Above the Fold

• Following yesterday’s news that first-quarter GDP suffered a 4.8% contraction, “First-time filings for unemployment insurance hit 3.84 million last week,” CNBC reports, which “bring[s] the rolling six-week total to 30.3 million.” Citing an Economic Policy Institute survey, however, CNBC this week also reported: “For every 10 people who successfully filed for unemployment insurance benefits over four weeks in March and April, an additional three to four people tried and failed to make claims.”

• “The Food and Drug Administration is moving to quickly authorize the use of Gilead’s experimental anti-viral drug remdesivir as an emergency treatment for coronavirus, following news that a preliminary trial of the drug showed positive results.” (National Review)

Government & Politics

• According to Fox News, “Explosive new internal FBI documents unsealed Wednesday show that top bureau officials discussed their motivations for interviewing then-national security adviser Michael Flynn in the White House in January 2017 — and openly questioned if their ‘goal’ was ‘to get him to lie, so we can prosecute him or get him fired.’” As we stated yesterday: If the court still elects to sentence Flynn, President Donald Trump will have more than ample justification for pardoning him. On a related note, Roger Stone is formally appealing his criminal conviction.

• On Monday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell warned: “The next pandemic coming will be the lawsuit pandemic in the wake of this one.” Which is why, National Review explains, “McConnell indicated this week that he would ‘insist’ the next coronavirus-relief package include liability protections for companies and health-care workers.” But obstructionist House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says, “We would not be inclined to be supporting any immunity from liability.” If that’s the case, responsibility for the lawsuit pandemic will lay at the Democrats’ feet.

• That said, McConnell may be seeking a compromise. The AP reports: “Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Wednesday he is ‘open’ to considering additional funds for state and local governments. … While saying he’s willing to consider new funds, McConnell insisted the next package must also include federal liability protections from what he warned will be an ‘avalanche’ of lawsuits against businesses that reopen during the pandemic.”

• The voter-enthusiasm gap between Joe Biden and Trump is nearly 20% in the president’s favor, based on an Emerson College survey. Moreover, “Voters from both camps generally believe that Trump will win in November,” The Daily Wire notes. “According to Emerson, 57% of voters believe Trump will win reelection in November versus just 43% of voters who think Biden will hold the office next year.”

Other Notables

• A man claiming to be a Silicon Valley entrepreneur gets $69 million to produce ventilators — but has failed to deliver even one (UK Daily Mail)

• Meat plant workers say they’ll refuse to go back to work despite Trump’s executive order to keep them open (UK Daily Mail)

• Cunning Democrats snuck a $15 minimum wage into the CARES Act — and we’ll all pay the price (Issues & Insights)

• Bad idea: Trump administration set to offer oil companies emergency loans involving government stakes (Washington Examiner)

• Woman who blamed Trump after giving her husband fish-tank cleaner now under murder investigation (National Review)

• Dozens of bodies found in unrefrigerated U-Haul trucks outside New York City funeral home (Fox News)

Closing Arguments

• Policy: Now is the time for substantive pension reform — or else (Issues & Insights)

• Policy: Letting states declare bankruptcy isn’t a dumb idea (American Enterprise Institute)

• Satire: Judge dismisses sexual-assault allegations against Biden on grounds that he is not a Republican (The Babylon Bee)

For more of today’s editors’ choice headlines, visit In Our Sights.

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