Top Items:
Judd Legum / Popular Information:
Why Qatar is bribing Trump — On Sunday, President Trump announced that the government of Qatar would be giving the “Defense Department” a luxury 747 aircraft to replace Air Force One. Critics of the deal, Trump said, were “World Class Losers.” — ABC News and other media outlets added a crucial detail.
Discussion:
Reuters, Washington Post and The Independent
RELATED:
Charlie Savage / New York Times:
Trump's Plan to Take Jet From Qatar Heightens Corruption Concerns — The second Trump administration is blowing through limits on the mixing of public office and personal benefits. — 阅读.体中文.閱讀.體中文.
Discussion:
Washington Post, The Dean's Report, Slate, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Hill and MSNBC
New Republic:
Transcript: Jamie Raskin's Harsh Takedown of Trump's Qatar Plane Scam — The following is a lightly edited transcript of the May 13 episode of the Daily Blast podcast. Listen to it here. — Greg Sargent: This is The Daily Blast from The New Republic, produced and presented by the DSR network.
Discussion:
Newsweek, New York Magazine, Rolling Stone, New Jersey Online, The Hill, MSNBC and Beauty~Funny~Trippy
Heather Cox Richardson / Letters from an American:
The biggest news over the weekend was silence: the silence of Republicans. They refused to disavow White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller's statement that the administration is looking at suspending the writ of habeas corpus, that is, essentially declaring martial law.
Discussion:
DNyuz
Benjamin Wittes / Default:
The Situation: A Used Plane That Needs Work — I have problems with the Qatar plane deal. — benjaminwittes.lawfaremedia.org — Meet The Authors … The Situation on Wednesday considered whether there's any way to stop Donald Trump's parade of crypto corruption. — Today let's consider the gift airplane.
Discussion:
Scripps News, Newsweek, New York Daily News, DNyuz, The Cross Section and Bloomberg
Jill Lawrence / The Bulwark:
Trump's Unquenchable, Unconstitutional Greed Is Deforming America
Discussion:
New Republic
Edward Luce / Financial Times:
Donald Trump's gargantuan self-dealing
Donald Trump's gargantuan self-dealing
Discussion:
The Hill and Daily Mail
Alex Thompson / Axios:
Exclusive: Biden aides discussed wheelchair use if he were re-elected, new book says — This story is adapted from the forthcoming book “Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again,” by CNN's Jake Tapper and Axios' Alex Thompson.
Discussion:
The Washington Free Beacon, Fox News, USA Today, Politico, New York Post, CNN, The Hill, Twitchy, The Gateway Pundit, Ace of Spades HQ, Blaze Media, masslive.com, HotAir, RedState, Townhall, National Review, TMZ.com, Daily Mail, Reason, Daily Caller News Foundation, The Daily Wire, Washington Examiner, Althouse, DNyuz, New Jersey Online, The Independent, The Daily Caller and Mediaite
RELATED:
New Yorker:
How Joe Biden Handed the Presidency to Donald Trump — At a fateful event last summer, Barack Obama, George Clooney, and others were stunned by Biden's weakness and confusion. Why did he and his advisers decide to conceal his condition from the public and campaign for reëlection?
William Kristol / The Bulwark:
MAGA Has Always Been at Peace with East Asia
MAGA Has Always Been at Peace with East Asia
Discussion:
NBC4 Washington, New York Times and DNyuz
Jennifer Szalai / New York Times:
Book Review: ‘Original Sin,’ by Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson
Book Review: ‘Original Sin,’ by Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson
Discussion:
HotAir, New York Post and Daily Mail
Washington Post:
Trump's Middle East trip marked by potential private business conflicts — The Trump Organization has entered into real estate deals in all three countries Trump plans to visit this week. — President Donald Trump kicks off the first major international trip of his second term Tuesday …
Discussion:
New York Times, New Jersey Online and DNyuz
RELATED:
Katherine Doyle / NBC News:
Trump says the U.S. will end sanctions on Syria as he works to deepen diplomatic ties with Saudi Arabia
Discussion:
New Republic, Politico, Associated Press, ABC News, Reuters, Bloomberg, New York Post, Washington Examiner, DNyuz, Al Jazeera and The Universe As A Causal Set
Washington Post:
Trump says U.S. will end sanctions on Syria ‘to give them a chance at greatness’
Trump says U.S. will end sanctions on Syria ‘to give them a chance at greatness’
Discussion:
Politico, The Guardian, The Hill, Reuters, Axios, CNBC, The National, Townhall, DNyuz, Human Events, Wall Street Journal, The Daily Wire, NBC News, ZeroHedge News, The Daily Signal, Middle East Monitor, israelhayom.com, Al Jazeera, New York Times, Newsweek, The Gateway Pundit, MSNBC, The Independent and Associated Press
