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2:10 PM ET, May 13, 2025

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
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 and DNyuz
RELATED:
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.
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.
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: EURASIAN TIMES
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: Public Notice and DNyuz
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.
Edward Luce / Financial Times:
Donald Trump's gargantuan self-dealing
Discussion: The Hill and Daily Mail
Jill Lawrence / The Bulwark:
Trump's Unquenchable, Unconstitutional Greed Is Deforming America
Discussion: New Republic
NBC News:
Chuck Schumer says he is placing a hold on Trump DOJ nominees amid questions on Qatar's luxury jet gift
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.
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?
Discussion: Axios, RedState, Deadline, Variety and DNyuz
William Kristol / The Bulwark:
MAGA Has Always Been at Peace with East Asia
David Smith / The Guardian:
Biden destroyed Harris bid by staying in race too long, top adviser says in book
Bill Scher / Washington Monthly:
The Congressional Budget Office Still Works  —  The nonpartisan CBO that scores legislation is giving an honest analysis of President Trump's “Big Beautiful Bill,” and that's a good thing.  —  On Sunday, House Republicans on the Energy and Commerce Committee released the details …
RELATED:
Politico:
‘The bill is dead’: New York Republican blasts House GOP's chief tax writer
Tobias Burns / The Hill:
Republican tax bill would add $3.7 trillion to the national deficit: JCT
Discussion: Electrek
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
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 and The Hill
Katherine Doyle / NBC News:
Trump says the U.S. will end sanctions on Syria as he works to deepen diplomatic ties with Saudi Arabia  —  In his speech, Trump presented Middle Eastern leaders with a vision for the future steeped in prosperity, business deals and technological advances.  —  President Donald Trump announced …
RELATED:
Washington Post:
Trump says U.S. will end sanctions on Syria ‘to give them a chance at greatness’
Kim Ghattas / Financial Times:
Trump's patience with Netanyahu is running out
Barak Ravid / Axios:
Trump expected to meet with Syrian president in Riyadh on Wednesday
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.
Shane Goldmacher / New York Times:
D.N.C. Takes Step to Void Election of Hogg and Kenyatta as Vice Chairs  —  David Hogg has faced sharp criticism for his plan to fund challenges to incumbent Democrats, but a D.N.C. vote on Monday began with an earlier complaint about the procedures used in an internal party election.
RELATED:
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 …
Discussion: E&E News and Raw Story
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 …
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
RELATED:
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:
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
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 …
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,” …
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) …
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: DNyuz
 
 
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 More Items: 
Politico:
Crockett and Mfume both plow ahead with House Oversight bids
David Strom / HotAir:
Democrats: No White Refugees Welcome
Discussion: American Greatness
Amy B Wang / Washington Post:
Twitch star HasanAbi says he was detained, questioned by border agents
 Earlier Items: 
Amanda Mull / Bloomberg:
Trump Has Already Ruined Christmas
Discussion: HotAir and DNyuz
President Donald J. Trump / The White House:
Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Secures Historic $600 Billion Investment Commitment in Saudi Arabia
ABC News:
Small nodule found in Joe Biden's prostate during recent physical
George Saunders / New York Times:
Shame on the White House
Discussion: Raw Story
Jordan McGillis / City Journal:
Keep Chinese Cars Off American Roads
Discussion: InsideEVs and Cafe Hayek
Christian Paz / Vox:
The rise of the regretful Trump voter
Discussion: Associated Press
 

 
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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