It Will Kill You’

Virus Victims, Responses

• Washington Post, In some nations, government isolation centers helped reduce infections. The U.S. has resisted the strategy
• New York Times, Prototype Vaccines Protect Monkeys From Coronavirus
• New York Times, Virus Raged at City Jails, Leaving 1,259 Guards Infected and 6 Dead
• Washington Post, Millions of people lost their jobs in hard-hit New England. Many fear their homes could be next
• New York Times, They Beat the Virus. Now They Feel Like Outcasts

Pandemic Politics / Media

• Washington Post, Taxpayers face delays as IRS struggles with backlog
• New York Times, Trump Steps Up Attacks on Mail Vote, Making False Claims About Michigan
• Washington Post, Misinformation about covid-19 finds new avenues on unexpected sites

U.S. Courts, Crime

• Palmer Report, Opinion: We told you something wasn’t right with the Trump DOJ’s investigation into Richard Burr, Bill Palmer
• New York Times, Opinion: Trump Judges or Federalist Society Judges? Try Both,
• Washington Post, Opinion: ‘Jane Roe,’ from Roe v.

Editor’s Choice: Scroll below for our monthly blend of mainstream and alternative April 2020 news and views

Note: Excerpts are from the authors’ words except for subheads and occasional “Editor’s notes” such as this.

April Updates

April 3

Global Virus Overview

New York Times, Coronavirus Live Updates: Half of Humanity Under Lockdown Orders, Staff reports, April 3, 2020. Roughly four billion people have been told to stay in their homes, but some U.S. states have resisted such measures. New jobs report shows staggering losses are likely to get worse.

Right Now: Britain reported its highest single-day death toll: 684, bringing total deaths in the country to 3,605; “This coming Sunday is D-Day,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York. If critical supplies do not arrive soon, he said, thousands will die.

• As global infections soar, guidance on masks is reversed.
• The U.S. job market is crumbling.
• Data shows an income gap in limiting movement.
• How coronavirus is causing confusion with terms like ‘peaks,’ ‘testing’ and ‘lockdown.’
• The New York Times infections database is open to the public.
• Trump invokes Defense Production Act, and criticizes 3M

Washington Post, Over 10 million Americans applied for unemployment benefits in March, Heather Long, April 3, 2020 (print ed.). Job losses have skyrocketed as restaurants, hotel, gyms, and travel have shut down across the nation, but layoffs are also rising in manufacturing, warehousing and transportation.

Washington Post, Trump sows uncertainty and seeks to cast blame in coronavirus crisis, Philip Rucker and Robert Costa, April 3, 2020 (print ed.). President Trump’s machinations have a dogged showman’s quality, using his omnipresence at daily White House news conferences to try to erase memories from his months of playing down the covid-19 threat.

In the three weeks since declaring the novel coronavirus outbreak a national emergency, President Trump has delivered a dizzying array of rhetorical contortions, sowed confusion and repeatedly sought to cast blame on others.…

Editor’s Choice: Scroll below for our monthly blend of mainstream and alternative March 2020 news and views

Note: Excerpts are from the authors’ words except for subheads and occasional “Editor’s notes” such as this.

March 3

U.S. Election Headlines

New York Times, Biden Dominates the South; Sanders Wins in Three States, Nick Corasaniti and Katie Glueck, March 3, 2020. Black voters, suburban voters and older voters flocked to Joe Biden, who won in Virginia, North Carolina, Alabama, Tennessee, Oklahoma and Arkansas. Bernie Sanders secured wins in Utah, Colorado and Vermont. Some critical contests have yet to be called.

• Former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., right, has swept the Southern states, winning primaries in Virginia, Alabama, Arkansas, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Tennessee, and Senator Bernie Sanders has won primaries in his home state, Vermont, and in Colorado and Utah. Former Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg of New York won the caucuses in American Samoa.