Kim Ghattas / Financial Times:
Trump's patience with Netanyahu is running out
Trump's patience with Netanyahu is running out
Discussion:
UPI, Associated Press, The Daily Caller, The Economist, Axios, Politico, Fox News, New York Times, Raw Story, Yahoo News, DNyuz, Breitbart, Jewish Insider, Reuters, Bloomberg and Semafor
Martha McHardy / Newsweek:
MAGA Attacks Church Over Donald Trump Rebuke: ‘Funds MUST Be Pulled’ — A firestorm has erupted on the American right after the Episcopal Church said it is refusing a directive from the federal government to help resettle white South Africans who were granted refugee status. — Why It Matters
Discussion:
NPR, The Atlantic, MSNBC, The Independent, Associated Press, Louder With Crowder, New Republic, Episcopal News Service, Raw Story, Townhall, masslive.com, Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion, The National Pulse, The Daily Wire, USA Today, Axios, Blaze Media, Tennessee Star, New York Daily News and WCNC-TV
Will Bunch / The Philadelphia Inquirer:
Why are ICE agents such cowardly wusses? — Taking most of a week off, as I've just done, is impossible in the Trump 47 era. Since I last attacked the keyboard, we got our first American pope, the mayor of Newark was arrested by federal agents, and Qatar is bribing the president with a $400 million plane, along with 57 other things.
Jared Gans / The Hill:
DNC moves toward nullifying election of David Hogg, Malcolm Kenyatta as vice chairs — The Democratic National Committee (DNC) has taken a first step toward possibly requiring a new election for two of its vice chairs, including David Hogg, who has stirred controversy with his call …
Discussion:
Fox News, New York Post, Washington Examiner, The Daily Wire, IJR, Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion, Newsweek, Politico, Townhall, DNyuz, CBS News and Axios
RELATED:
Shane Goldmacher / New York Times:
D.N.C. Takes Step to Void Election of Hogg and Kenyatta as Vice Chairs
Discussion:
HotAir, NBC News, Washington Post, Florida Politics, The Boston Globe, Louder With Crowder, RedState, Twitchy, Sun-Sentinel, Breitbart and Washington Examiner
Holly Otterbein / Politico:
Two more Fetterman aides leave embattled senator's office — The departures are the latest in a string of staff exits over the past year and a half. — Two more aides left John Fetterman's office in recent weeks, the latest in a stream of staff exits amid the Pennsylvania senator's shifting …
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal
Politico:
‘The bill is dead’: New York Republican blasts House GOP's chief tax writer — New York GOP Rep. Nick LaLota said he was “insulted” by how Ways and Means Chair Jason Smith presented a proposal for a key tax deduction on a Monday morning call. — New York Republican Rep. Nick LaLota …
RELATED:
Tobias Burns / The Hill:
Republican tax bill would add $3.7 trillion to the national deficit: JCT
Republican tax bill would add $3.7 trillion to the national deficit: JCT
Discussion:
Electrek
Ben Leonard / Politico:
CBO: 7.6 million would go uninsured under GOP Medicaid bill — The Medicaid portions of the GOP megabill would lead to 10.3 million people losing coverage under the health safety net program and 7.6 million people going uninsured, according to estimates from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.
Discussion:
Iowa Starting Line, The Status Kuo and The Hill
RELATED:
Bill Scher / Washington Monthly:
The Congressional Budget Office Still Works
The Congressional Budget Office Still Works
Discussion:
DNyuz, Financial Times and Breitbart
Mike Sullivan / CBS News:
12-year-old boy left alone on sidewalk after ICE raid in Massachusetts — A 12-year-old boy was left behind on a street after an immigration raid in Waltham, Massachusetts. — United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents were seen on camera leaving the boy by himself …
Alondra Nelson / Time:
Why I'm Resigning from Positions at the National Science Foundation and Library of Congress — Today, I am resigning from the National Science Board and the Library of Congress Scholars Council. — Even as the White House threatens the foundational tenets of constitutional democracy …
Kseniia Petrova / New York Times:
The Science I Would Be Doing if I Weren't in ICE Detention — When I moved to America from Russia to join a biology lab at Harvard Medical School in 2023, it felt as if I found my dream job. America was a paradise for science. Everything was flourishing. There was freedom of discourse; conferences, seminars.
