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Slowly emerging out of coronavirus lockdown is in some ways as disorienting as those surreal mid-March days when widespread closures and the new pandemic reality began. We're coming to grips with a changed world, in which the “before coronavirus” era is over and may never come back. While mourning old ways is natural, take heart that periods of radical change can bring constructive and positive outcomes. In this case, it may lead to increased attention to public health, expanded voting access, a new era of global cooperation, and increased respect for science and expertise, to name a few. The path to peace of mind is acceptance, and a reliance on faith, family, and community—the timeless connections that will endure, whatever the future brings. —Mindy Finn
Top Ten

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1. If only we started a little sooner New estimates from Columbia University disease modelers are heartbreaking. If the U.S. had begun locking down cities and limiting social contact on March 1, just two weeks earlier than most people started staying home, the vast majority of the nation's deaths from COVID-19—about 83%—could have been avoided. Instead, the insidious nature of the virus and a lack of widespread testing allowed tens of thousands of infections to go undetected, hiding the urgency of an outbreak that most Americans still identified as a foreign threat. To date, more than 1.5 million people in the U.S. have tested positive for the coronavirus and over 93,000 have died, according to Johns Hopkins University. —The New York Times ([link removed])
* — A test mess. At least four states say they have combined data from two sources to their COVID-19 totals—viral test results and antibody test results—potentially providing a misleading picture of where and when the virus has spread. The combination also could overstate a state's ability to test and track active infections—a key consideration as states ease coronavirus restrictions. —CNN ([link removed])
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* — Paycheck Protection Program to get a fix. The Senate will vote today on a measure that would extend the period of time that money from a PPP loan can be spent beyond the eight-week window established by the March coronavirus response bill. The fix has bipartisan support in the chamber, as well as the backing of Sens. Marco Rubio and Ben Cardin, the chair and ranking member of the Small Business Committee. —The Hill ([link removed])
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— If Mitch McConnell gets his way... The $3 trillion coronavirus spending package the House passed last week won't get through the Senate without a major overhaul. While the Senate majority leader conceded yesterday that more aid may be necessary, he is insisting that liability reform be included in the next round of legislation and that the $600 weekly boost to unemployment benefits be discontinued. ([link removed])
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* — Gardner takes a stand. Republican leaders are trying to work out an agreement with Sen. Cory Gardner that would allow the Senate to go on recess while accommodating his concerns about leaving while the coronavirus pandemic continues to rage. The Senate is expected to adjourn for the Memorial Day holiday this afternoon, but Gardner (R-Colo.) has threatened to block the chamber from doing so. —Politico ([link removed])

More: Fact-checking and assessing Trump's letter of rebuke to WHO (NPR) ([link removed])

2. Trunk & Bunse: Bring back the experts "Open debates, from which evidence-based decision making and policy emerge, is one of the pillars that sustain democracy. Public policy decisions are best when generated by diverse teams with both focused experience and broad knowledge. Diverging national and international assessments are to be welcomed as they enhance critical engagement with the evidence at hand to address challenges. The current crisis provides a golden opportunity for us, as well as our political leaders to rediscover the value of true expertise, trustworthy sources, and policy projections grounded in evidence and rational assumptions. Decisions based on facts and expertise remain our best antidote not only to the current crisis or the next, but to sustain democracy and the values that we hold dear. —The Times of India ([link removed])

Ed. Note: Adina Trunk is special adviser to the secretary-general at International IDEA. Simone Bunse is a professor and capstone coordinator in the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University.

