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4:00 PM ET, May 16, 2025

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
NBC News:
House Budget Committee rejects Trump agenda bill in major setback for GOP leaders  —  A group of conservative holdouts voted against the massive party-line package, citing concerns over the level of spending cuts and impact to the U.S. deficit.  —  WASHINGTON — The GOP-led House Budget Committee voted …
RELATED:
The Hill:
GOP fiscal hawks sink key vote on Trump ‘big, beautiful bill’  —  Fiscal hawks on the House Budget Committee on Friday sunk a key vote on advancing the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” that encompasses President Trump's legislative agenda, marking a stunning setback for the legislation.
Tony Romm / New York Times:
G.O.P. Tax Bill May Hurt the Lowest Earners and Help the Richest  —  Even though most Americans may see lower taxes, Republicans' spending cuts could outweigh those benefits and leave some worse off.  —  As Representative Jason Smith commenced a marathon session this week to consider …
Wall Street Journal:
Conservatives Block GOP Tax Megabill, Demand Changes  —  Republican holdouts in committee vote seek more savings from Medicaid, faster wind down of clean-energy breaks  —  WASHINGTON—House Republican spending hawks are demanding changes to the party's tax-and-spending bill …
Politico:   $40,000 SALT offer discussed with megabill holdouts
CNN:
GOP hardliners defy party leaders and Trump as they vote to block agenda
Washington Post:
Comey under investigation for ‘threat’ to Trump on social media, officials say  —  The Trump administration accused the former FBI director of insinuating a call to violence in his Instagram post, which he denied.  —  Trump administration officials said Thursday that they would investigate …
RELATED:
Rachel Treisman / NPR:
James Comey is under investigation for his ‘8647’ Instagram post.  What does it mean?  —  The Trump administration is investigating former FBI Director James Comey over a social media post that some government officials and supporters of President Trump are interpreting as a threat to the president.
William Kristol / The Bulwark:
I Called the Constitution Police and They Say You're Going to Jail  —  We were going to lead off today with a joke about the faux MAGA outrage over an Instagram post from former FBI Director James Comey, who had posted a picture reading “86 47,” which some were ridiculously characterizing as a call to assassinate the president.
Discussion: HuffPost and New Republic
Ross O'Keefe / Washington Examiner:
Comey's ‘8647’ message ‘concerns’ White House and prompts DHS investigation
Alex Gangitano / The Hill:
Trump: Comey post ‘meant assassination’
Josh Meyer / USA Today:
Secret Service investigating ex-FBI Director James Comey's ‘8647’ Instagram post
Politico:
The Biden question hanging over the 2028 field  —  Some Democrats argue their leaders aren't owning up to the truth about Biden — and risk keeping the issue alive indefinitely.  —  Joe Biden may have cost Democrats the White House in 2024.  Their inability to admit it, some Democrats fear, could hobble them in 2028.
RELATED:
Steve Schale / The Bulwark:
I Worked for Joe Biden.  I Love Joe Biden.  He Must Rethink His Post-Presidency.  —  “My dad always used to say, ‘Champ, the measure of a man is not how often he is knocked down, but how quickly he gets up.’”  —  THERE IS NO PLAYBOOK FOR NAVIGATING the post-presidency, especially in this modern era.
Myles McCormick / Financial Times:   Joe Biden ‘redemption tour’ backfires as cognitive doubts resurface
Wall Street Journal:
DHS Is Considering Reality Show Where Immigrants Compete for Citizenship  —  'This isn't ‘The Hunger Games’ for immigrants,' says the producer behind the pitch  —  The Department of Homeland Security is considering being part of a television show in which immigrants would compete …
RELATED:
Isabel Van Brugen / The Daily Beast:   Producer Swears ICE Reality Show for Citizenship Won't Be a Complete Dystopian Nightmare
Jose Pagliery / NOTUS:
DOGE Is Now Targeting GAO, and the Congressional Agency Is Fighting Back  —  “We are not subject to DOGE or executive orders,” GAO staff were told in an internal email sent Friday.  — Copy  —  Elon Musk's DOGE team is now starting to target government agencies outside of the executive branch …
RELATED:
Chris Geidner / Law Dork:   Breaking: DOGE sought access to Congress's watchdog
NPR:
DOGE tried assigning a team to the Government Accountability Office. They refused
Discussion: Democracy Docket
Stephen I. Vladeck / New York Times:
The ‘Modest’ Ruling That Could Kneecap Our Legal System  —  It is often difficult to persuade anyone other than lawyers to care about the more technical, procedural minutiae of Supreme Court decisions.  But Thursday's oral argument in three Supreme Court cases challenging President Trump's efforts …
Reuters:
Exclusive: US aid cuts leave food for millions mouldering in storage  —  Food rations that could supply 3.5 million people for a month are mouldering in warehouses around the world because of U.S. aid cuts and risk becoming unusable, according to five people familiar with the situation.
Discussion: The Dispatch
Andrew Tangel / Wall Street Journal:
This Air-Traffic Controller Just Averted a Midair Collision.  Now He's Speaking Out.  —  Jonathan Stewart says controllers didn't walk off the job after recent FAA equipment outages; 'I don't want to be responsible for killing 400 people'  —  MALVERN, Pa.—Jonathan Stewart …
Adrian Carrasquillo / The Bulwark:
Exclusive: Trump's Losing the Latino Voters He Won in '24  —  DONALD TRUMP'S SUPPORT AMONG LATINO VOTERS, including those who voted for him in 2024, is fracturing, a new poll shared exclusively with The Bulwark found.  —  The poll by Equis Research, a Democratic group …
Discussion: New Republic
New Jersey Globe:
McIver set to be charged over Delaney Hall incident  —  Habba could announce charges against Newark Democrat as early as today  —  The Justice Department plans to bring charges against Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-Newark) following a scuffle with federal immigration agents last week …
Paul Krugman:
The Trade War Isn't Over  —  Look at the numbers, not the vibes  —  Monday morning I woke up to an urgent text from Robin, who is still visiting friends in Europe: “You have to look at the news NOW.”  Sure enough, Donald Trump had suddenly slashed his tariff on China from 145 percent to 30 percent.
Discussion: Politico, The Hill, CBS News, Al Jazeera and CNN
RELATED:
Vivian Nereim / New York Times:
‘He Gets Us’: Trump Makes a Splash in Saudi Arabia
Discussion: Business Insider and Raw Story
Anna Merlan / Mother Jones:
The Hyper-Aggressive, Comically Loyal Government Flacks Who Talk Like Trump  —  Spokespeople are defending the administration in a language pioneered by the president.  —  In March, Axios reported that Donald Trump's Oval Office had begun to resemble an Oscar night gift suite …
Charlotte Klein / New York Magazine:
The Opinion That Ate the Paper  —  Under Kathleen Kingsbury, the Times' “Opinion” section has doubled in size.  What kind of publication is she building?  —  In the summer of 2020, as James Bennet, the head of the New York Times' “Opinion” section, was being forced to resign, his deputy …
Rolling Stone:
Sean Combs Allies Are Actively Working for a Trump Pardon  —  Longtime Combs associates have spent months cozying up to Trump officials to lay groundwork for clemency pleas … It may be on to something.  —  Combs, who was charged last September, is currently on trial in the Southern District …
Discussion: Daily Mail
Default:
The Law Firms' Deals with Trump are Even Riskier Than They Seem  —  By settling with Trump, law firms have much more than a moral stain to worry about.  —  nkorpett  —  nkorpett.bsky.social  —  Meet The Authors … We're living in a world where allusions to Shakespeare's famous …
Discussion: New York Times and E&E News
Diane Taylor / The Guardian:
Senior faith leaders urge Starmer to tone down migration rhetoric  —  Exclusive: Christian, Muslim and Jewish representatives write to prime minister after ‘island of strangers’ speech  —  More than a dozen bishops and other senior Christian, Muslim and Jewish faith leaders have written …
Discussion: The New European
Associated Press:
Russia-Ukraine peace talks end after less than 2 hours  —  The first direct peace talks between Russia and Ukraine since the early weeks of Moscow's 2022 invasion ended Friday after less than two hours, and a senior Ukrainian official said the Russian side introduced new “unacceptable demands.”
Wall Street Journal:
Donors Promised ‘VIP Experience’ to Military Events With Trump  —  Top donors to a committee supporting events celebrating America's 250th birthday will receive special access to a military parade and other festivities  —  Donors are being offered a “dedicated VIP experience” …
Discussion: Daily Kos and CBS News
 
