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5:35 PM ET, May 12, 2025

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
New York Times:
U.S. and China Agree to Temporarily Slash Tariffs in Bid to Defuse Trade War  —  The 145 percent U.S. tariff on Chinese goods will come down to 30 percent for 90 days, while the two sides continue talks aimed at resolving their differences.  —  The United States and China said Monday …
RELATED:
Janna Brancolini / The Daily Beast:
Markets Celebrate Total Trump Surrender on Signature Policy  —  WHITE FLAG  —  The U.S. agreed to temporarily lower tariffs on Chinese products while the two sides negotiate.  —  Investors welcomed the news on Monday that President Donald Trump was backing away from at least …
William Kristol / The Bulwark:   A Garish, Outlandish, Stunningly Corrupt Act
Associated Press:
US and China reach a deal to slash sky-high tariffs for now, with a 90-day pause
David Frum / The Atlantic:   The Ultimate Bait and Switch of Trump's Tariffs
Jack Jenkins / RNS:
Episcopal Church refuses to resettle white Afrikaners, ends partnership with US government  —  (RNS) — In a striking move that ends a nearly four-decades-old relationship between the federal government and the Episcopal Church, the denomination announced on Monday (May 12) …
RELATED:
Washington Post:
White South Africans arrive at Dulles as refugees under Trump order  —  The arrival of 49 Afrikaners under allegations of racial discrimination restarts a U.S. refugee program that has been suspended for all other groups.  —  A group of nearly 50 White South Africans landed …
The Episcopal Church:
Letter from Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe on Episcopal Migration Ministries  —  Office of Public Affairs  —  English  —  Dear People of God in The Episcopal Church:  —  I am writing today with some significant news about Episcopal Migration Ministries, the organization that leads The Episcopal Church's refugee resettlement ministry.
The Guardian:
Trump administration offers refugee status to 49 white South Africans
Axios:
Trump naming his former defense attorney as acting Librarian of Congress  —  President Trump will name deputy attorney general Todd Blanche to be the acting Librarian of Congress, a Justice Department official confirmed to Axios.  —  Why it matters: Blanche, who represented Trump in his hush money trial …
Discussion: Associated Press, NPR and Roll Call
RELATED:
Josh Gerstein / Politico:
Todd Blanche, DOJ No. 2, is now acting Library of Congress chief  —  The Justice Department's No. 2 official now has a second job: running the Library of Congress.  President Donald Trump has appointed Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche as the acting librarian, a DOJ official said Monday.
Politico:
Hill leaders question Trump's attempted Library of Congress takeover  —  Top congressional leaders are pushing back against President Donald Trump's attempt to replace to Library of Congress leaders, with the dispute over presidential powers over the institution leaving its future in question Monday.
Kate Knibbs / Wired:
Two Men Claiming to Be Trump Appointees Blocked From Entering US Copyright Office  —  The men appeared at the US Copyright Office days after after the Trump administration fired its leader, who had just published a report about the use of copyrighted materials for AI training.
RELATED:
Garrett M. Graff / Doomsday Scenario:
Corruption and a Security Catastrophe in Plane Sight  —  Of course a foreign government would love to give the US president a plane....  I will admit that as a presidential historian and national security nerd one of my first thoughts last November after Donald Trump won office was, “Ugh” …
Discussion: Forbes and CNN
Steve Benen / MSNBC:
Trump scrambles to defend luxury jet from Qatar he'll use as Air Force One
Lisa Mascaro / Associated Press:
House Republicans unveil Medicaid cuts that Democrats warn will leave millions without care  —  House Republicans unveiled the cost-saving centerpiece of President Donald Trump's “ big, beautiful bill ” late Sunday, at least $880 billion in cuts largely to Medicaid to help cover the cost of $4.5 trillion in tax breaks.
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Barak Ravid / Axios:
Hamas to release Israeli-American hostage as gesture to Trump  —  Hamas said Sunday it will release Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander, who has been held for over 550 days, as part of an effort to reach a ceasefire deal and resume humanitarian aid deliveries to Gaza.
RELATED:
New York Times:
Trump Heads to the Middle East Focused on Business Deals, Not Diplomacy  —  President Trump has always viewed the presidency as a worldwide hunt for deals.  And there is no better place for that than the Gulf, where a few men wield absolute authority over vast wealth.
New York Times:
Auction to Dine With Trump Creates Foreign Influence Opportunity … The sale of face-to-face access to President Trump using the Trump family's own cryptocurrency has done more than benefit him financially, though it has certainly done that.  —  Mr. Trump announced last month that leading buyers …
David Lim / Politico:
Trump promises to slash drug costs, tying U.S. prices to those paid abroad  —  The push will likely draw lawsuits from the pharmaceutical industry.  —  President Donald Trump on Monday revived a plan to tie prescription drug prices in the U.S. to what other nations pay for medicines.
RELATED:
President Donald J. Trump / The White House:
Delivering Most-Favored-Nation Prescription Drug Pricing to American Patients  —  By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered:  —  Section 1.  Purpose.  The United States has less than five percent …
Amanda Friedman / Politico:
DHS terminates temporary protected status program for Afghans  —  The move follows the Trump administration's decision last month to not renew such protections for Afghans residing in the U.S.  —  Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem announced on Monday that the U.S. will terminate …
RELATED:
Department of Homeland Security:
DHS Terminating Temporary Protected Status for Afghanistan
Discussion: Axios
Taragallegos / Governor of California:
Governor Newsom releases state model for cities and counties to immediately address encampments with urgency and dignity  —  What you need to know: Governor Newsom today released a model ordinance for cities and counties to immediately address dangerous and unhealthy encampments …
RELATED:
Andrew Beaujon / Washingtonian:
Rock Creek Isn't Safe to Swim In.  RFK Jr. Did It Anyway.  —  Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. went for a swim in Rock Creek yesterday.  —  Health officials typically advise against swimming in that DC waterway, because sewage from the city's aging system flows into it.
RELATED:
Taylor Lorenz / User Mag:
Hasan Piker detained at the border and questioned for hours over politics  —  “They straight up tried to get something out of me that I think they could use to basically detain me permanently” … Hasan Piker, the biggest progressive political streamer in America, was detained by Customs …
more at Mediagazer »
Molly Taft / Wired:
The EPA Will Likely Gut Team That Studies Health Risks From Chemicals  —  Reorganizations at the EPA may get rid of the agency's fundamental program for research around the risks of toxic chemicals.  —  In early May, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it would split …
New York Times:
Here Is Everything That Has Changed Since Congestion Pricing Started in New York  —  Fewer cars.  Faster travel.  Less honking.  And some questions we still can't answer.  —  The reporters sought information from everyone they could think of, including the M.T.A., the Fire Department …
Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money
Carrie Johnson / NPR:
Race to lead D.C. lawyers' association grows heated amid attacks on law firms  —  Election season is under way in Washington and the candidates are not holding anything back.  —  The race to lead the nonprofit D.C. Bar Association is taking place at a precarious moment in national politics …
Discussion: Washington Examiner and Axios
 
