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1:20 PM ET, May 20, 2026

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
Steve Benen / MS NOW:
2 Jan. 6 police officers sue to block Trump DOJ's ‘slush fund’  —  There's no shortage of questions surrounding the Trump administration's controversial new $1.776 billion fund.  White House friends and foes alike have wondered aloud about who'll receive taxpayer-financed checks …
RELATED:
Josh Gerstein / Politico:
Jan. 6 police officers sue to block Trump's ‘anti-weaponization fund’ … The lawsuit, filed in federal district court in Washington, argues that the fund violates the 14th Amendment's prohibition on use of federal money to “pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States.”
Alex Rogers / Financial Times:
Donald Trump and sons to be ‘forever’ exempt from tax audits  —  Justice department deal comes day after government set up $1.8bn fund to pay president's allies hit by alleged ‘lawfare’  —  US tax authorities will be barred from pursuing claims against Donald Trump, his eldest sons …
New York Times:
I.R.S. to Drop Audits of Trump and Family
Ryan J. Reilly / NBC News:   John Adams quote projected on DOJ building in protest of $1.8B fund
Ryan J. Reilly / NBC News:
DOJ official told GOP ally that big payouts were coming for Jan. 6 defendants
Liz Dye / Public Notice:
Trump's $1.8b slush fund could turn into giant can of worms
Discussion: New York Times and Zeteo
Luke Fountain / CNBC:
Blanche won't rule out Jan. 6 rioters getting Trump DOJ fund payouts
Ben Johansen / Politico:
Trump demands Senate Republicans fire parliamentarian … Obama did not have a say in MacDonough's appointment in 2012.  —  The broadside came just days after MacDonough ruled that a provision allowing roughly $1 billion in White House and Secret Service security funding tied …
RELATED:
Russell Berman / The Atlantic:
Why Thomas Massie Thought He Was Different  —  For a long time, Representative Thomas Massie confidently defied an ironclad law of modern Republican politics—that to oppose President Trump was to start a ticking clock on your electoral career.  “I'm not worried about losing,” …
Punchbowl News:
5/20/26☀️ AM: … With less than 24 weeks until Election Day, President Donald Trump seems almost maniacally focused on doing and saying things that could harm Republicans' chances of keeping their House and Senate majorities in November.  —  With voters saying they're frightened …
Politico:
Trump completed his revenge tour.  Allies wonder what it cost. … But the revenge tour is increasingly imperiling Trump's midterm agenda on the Hill.  —  That's because for every apostate ousted by Trump this month, there's a sign of not only his waning political capital on the Hill …
Jordain Carney / Politico:
GOP preparing to strip out ballroom security funding
Discussion: Punchbowl News
Layla A. Jones / Talking Points Memo:
Raffensperger, Who Wouldn't Steal Election For Trump, Loses Governor Race to Two Election Denialists
Karen Tumulty / Washington Post:   The Trump paradox: What's good for him is weighing down his party
Matt Prichard / NBC Boston:
Former Massachusetts Congressman Barney Frank dies at age 86 … Former Rep. Barney Frank, D-Massachusetts, has died at the age of 86, his sister and a close family friend confirmed.  —  He had been in hospice care at his home in Ogunquit, Maine, in recent months, being treated for congestive heart failure.
RELATED:
Katharine Q. Seelye / New York Times:
Barney Frank, Gay Pioneer and Liberal Stalwart in Congress, Dies at 86 … Barney Frank, the brassy, lightning-quick former Massachusetts representative who for decades was the most prominent gay politician in the country and who was an author of the most significant overhaul …
Daniel Arkin / NBC News:
Former Rep. Barney Frank, champion of Wall Street reform and gay rights trailblazer, dies at 86  —  The most prominent gay member of Congress of his generation, the Democrat represented southern Massachusetts in the House for more than 30 years. … Barney Frank, the quick-witted Massachusetts congressman …
Steven Sloan / Associated Press:
Barney Frank, a liberal congressman and trailblazer for gay rights, dies. He was 86
Rick Rojas / New York Times:
He Was Jailed Over a Charlie Kirk Post.  The Sheriff Now Owes Him $835,000.  —  Larry Bushart sued a Tennessee sheriff who claimed he wanted to incite hysteria with a post after Mr. Kirk's killing and jailed him for 37 days.  —  A Tennessee man who was jailed for 37 days over a Facebook post …
Anna Schecter / CBS News:
Teen attackers in San Diego Islamic Center shooting were wallowing in hate, investigators say  —  Add CBS News on Google  —  The two teens who carried out a shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego on Monday were wallowing in a world of hate.  —  “These subjects did not discriminate in who they hated …
RELATED:
New York Post:
Shocking manifesto reveals teen shooters' vile motivations behind San Diego mosque shooting  —  See more of our coverage in your search results.  —  Add The New York Post on Google  —  The teenage San Diego mosque gunmen appear to have left behind a shocking, hate-filled manifesto …
Brian Beutler / Off Message:
They're Really Going For It  —  Trump's plan to overturn the midterm elections comes into focus.  —  ∙ Paid  —  There's no contradiction between Donald Trump's deepening unpopularity—and his evident commitment to further unpopular conduct—and his intensifying assault on democracy and the rule of law.
New York Times:
James Murdoch, Intent on ‘Thoughtful Journalism,’ Buys Half of Vox Media … James Murdoch is acquiring roughly half of Vox Media, a dramatic expansion in American media for the younger son of the media mogul Rupert Murdoch.  —  The deal includes Vox Media's podcast network as well as New York magazine …
Kim Dong-ha / The Chosun Daily:
South Korean Tanker Exits Hormuz Strait Without Fees  —  South Korea's largest shipping company, HMM, reported that its ultra-large crude carrier, the *Universal Winner*, successfully exited the Strait of Hormuz on the 20th (local time), which Iran has effectively blockaded.
Discussion: UPI and The Korea Herald
RELATED:
Reuters:
Tankers exit Strait of Hormuz with 6 million barrels of crude oil
Discussion: Al Jazeera
Reuters:   Iran is consolidating control of Hormuz with island checkpoints, diplomatic deals - and sometimes ‘fees’
Reuters:
US expected to unveil criminal charges against Cuba's Raul Castro  —  See more of our coverage in your search results.  —  Add The New York Post on Google  —  The Trump administration is expected to announce criminal charges against former Cuban president Raul Castro on Wednesday …
Steven Nelson / New York Post:
Trump mocks Democrat Texas Senate candidate James Talarico: 'Can't get elected as a vegan in Texas'  —  See more of our coverage in your search results.  —  Add The New York Post on Google  —  President Trump mocked Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico on Wednesday — saying that “you can't get elected as a vegan in Texas.”
RELATED:
Ed Morrissey / HotAir:
Better Late Than Never? Trump Endorses Paxton After Voting Starts
David Gilbert / Wired:
Election Officials Are Getting Ready for ICE to Show Up at the Polls  —  The Trump administration keeps threatening to send federal agents to oversee elections.  State and local officials are preparing, and even gaming out what happens if they're arrested.  —  Last week, as President Donald …
Shannon Butler / WFTV:
Former ‘gay cure’ ministry leader Alan Chambers charged in underage sex sting  —  DEPUTIES SAY ALAN CHAMBERS COMMUNICATED FOR MONTHS WITH SOMEONE HE BELIEVED WAS A 14-YEAR-OLD BOY  —  ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — A former leader of an Orlando-based ministry that claimed for years it could cure homosexuality …
Discussion: PinkNews, Raw Story, RNS and Advocate
The Colorado Sun:
Jared Polis says his Tina Peters decision “will be remembered fondly,” despite growing outrage  —  Colorado Gov. Jared Polis on Tuesday said he doesn't regret his decision to commute the prison sentence of former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters, despite widespread condemnation from Democrats …
Discussion: Wonkette and LGBTQ Nation
New York Times:
Early War Goal Was to Install Hard-Line Former President as Iran's Leader  —  An Israeli strike designed to free Mahmoud Ahmadinejad from house arrest in Tehran, U.S. officials said, was part of an effort to bring about regime change and put him in power.  —  Days after Israeli strikes …
 
