memeorandum: Breaking Down Trump's Entanglements With Crypto (Amrith Ramkumar/Wall Street Journal)

11:55 PM ET, May 18, 2025

Top Items:

Betsy Klein / CNN:

Biden diagnosed with ‘aggressive form’ of prostate cancer — Former President Joe Biden was diagnosed with an “aggressive form” of prostate cancer, according to a statement from his personal office Sunday, and it has spread to his bones. — “Last week, President Joe Biden was seen …

Discussion: CBS News, The Gateway Pundit, Townhall, Fox News, One America News Network, Washington Examiner, Axios, al.com, The Hill, Mediaite, Twitchy, Raw Story, UPI, The Independent, Variety, ABC News, Deadline, The Post Millennial, IJR and Advocate

Tyler Pager / New York Times:

Biden Is Diagnosed With an Aggressive Form of Prostate Cancer — The cancer has metastasized to the bone, according to a statement from Mr. Biden's personal office. — Former President Joseph R. Biden Jr. was diagnosed on Friday with an aggressive form of prostate cancer that has spread to his bones …

Discussion: Associated Press, BBC, Daily Caller News Foundation, The Moderate Voice, Townhall, Axios, Washington Examiner and OutsideTheBeltway

Luke Garrett / NPR:

Former President Joe Biden diagnosed with prostate cancer — Former President Joe Biden has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, which has metastasized to the bone, according to a statement from his personal office. — Biden was seen for further tests last week after a finding of a prostate nodule.

Discussion: Washington Post, The Gateway Pundit, TMZ.com, The Wrap, Deadline, CBS News, Politico, MSNBC and Talking Points Memo

NBC News:

Former President Joe Biden diagnosed with aggressive form of prostate cancer — The cancer has metastasized to the bone, according to the former president's personal office. — Former President Joe Biden has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, his personal office announced Sunday.

Discussion: HuffPost, RedState, Breitbart, Daily Mail, Roll Call, Fox News, CBS News, The Guardian, New York Daily News and The Independent

Sarah Fortinsky / The Hill:

Obamas react to Biden cancer diagnosis — Former President Obama on Sunday responded to news of former President Biden's prostate cancer diagnosis by expressing confidence in his former vice president's “trademark resolve and grace.” — He also pointed to the work Biden has done to advance cancer research.

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Twitchy and New York Post

Josh Boak / Associated Press:
Biden has been diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer

James Fanelli / Wall Street Journal:
Biden Diagnosed With Metastatic Prostate Cancer

Discussion: TMZ.com, New York Post and The Independent

Fox News:
Trump wishes Biden ‘fast and successful recovery’ after prostate cancer diagnosis

Discussion: The Hill, New York Times, Washington Examiner, RedState, New York Post, Daily Mail, CBS News, Newsweek, Mediaite, Daily Caller News Foundation, The Daily Wire and The Independent

Washington Post:

Trump's tax and immigration bill clears hurdle after late-night vote — GOP leaders worked through the weekend to win over fiscal conservatives who voted last week to block Trump's Big Beautiful Bill in committee — The House Budget Committee passed a massive tax and immigration package central …

Discussion: One America News Network

NBC News:

Key House committee advances Trump agenda bill after appeasing conservatives — The House Budget Committee's vote came two days after a group of GOP hard-liners rejected the package. — WASHINGTON — The House Budget Committee advanced President Donald Trump's multitrillion-dollar domestic …

Discussion: New York Times

Richard Rubin / Wall Street Journal:

The Stark Math on the GOP Tax Plan: It Doesn't Cut the Deficit — As House Republicans wrangle over tax-and-spending bill, budget analysts across the political spectrum warn that the proposal worsens the U.S. fiscal picture — WASHINGTON—House Republicans' last-minute grappling …

Discussion: USA Today

Jonathan Cohn / The Bulwark:
How to Take Medicaid from Millions of Americans, in Less Than 72 Hours

Discussion: Bloomberg, Fox News and MSNBC

Politico: House budget panel approves Trump megabill following hardliner resistance

Josh Boak / Associated Press:

Trump's tariffs may mean Walmart shoppers pay more, his treasury chief acknowledges — Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent acknowledged Sunday that Walmart, the largest U.S. retailer, may pass along some of the costs from President Donald Trump's tariffs to its shoppers through higher prices.