Discussion:
USA Today
Jason Karaian / New York Times:
Elon Musk, Sam Altman and Other C.E.O.s Join Trump at U.S.-Saudi Lunch — Many of the executives — including representatives of four of the 10 biggest U.S. companies by market value — are seeking business from Saudi investors and a chance to lobby top Trump officials.
Discussion:
The Hill, Washington Examiner, DNyuz, Fox Business, Forbes and TechCrunch, more at Techmeme »
RELATED:
Lora Kolodny / CNBC:
Elon Musk says Starlink was approved in Saudi Arabia
Elon Musk says Starlink was approved in Saudi Arabia
Discussion:
New Republic, DNyuz, The Independent, Metro.co.uk, Daily Mail, New York Post and CBS News
Grace Yarrow / Politico:
House Republicans' proposal to cut SNAP spending would save roughly $300B — The House Agriculture Committee's reconciliation proposal would save up to $300 billion over the next decade largely through cuts to the nation's largest anti-hunger program, according to long-awaited Congressional Budget Office estimates viewed by POLITICO.
RELATED:
Aris Folley / The Hill:
House Republicans propose major reforms to SNAP
House Republicans propose major reforms to SNAP
Discussion:
Washington Post, NBC News, Breitbart, Daily Caller News Foundation, The Independent, Washington Examiner, DNyuz, Washington Times and Democrats
Chris Cameron / New York Times:
RFK Jr. Swims in Washington Creek That Flows With Sewage and Bacteria — Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the health secretary, shared photos of himself and his grandchildren swimming in waters that handle sewer overflow. — Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the health secretary, posted photos on Sunday …
Discussion:
Scripps News, ABC News, The Guardian, The Federalist, Boston.com, New Jersey Online, DNyuz, WTOP News, Daily Kos, Mediaite and HuffPost
CNN:
Mexican mayoral candidate gunned down during live broadcast of campaign rally — What began as a festive campaign march quickly turned into a scene of terror in the Mexican state of Veracruz on Sunday night when a mayoral candidate was gunned down alongside three other people.
Discussion:
New York Post, WTOP News and DNyuz
Sarah N. Lynch / Reuters:
FBI ordered to prioritize immigration, as DOJ scales back white collar cases — The FBI ordered agents on Monday to devote more time to immigration enforcement and scale back investigating white-collar crime, four people familiar with the matter told Reuters, as the Justice Department issued …
Discussion:
New York Times
Warren Cornwall / Science:
Trump's ‘fear factor’: Scientists go silent as funding cuts escalate — Many worry about retribution. But for others, speaking out is worth the risk — Play Pause — Skip backwardsGo ten seconds backward Skip forwardsGo ten seconds forward — Progress — 1.0x — Mute Unmute
Jeff Cox / CNBC:
Annual inflation rate hit 2.3% in April, less than expected and lowest since 2021 … WATCH NOW — Inflation was slightly lower than expected in April as President Donald Trump's tariffs just began hitting the slowing U.S. economy, according to a Labor Department report Tuesday.
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, New York Times, RealityChek, The Daily Wire, RedState, UPI, NPR, Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion, The National Pulse, Breitbart, The Guardian, New York Post, Washington Examiner, The Real Economy Blog, The Gateway Pundit, DNyuz, CoinDesk, The Hill, The Independent, The Post Millennial, Scripps News, Clayton Cramer, ZeroHedge News, Forbes and CBS News
Janna Brancolini / The Daily Beast:
Guess Which Other World Leader Said ‘Yes’ to Free Qatari Jet? — THE COMPANY YOU KEEP — Donald Trump isn't the first president to be offered a free luxury jet worth hundreds of millions of dollars from the ruling family of Qatar. In 2018, Sheikh Tamim Al Thani gifted Turkey's President …
Discussion:
New Republic and EURASIAN TIMES
Josh Gerstein / Politico:
Rule of law is ‘endangered,’ chief justice says — Speaking at Georgetown Law, Chief Justice John Roberts denounced “ad hominem” criticism of the justices. — Chief Justice John Roberts described the rule of law as “endangered” and warned against “trashing the justices,” …
Discussion:
Washington Times, Mock Paper Scissors, DNyuz, Raw Story and The Gateway Pundit
Andy Craig / The UnPopulist:
Trump's Effort to become the Supreme Leader Has Roots in a Nazi Philosopher — His lawless view of his sovereign powers was articulated by Carl Schmitt — In a legal filing defending Donald Trump's use of the Alien Enemies Act (of “Alien and Sedition Acts” notoriety) …

