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1:15 PM ET, May 20, 2021

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
CNN:
NY attorney general has been looking into the taxes of Trump Organization CFO for months, sources say  —  (CNN)The New York attorney general's office has opened a criminal tax investigation into top Trump Organization officer Allen Weisselberg, increasing the legal pressure on the long-time aide …
RELATED:
Barak Ravid / Axios:
Scoop: Biden leaning toward Thomas Nides as ambassador to Israel  —  President Biden is closing in on his pick for ambassador to Israel, with Thomas Nides, a former deputy secretary of state, most likely to be the pick, a source familiar with the process told Axios.
RELATED:
Eric Levitz / New York Magazine:
Why Is This Geopolitical Fight Different From All Other Fights?
Discussion: The Nation and Slow Boring
New York Times:
Gaza Conflict Stokes ‘Identity Crisis’ for Young American Jews
Discussion: Washington Examiner
Farley Elliott / Eater:
Scuffle at LA Sushi Restaurant Could Be Labeled Anti-Semitic Hate Crime
Gabby Deutch / Jewish Insider:
Pinpointing where Democrats are on Israel
Discussion: Vox, Washington Post and Politico
Jacqueline Alemany / Washington Post:
Sen. Bernie Sanders to introduce resolution of disapproval on $735 million U.S. arms sale to Israel  —  The action comes as Biden calls for a ‘significant de-escalation of hostilities’ between Israel and Hamas  —  Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is preparing to introduce a resolution …
RELATED:
Eli Lake / Bloomberg:
A Cease-Fire Is Not Enough When It Comes to Hamas  —  Since war broke out in Israel last week, President Joe Biden has walked a fine line.  His administration has touted its high-level diplomacy in hopes of reaching a cease-fire, while also defending Israel's right to defend itself.
Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Republicans offer a vile new excuse for opposing a Jan. 6 commission  —  With Republicans gearing up to kill a commission to examine the Jan. 6 insurrection, they have offered a barrage of comically weak excuses.  They say the commission is “slanted,” that its work will overlap with other investigations …
Discussion: Axios, Insider and HotAir
RELATED:
NBC News:
Senate GOP readies to let Trump off the hook — again
Politico:
GOP defections over Jan. 6 commission deliver rebuke to McCarthy
Washington Post:
Inspired by Arizona recount, Trump loyalists push to revisit election results in communities around the country  —  At a public meeting last week in Cheboygan County, Mich., a lawyer from Detroit told county commissioners that the voting machines they used in 2020 could “flip” votes and throw an election.
RELATED:
Ian Richardson / Des Moines Register:
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signs law banning mask mandates in schools, cities and counties  —  Leaders of Iowa school districts cannot require students or staff to wear masks and Iowa cities and counties cannot impose mask mandates under a law Gov. Kim Reynolds signed early Thursday.
RELATED:
Katie Akin / Iowa Capital Dispatch:
Reynolds signs law to forbid Iowa schools, counties and cities from requiring face masks
Discussion: Bleeding Heartland
Taylor Telford / Washington Post:
Jobless claims set new pandemic low as GOP-led states move to slash unemployment benefits  —  Some 444,000 Americans filed initial unemployment claims last week, the Labor Department reports  —  Some 444,000 Americans filed first-time unemployment claims last week, the Labor Department reported Thursday …
Discussion: New York Post and CBS News
RELATED:
Payne Lubbers / Bloomberg:   Initial Jobless Claims in U.S. Decline to Fresh Pandemic Low
Brent Hamachek / Human Events:
Thought Leader Jack Posobiec Joins Human Events Team as Senior Editor  —  Human Events is thrilled to announce the hiring of the extremely talented and influential Jack Posobiec as Senior Editor.  Most recently, Posobiec served as a correspondent and host for One America News Network.
Marina Pitofsky / The Hill:
First vaccine boosters could be needed as soon as September, executives say  —  The first Americans who received their COVID-19 vaccines could need a “booster” shot of as soon as September, the CEOS of Pfizer and Moderna told Axios.  —  “The data that I see coming, they are supporting …
Discussion: Axios and HotAir
Peter Stevenson / Washington Post:
Chief Justice John Roberts: From key swing vote to potential bystander?  —  Almost seven months after Justice Amy Coney Barrett's swearing-in, the Supreme Court is set to take on a case that could redefine abortion law in the United States.  The court announced Monday that it will review …
RELATED:
Joanna Weiss / Politico:
J.D. Vance Is Making Everyone Mad on Twitter.  Can It Win Him a Senate Seat?  —  J.D. Vance, the writer and venture capitalist who might run for U.S. Senate in Ohio, became a media darling by building a bridge between two worlds.  Now, he's using Twitter to set that bridge on fire.
Discussion: Althouse, HuffPost and The Wrap
Kyle Kondik / Sabato's Crystal Ball:
The House: Democrats Would Have a Tough Slog Even Without Redistricting  —  Our hypothetical ratings of House 2022 if no district lines changed  —  KEY POINTS FROM THIS ARTICLE  — The reapportionment of House seats and pending redistricting has prevented us from releasing U.S. House ratings so far this cycle.
John Ganz / Unpopular Front:
Are Republicans still democrats?  —  The Right's Long War on Majority Rule  —  This week FiveThirtyEight published a piece entitled “How The Republican Push To Restrict Voting Could Affect Our Elections.”  Included in the article is a graph that purports to chart “The GOP's eroding commitment to Democracy” …
David Leonhardt / New York Times:
The Myth of Labor Shortages  —  Is the U.S. suffering from a labor shortage?  If so, capitalism has an answer.  —  The chief executive of Domino's Pizza has complained that the company can't hire enough drivers.  Lyft and Uber claim to have a similar problem.
Jonah Goldberg / The Dispatch:
Structural Antisemitism  —  When AOC says it's simplistic to say that Israel has a right to defend itself, she's right.  It is simple: Israel has a right to defend itself.  —  14 hr ago  —  Hi all,  —  Structural racism means different things to different people.
Discussion: Gatestone Institute
Daniel Lippman / Politico:
Inside Trump's push to oust his own FBI chief  —  Then-President Donald Trump sought to oust FBI Director Christopher Wray last spring and replace him with counterintelligence head William Evanina, according to three former Trump officials familiar with the episode.
Discussion: Raw Story
Veronica Stracqualursi / CNN:
Justin Amash warns of painting Liz Cheney as a ‘hero’ and questions why she spoke out about Trump  —  (CNN)Justin Amash, former Republican-turned independent congressman, argued that propping up GOP Rep. Liz Cheney as “some sort of hero” for breaking with her party about former President Donald Trump …
Discussion: Washington Examiner
Ed Yong / The Atlantic:
What Happens When Americans Can Finally Exhale  —  This time last year, the United States seemed stuck on a COVID-19 plateau.  Although 1,300 Americans were dying from the disease every day, states had begun to reopen in a patchwork fashion, and an anxious nation was looking ahead to an uncertain summer.
Kyle Mantyla / Right Wing Watch:
Lauren Boebert Falsely Claims Texas Hasn't Had a Single COVID-19 Death Since Lifting All Restrictions Two Months Ago  —  Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado and other Republican lawmakers are rebelling against the requirement that members of Congress wear a mask while on the floor of the House of Representatives.
Discussion: The Colorado Sun
Maria Sacchetti / Washington Post:
ICE to stop detaining immigrants at two county jails under federal investigation  —  The Biden administration has decided to stop detaining immigrants in a pair of county jails facing federal probes in Georgia and Massachusetts, calling the decision an “important first step” …
Discussion: Fox News, CNN, Politico, The Intercept and Prism
Ben Makuch / VICE:
Neo-Nazi Group The Base Is Recruiting Again, Despite FBI Takedown  —  The group's founder, a former Homeland Security employee who is living in Russia, has retaken a leadership position after briefly leaving the organization.  —  Ben Makuch  —  Despite an aggressive two-year-old FBI crackdown …
Perry Bacon / Washington Post:
American democracy is in even worse shape than you think  —  Joe Biden so far has been an effective president, particularly in terms of managing the coronavirus vaccine rollout and making hard but necessary policy decisions such as moving to withdraw U.S. troops out of Afghanistan.
Marc Caputo / Politico:
Grand jury subpoena lists previously unknown person in Gaetz probe  —  MIAMI — A new name has surfaced tied to the scandal engulfing Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz: Joe Ellicott, a close friend and former employee of the elected tax collector who pleaded guilty to a host of crimes Monday.
Michael Lee / Washington Examiner:
Bongino and Rivera have heated exchange before Rivera throws paper, turns back to camera  —  Fox News correspondent Geraldo Rivera and conservative commentator Dan Bongino got into another heated exchange during an appearance on Hannity, this time over the conflict in Gaza.
Discussion: Insider and Crooks and Liars
U.S. Department of Justice:
U.S. Government Seizes 68 Protected Big Cats and a Jaguar from Jeffrey and Lauren Lowe  —  The United States has seized 68 protected lions, tigers, lion-tiger hybrids, and a jaguar from Jeffrey and Lauren Lowe's Tiger King Park in Thackerville, Oklahoma, pursuant to a judicially-authorized search …
Discussion: Law & Crime
 
