Top Items:
Washington Post:
How DOGE's grand plan to remake Social Security is backfiring — The agency is abandoning an initiative aimed at preventing fraud, the latest example of a failed effort by Elon Musk's disruptive cost-cutting team. — The U.S. DOGE Service arrived at the Social Security Administration …
Discussion:
Can We Still Govern?, Fortune, New York Times, Nextgov/FCW, Truthout, New Republic and Raw Story
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Washington Post:
Trump's actions are pushing thousands of experts to flee government — The U.S. DOGE Service's push for early retirement and deferred resignation is leading to a federal brain drain, longtime staffers fear. — At the National Institutes of Health, six directors — from institutes focused …
Elizabeth Crisp / The Hill:
House GOP to probe ‘cover up’ after leaked Hur audio signals Biden struggle — The House Oversight and Accountability Committee will hold hearings on a suspected “cover up” surrounding former President Biden's cognitive functions and autopen usage in office, after audio surfaced this week …
Discussion:
Daily Mail, New York Times, Breitbart, Fox News, HotAir and RedState
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Axios:
Exclusive: Prosecutor's audio shows Biden's memory lapses — Amid long, uncomfortable pauses, Joe Biden struggled to recall when his son died, when he left office as vice president, what year Donald Trump was elected or why he had classified documents he shouldn't have had …
Discussion:
HotAir, emptywheel, RedState, The Guardian, The Post Millennial, The Recount, Newsbusters, Breitbart, CNN, Townhall, Twitchy, Fox News, Israpundit, ABC News, CBS News, NBC News, Raw Story, Hollywood in Toto, Public, Washington Examiner, The Hill, Mediaite, New York Post, TMZ.com, New York Times, Politico, The Independent, The Gateway Pundit, Newsweek and Instapundit
The Hill:
These are the top sticking points stalling the Trump agenda megabill — House Republicans are working to give their “big beautiful bill” a face lift as they try to appease warring factions of the party in hopes of sending President Trump's legislative agenda to the Senate before Memorial Day.
Discussion:
Washington Examiner and Politico
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James Downie / MSNBC:
Trump's White House accidentally admitted the truth about its tax plan
Discussion:
New York Times and CBS News
Carl Hulse / New York Times:
Republican Revolt Reflects a Core Party Divide Over Spending and Debt
Republican Revolt Reflects a Core Party Divide Over Spending and Debt
Discussion:
The Daily Wire
Rachael Bade / Politico:
House Republicans Need Their Closer. Good Thing He's Back.
House Republicans Need Their Closer. Good Thing He's Back.
Discussion:
Raw Story, Breitbart, New Jersey Online, Washington Examiner, Washington Times and New York Magazine
Washington Post:
Trump says he will speak to Putin, Zelensky about Ukraine war on Monday — Russia and Ukraine held direct talks — their first since the early weeks of the war — in Turkey this week. — President Donald Trump said Saturday that he plans to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin …
Discussion:
Politico, NBC News, Washington Examiner, Associated Press, The Kyiv Independent, The Post Millennial and CBS News
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Reuters:
Trump says he will speak with Putin, Zelenskiy on Monday — U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday he will speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday to discuss stopping the war in Ukraine, days after the first face-to-face talks in three years between Russia and Ukraine took place in Istanbul.
Discussion:
Bloomberg, Associated Press, The Independent, Al Jazeera, El País and New York Post
Tom Balmforth / Reuters:
Russia demanded Kyiv pull back troops before ceasefire, Ukrainian source says
Russia demanded Kyiv pull back troops before ceasefire, Ukrainian source says
Discussion:
Associated Press, The Defense Post, Euromaidan Press, The Kyiv Independent and Bloomberg
Matt Wirz / Wall Street Journal:
U.S. Loses Last Triple-A Credit Rating — Moody's downgrades the U.S. government, citing large fiscal deficits and rising interest costs — The U.S. lost its last triple-A credit rating. — Moody's Ratings downgraded the U.S. government on Friday, citing large fiscal deficits and rising interest costs.
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Margaret Sullivan / The Guardian:
Yes, the media's Biden coverage was flawed. But its reporting on Trump was far worse — A new book has fueled controversy over press handling of the ex-president's decline. But that distracts from a bigger problem — With a new book out about Joe Biden's failed re-election campaign, a media reckoning is in full swing.
Discussion:
RealClearPolitics, Newsweek, Grabien, Blaze Media and The Daily Signal
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Ryan Grenoble / HuffPost:
Trump Has Embarrassing Public Meltdown After Bruce Springsteen Diss
Trump Has Embarrassing Public Meltdown After Bruce Springsteen Diss
Discussion:
Show Me Progress, Mediaite, MSNBC and Raw Story
Jasper Ward / Reuters:
Trump tells Walmart to ‘eat the tariffs’ instead of raising prices — U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday that Walmart <WMT.N> should “eat the tariffs” instead of blaming duties imposed by his administration on imported goods for the retailer's increased prices.