More: US has three months to prepare for second COVID-19 wave, say scientists (The Guardian) ([link removed])

3. Ghosts of impeachment past still haunt The Supreme Court yesterday denied a request from the House Judiciary Committee that would have granted immediate access to secret grand jury materials, including transcripts and exhibits, from former Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe. The Justice Department has until June 1 to file a formal appeal of the March D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling, which ordered the administration to hand over the materials, which the committee initially requested as part of its impeachment inquiry into President Trump. —The Hill ([link removed])
* — Senate addresses another impeachment remnant. Also yesterday, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee moved to subpoena documents related to Hunter Biden, son of former Vice President Joe Biden, concerning his work for Ukrainian oil company Burisma. The move generated fierce objection from Democrats, who argue the inquiry is meant merely to sling mud at Trump's likely November opponent. —The Washington Post ([link removed])
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* — Trump Administration declassifies Rice email. Fellow Obama alum Susan Rice's 2017 Inauguration Day email to herself has been declassified. The email references an intelligence briefing about Russian interference in the 2016 election and Gen. Michael Flynn's conversations with Russian ambassadors. Republicans say the email is potential evidence that former President Barack Obama ordered the FBI to spy on the new administration, while Democrats say it proves the outgoing administration handled the situation appropriately. —Politico ([link removed])
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* — Cohen released from prison. Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen, who turned informant during the Mueller Investigation, will be released from federal prison today amid coronavirus concerns and is expected to serve the rest of his three-year sentence from home. He is among 2,900 federal inmates who have been placed on home confinement recently as prison officials attempt to identify those who are at high risk for the virus and low risk for reoffending. —The Wall Street Journal ([link removed])

4. Trump backs down on MI vote-by-mail After being publicly corrected by Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson yesterday, President Trump walked back his earlier warning that he would withhold unspecified federal funding to Michigan for expanding its vote-by-mail options during the coronavirus pandemic. He deleted his threatening tweet and told reporters that he doesn't think it will be "necessary" to withhould funds. —Axios ([link removed])
* — Trump "has gone full Ukraine." California Secretary of State Alex Padilla came out in strong defense of his colleagues in Michigan and Nevada, whom Trump also threatened, by saying the president's anti-vote-by-mail threats are the "clearest example yet of using disinformation to try and influence the November election." —Politico ([link removed])

* — Though she called Trump's threats "scary" and "unacceptable," they did not stop Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer from sending him a letter late yesterday requesting federal disaster relief as her state faces what some experts have called a 500-year flood. Trump is visiting the state today. —The Independent ([link removed])

More: Election watchdog, dormant for months, can finally move into action (The New York Times) ([link removed])

5. Diamond: Don't mess with SCOTUS "There is a simple and elegant preventive solution—a constitutional amendment, shorter than any existing one, simply stating: 'The Supreme Court of the United States shall be composed of nine justices.' Bipartisan sentiment is slowly gathering in favor of such a 'Keep Nine' amendment. Biden would be wise to endorse it. That would not only help arrest the slide in democratic norms, it would also be smart politically. By signaling to Republican and independent voters that he would not be a norm-busting president, he would make it easier for them to back him in November. And he would signal to Republicans in Congress that he wants to be a president who heals the nation and governs effectively, rather than deepen the wounds and resentments of these recent hyperpolarizing years." —The Hill ([link removed])

Ed. Note: Larry Diamond is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University.
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6. Investigation of Arbery killing continues Agents from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation executed a search warrant on the home of Gregory and Travis McMichael, the father-son duo charged in the killing of jogger Ahmaud Arbery. The agents spent more than two hours searching the home. ([link removed])
* — The two men were not arrested until 74 days after the killing of Arbery. Charged with murder and aggravated assault, the arrests came only after a video showing the murder went viral. ([link removed])
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* — The killing of Arbery, who is black, by the McMichaels, who are white, has led many to believe race played a factor in the killing. In response, Georgia's attorney general has requested that the Department of Justice look into bringing federal hate crime charges in the case. ([link removed])
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* — An attorney for the McMichaels denies that the men are guilty of murder or hate crimes. It is still unclear what the agents from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation were looking for in the McMichaels' home. —Forbes ([link removed])

More: Brutal beating in Iowa should be investigated as hate crime, NAACP says (NBC News) ([link removed])

