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5:40 PM ET, May 20, 2025

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
STAT:
STAT+: FDA will limit Covid vaccines to people over 65 or at high risk of serious illness, leaders say  —  The Food and Drug Administration announced Tuesday that it will limit access to Covid-19 vaccines going forward to people 65 and older and others who are at high risk of becoming seriously ill …
RELATED:
Associated Press:
Trump officials set new requirements for COVID vaccines in healthy adults and children  —  Annual COVID-19 shots for healthy younger adults and children will no longer be routinely approved under a major new policy shift unveiled Tuesday by the Trump administration.
New York Times:
F.D.A. Poised to Restrict Access to Covid Vaccines  —  Agency leaders said there was evidence to justify approval only for older people and those with medical conditions.  Many others may not be able to get the shots.  —  The Food and Drug Administration will permit Covid vaccines for adults …
Stef W. Kight / Axios:
Scoop: Johnson privately cautions Senate GOP on Trump's budget bill  —  House Speaker Mike Johnson cautioned the Senate in a closed door lunch on Tuesday not to make big changes to the reconciliation bill, Axios has learned.  —  Why it matters: If Johnson can get his conference in line …
Discussion: Semafor
RELATED:
NOTUS:
'He's Not a Detail Guy': Trump Pitches Very Different Reconciliation Bill to House GOP
Politico:
Massie unmoved on Trump's ‘big, beautiful bill’ after president's personal pitch
New York Times:
Trump's Trade War and GOP Budget Bill Fuel Investor Anxiety
Edward Luce / Financial Times:   Trumpism's growing split: Bannon vs plutocrats
Jeremy Herb / CNN:
‘What are we doing here?’:  Democrats were shocked at Biden's decline but stayed quiet, according to new book  —  In the final two years of his presidency, Joe Biden had private moments where he could not recall the names of top aides, had an increasingly limited private schedule …
RELATED:
Eddie Scarry / The Federalist:
Biden's Late Cancer Diagnosis Exposes Democrats And The Media As Legitimate National Security Risks  —  Until Democrats start naming names and apologizing for their reckless, craven conduct as it relates to Joe Biden, I don't want to hear another word about Pete Hegseth's Signal chats.
Rex Huppke / USA Today:
Republicans keep clinging to Biden's health to ignore Trump's decline
Jason Koebler / 404 Media:
Chicago Sun-Times Prints AI-Generated Summer Reading List With Books That Don't Exist  —  Update: We have published a follow-up to this article with more details about how this happened.  —  The Chicago Sun-Times newspaper's “Best of Summer” section published over the weekend contains a guide …
Jonathan Chait / The Atlantic:
Kristi Noem Should Probably Know What Habeas Corpus Is  —  Several top members of the Trump administration have been evading constraints on their lawless actions by playing a clever game of feigned ignorance as to the plain requirements of the Constitution and a series of adverse court rulings.
RELATED:
April Rubin / Axios:
Noem botches habeas corpus questions at Senate hearing  —  Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem botched questions about habeas corpus at a Senate hearing Tuesday, falsely asserting the check on the government's power to detain people actually gives President Trump a “constitutional right” to conduct deportations.
Steve Benen / MSNBC:
Kristi Noem flunks an important test on the basic meaning of habeas corpus
Zach Schonfeld / The Hill:
Migrants deported to South Sudan in violation of court order, attorneys say  —  Immigration attorneys on Tuesday alleged the Trump administration deported to South Sudan a group of migrants who are not from the war-torn country, in violation of a court order.
RELATED:
Kyle Cheney / Politico:
Trump admin deports immigrants to South Sudan in violation of court order, lawyers say  —  Their lawyers say they learned of the deportation plan after receiving an abrupt notice Monday evening.  By Tuesday morning, the men were already on a plane.  —  The Trump administration has deported …
Tobias Burns / The Hill:
Democratic senator says he has recordings of favors ‘promised’ by Trump's IRS pick  —  Sen. Ron Wyden (Ore.), the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, said Tuesday he has recordings of business associates of President Trump's pick to lead the IRS, former Rep. Billy Long (R-Mo.) …
RELATED:
Andrew Duehren / New York Times:
Trump's Pick to Lead I.R.S. Promoted a Nonexistent Tax Credit
Discussion: Rolling Stone and New Republic
Theodore Schleifer / New York Times:
Democrats Throw Money at a Problem: Countering G.O.P. Clout Online  —  At private gatherings, strategists and donors are swapping ideas to help the party capture the digital mojo that helped President Trump win.  Yes, there's a price tag.  —  Six months after the Democratic Party's crushing 2024 defeat …
Discussion: RedState and Semafor
Kathryn Watson / CBS News:
Trump announces $25 billion and architectural design for “Golden Dome” missile defense system  —  Washington — President Trump on Tuesday announced his administration has selected the architectural design for a “Golden Dome” missile defense system to protect the United States from foreign threats.
RELATED:
Politico:
Trump to announce $25B funding for Golden Dome project
Discussion: USA Today, NPR and Axios
Paul Waldman / Public Notice:
Donald Trump and the power of the big (fake) number  —  🔌 🤖 💭 With corporate outlets obeying in advance, supporting independent political media is more important right now than ever.  PN is possible thanks to paid subscribers.  If you aren't one already …
RELATED:
Will Saletan / The Bulwark:   The Gulf of Anti-America  —  ON FRIDAY, AS HE RETURNED to the United States from a four …
Axios:
Trump's deference to Putin stunned European leaders on call  —  Ukrainian President Zelensky and five other European leaders joined a conference call with President Trump immediately after his call with Vladimir Putin on Monday hoping to hear that Putin had agreed to a ceasefire …
RELATED:
New York Times:
Trump Backs Off His Demand That Russia Declare a Cease-Fire in Ukraine
Politico:
Virginia Republicans worry about their gubernatorial candidate who invoked slavery when criticizing DEI  —  Winsome Earle-Sears has had a sluggish start to her campaign.  Republicans are urging her to turn it around — or face a bloodbath this fall.  —  Virginia Republicans are bracing for November with a growing sense of doom.
Discussion: Raw Story and The Texas Tribune
Dan Primack / Axios:
Tesla, SpaceX reputations crater in new Axios Harris Poll 100  —  Tesla Motors and SpaceX saw their brand reputations crater in the past year, according to new Axios Harris Poll 100 survey results.  —  Why it matters: Elon Musk's polarizing political activism appears to have come at the expense …
Katherine Tully-McManus / Politico:
DOGE sought access to Government Publishing Office  —  Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency initiative sought last week to gain access to the government's central publishing operation, a congressional offshoot that provides public access to federal documents.
Nicholas Vinocur / Politico:
EU to launch Israel trade review as Gaza situation deteriorates  —  “Pressure is necessary to change the situation,” top EU diplomat Kaja Kallas said.  —  The EU will review its political and economic agreement between Israel and the European Union over the “catastrophic” situation in Gaza, Kaja Kallas said Tuesday.
Discussion: BBC, Reuters, Truthout, Bloomberg and NPR
Brian O'Neill / The Contrarian:
Romania.  Poland.  Portugal.  —  Earlier this month, I wrote a piece for The Contrarian about the results of national elections results in Canada, Australia, and Germany.  My message was cautious optimism.  Liberal democracy had eked out a few wins.  Not breakthroughs, but breathers.
Miami Herald:
State prosecutor's office launches a criminal investigation related to Hope Florida  —  Leon County prosecutors say there is an open criminal investigation relating to information a lawmaker provided concerning the Hope Florida Foundation.  —  In response to a request by the Herald/Times …
Zach Schonfeld / The Hill:
Supreme Court sides with Maine Republican censured for transgender athlete post  —  The Supreme Court ruled a Maine Republican state lawmaker censured for a post about a transgender athlete must be allowed to vote as she mounts a legal challenge.  —  Tuesday's emergency order blocks Maine …
NBC News:
Elon Musk says he's going to do ‘a lot less’ political spending  —  Musk, who was the biggest donor in the 2024 political cycle, said he feels like he has “done enough” with political contributions.  —  Elon Musk, the world's richest man and a major benefactor to President Donald Trump …
Washington Post:
Trump proposal to repatriate Ukrainians, Haitians would use foreign aid funds  —  Documents reviewed by The Post call for leveraging U.S. foreign assistance accounts to return migrants to conflict-afflicted nations, even as the administration has sought to cut such spending.
Paul Campos / Lawyers, Guns & Money:
Very confused old man given test ride by dealership, thinks car is actually a gift  —  Pretty funny if not like a clown investigation here (gift link) from Maggie's farm.  —  TL;DR: Trump's announcement that Qatar was giving him a very special 747 that's been tricked out like a luxury jet …
Discussion: New York Times, Politico, CNN and Daily Mail
Julius Washington / Congressman Hakeem Jeffries:
JOINT DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP STATEMENT ON REP. LaMONICA McIVER  —  Today, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Whip Katherine Clark, Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar, Vice Chair Ted Lieu and Assistant Leader Joe Neguse released the following statement:  —  The criminal charge …
Washington Post:
White House officials wanted to put federal workers ‘in trauma.’ It's working.  —  Federal workers describe struggling with panic attacks, depression, suicidal thoughts.  “Why doesn't anyone care?”  —  For this story, Post reporters interviewed more than 30 current and former federal employees.
Discussion: Raw Story
Nick Wadhams / Bloomberg:
Hegseth Starts Fresh Probe Into ‘Disastrous’ Afghanistan Pullout  —  Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced a new probe into the 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal, vowing accountability for what he called the Biden administration's “disastrous and embarrassing” handling of the events that led to the deaths of 13 US troops.
 
