Tipsheet: COVID-19 surge pushes US toward deadly cliff

View in your browser     COVID-19 surge pushes US toward deadly cliff By Reid Wilson   The coronavirus is spreading at ever-faster rates in a broad array of states, putting the U.S. on the precipice of an explosion of illness that threatens to overwhelm the nation's health care system. The painful economic lockdowns imposed in March gave the country time to flatten the epidemiological curve and contain the virus. But that window of opportunity, which came at great economic cost, is quickly slamming shut. Health experts say all signs point to a deadly summer and fall unless government leaders implement a much more robust national strategy. Read the full story here     Trump wears mask during visit to Walter Reed By J. Edward Moreno and Brett Samuels   President Trump wore a face mask during his visit to Walter Reed hospital on Saturday, marking the first time he has done so in front of cameras. Read the full story here     US posts over 68K new virus cases, setting record for third straight day By Marty Johnson   The U.S. on Friday reported more than 68,000 new COVID-19 cases, breaking the country's record for the daily number of new cases for the third consecutive day as the growing pandemic tightens its grip on the country. Read the full story here     Florida health officials agreed to receive remdesivir from New York before DeSantis dismissed offer By Nathaniel Weixel   Florida health department officials were aware of New York's desire to send a shipment of the experimental coronavirus treatment drug remdesivir to the state before Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) publicly dismissed the state's offer. Read the full story here       Trump defends Roger Stone move: He was target of 'Witch Hunt' By Jesse Byrnes   President Trump on Saturday morning defended his decision to commute the prison sentence for his longtime associate and political confidant Roger Stone, claiming Stone was the victim of a "Witch Hunt." Read the full story here     Mueller: Roger Stone 'remains a convicted felon, and rightly so' By J. Edward Moreno   Former special counsel Robert Mueller, the top lawyer who led the Russia investigation, defended his teams' findings on President Trump's associate Roger Stone on Saturday after Trump moved to commute his sentence. Read the full story here     Barr recommended Trump not give Stone clemency: report By J. Edward Moreno   U.S. Attorney General William Barr recommended that President Trump not grant associate Roger Stone clemency, administration officials told NBC News. Read the full story here     Trump tax returns unlikely before November By Naomi Jagoda   Two Supreme Court rulings this week in cases about President Trump’s financial records add new obstacles to the public seeing Trump’s tax returns before Election Day. Read the full story here     The Memo: Democrats feel rising tide in Florida By Niall Stanage   Democratic hopes are rising for a victory in Florida in November’s presidential election — an outcome that would make President Trump’s path to reelection vanishingly narrow. Read the full story here     Top US companies to Trump: Leave DACA alone By Brett Samuels   A coalition of major companies and trade groups that represent more than half of American private sector workers wrote to President Trump on Saturday urging him to leave the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program in place. Read the full story here     Why this Roger Stone commutation is not as controversial as some think By Jonathan Turley   OPINION | Washington was sent into vapors of shock and disgust with news of the commutation of Roger Stone. Legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin declared it to be “the most corrupt and cronyistic act in all of recent history.” Despite my disagreement with the commutation, that claim is almost quaint. The sordid history of pardons makes it look positively chaste in comparison. Many presidents have found the power of pardons to be an irresistible temptation when it involves family, friends, and political allies. Read the full story here     Oh, Canada: Should the US emulate Canada's National Health Service? By David Balat   OPINION | While progressives in the U.S. continue to push for government-run health care, the Province of Alberta’s government this week cleared the way for a health omnibus bill that seeks to privatize its health care system. Read the full story here     The Associated Press: Coronavirus deaths take a long-expected turn for the worse By Mike Stobbe and Nicky Forster   A long-expected upturn in U.S. coronavirus deaths has begun, driven by fatalities in states in the South and West, according to data on the pandemic. Read the full story here     The Wall Street Journal: COVID-19 cases jump in sunbelt nursing homes By Christopher Weaver, Anna Wilde Mathews and Jon Kamp   Current surge that has mostly infected the young now shows signs of reaching more-vulnerable elderly. Read the full story here     The Washington Post: Economic recovery may be fizzling as disruption from virus lingers By David J. Lynch   The pandemic shock, which economists once assumed would be only a temporary business interruption, appears instead to be settling into a traditional, self-perpetuating recession. Read the full story here     The New York Times: Trump’s clemency came after displays of loyalty by Stone By Sharon LaFraniere and Mark Mazzetti   The extraordinary decision to commute the prison sentence of an embattled adviser demonstrates how the president has managed to bend America’s legal machinery to his advantage. Read the full story here     CNN: Pelosi blasts Roger Stone commutation as 'an act of staggering corruption' as Trump defends move By Veronica Stracqualursi   Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Saturday slammed President Donald Trump's decision to commute the prison sentence of his long-time friend and political adviser Roger Stone as "an act of staggering corruption." Read the full story here         Did a friend forward you this email? 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