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12:05 PM ET, April 13, 2026

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
Natalie Allison / Washington Post:
Trump post appearing to depict himself as Jesus sparks backlash from religious right  —  Evangelical and Catholic allies call the post “blasphemous” and urge its removal in a rare public break from a base that has largely stood by Trump.  —  President Donald Trump's posting of a rendering …
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Katie Rogers / New York Times:
Trump Attacks Pope Leo as Too Liberal and ‘Weak on Crime’  —  President Trump's lengthy post on social media showed there were really no boundaries when it comes to people he might target, including the leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics.  —  Pope Leo XIV is one of the world's most powerful critics of the U.S. war with Iran.
David Gilmour / Mediaite:
‘Gross Blasphemy!’  MAGA Die-Hards Deliver Rare Rebuke of Trump for Posting ‘Unacceptable’ Meme Depicting Himself as Jesus  —  President Donald Trump triggered a rare wave of backlash late Sunday from his most loyal supporters after he shared an AI-generated image portraying himself …
Discussion: Raw Story and IJR
Will Weissert / Associated Press:
Trump lambasts Pope Leo XIV, extending feud over Iran war with first American pontiff  —  President Donald Trump attacked Pope Leo XIV on social media on Sunday, saying the first American pope should “stop catering to the Radical Left.”  It was an extraordinary broadside against the global leader …
Avery Lotz / Axios:
Christians condemn Trump post depicting him as Jesus-like figure
Discussion: Mother Jones, Raw Story and CBS News
Laszlo Gendler / The UnPopulist:
Orbán Lost Spectacularly Because the Hungarian People Simply Stopped Fearing His Authoritarianism  —  Seventy years ago, Hungarians rose against Soviet occupation, tore down a statue of Stalin, and freed themselves—however briefly—until the Soviet tanks returned to crush the uprising.
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Paul Krugman:
The Axis of Autocracy Loses a Wheel  —  Hungarians stand up for democracy  —  After Victor Orbán's Fidesz party took power in 2010, Hungary became a role model for those who admired corruption, fascism, and loyalty to Vladimir Putin.  Orbán's regime brought widespread crony capitalism …
Discussion: Euronews
Anne Applebaum / The Atlantic:
Illiberalism Is Not Inevitable  —  If Viktor Orbán can lose, then his Russian and American admirers can lose too.  —  In the end, the defeat of Viktor Orbán, Hungary's autocratic prime minister, required not just an ordinary election campaign or new messaging but rather …
Michelle Goldberg / New York Times:
What Orban's Defeat Means for the Rest of the World  —  On Saturday, the day before the Hungarian election, I went to Puspokladany, a run-down town of about 16,000 in northeastern Hungary, for the penultimate rally of opposition leader Peter Magyar.  Though the region has traditionally …
The Guardian:
Viktor Orbán is gone. What does his fall mean for Europe? Our panel responds
Associated Press:
Election loss for Hungarian Prime Minister Orbán has ripple effects for Trump, US conservatives
Kevin Breuninger / CNBC:
U.S. begins blockade in Strait of Hormuz; Trump warns Iran ‘attack ships’ to stay away … The U.S. on Monday said it began blocking ships from entering or exiting Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz, attempting to ratchet up pressure on Iran to reopen the key oil route after peace negotiations collapsed.that a
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David E. Sanger / New York Times:
Iran Blockade Sets Up a Test of Which Side Can Endure More Pain  —  President Trump is trying to choke off the country's lifeline with a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.  But the Iranians are betting that his tolerance for political pain is limited.  —  President Trump's decision to blockade …
New York Times:
Iran War Live Updates: Deadline Passes for U.S. Blockade in Strait of Hormuz
Associated Press:
Live updates: Pope pushes back against Trump's criticism as US-Vatican feud erupts over Iran
Corinne Ramey / Wall Street Journal:
Judge Dismisses Trump's Defamation Lawsuit Against WSJ Publisher  —  The president alleged an article about a bawdy Epstein birthday letter was defamatory  —  A federal judge on Monday dismissed President Trump's defamation lawsuit against the publisher of The Wall Street Journal.
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Aaron Parnas / MeidasTouch News:
Federal Judge Dismisses Donald Trump's Lawsuit Concerning the Epstein Birthday Letter  —  The lawsuit was dismissed without prejudice, but is a win for the Wall Street Journal  —  A federal judge has dismissed a defamation lawsuit brought by Donald Trump against The Wall Street Journal …
Discussion: Washington Examiner and Axios
Associated Press:
Judge dismisses Trump's $10B lawsuit against WSJ, Murdoch over reporting on ties to Epstein
ProPublica:
Inside Trump's Effort to “Take Over” the Midterm Elections  —  Reporting Highlights  — Safeguards Destroyed: In advance of this year's midterm elections, President Donald Trump has systematically demolished federal guardrails that prevented him from overturning the 2020 election.
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Gregory Svirnovskiy / Politico:   Local election officials fear retribution ahead of fall midterms
Paul Waldman / Public Notice:
The world's worst dealmaker screws up the Iran negotiations  —  PN is supported by paid subscribers.  Become one ⬇️  —  🤝 Subscribe to PN 🤝  —  “The Iranians don't seem to realize they have no cards, other than a short term extortion of the World …
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NBC News:
Eric Swalwell drops bid for California governor after sexual misconduct allegations  —  The Democratic candidate faced immediate calls to end his campaign, with many supporters withdrawing their endorsements.  —  Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell on Sunday dropped his bid for governor …
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Adam Wren / Politico:
Iowa looks competitive, according to new Dem poll  —  Iowa looks to be seriously in play for Democrats in November up and down the ballot, according to a new survey from a Democratic group that backs moderate candidates.  Iowa State Auditor Rob Sand holds an eight-point lead in the governor's race …
Jeff Tomich / Politico:
Missouri town fires half its city council over data center deal … The rout of half the Festus City Council was fueled by a surge in voter turnout and widespread frustration with the data center approval process.  —  “It's really the way the deal was handled that led to this kind of uprising …
Riley Beggin / Washington Post:
Voters grill Republican lawmaker in crucial swing district on Iran war  —  The conflict has animated voters in the suburban district of Republican Rep. Mike Lawler ahead of the midterm elections.  —  Summary  —  MAHOPAC, N.Y. — Rep. Mike Lawler faced another tough crowd at a town hall late Sunday night …
Quinta Jurecic / The Atlantic:
Harmeet Dhillon Is Not Wasting Any Time … Last may, one month into her time as the assistant attorney general for civil rights, Harmeet Dhillon stood behind the lectern at a meeting of the conservative Federalist Society and set out her vision for the Justice Department's civil-rights work.
Discussion: Digby's Hullabaloo
Nikolas Guggenberger / Lawfare:
America Used to Own the Internet.  Now It's Running Scared.  —  The U.S. restricted data transfers abroad.  Cast as an assertion of sovereignty, the new posture signals weakness in great-power competition.  —  nikenberger  —  Meet The Authors  —  For most of the internet era …
 
