Top Items:

Why Won't TV News Book Tara Reade? — The stakes are high for the media in the case of a sexual assault allegation against Joe Biden. — There were good reasons to be skeptical of her 20-year-old allegations: She'd changed her story and said some weird stuff, and even denied the whole thing under oath.
RELATED:

Tara Reade Knows She Has A Difficult Allegation. And She's Had A Difficult Time Getting A Hearing. — She has seen Joe Biden take questions on cable news and late-night television. She has watched him host virtual town halls with voters and online fundraisers with donors.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Jacobin, Redstate, Los Angeles Times, The Federalist and Politico

Biden camp refuses to open up Senate papers that could shed light on accuser's claims — but has sent operatives to look through records — Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden's campaign has insisted that journalists “rigorously vet” the allegations of former Senate aide Tara Reade …
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, New York Times, Redstate, Breitbart, TheBlaze, Mediaite, Patterico's Pontifications, Twitchy, National Review, New York Post, Fox News, HuffPost and Washington Post

Joe Biden set to break his silence on Tara Reade allegations
Discussion:
NBC News, The Hill, Law & Crime and Breitbart
Alyssa Milano / Deadline:
Alyssa Milano On Why She Still Supports Joe Biden & How She Would Advise Him About Tara Reade Allegations - Guest Column
Alyssa Milano On Why She Still Supports Joe Biden & How She Would Advise Him About Tara Reade Allegations - Guest Column
Discussion:
Washington Post, Reason, Breitbart, TheBlaze, Washington Free Beacon, NB Blog, The Daily Caller, New Republic, Althouse, HuffPost, IJR, Axios, Sara A. Carter, Twitchy, The Week and Fox News
Katelyn Caralle / Daily Mail:
'I don't need a lecture!' …

U.S. officials crafting retaliatory actions against China over coronavirus as President Trump fumes — The president has in recent days told aides and others that China has to pay for the outbreak and publicly floated demanding billions in compensation — Senior U.S. officials are beginning …
Discussion:
Power Line, Vanity Fair, Law & Crime, The American Independent, The Daily Caller, The Hill, CNN, Raw Story, Mother Jones and Redstate
RELATED:

Adam Shaw / Fox News:
Pompeo clashes with Warren on Iran deal, asks if she's ‘good’ with China sending tanks to Tehran
Pompeo clashes with Warren on Iran deal, asks if she's ‘good’ with China sending tanks to Tehran
Discussion:
Jihad Watch and One America News Network
New York Times:
Trump Officials Are Said to Press Spies to Link Virus and Wuhan Labs
Trump Officials Are Said to Press Spies to Link Virus and Wuhan Labs
Discussion:
CNN, Vanity Fair, Associated Press, The Daily Beast, National Review, The Daily Dot, Breitbart, Axios, Politico, The Gateway Pundit, Gizmodo, IJR, Al Jazeera, The Guardian, The Week, Raw Story, Daily Kos and Just The News

Capitol physician says Senate lacks capacity to test all senators — The Capitol's attending physician said Thursday that coronavirus tests will be available for staffers and senators who are ill, but not enough to proactively test all 100 senators as the chamber comes back in session, according to two people familiar with the matter.
Discussion:
Washington Post
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A QAnon Devotee Live-Streamed Her Trip to N.Y. to ‘Take Out’ Joe Biden — Jessica Prim was arrested on Wednesday with more than a dozen illegal knives. — An Illinois woman inspired by pro-Trump QAnon conspiracy theory videos traveled to New York City on Wednesday with more than a dozen illegal knives …
Discussion:
Raw Story, Gizmodo, POLITICUSUSA, New York Daily News, Digby's Hullabaloo and The Daily Dot
RELATED:

It's Slowly Dawning on Trump That He's Losing
Discussion:
Vanity Fair and Raw Story
Associated Press:
Biden reaches deal to let Sanders keep hundreds of delegates
Biden reaches deal to let Sanders keep hundreds of delegates
Discussion:
Politico, Fox News, Frontloading HQ, Forbes and Althouse
Amie Parnes / The Hill:
Team Biden talks about getting their candidate out of the house
Team Biden talks about getting their candidate out of the house
Discussion:
Axios, Sean Hannity and Politico, more at Techmeme »

Michael Flynn case should be dismissed to preserve justice — Previously undisclosed documents in the case of former national security adviser Michael Flynn offer us a chilling blueprint on how top FBI officials not only sought to entrap the former White House aide but sought …
Discussion:
Washington Post and Fox News
RELATED:

The ‘Bombshell’ That Wasn't? Lawyers Say the FBI's Tactics in Michael Flynn Case Were ‘Routine’
Discussion:
emptywheel, Fox News, Reason, New York Times, Redstate, Twitchy, Mediaite and The Gateway Pundit
Kyle Cheney / Politico:
FBI docs suggest agents prepared to close Flynn case — then reversed course
FBI docs suggest agents prepared to close Flynn case — then reversed course
Discussion:
The Hill

