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11:40 AM ET, May 21, 2025

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Ben Leonard / Politico:
Wealthy gain, low-income people lose from GOP megabill, analysis finds  —  The report by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office is already fueling Democratic accusations that the legislation is a giveaway to the rich.  —  Tax cuts in House Republicans' megabill would lead to increased assets …
Discussion: HuffPost and E&E News
Washington Post:
Divided House GOP tries to push Trump's tax bill over the finish line  —  A key committee worked through the night on the legislation as Republican leaders sought agreement from various party factions.  —  House Republicans on Wednesday are set to try to push President Donald Trump's massive tax …
New York Times:
U.S. Debt Is on Pace to Set a Record High, Going All the Way Back to 1790  —  If Republicans pass their tax and spending megabill, the record will arrive even sooner — putting America's debt at more than 113 percent of the size of its entire economy.  —  The United States hit its record debt level …
Discussion: Fortune, Raw Story and Politico
Michael Gold / New York Times:
House G.O.P. Races to Revamp Major Policy Bill, Grasping for Votes to Pass It
Zachary Basu / Axios:
Trump's $4 trillion deficit bomb
Charles Gaba / ACA Signups:
Surprise! GOP Medicaid Massacre bill is also a Medicare Massacre bill!
Discussion: KFF, Politico and New Republic
Wall Street Journal:
Trump's Economic Agenda Hinges on Tax Bill That Divides His Own Party
Kathryn Anne Edwards / Bloomberg:   The GOP Tax Bill Ignores Decades of Economic Research
Paul Krugman:   A Liz Truss Moment for America?
Anusha Mathur / Washington Post:
Gerry Connolly, congressman who protected federal workforce, dies at 75  —  The nine-term Virginia Democrat pushed back against the Trump administration's efforts to strip protections from civil servants and federal unions.  —  Gerry Connolly, a Democratic congressman who played a large part …
RELATED:
Paige Lavender / HuffPost:
Gerry Connolly, Democratic Congressman From Virginia, Dead At 75  —  Connolly “passed away peacefully at his home” after battling cancer.  —  Rep. Gerry Connolly, a Democrat from Virginia, died Wednesday morning at 75.  —  He “passed away peacefully at his home this morning surrounded by family …
David Cohen / Politico:
Northern Virginia Rep. Gerry Connolly dies at 75  —  The Virginia Democrat fought on behalf of the many government workers in his district.  —  Gerry Connolly, a longtime Democratic member of Congress from Northern Virginia known for his advocacy of the federal workforce, died Wednesday.
Melissa Quinn / CBS News:
Democratic Rep. Gerry Connolly dies at 75
Discussion: PoliticusUSA and Mediaite
Susan Heavey / Reuters:
Democratic US Representative Connolly dies, his family says
New York Times:
Judge Orders U.S. to Keep Custody of Migrants Amid Claims They Were Sent to South Sudan  —  In a chaotic hearing, Trump administration officials told a federal judge they did not know where a plane of deportees was going.  The judge raised the possibility that he could order its return.
RELATED:
Camilo Montoya-Galvez / CBS News:
U.S. put Asian migrants on deportation flight to South Sudan, lawyers allege  —  Immigration lawyers told a federal judge on Tuesday that they received information indicating the U.S. government may have put migrants from countries like Myanmar and Vietnam on a deportation flight to South Sudan …
New York Times:
Official Pushed to Rewrite Intelligence So It Could Not Be ‘Used Against’ Trump  —  An assessment contradicted a presidential proclamation.  A political appointee demanded a redo, then pushed for changes to the new analysis, too.  —  New emails document how a top aide to Tulsi Gabbard …
Discussion: New Republic, SpyTalk and Reuters
Devlin Barrett / New York Times:
Justice Dept. Opens Inquiry Into Cuomo, Singling Out Another Political Target  —  After killing a criminal case against Mayor Eric Adams, the Trump administration has begun investigating his chief rival in the New York City mayoral race over his testimony about the pandemic.
Chiara Eisner / NPR:
Diseases are spreading.  The CDC isn't warning the public like it was months ago  —  To accomplish its mission of increasing the health security of the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that it “conducts critical science and provides health information” to protect the nation.
Reuters:
Exclusive: Hacker who breached communications app used by Trump aide stole data from across US government  —  A hacker who breached the communications service used by former Trump national security adviser Mike Waltz earlier this month intercepted messages from a broader swathe of American officials …
Indradip Ghosh / Reuters:
Weak US economic outlook persists despite brief trade truce with China: Reuters poll  —  The outlook for the U.S. economy remains weak despite a temporary cooling of the U.S.-China trade war, a Reuters poll of economists showed, with a debate over the country's fiscal health hanging in the balance.
NBC News:
Justice Department pulls civil rights investigations into local police departments  —  The Trump administration's move is shutting down investigations into the practices of several local departments and whether they were violating civil rights.  —  WASHINGTON — The Justice Department …
RELATED:
Scott Macfarlane / CBS News:   Changes at Trump's Justice Department could shift which local police agencies get federal grants
Ross Douthat / New York Times:
JD Vance on His Faith and Trump's Most Controversial Policies  —  On this episode of “Interesting Times,” Ross Douthat interviews Vice President JD Vance about the Trump administration's deportations, the tariff backlash and how Vance's faith influences his politics.
Discussion: Raw Story
RELATED:
Avery Lotz / Axios:   Vance says Chief Justice “wrong” that judiciary should check executive branch powers
Financial Times:
Russian-linked Ukrainian politician shot dead in Spain  —  A former high-ranking Ukrainian politician connected to the country's ousted pro-Russian president was shot dead on Wednesday outside an exclusive international school near Madrid, according to Spanish and Ukrainian authorities.
Alexandra Hutzler / ABC News:
Trump to host South Africa's president amid tensions over US resettlement of white Afrikaners  —  Trump claims a “genocide” is taking place, which South Africa disputes.  —  South African President Cyril Ramaphosa addresses the media during a press briefing at the Union Buildings in Pretoria, South Africa, April 24, 2025.
Alex Roarty / NOTUS:
Jared Golden Trails Paul LePage in a New GOP Poll  —  The Congressional Leadership Fund poll also found a Republican leading a generic ballot in the district 47% to 38%.  — Copy  —  Democratic Rep. Jared Golden of Maine opted to run for reelection rather than for governor or Senate …
Leigh Kimmins / The Daily Beast:
Musk Insults Interviewer for Daring to Ask About His Big DOGE Promise  —  TOUCHY SUBJECT  —  Musk said the cost-cutting task force would save $2 trillion.  By its own estimate, just $160 billion has been saved.  —  A defensive Elon Musk shut down an interviewer by saying …
Discussion: CNN, Mediaite, Gizmodo, Blaze Media and RedState
Michael Gold / New York Times:
Noem Incorrectly Defines Habeas Corpus as the President's Right to Deport People  —  The right allows people to legally challenge their detentions by the government and is guaranteed in the Constitution.  —  Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, bungled answers on Tuesday about habeas corpus …
Wall Street Journal:
Inside Kristi Noem's Polygraph Operation  —  The information that DHS employees are accused of sharing with media often isn't classified  —  WASHINGTON—In a small interrogation room in Virginia with a one-way mirror, employees from across the Department of Homeland Security are being summoned and hooked up to a polygraph machine.
George Joseph / The Guardian:
Revealed: UnitedHealth secretly paid nursing homes to reduce hospital transfers  —  A Guardian investigation finds insurer quietly paid facilities that helped it gain Medicare enrollees and reduce hospitalizations.  Whistleblowers allege harm to residents  —  UnitedHealth Group …
Discussion: LifeNews.com
Jamelle Bouie / New York Times:
Trump Is Waging War on the Future  —  It's fitting that a political movement whose slogan is the backward looking “Make America Great Again” — and whose tribune, Donald Trump, appears to live in an eternal 1990 of his own mind — is waging war on the American future.  —  This war has four theaters of conflict.
Liz Dye / Public Notice:
DOJ politicization escalates with bogus arrest of congresswoman  —  🏛️ ⚖️ 👩🏻‍⚖️ With corporate outlets obeying in advance, supporting independent political media is more important right now than ever.
Washington Post:
A Kansas family farm, barely getting by, grapples with Trump's cuts  —  National correspondent Annie Gowen and staff photographer Ricky Carioti have documented rural communities throughout the Midwest.  They spent days in northeast Kansas this spring, interviewing and photographing the Thomases …
Reuters:
US to appoint Thomas Barrack as special envoy for Syria, sources say  —  The United States will appoint President Donald Trump's longtime friend and current U.S. ambassador to Turkey, Thomas Barrack, as a special envoy for Syria, a person with direct knowledge of the matter and a diplomat in Turkey said.
Jennifer Rubin / The Contrarian:
The Spanish Historical Lesson  —  Spain committed national suicide through mass deportation  —  Travel has a way of emphasizing historical lessons.  Spain is no different.  —  As I've mentioned, when traveling around this gorgeous, fascinating country, you constantly see evidence of the rise …
 