 
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 More Items: 
The Times of Israel:
Unnamed Likud officials: Netanyahu drawing out Gaza conflict to stop Lapid forming gov't
Kstewart / NABJ:
A Statement from the NABJ Board on Mayor Lightfoot's Message to the Media
Josh Boswell / Daily Mail:
EXCLUSIVE: Former FBI director Louis Freeh gave $100,000 to a private trust for Joe Biden's grandchildren and spoke with the then vice president in 2016 …
Discussion: The Gateway Pundit
Ian Millhiser / Vox:
Firing squads are making a comeback in 21st-century America
NBC News:
Lawyers find the parents of 54 more migrant children from families separated under Trump
Discussion: Daily Kos and The Week
Larry Behrens / RealClearEnergy:
President Biden Must End the Radical Green Agenda
 Earlier Items: 
The Markup:
Facebook Said It Would Stop Recommending Anti-Vaccine Groups. It Didn't
Amy Walter / The Cook Political Report:
Fighting the Last War, Losing the Current One?
Discussion: POLITICUSUSA and KFF
Christian Toto / Hollywood in Toto:
Too Many Celebrities Actively Condone or Support Violence
Alana Wise / NPR:
Democrats And Republicans Square Off Over House Mask Mandate
Discussion: Breitbart, The Hill and KTAR.com
Jessica Tarlov / The Hill:
Are cranky Democrats an electoral risk?
Stephanie Ruhle / MSNBC:
Ice cream parlor raises minimum wage to $15/hr, flooded with job applications
 

 
From Techmeme:

Wesley Yin-Poole / IGN:
Memo: Microsoft's Xbox plans to shut down multiple Bethesda studios and consolidate teams to prioritize high-impact titles and invest in Bethesda's portfolio

Demetri Sevastopulo / Financial Times:
The US revokes some licenses that allow companies to ship chips and other goods to Huawei; sources say the decision affects Intel and Qualcomm

Chris Welch / The Verge:
Apple unveils $999+ 11" and $1,299+ 13" iPad Pros, with M4, an OLED Ultra Retina XDR screen, up to 1,600 nits; the 13" is Apple's thinnest product yet, at 5.1mm

 
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