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1:35 PM ET, May 17, 2025

memeorandum

 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 …
RELATED:
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 …
NPR:
How DOGE has tried to embed beyond the executive branch
Discussion: Raw Story and Democracy Docket
James Downie / MSNBC:
Trump's White House accidentally admitted the truth about its tax plan  —  Earlier this week the White House published evidence that the president's “big, beautiful bill” hikes taxes on the poor to cut taxes for the rich.  —  The word “transparency” certainly does not describe President Donald Trump's second administration.
Discussion: New York Times and CBS News
RELATED:
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 …
RELATED:
Axios:
Exclusive: Prosecutor's audio shows Biden's memory lapses
RELATED:
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.
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.
RELATED:
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” …
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.
RELATED:
Financial Times:
Moody's strips US of top-notch triple-A credit rating
New York Times:
Moody's Downgrades U.S. Credit Rating Below Triple-A
Discussion: Reuters
Washington Post:
Meet ‘Ice,’ ‘Ogle’ and other crypto millionaires who bought a night with Trump  —  Most of the crypto investors who won a chance to attend the president's dinner party remain publicly unknown.  Others say they are going in hopes of shaping his views.
Ellie Avishai / Quillette:
Is the University Of Austin Betraying Its Founding Principles?  —  Created as a haven for free thinkers, UATX was the last place where I'd expected to encounter ideological litmus tests.  —  On 8 November 2021, the founders of the University of Austin (UATX) announced the launch of their new project …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
RELATED:
Martha Bebinger / WBUR:
Feds yank funds from Harvard breast cancer, fertility, antibiotics research
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.
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.
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 …
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
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 …
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
 
 
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 More Items: 
Heather Cox Richardson / Letters from an American:
MAGA world is performing over-the-top outrage over a photo former Federal Bureau …
James Laporta / CBS News:
GOP congressman confirms Hegseth ordered pause in cyber operations against Russia, despite Pentagon denial
Discussion: Politico
Gabrielle Fahmy / New York Post:
AOC's district sees 70% crime surge — more than double NYC average: 'She doesn't care'
Discussion: The Daily Caller
Marisa Kabas / The Handbasket:
ICE is actively hiring for construction-related jobs
Sean Murphy / Associated Press:
New standards for Oklahoma high school students promote misinformation about the 2020 election
CBS News:
Combat sport clubs used to recruit for white nationalist hate group, report says
 Earlier Items: 
Reuters:
Exclusive: Hungarian official sought information on perceived Orban opponents in USAID meeting
Discussion: Breitbart
Kyle Cheney / Politico:
Trump administration acknowledges another error in a high-profile deportation
Discussion: Mediaite and The Guardian
Ryan Cooper / American Prospect:
Senate Democrats Poised to Enable Trump's Crypto Corruption
Discussion: Off Message, New York Post and NOTUS
Ken Dilanian / NBC News:
Trump admin permits sale of device that allows standard firearms to fire like machine guns
Discussion: Reuters, RedState and Breitbart
New York Times:
Trump Appointee Pressed Analyst to Redo Intelligence on Venezuelan Gang
Discussion: Raw Story and Washington Post
CNN:
Former FBI Director James Comey is being interviewed by the US Secret Service