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3:45 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:
Landon Mion / Fox Business:
US, China announce reduced tariffs for 90 days after trade talks  —  Both the US and China agreed to take action on reducing tariffs by Wednesday  —  The U.S. and China announced on Monday that tariffs against one another will be reduced for a 90-day period after officials held trade negotiations in Geneva, Switzerland.
NPR:
The U.S. and China announce a deal to cut tariffs, temporarily easing trade war
Washington Post:
U.S., China agree to lower most tariffs for 90 days amid trade talks
William Kristol / The Bulwark:   A Garish, Outlandish, Stunningly Corrupt Act
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
Discussion: NPR and Twitchy
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.
RELATED:
Josh Hawley / New York Times:
Don't Cut Medicaid  —  Polls show Democrats down in the dumps at their lowest approval level in decades, but we Republicans are having an identity crisis of our own, and you can see it in the tug of war over President Trump's “one big, beautiful bill.”  The nub of the conflict …
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:
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 …
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.
New York Times:
Trump Administration Live Updates: President Asks Companies to Lower Drug Prices  —  Where Things Stand  — Drug prices: President Trump signed an executive order that asks pharmaceutical companies to voluntarily lower drug prices.  But it was not clear what legal authority Mr. Trump would invoke …
RELATED:
Maggie Haberman / New York Times:
Trump, Pressed on Qatari Jet, Says Only ‘Stupid’ People Reject Gifts
Steve Benen / MSNBC:
Trump scrambles to defend luxury jet from Qatar he'll use as Air Force One
Punchbowl News:
Murphy to force votes on U.S. arms sales to Qatar, UAE
Discussion: The Hill and Foreign Policy
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 …
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.
Shawn Hubler / New York Times:
Newsom Asks Cities to Ban Homeless Encampments, Escalating Crackdown  —  “There are no more excuses,” the California governor said in pushing for municipalities to address one of the most visible byproducts of homelessness.  —  Gov. Gavin Newsom escalated California's push …
RELATED:
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 …
Elizabeth Crisp / The Hill:
RFK Jr. goes swimming in DC's Rock Creek despite NPS guidance on bacteria  —  Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. revealed Sunday that took a dip in Washington, D.C.'s Rock Creek with his grandchildren, despite longstanding warnings that the Potomac River tributary isn't safe because of high bacterial levels.
Discussion: Newsweek, Vanity Fair and Ars Technica
RELATED:
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.
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: New Jersey Online
Noah Berlatsky / Public Notice:
The new pope is latest sign that the world rejects Trumpism  —  🌊 With corporate outlets obeying in advance, supporting independent political media is more important right now than ever.  PN is possible thanks to paid subscribers.  If you aren't one already, please click the button below and become one to support our work.
Discussion: New York Post
Ian Millhiser / Vox:
The Federalist Society is surprisingly ambivalent about Trump  —  Few organizations have profited as handsomely off of President Donald Trump's rise to power as the Federalist Society, a kind of bar association for right-wing lawyers.  —  “We're going to have great judges, conservative …
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: 
Heather Digby Parton / Salon:
Stephen Miller came prepared for war — and he won't back down
Discussion: Raw Story, All Rise News and NBC News
Nathan Bomey / Axios:
EPA administrator targets stop-start vehicle tech: “Everyone hates it”
Discussion: IJR and Newsweek
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
Molly Taft / Wired:
The EPA Will Likely Gut Team That Studies Health Risks From Chemicals
Reuters:
Kurdish PKK ends 40-year Turkey insurgency, bringing hope of regional stability
Caroline Kitchener / New York Times:
Not Just More Babies: These Republicans Want More Parents at Home
Discussion: The Independent and The Atlantic
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: 
Courtney Kube / NBC News:
Pentagon spent at least $21 million on flights to Guantanamo, which currently holds 32 migrants
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
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*
G. Elliott Morris / Strength In Numbers:
Building a new home for data-driven political journalism
Thibault Spirlet / Business Insider:
Elon Musk says the US is running a ‘quiet trial’ of Trump's $5 million gold card for the ultrawealthy
Discussion: Forbes, Newsweek and LewRockwell
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:

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

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

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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