The Topline

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

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


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)

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

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

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


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.
More: Brutal beating in Iowa should be investigated as hate crime, NAACP says (NBC News)

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.'


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

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)

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.
More: Trump Admin approves arms sale to Taiwan amid China tensions (CNN)

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.
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]. 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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Got feedback about THE TOPLINE? Send it to Melissa Amour, Managing Editor, at [email protected].

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