 
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 More Items: 
Gabrielle M. Etzel / Washington Examiner:
Delaware governor signs physician-assisted suicide bill vetoed by predecessor
Rolling Stone:
Why Trump Is Threatening to Investigate Bruce Springsteen
Sarah Fortinsky / The Hill:
Rubio to Van Hollen: We deported gang members, ‘including the one you had a margarita with’
Bloomberg:
Trump Reverses NY Wind Farm Stance in Pipeline Deal With Hochul
Jennifer Bendery / HuffPost:
Democrats Unveil DOGE BROS Act To Punish People For Meddling In Private Data
Will Bunch / The Philadelphia Inquirer:
The Joe Biden cancer story that matters most
Discussion: ABC News
 Earlier Items: 
Jonah E. Bromwich / New York Times:
Why Mahmoud Khalil Remains in Detention as Other Protesters Are Freed
Thomas B. Edsall / New York Times:
The President Will Destroy You Now  —  One thing stands out amid all the chaos …
Vittoria Elliott / Wired:
What It's Like to Interview for a Job at DOGE
Paul Krugman:
How Trump Will Make the Tariff Shock Worse
Richard Luscombe / The Guardian:
Ron DeSantis's fall from grace: 'He's completely crashed to the ground'
Discussion: Raw Story
 

 
From Techmeme:

Daniel Thomas / Financial Times:
Netflix agrees to acquire WBD's studios and streaming business in an $82.7B cash-and-stock deal, including debt, to close after WBD splits in two in Q3 2026

Liv McMahon / BBC:
Vice President JD Vance, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and FCC Chairman Brendan Carr denounce the EU's €120M X fine

New York Times:
The New York Times sues Perplexity, claiming the AI startup violated its copyrights and kept using its content despite repeated demands over the past 18 months
 
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