7. Goldsmith: Disinfo is harming our vets "Despite Facebook using its algorithm to demote the 'Plandemic' video, I watched as veterans from around the country and of multiple generations found themselves convinced enough by the conspiracy theory to aggressively spread it to their networks as if it were critical information. Among a host of other dangerous lies, the video discourages people from getting the influenza vaccine—which increases the likelihood that aging, health-compromised Vietnam veterans will die unnecessarily in what could be America’s 'darkest winter.' ([link removed])

Meanwhile, it's been nearly two weeks since the viral event, yet the VA hasn't done anything to debunk this dangerous health-related disinformation or to otherwise make veterans more resistant to falling victim to COVID-19-related scams. This type of disinformation campaign erodes trust in the American government and encourages health decisions that endanger us all during this pandemic, and it should not go without a full-throated rebuttal." —Military Times ([link removed])

Ed. Note: Kristofer Goldsmith is associate director for policy and government affairs for the Vietnam Veterans of America.

More: Brandt & Taussig: The Kremlin's disinformation playbook goes to Beijing (Brookings) ([link removed])

8. Beijing clamps down on Hong Kong The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is going after Hong Kong over its pro-democracy protests, seeking to impose a sweeping national security law. The new law criminalizes "foreign interference," secessionist activities, and subversion of state power. ([link removed])
* — Top officials from the CCP indicate they are willing to go as far as changing the Basic Law, Hong Kong's mini constitution, which gives its citizens rights not found in mainland China. Some rights found in the Basic Law include freedom of assembly and freedom of the press. ([link removed])
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* — The action from the CCP represents a change in how it treats political dissent in Hong Kong. Last year, months-long protests began in Hong Kong over a controversial extradition bill, which would have allowed criminally accused Hongkongers to be forcibly sent to mainland China. ([link removed])
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* — "I'm speechless. This is a complete and total surprise, and I think it means the end of one country, two systems," said Dennis Kwok, a Hong Kong pro-democracy lawmaker. Kwok believes that China is using the coronavirus as a cover to impose stringent measures against the city. —The Washington Post ([link removed])

More: Trump Admin approves arms sale to Taiwan amid China tensions (CNN) ([link removed])

9. Walsh: Promoting democracy, despite our flaws "We must accept that democracies—even mature ones like ours—are fallible by design. America needn't be perfect to be President Ronald Reagan's 'shining city on a hill.' We need not cut ourselves off from the world until some unattainable moment where we have everything figured out. In fact, America's struggles to overcome its darkest impulses, no matter how abhorrent (from slavery to hyperpolarization), give the United States greater credibility in supporting democracy everywhere." —The Post and Courier ([link removed])

Ed. Note: Chris Walsh is senior program manager in the Human Freedom Initiative at the George W. Bush Institute.

More: The pandemic's geopolitical aftershocks are coming (The Atlantic) ([link removed])

10. An American Story: Opening doors in safety Have you ever found yourself fumbling to pull down your shirt sleeve when opening a door as a means to avoid germs? Well, Mizan Rupan-Tompkins, a homeschooled 12-year-old boy from San Francisco, saw his parents struggling with this problem and developed a solution. ([link removed])
* — Rupan-Tompkins designed a hook-like tool and perfected a prototype on his 3D printer. Called the Safe Touch Pro, it not only opens doors but also has the ability to punch numbers on keypads for whenever you're at the ATM, cash register, or gas stations. ([link removed])
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* — While he's not the first to invent such a product, he is the first to make the tool from plant-based plastic that is germ-resistant. ([link removed])
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* — "I wanted to make sure it was good for the environment—and the virus can't survive on it," he explained. Great job, Mizan! —Good News Network ([link removed])

Ed. Note: We are spotlighting ways that Americans are helping each other through the coronavirus crisis. Would you like to suggest an "American Story" from your local news? If so, please forward a link to the story to [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) . Thank you!
What's Your Take?

I believe Trump is making a big fuss about mail-in ballots in order to lay the groundwork for claiming that the November election results are fraudulent if he loses. We have to make sure he doesn't get away with that. —Ron W., New York

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