Washington Post, Super Tuesday live updates: Sanders leading in California, Biden is projected to win eight states, including Virginia, N.C. and Arkansas, Felicia Sonmez, Reis Thebault, Michelle Ye Hee Lee and Isaac Stanley-Becker, March 3, 2020. California offers the lion’s share of delegates.

Former vice president Joe Biden is showing strength in the South and has extended his reach into the Upper Midwest, while Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has notched a few wins and leads in the California Democratic presidential primary, according to Edison Research Super Tuesday exit polling and a survey of absentee voters.

Late deciders fueled Biden’s victories in several states Tuesday, an indication his South Carolina victory and endorsements by other candidates played a role in his success. In Oklahoma, Biden won voters who decided in the last few days by a more than 2 to 1 margin over Sanders, while voters who decided earlier split nearly evenly between the two.…

Editor’s Choice: Scroll below for our monthly blend of mainstream and alternative February 2020 news and views

Note: Excerpts are from the authors’ words except for subheads and occasional “Editor’s notes” such as this.

Feb. 2

Impeachment Headlines

• Washington Post, Trump’s impending acquittal could have profound ramifications for future presidents
• Washington Post, Senate Republicans defend vote to bar new evidence as Trump acquittal vote nears
• Washington Post, Inside the Senate trial: How McConnell and enough Republicans blocked witnesses
• Washington Post, Analysis: Senate to emerge from impeachment trial guilty of extreme partisanship
• Washington Post, Opinion: The Senate impeachment trial was rigged!

World News Headlines

• New York Times, Coronavirus Pummels Wuhan, a City Short of Supplies and Overwhelmed
• Washington Post, China infections could grow exponentially; fatality reported in Philippines
• World Crisis Radio, Opinion: New Russian Premier Mishastin Closes 4,000 km Land Border with China to Prevent Proliferation of Wuhan Coronavirus
• Washington Post, Kenya’s blood banks are running dry after the U.S. ended aid — and a baby’s life is in danger
• New York Times, New U.S. Travel Ban Shuts Door on Africa’s Biggest Economy, Nigeria
• Washington Post, Opinion: Why the land mine, a persistent killer of civilians, is coming back under Trump
• South Front, Syrian Army Repels Al-Julani-Initiated Attack On Aleppo City (Photos)

2020 Election Headlines

• New York Times, How the Iowa Caucuses Work
• New York Times, Iowa will have 4 sets of results. Here’s how The Times will declare a winner
• New York Times, Editorial: More Money, More Problems for Democracy
• New York Times, Opinion: For Better or Worse, Trump Will Get His Favorite Things on Super Bowl Sunday
• New York Times, ‘S.N.L.’ Imagines the Impeachment Trial That Could Have Been

#MeToo Media Scandals

• New York Times, ‘Angels’ in Hell: The Culture of Misogyny Inside Victoria’s Secret

Impeachment Trial Excerpts

Washington Post, Trump’s impending acquittal could have profound ramifications for future presidents, Philip Rucker, Feb.…

Editor’s Choice: Scroll below for our monthly blend of mainstream and alternative January 2020 news and views

Note: Excerpts are from the authors’ words except for subheads and occasional “Editor’s notes” such as this.

Jan. 2

World News

Kangaroo rushes past a burning house Tuesday in Lake Conjola, New South Wales, Australia (Photo: Matthew Abbott for The New York Times).

New York Times, Apocalyptic Scenes in Australia as Fires Turn Skies Blood Red, Isabella Kwai, Jan. 2, 2020 (update). Thousands of people fled from their homes as wildfires raged on the last day of the warmest decade on record in Australia.

As the fire stalked the east coast of Australia on Tuesday, the daytime sky turned inky black, then blood red. Emergency sirens wailed, followed by the thunder of gas explosions. Thousands of residents fled their homes and huddled near the shore. There was nowhere else to go.

Apocalyptic scenes like these in Mallacoota, a vacation destination between Sydney and Melbourne, came on the last day of the warmest decade on record in Australia.

The country is in the grip of a devastating fire season, with months of summer still to go, as record-breaking temperatures, strong winds and prolonged drought have ignited huge blazes across the country.