 
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 More Items: 
Carmen Russell-Sluchansky / WHYY:
Progressive Rabb wins 3rd District race with boosts from ‘the squad’ and local grassroots activism
Sherrilyn Ifill / Sherrilyn's Newsletter:
Trump's Insurrectionist Payout Scheme Violates the 14th Amendment
Fox News:
Platner's deleted Reddit sparks outrage again as he appears to mock wounded soldier: 'Didn't deserve to live'
New York Times:
Iran Threatens to Strike Beyond the Middle East if the U.S. Resumes Attacks
Mark Kennedy / Associated Press:
Stephen Colbert's long goodbye is coming to an end, leaving a void
Discussion: The Guardian
 Earlier Items: 
Itxu Díaz / The American Spectator:
Imagine a Better World: More Rich People and Fewer Mamdanis
Ben Berkowitz / Axios:
All 50 states top $4 a gallon gas as Iran impacts linger
Washington Examiner:
Trump's slush fund is no better than Obama's
Holly Baxter / The Independent:
Trump called a sudden, urgent press conference. What followed was a fever dream
Discussion: The Hill
 

 
From Techmeme:

Financial Times:
Sources: China is weighing tightening AI and chip tech export controls and is consulting leading domestic AI companies, in a bid to slow advanced tech exports

Matthew Sparkes / New Scientist:
Levent Alpöge, a mathematician who works at Anthropic, says he was able to disprove the 87-year-old Jacobian conjecture with the help of Fable 5

OpenAI:
OpenAI paused internal access to an unreleased model that disproved the Erdos unit distance conjecture after it repeatedly found ways to act outside its sandbox
 
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