 
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 More Items: 
Reporters Without Borders:
Radio Free Asia's Uyghur service in danger following Trump's decisions: “Without RFA, China will truly become a black hole for information”
Discussion: JURISTnews
Steve Benen / MSNBC:
Trump reportedly shrugs off intelligence briefings he needs, but doesn't want
Discussion: Raw Story
Caroline Kitchener / New York Times:
Not Just More Babies: These Republicans Want More Parents at Home
Discussion: The Independent
Josh Dinner / SPACE.com:
NASA celebrated this employee's story of resilience, then tried to scrub it from the internet. Then fired her.
 Earlier Items: 
Stephen Semler / Popular Information:
Inside Trump's $1 trillion military bonanza
Discussion: Jacobin
President Donald J. Trump / The White House:
Joint Statement on U.S.-China Economic and Trade Meeting in Geneva
Noah Berlatsky / Public Notice:
The new pope is latest sign that the world rejects Trumpism
Discussion: New York Post
Richard Steigmann-Gall / Society for US …:
“The Wolves Came”: Richard Steigmann-Gall on Daniel Steinmetz-Jenkins's *Did it Happen Here? Perspectives on Fascism and America*
Ian Millhiser / Vox:
The Federalist Society is surprisingly ambivalent about Trump
Bethany McLean / Business Insider:
‘A flashing red light’: how Donald Trump Jr. is cashing in on his dad's presidency
Discussion: Townhall
Politico:
Tech companies have a big remote worker problem: North Korean operatives
 

 
From Techmeme:

Kif Leswing / CNBC:
Apple says general counsel Kate Adams and policy chief Lisa Jackson will retire, and Jennifer Newstead, Meta's former chief legal officer, will replace Adams

Kurt Wagner / Bloomberg:
Sources: Meta is considering deep budget cuts to its metaverse efforts in 2026, potentially as high as 30% and most likely including layoffs as early as January

Will Oremus / Washington Post:
Two studies suggest AI chatbots can shift political views more effectively than TV campaign ads, especially by presenting many claims, regardless of accuracy
 
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