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2:20 PM ET, July 17, 2025

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
Catie Edmondson / New York Times:
Senate Approves Trump's Bid to Cancel Foreign Aid and Public Broadcast Funds  —  The bill to claw back $9 billion in congressionally approved spending passed over the objections of Republicans who said it abdicated the legislative branch's power of the purse.
RELATED:
NPR:
Senate approves cuts to NPR, PBS and foreign aid programs
Hailey Fuchs / Politico:
Senate Dems protest committee vote to advance Trump's judicial pick
Politico:
Senate votes to cut $9 billion from public broadcasting and foreign aid
Lauren Egan / The Bulwark:
Do They Have Your Attention Now?  —  THERE IS AN OLD SAYING, likely apocryphal …
Discussion: Washington Post and Raw Story
RELATED:
Erica Orden / Politico:
Maurene Comey, daughter of James Comey and prosecutor of Jeffrey Epstein, is fired … In recent weeks, President Donald Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi have faced a firestorm of criticism over their decision not to release additional files related to Epstein, the disgraced financier …
emptywheel:
Pam Bondi Fired the Avenger of Sex Trafficking Victims on Donald Trump's Personal Authority  —  I've often said that, this time, Donald Trump has chosen poorly of which people to make political martyrs.  —  Less than eight hours after proclaiming that the Jeffrey Epstein scandal was just some …
Avery Lotz / Axios:
Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell's family attempts appeal to Trump
Discussion: Vanity Fair and GB News
Kara Scannell / CNN:
Maurene Comey, federal prosecutor in Epstein case, fired from SDNY
Glenn Thrush / New York Times:
Justice Dept. Asks for 1-Day Sentence for Ex-Officer Convicted in Breonna Taylor Raid  —  The move was a stunning reversal of Biden-era efforts to address racial disparities in local law enforcement.  —  The Justice Department's civil rights chief has asked a federal judge to sentence …
RELATED:
Perry Stein / Washington Post:
DOJ seeks one-day sentence for officer in raid that killed Breonna Taylor  —  In November, a federal jury found officer Brett Hankison guilty of violating Taylor's civil rights during a March 2020 police raid in which she was fatally shot.  —  Summary25  —  The Justice Department requested …
CNN:   Justice Department says former officer convicted in Breonna Taylor raid should get one day in jail
Josh Fiallo / The Daily Beast:
Elon Musk Blows Major Hole in Trump's Epstein ‘Hoax’ Theory  —  ‘WOW’  —  Trump's former right-hand man is defiantly refusing to let the Jeffrey Epstein story go away.  —  Elon Musk went on a posting spree Wednesday afternoon to slam President Donald Trump's claim that the so-called “Epstein Files” are a lefty-created hoax.
RELATED:
ABC News:
Trump, facing MAGA uproar over Epstein files, tries to shift blame elsewhere
Matthew Goldstein / New York Times:
This Democrat Won't Let Go of the Jeffrey Epstein Case, Either  —  Senator Ron Wyden has found that four banks waited until Mr. Epstein's arrest on federal charges to flag $1.5 billion in suspicious transactions.  Mr. Wyden wants the documents made public.  —  President Trump and his administration …
Associated Press:
Trump administration hands over Medicaid recipients' personal data, including addresses, to ICE  —  Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials will be given access to the personal data of the nation's 79 million Medicaid enrollees, including home addresses and ethnicities …
Discussion: Straight Arrow News
NBC News:
New U.S. assessment finds American strikes destroyed only one of three Iranian nuclear sites  —  President Donald Trump rejected a military plan for more comprehensive strikes on Iran's nuclear program that would have lasted weeks, NBC News has also learned.
Philip Bump / Washington Post:
When institutions crumble, strongmen step in  —  Trump wants to be the sole authority.  With trust in institutions cratering, he sees his opportunity.  —  What would it take to put the swirling conspiracy theories about Jeffrey Epstein to bed?  Nothing complicated; just an authoritative …
Discussion: Gallup and KFTC-TV
Makena Kelly / Wired:
DOGE Put Free Tax Filing Tool on Chopping Block After One Meeting With Lobbyists  —  A key operative from DOGE initiated plans to potentially kill Direct File, the free tax filing tool developed by the IRS, after offering assurances it would be spared from cuts.
Discussion: Sludge
William Kristol / The Bulwark:
A Crisis of MAGA Faith  —  How's this for a vibe check: A Quinnipiac University poll yesterday found that a whopping 63 percent of voters disapprove of how the Trump administration is handling the Epstein-files controversy, with a scant 17 percent approving.  Happy Thursday.  —  What Would William of Ockham Say?
Katherine Tully-McManus / Politico:
Russ Vought: Appropriations process ‘has to be less bipartisan’  —  Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought isn't interested in giving assurances to lawmakers on Capitol Hill that the White House will abide by any bipartisan spending agreements made this year.