New York Times:
After Cuts, a Kentucky Weather Office Scrambles for Staffing as Severe Storms Bear Down — The office in Jackson, Ky., is one of several left without an overnight forecaster after hundreds of jobs were recently cut from the National Weather Service. — A National Weather Service office …
Discussion:
Civil Discourse …, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Washington Post
Jason Linkins / New Republic:
Let's Start Talking About Jail Time for Trump and His MAGA Enablers … What's in the water in the state of Maryland? Whatever it is, it's certainly more invigorating than the sewage that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his grandchildren have been swimming in. A few weeks ago …
Jon Passantino / Status:
The Khashoggi Compromise — Jeff Bezos once mourned Jamal Khashoggi in public—now the Amazon billionaire is making billion-dollar deals with his executioner, which reveals more about his values than any vigil ever could. … Earlier this week, Amazon announced a $5 billion “strategic partnership” …
Greg Sargent / New Republic:
Trump's Embrace of White South Africans Takes Dark, Unnerving New Turn — When President Donald Trump welcomed dozens of white South Africans into the United States this week after granting them refugee status, reporters reasonably asked him to square this with his suspension of refugee resettlement from …
Discussion:
MSNBC, Business Insider, Raw Story, USA Today, Gothamist, The Gateway Pundit and New York Times
New York Times:
‘Whom Shall I Fear?’ In South Texas, Two Bakers Face Trump's Immigration Wrath. — A raid on Abby's Bakery in Los Fresnos heralded the crackdown to come. Ahead of the owners' trial for “harboring” undocumented workers, the community is seeing the impact of the president's policies.
Justin Lahart / Wall Street Journal:
MIT Says It No Longer Stands Behind Student's AI Research Paper — The university says it has no confidence in a widely circulated paper by an economics graduate student — The Massachusetts Institute of Technology said Friday it can no longer stand behind a widely circulated paper …
Discussion:
The BS Detector, more at Techmeme »
Lauren Fichten / CBS News:
Combat sport clubs used to boost recruitment for white nationalist hate group, report says — Combat sport clubs have been used to boost recruitment for a white nationalist hate group, according to a report released by the legal advocacy organization Southern Poverty Law Center.
Lora Kolodny / CNBC:
Tesla limits investors' ability to sue over breach of fiduciary duties … In a regulatory filing out Friday, Elon Musk-led automaker Tesla announced a change to its corporate bylaws that will limit shareholders ability to sue the company if investors believe the company's board or executives committed any breach of fiduciary duties.
Discussion:
Reuters
Steve Vladeck / One First:
151. The Supreme Court's (Alien Enemies Act) Patience is Wearing Thin — A very quick breakdown of Friday afternoon's quietly significant ruling slapping down the lower courts in the Northern District of Texas Alien Enemies Act litigation—and what it means going forward.
Discussion:
RedState, Law & Crime and Townhall
Katherine J. Wu / The Atlantic:
The Neo-Anti-Vaxxers Are in Power Now — A new cadre of officials might deal in evidence more than Robert F. Kennedy Jr. does, but they still question the worth of vaccines. — Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s anti-vaccine activism is not what you'd call subtle. For decades, he has questioned …
Sean Murphy / Associated Press:
New standards for Oklahoma high school students promote misinformation about the 2020 election — Oklahoma high school students studying U.S. history learn about the Industrial Revolution, women's suffrage and America's expanding role in international affairs.
New York Times:
Trump Appointee Pressed Analyst to Redo Intelligence on Venezuelan Gang — The move followed a disclosure that intelligence agencies disagree with a key factual claim Trump made to invoke a wartime deportation law. — A top adviser to the director of national intelligence ordered …
Discussion:
Raw Story and Washington Post
Nicholas Nehamas / New York Times:
Trump's Push to Defund Harvard Prompts Clash Over Veteran Suicide Research — The proposed termination of medical research funded by the V.A. is part of the Trump administration's broader pressure campaign against the university. — The Trump administration's move to cancel a slew …
Anatoly Kurmanaev / New York Times:
Russian Troops Are War-Weary, but Want to Conquer More of Ukraine — Many Russian soldiers say they would see a cease-fire along the current front lines as a failure, hinting at the nationalist discontent the Kremlin could face in accepting a cease-fire. — In the diplomatic maneuvering …
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, Euromaidan Press and Foreign Policy