South Carolina Senate Moves to Likely Republican — It's hard to think of a politician who has undergone a bigger evolution over the past four years than South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham. But could that very political makeover hurt him at the ballot box in 2020, even in a reliably red state?
Discussion:
The Hill
RELATED:

Top Lindsey Graham Donor Switches Sides, Now Backs Democratic Rival
Discussion:
The Hill and The Intellectualist

Thank you for your service, Jared Kushner — Peter Bergen is CNN's national security analyst, a vice president at New America and a professor of practice at Arizona State University. He is the editor of the Coronavirus Daily Brief and author of the new book “Trump and His Generals: The Cost of Chaos.”
Discussion:
HuffPost and Business Insider
RELATED:
Edward Luce / Financial Times:
The golden age of Jared Kushner
The golden age of Jared Kushner
Discussion:
The Bulwark, Raw Story and Vox

O.C. officials criticize Newsom's order to close beaches as county sees surge in COVID-19 cases — Orange County officials criticized Gov. Gavin Newsom's order to close all beaches in the county Thursday, with one supervisor calling the move an “abuse of power.”
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Texas reports most deaths in a day from COVID-19 as Gov. Abbott prepares to drop stay-home order — Texas reported 50 more COVID-19 deaths on Thursday, the most in any one day since the state reported its first deaths in mid-March. — The state also reported it had added more than 1,000 …

Secret Service paid Trump's D.C. hotel more than $33,000 for lodging to guard treasury secretary — The Secret Service rented a room at President Trump's Washington hotel for 137 consecutive nights in 2017 — paying Trump's company more than $33,000 — so it could guard Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin …

Nearly 900 at Tyson Foods plant test positive for coronavirus — LOGANSPORT, Ind. (WISH) — The Cass County Health Department on Wednesday afternoon said it has seen just under 1,200 positive COVID-19 cases. Almost 900 employees at the Tyson Food plant in Cass County's Logansport have tested positive.
Discussion:
Cass County Online and The Hill

Big money donors are pressuring Joe Biden against picking Elizabeth Warren for VP: ‘He would lose the election’ — Big money donors are pressuring Joe Biden to not choose Sen. Elizabeth Warren as his running mate, even while the centrist former vice president tries to appeal to progressive voters.

Time to Check Your Pandemic-Abandoned Car for Rats — There might be a nest in the engine. — You might want to make sure there's not a rat living (or recently dead) in your car's engine. — Why are you still reading? Check your car for a rat, I said. That's the tip.

Mike Pence, the Mayo Clinic, and the Mask — This is America. The rules are supposed to apply to everyone. — News reports of Vice President Mike Pence's refusal to wear a mask during his visit to the Mayo Clinic this week reminded me of something that occurred when I worked in the Reagan administration.
Discussion:
The Bulwark Podcast and Raw Story
RELATED:
Jill Colvin / Associated Press:
Pence's wife says he was unaware of mask policy during visit
Pence's wife says he was unaware of mask policy during visit
Discussion:
Breitbart, Washington Post, POLITICUSUSA, Axios and IJR

Governors in all 50 states get better marks than Trump for COVID response — A sweeping survey of more than 22,000 Americans has found that voters in all 50 states say their governor is doing a better job than President Trump in handling the coronavirus outbreak.
Discussion:
Vox and Iowa Starting Line

Hundreds of protesters, some carrying guns in the state Capitol, demonstrate against Michigan's emergency measures — Protesters held signs, waved American flags and even carried firearms as lawmakers debated extending Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's state of emergency.
Discussion:
Mother Jones, Forbes, Breitbart, WOOD-TV, The Gateway Pundit, The Daily Beast, Talking Points Memo, Raw Story and The Intellectualist

AskTheAG: Barr is taking Twitter questions on coronavirus issues, and it's getting ugly — The Justice Department offered the public a rare opportunity on Wednesday morning to submit questions to Attorney General William P. Barr for a “nationwide #AskTheAG Q&A session on May 1.”

How Long Will a Vaccine Really Take? — A vaccine would be the ultimate weapon against the coronavirus and the best route back to normal life. Officials like Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the top infectious disease expert on the Trump administration's coronavirus task force, estimate a vaccine could arrive in at least 12 to 18 months.
Discussion:
Gothamist

DC May Not Reopen for Another 3 Months, Officials Say — D.C. leaders laid out a new timetable Wednesday evening for when the city could begin to reopen. — During an hourlong virtual town hall, Dr. LaQuandra Nesbitt, director of the D.C. Department of Health, walked through a slide show …

Special Report: Trump told Saudis: Cut oil supply or lose U.S. military support - sources — WASHINGTON/LONDON/DUBAI (Reuters) - As the United States pressed Saudi Arabia to end its oil price war with Russia, President Donald Trump gave Saudi leaders an ultimatum.
Discussion:
Foreign Policy