The devastation is immense. In the state of New South Wales, which includes Sydney, more than 900 homes have been destroyed and nine million acres have burned since November. Almost 100 fires were still raging in the state on Tuesday, with about three dozen more across the border in Victoria.

Washington Post, Potential clash between U.S. and Iran averted as embassy siege ends, Mustafa Salim and Liz Sly, Jan. 2, 2019. The Kataib Hezbollah militia told its supporters to leave the area around the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad after Iraq’s prime minister said he would support efforts to pass a law calling for a U.S.…

Editor’s Choice: Scroll below for our monthly blend of mainstream and alternative December 2019 news and views

Note: Excerpts are from the authors’ words except for subheads and occasional “Editor’s notes” such as this. 

Dec. 4

Impeachment Daily Index

• New York Times, Live Updates: Trump Committed Impeachable Offenses, 3 Scholars Will Say
• New York Times, Trump Put His Interests Ahead of Country’s, Impeachment Report Finds
• New York Times, A Mysterious ‘-1’ and Other Call Records Show How Giuliani Pressured Ukraine
• New York Times, Who Is Noah Feldman? Scholar Specializes in Constitutional Law
• New York Times, Who Is Pamela Karlan? Legal Leader Committed to Progressive Causes
• New York Times, Who Is Michael J. Gerhardt? Professor Made Impeachment His Specialty
• Washington Post, Explosive personalities ready to battle as probe enters new phase
• Washington Post, Phone call records show frequent contact between Giuliani and White House
• Washington Post, NATO braces for contentious summit as Trump and other leaders gather

Impeachment Coverage Noted Above

Washington Post, Professors testify that Trump’s conduct is grounds for removal, John Wagner and Felicia Sonmez, Dec. 4, 2019.  Probe moves to new phase with House Judiciary hearing. A 41-member panel with a history of partisan brawls is hearing from four constitutional experts on the historical underpinnings of impeachment in what could be a chaotic proceeding.

New York Times, Live Updates: Trump Committed Impeachable Offenses, 3 Scholars Say, Michael D. Shear, Dec. 4, 2019. The House Judiciary Committee is debating whether to draft and approve articles of impeachment. Lawmakers are hearing from legal scholars about the constitutional basis for impeachment. Stay here for live video and updates.

But an expert invited by Republicans argued that the case so far is “slipshod” and premature, during the first formal impeachment hearing in the Judiciary Committee. The panel kicked off what is likely to be a sharply partisan brawl over whether to draft and approve articles of impeachment against President Trump.…

Nov. 3

U.S. News Headlines

• New York Times, Investigation: A Million D.U.I. Cases a Year, but Breath Analysis Often Fails Test
• Washington Post, The ‘race whisperer —  A black activist convinced a neo-Nazi he’d save him from legal ruin. Then the real plan began 
• Washington Post, Judge temporarily blocks Trump order requiring would-be immigrants to prove they have health insurance,
• Details below

Trump Probes / Impeachment Index 

• Washington Post, Opinion: President Trump may have violated criminal provisions of the Hatch Act
• Washington Post, A presidential loathing for Ukraine is at the heart of the impeachment inquiry
• New York Times, Opinion: To Beat Trump, Focus on His Corruption
• Washington Post, Internal Mueller documents show Trump campaign chief pushed unproven theory Ukraine hacked Democrats,
• Washington Post, Opinion: As impeachment enters a new phase, keep an eye on endangered Republicans
• New York Times, Trump Takes In a Different Kind of Fight: U.F.C. in New York
• Buzzflash, Opinion: Impeach Me or I’ll Steal the 2020 Election: Trump’s Dare to Pelosi,

Trump Probes (Noted Above)

Washington Post, Opinion: President Trump may have violated criminal provisions of the Hatch Act, Gary Stein (a lawyer in New York and a former federal prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York), Nov. 3, 2019 (print ed.). It’s a felony to order federal government workers to further a partisan political campaign.