 
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 More Items: 
Kan / Washington Post:
Where local forecast offices no longer monitor weather around-the-clock
Discussion: New York Times
Sonny Bunch / The Bulwark:
AI Abuse of Fair Use Must Stop
Washington Post:
An isolated, angry Fetterman is yet another challenge for Democrats
Discussion: Grabien
Dominick Mastrangelo / The Hill:
Gutfeld knocks Springsteen for Trump criticism in UK
Francis Fukuyama / Persuasion:
Why Liberals Must Not Give Up Hope
Discussion: Human Events
 Earlier Items: 
Washington Post:
Big U.S. cities grew in 2024, reversing covid-era population declines
Discussion: Slate and Oregonian
Greg Olear / PREVAIL:
Ramble On: Sadness and the Sinking Ship (video)
McKay Coppins / The Atlantic:
The Visionary of Trump 2.0  —  The opening act of Donald Trump's second term was defined …
Discussion: Raw Story and The Guardian
New York Times:
9 Federally Funded Scientific Breakthroughs That Changed Everything
Discussion: UPI
Sarah Mervosh / New York Times:
Some Republicans Push to Put School Desegregation Officially in the Past
Discussion: Plain Dealer and Raw Story
Jo Black / BBC:
Cut-price Magna Carta ‘copy’ now believed genuine
 

 
From Mediagazer:

Bloomberg:
Sources: WBD begins exclusive talks with Netflix to sell its film and TV studios and HBO Max; Netflix is offering a $5B breakup fee if the deal isn't approved

The Guardian:
Ireland, Spain, Slovenia, and the Netherlands exit Eurovision after Israel received an all-clear to compete; the BBC and Germany's SWR plan to participate

James Faris / Business Insider:
Kalshi strikes a deal with CNBC that will integrate Kalshi's prediction data into CNBC's channel, site, and app starting in 2026, days after striking a CNN deal
 
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