 
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 More Items: 
Thomas Escritt / Bloomberg:
Hungary Foreign Minister Shredding EU Documents, Magyar Says
Discussion: Reuters and France 24
Andrew Egger / The Bulwark:
MAGA International Goes Down in Flames
Bernard Condon / Associated Press:
Trump family deal spree could open door for future presidents to profit from office
David M. Halbfinger / New York Times:
Israelis Don't Feel Much Like Victors in War With Iran
Discussion: Raw Story
Stefanos Chen / New York Times:
Can This Chaotic Brooklyn Plaza Be Car-Free? Mamdani Says Yes.
Heather Cox Richardson / Letters from an American:
April 12, 2026  —  By the end of 2024, inflation in the U.S., which had soared in the aftermath …
Don Moynihan / Can We Still Govern?:
What the death of Direct File tells us about state capacity
 Earlier Items: 
Anna Liss-Roy / Washington Post:
Under attack by their own congressman
Eric Levitz / Vox:
OpenAI is pivoting to...socialism?
Zack Beauchamp / Vox:
New data suggests Trump's assault on democracy may be stalling out
Matthew McManus / Liberal Currents:
The Right Wants You Stupid
Meredith Lee Hill / Politico:
'It's all we have to run on': GOP looks to tout tax cuts as war overtakes Hill agenda
Discussion: The Hill and Washington Examiner
Lisa Kashinsky / Politico:
Peltola raises almost $9M in first three months of Senate bid
Discussion: Raw Story
 

 
From Techmeme:

Jonah Owen Lamb / The San Francisco Standard:
Police report: Sam Altman's home appears to have been targeted in a second attack after a gun was fired from a car early on April 12; police arrest two suspects

Ashley Capoot / CNBC:
Memo: OpenAI Chief Revenue Officer Denise Dresser says OpenAI's Microsoft deal “limited our ability” to reach clients using Bedrock and touts its Amazon deal

Stanford HAI:
2026 AI Index Report: AI capability is accelerating, not plateauing, the US-China model gap has closed, the US leads in data centers and AI investment, and more
 
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