Legal analysis of the Ukraine controversy has so far focused on whether President Trump’s July 25 call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky involved extortion, bribery or solicitation of an illegal campaign contribution from a foreign source. But as the House investigation has proceeded, a more straightforward legal case has emerged: The president, and possibly other officials, may have violated the Hatch Act’s civil and criminal prohibitions on the use of executive branch powers for partisan ends.…

Editor’s Choice: Scroll below for our monthly blend of mainstream and alternative September 2019 news and views

October Update

Oct. 2

Impeachment Daily Index

• New York Times, Trump Wants to ‘Interview’ Whistle-Blower
• New York Times, Pompeo and House Chairmen Clash Over Impeachment Inquiry
• New York Times, Pompeo Calls House Request to Interview Diplomats ‘Intimidation’ and Rushed
• Washington Post, ‘A presidency of one’: Key federal agencies increasingly compelled to benefit Trump
• Washington Post, Barr is said to have urged foreign governments to aid investigation of CIA, FBI activities related to 2016 election
• Palmer Report, Opinion: Donald Trump is now being targeted by the Department of Defense Inspector General too
• Washington Post, Trump amps up attacks on whistleblower as some Republicans call for a more strategic response
• New York Times, Who supports an impeachment inquiry? Here’s a full list

U.S. 2020 Politics

Roll Call, Bernie Sanders cancels campaign schedule after heart procedure, Niels Lesniewski, Oct. 2, 2019. Spokesman says presidential candidate (shown in a Gage Skidmore file photo) had stents installed after doctors found blockage in artery.

Sen. Bernie Sanders is recovering after having heart stents installed, canceling his presidential campaign events until further notice. Jeff Weaver, a senior adviser to the Democratic presidential campaign of the Vermont independent, made the announcement of the medical procedure. “During a campaign event yesterday evening, Sen. Sanders experienced some chest discomfort. Following medical evaluation and testing he was found to have a blockage in one artery and two stents were successfully inserted. Sen. Sanders is conversing and in good spirits. He will be resting up over the next few days,” Weaver said. “We are canceling his events and appearances until further notice, and we will continue to provide appropriate updates.”

Sanders was among the 10 Democratic presidential hopefuls scheduled to appear at a candidate forum in Las Vegas on Wednesday.…

Editor’s Choice: Scroll below for our monthly blend of mainstream and alternative September 2019 news and views

Note: Excerpts are from the authors’ words except for subheads and occasional “Editor’s notes” such as this.

 Sept. 4

UK Democracy Crisis

Washington Post, House of Commons passes bill seeking to avert no-deal Brexit in blow to Johnson, Kevin Sullivan and Karla Adam​, Sept. 4, 2019. The legislation — which won’t be final until the House of Lords votes later this week — would effectively delay Brexit an additional three months. Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s motion to call a general election is also expected to fail Wednesday.

Inside DC

Washington attorney Gregory Craig, center, holds a brief news conference surrounded by his lawyers on Sept. 4 following his acquittal on a false statement charge in the federal district court in Washington, DC (Justice Integrity Project photo).

Washington Post, Gregory Craig found not guilty of lying to investigators probing work to aid Ukraine president, Spencer S. Hsu, Sept. 4, 2019. A federal jury found Gregory B. Craig not guilty of lying to the Justice Department, acquitting the Democratic former White House counsel on Wednesday of concealing media contacts in 2012 related to his work for the Ukrainian government.

Jurors deliberated less than a day before vindicating Craig, 74, right (shown in a Justice Integrity Project photo at a press conference after the verdict), a former top legal adviser to Barack Obama and Bill Clinton.

Craig’s defense urged them to weigh his towering reputation in Washington and decades in government and private practice before passing judgment after a three-week trial.

The acquittal marks a high-profile setback for a Justice Department crackdown on foreign lobbying in the United States, exposing flaws in a difficult prosecution that was handed off among several offices before Craig’s April indictment.…