Katia Dmitrieva / Bloomberg:
China-US Trade Truce Prompts Nations to Consider Tougher Tactics

Discussion: Raw Story

Amanda Friedman / Politico:
‘An economic fallacy’: Rand Paul doesn't see the benefits of tariffs

Discussion: RealClearPolitics, The Daily Caller, Breitbart and Grabien

Alex Gangitano / The Hill:
Bessent warns tariffs will return to ‘Liberation Day’ rates if negotiations aren't in good faith

Discussion: Axios, Washington Examiner, Business Insider and Grabien

Naftali Bendavid / Washington Post:
‘I own the store’: Trump seeks a direct role in the economy

Discussion: Reuters, Raw Story, Newsmax and Wall Street Journal

Craig Stirling / Bloomberg: Midpoint of Trump Tariff Hiatus to Reveal Increasingly Unsettled World

Andrew Higgins / New York Times:

Nicusor Dan Beats George Simion in Romana's Presidential Election — Nicusor Dan, the mayor of Bucharest, defeated George Simion, a nationalist aligned with President Trump who had been seen as the front-runner. — In a setback for Europe's surging nationalist forces, Nicusor Dan …

Discussion: Politico, Sky News, London Daily, Los Angeles Times, The Daily Caller, Breitbart, Newsweek, The Kyiv Independent, Al Jazeera, Bloomberg and Washington Post

Bloomberg:

Romanian Centrist Scores Victory Over Far-Right Trump Loyalist — The centrist mayor of Bucharest won Romania's presidential runoff on Sunday, quashing the ambitions of a far-right Donald Trump loyalist as voters came out in force to ensure that the Black Sea nation held steady on a pro-European path.

Discussion: BBC, Reuters, Atlantic Council, Associated Press, KDFX-TV, Al Jazeera, Politico, ZeroHedge News, The Kyiv Independent and Jacobin

Peter Wade / Rolling Stone:

Van Hollen: The U.S. Is ‘Complicit’ in Starving the People of Gaza — “Two million Palestinians are starving. This is collective punishment that is clearly illegal under international law,” the senator said … When asked on CBS's Face the Nation about photographs of starving children in Gaza …

Discussion: Associated Press, CBS News and Middle East Monitor

Elizabeth Crisp / The Hill:

Virginia Dem: GOP tax cuts would be on ‘backs of millions of Americans’ — Rep. Jennifer McClellan (D-Va.) warned during an appearance on NewsNation's “The Hill Sunday” that the tax cuts that have been floated in GOP budget proposals would hurt “millions of Americans” who rely on Medicaid and food stamps.

Discussion: Rolling Stone

Nathaniel Weixel / The Hill:
Concerns rise over medical coverage losses from ‘big, beautiful bill’

Discussion: Townhall

Chris Geidner / Law Dork:

Matt Kacsmaryk shouldn't be a judge — He doesn't want to be a judge. He wants to run a right-wing advocacy group. And, for paid subscribers: Closing my tabs. — ∙ Paid — U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk — the judge who tried to ban mifepristone nationwide in 2023 …

Discussion: JURISTnews

Amrith Ramkumar / Wall Street Journal:

Breaking Down Trump's Entanglements With Crypto — Sector has been one of the biggest winners in the president's second term — President Trump and his family's embrace of cryptocurrencies have made the sector one of the biggest winners in his second term.

New York Times:

Russia Unleashes One of Its Largest Drone Barrages of the Ukraine War — The bombardment, which Ukrainian officials said mostly targeted Kyiv, came just a day before President Trump was expected to talk with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia. — Russia targeted Ukraine on Sunday …

Discussion: Al Jazeera, CNN, Euromaidan Press, The Kyiv Independent, Associated Press, Reuters and Politico

Katie J.M. Baker / New York Times:

The Group Behind Project 2025 Has a Plan to Crush the Pro-Palestinian Movement — Even before President Trump was re-elected, the Heritage Foundation, best known for Project 2025, set out to destroy pro-Palestinian activism in the United States. — In late April, the Heritage Foundation dispatched …

Discussion: New York Times, PoliticusUSA and Raw Story

Megan Liscomb / HuffPost:

'It's Real Y'all': People Are Sharing Their Tariff Receipts, And My Wallet Is Not Ready For What's Coming — “The product cost is $524 and the tariff charge is $890.” — As Trump's tariffs have gone into effect, businesses like Wyze have started sharing what these new import charges look like in practice.

MSNBC:

Big Donald Is Watching You: Sliding into autocracy under Trump 2.0 — A giant banner featuring Donald Trump's photo just went up at the front of the Department of Agriculture. A military parade is being planned for his birthday, which coincides with the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army.

Washington Post:

Trump orders the government to stop enforcing rules he doesn't like — Critics say the administration is breaking the law and sidestepping the rulemaking process that presidents of both parties have routinely followed. — At the Transportation Department, enforcement of pipeline safety rules …

Discussion: The Mahablog

Corbin Bolies / The Daily Beast:

Pope Leo Snubs JD Vance After Inaugural Mass — GODLY PASS — The pope gave the vice president the short shrift. — Pope Leo XIV spurned JD Vance on Sunday, offering him a quick greeting after his inaugural mass while holding extensive private meetings with other world leaders.

Discussion: New York Times, CNN, NBC News, RedState, Al Jazeera, Washington Examiner, The Independent, Reuters and Associated Press

NBC News:

FBI links California fertility clinic bombing to anti-natalist ideology — The attack left one dead on Saturday and injured four others. — The car bombing outside a California fertility clinic that killed one person and injured four others appears to have been driven by anti-natalist ideology …