Eric Umansky / ProPublica:
Former NYPD Commissioner Accuses Mayor Adams of Running “Criminal Enterprise” and Cites ProPublica Investigation  —  ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power.  Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they're published.  —  What Happened …
Miami Herald:
Alligator Alcatraz isn't meant for minors.  A 15 year old ended up there anyway  —  In the rush to open a detention camp in the Florida Everglades for “some of the most vicious” migrants illegally in the country, state and federal officers detained a 15-year-old boy with no criminal record …
Discussion: Raw Story
Naomi Feinstein / Miami New Times:
Is Florida Quietly Removing Alligator Alcatraz Contracts from Public Database?  —  On Tuesday, Orlando lawmaker Anna Eskamani accessed the contract documents on the website.  The next day, they were gone.  —  Audio By Carbonatix … State contracts related to Alligator Alcatraz …
Paul Walsh / Minneapolis Star Tribune:
Watch: Senior Trump adviser dumps on Minneapolis, prompting retort from Mary Moriarty  —  Stephen Miller's comments are the latest in a recent string from Trump loyalists targeting Minneapolis. … White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller called Minneapolis an unsafe and violent city during …
Discussion: MSNBC and Raw Story
Rümeysa Öztürk / Vanity Fair:
“Even God Cannot Hear Us Here”: What I Witnessed Inside an ICE Women's Prison  —  Tufts University doctoral student Rümeysa Öztürk opens up for the first time about her shocking arrest and 45 days in a South Louisiana processing facility.  She recalls the generous …
Discussion: ACLU
Politico:
Behind Trump's move to back off Powell: Lawyers warned against it. … The conversations were a backdrop to the latest drama this week over whether Trump might attempt to oust Powell, whom he appointed as chair in 2017 but now regularly blasts for keeping interest rates elevated.
Becky Morton / BBC:
Voting age to be lowered to 16 by next general election  —  Sixteen and 17-year-olds would be able to vote at the next general election, under government plans to lower the voting age.  —  The pledge is part of a raft of measures being introduced through a new Elections Bill.
Charlie Nash / Mediaite:
Ex-Trump Casino President Tells CNN He Reprimanded Trump for Showing Up With ‘Best Friend’ Epstein and 19-Year-Old Girl  —  Jack O'Donnell, the former president of Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, told CNN on Wednesday that he once reprimanded President Donald Trump in the 80s …
Lisa Needham / Public Notice:
Goodbye, separation of church and state  —  🗣️ Paid subscribers make Public Notice possible.  If you appreciate our fiercely independent coverage of American politics, please sign up and support us.  👇  —  The Trump administration last week handed a huge win …
Discussion: Deseret News
Mike Konczal / Rortybomb:
The Four Data Sleights‑of‑Hand Behind Trump's Assault on Powell  —  What looks like a monetary policy debate is really a cover to take control of the central bank.  —  It's a dangerous time for the Federal Reserve.  Last week, President Trump's administration began building …
Washington Post:
Inside ‘Alligator Alcatraz,’ detainees report relentless mosquitoes, limited water  —  Former guards at the facility cited limited fresh water and clogged toilets among the problems at the remote detention center.  —  Two weeks after it opened, a temporary migrant detention center …
Discussion: Townhall and Straight Arrow News
Wall Street Journal:
FDA Authorizes Juul's E-Cigarettes After Ban Nearly Bankrupted Firm  —  Regulator allows Juul's original vaporizer and refill cartridges in tobacco and menthol flavors to remain on U.S. market  —  U.S. regulators authorized Juul Labs to keep its e-cigarettes on the U.S. market.
Tessa Stuart / Rolling Stone:
Democratic Voters Who Skipped 2024 Election Want Candidates Like Bernie, AOC  —  “The conventional wisdom is really wrong on these voters,” says pollster Celinda Lake.  “They want leaders who will fight for everyone” … But new research suggests the prevailing wisdom that has guided those efforts …
Discussion: Semafor
 
 
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 More Items: 
Pema Levy / Mother Jones:
The State Department Guts Its Office Combating Human Trafficking
Discussion: Raw Story
Lauren Kaori Gurley / Washington Post:
Here legally since 1999, thousands of immigrants have 60 days to leave
David French / New York Times:
‘Superman’ Is MAGA Kryptonite
Discussion: Pharyngula and Comic Book Club
NBC News:
Coca-Cola dodges after Trump says soda will switch back to cane sugar
Jason Koebler / 404 Media:
Flight Manifests Reveal Dozens of Previously Unknown People on Three Deportation Flights to El Salvador
Discussion: Just Security
 Earlier Items: 
Chris Mirasola / Lawfare:
How Appropriations Are Transforming the Defense Department's Domestic Operations
Maureen Tkacik / American Prospect:
Meet the Disaster Capitalists Behind Alligator Alcatraz
Discussion: Bloomberg
Aziz Huq / The Atlantic:
The Court's Liberals Are Trying to Tell Americans Something
Popular Information:
A massive Trump scandal. Minuscule media attention.