 
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 More Items: 
Washington Post:
Congresswoman's charges fuel claims of intimidation of Trump critics
Zack Beauchamp / Vox:
The forgotten book that foretold Trump's power grab
Jason Leopold / Bloomberg:
Hack of Contractor Was at Root of Massive Federal Data Breach
David Strom / HotAir:
Marco Rubio Rocks And Will Be President One Day
Discussion: RedState, Twitchy and The Daily Signal
Cas Mudde / The Guardian:
The real story isn't young men supposedly voting far right. It's what young women are up to
Discussion: Fortune
Lexi Lonas Cochran / The Hill:
Universities struggle to keep cancer research afloat amid Trump funding cuts
Punchbowl News:
5/21/25 ☀️ AM:  —  A late night turns into an early morning - and big day for Johnson
 Earlier Items: 
Philip Bump / Washington Post:
The conspiracy theory that broke Dan Bongino
Discussion: New Jersey Online and The Bulwark
CBO Publications:
Preliminary Analysis of the Distributional Effects of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act
Discussion: Scripps News
Rogé Karma / The Atlantic:
Trump's Plan to Cap Drug Prices Doesn't Exist
Discussion: Washington Post
Washington Post:
Musk was once a political force on X. Now he's back to business.
Discussion: Raw Story
Politico:
Blue-state Republicans, GOP leaders land tentative deal for $40,000 SALT deduction
 

 
From Mediagazer:

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

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

Liam Scott / Columbia Journalism Review:
A look at the First Amendment Watch's SLAPP Back Initiative, a US SLAPP tracker; in 2024, 69 of 500 cases involved the media, of which 46 were dismissed

 
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