memeorandum: Drone Hits Ship Near Qatar as US Awaits Iran Peace Plan Response (Bloomberg)

7:50 AM ET, May 10, 2026

Top Items:

G. Elliott Morris / Strength In Numbers:

Democrats now have to win the House vote by 4 points due to Republican gerrymandering — A new analysis by Strength In Numbers reveals the impacts of mid-decade and post-VRA redistricting by Republicans, with the now-missing Democratic counter-gerrymander in Virginia

Reid J. Epstein / New York Times:

Democratic Candidates Scramble in Virginia After Court Tosses Map — A court ruling that struck down an election map swiftly ended some Democratic House candidacies and pushed others into much tougher races. — On Thursday night, Dan Helmer received a shipment of boxes with 1,000 yard signs that read: “Dan Helmer for Congress.”

New York Times:
10 Days That Shook the House Map and Democratic Confidence

Discussion: The Hill, Election Law Blog, BizPac Review, Althouse, HotAir, Washington Post and Politico

Brian Tyler Cohen: The Left is Good Governing Itself into Obscurity

Jamelle Bouie / New York Times:
Democrats Who Are Soft on Republicans Have Got to Go

Discussion: Straight Arrow News, HotAir, Wonkette, Raw Story, Mercury News, The Federalist, Breitbart, The Hill, Balls and Strikes, Ace of Spades HQ, KEYT-TV, Cardinal News, Fox News and Esquire

Wall Street Journal:

Israel Built and Defended a Secret Iran War Base in Iraq — The base, set up for special forces and search-and-rescue teams, was almost discovered early in the conflict — TEL AVIV—Israel set up a clandestine military outpost in the Iraqi desert to support its air campaign against Iran …

Discussion: Israpundit, Breitbart, NewsMax.com, Reuters, Los Angeles Times and The American Conservative

New York Times:
Deadly Israeli Strikes Erode Cease-Fire in Lebanon

Discussion: Al Jazeera, GV Wire, Israpundit and New York Sun

Washington Post:

Republicans who denied 2020 election results could be governors next year — Electing such candidates for governor would give deniers key oversight of the 2028 presidential election in swing states like Arizona, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. — Just now — Summary

Katie Rogers / New York Times:

Vance or Rubio? Trump Muses on Successor as the ‘Kids’ Fill Bigger Roles. — Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are boosting their profiles, generating speculation about who's lining up for the 2028 presidential nomination. — Every now and then …

Discussion: Raw Story

Alex Leary / Wall Street Journal:
Inside the Unlikely Reunion Between Trump and DeSantis

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Raw Story, The Hill and NewsMax.com

New York Times:

One Big Headache for Politicians These Days: a Messy Digital Footprint — As a new generation of chronically online oversharers runs for office, many find themselves tripped up by past statements. Their response? Delete, distance, disavow. — Mallory McMorrow, a Democratic candidate …

Yanzhong Huang / New York Times:

An Emboldened New China Spells Trouble for Trump — One of the most widely shared viral memes on Chinese social media today is “the American kill line.” — Borrowed from video game slang for the threshold at which a weakened character can be easily finished off, it refers to the widely held notion …

Anna Wiederkehr / Politico:

Poll: Republicans and Democrats agree on 1 big election issue … Americans think cash rules more of the political system than it should — a concern that crosses party lines as midterm spending is projected to once again shatter records. — New results from The POLITICO Poll are stark …

Discussion: The Hill

Bloomberg:

Drone Hits Ship Near Qatar as US Awaits Iran Peace Plan Response — A drone strike briefly set a cargo vessel ablaze in the Persian Gulf, the latest shipping attack to test a fragile ceasefire as the US awaits Iran's response to its proposal to end 10 weeks of war.

Discussion: Associated Press, NewsMax.com and Israpundit

Drew Harwell / Washington Post:

Inside Ben Shapiro's MAGA meltdown — The Daily Wire was once ascendant in right-wing media. Now, the “anti-woke” company faces contentious layoffs, ideological battles and dwindling relevance online. — Summary — The conservative media company Daily Wire was once a star …

Discussion: Raw Story and Mediaite

Jake Spring / Washington Post:

Trump official says she's involved in policy changes that benefit her family's ranches, video shows — A top Interior Department official acknowledged her involvement in grazing policies that benefited her family's ranches, while speaking at an event in December. — Summary

Discussion: Raw Story

Sarah Kessler / New York Times:

All Those A.I. Note Takers? They're Making Lawyers Very Nervous. — A trendy productivity hack, A.I. note takers are capturing every joke and offhand comment in many meetings. They could also potentially waive attorney-client privilege. — Jeffrey Gifford is a lawyer in San Antonio …

Discussion: Althouse

Washington Post:

They're not saying someone should kill Trump. But they're coming close. — “Somebody should do it” and its variants have become increasingly popular online memes. — Summary — Peyton Vanest was fuming about President Donald Trump when he grabbed his phone and hit record.

Nicholas Kristof / New York Times:

This Is What Happened When Trump Abandoned the World's Poorest Children — A year after some of the world's richest men cut aid for the world's poorest children, they're trying to roll out a new public relations narrative: … As Jeremy Lewin, the acting under secretary of state for foreign assistance …

Lili Rutai / New York Times:

Peter Magyar Takes Over as Hungary's Leader From Viktor Orban — The former opposition leader, who won a landslide election, now faces the formidable job of dismantling what his predecessor called an “illiberal democracy.” — Peter Magyar, the former opposition leader …

Discussion: Al Jazeera, Associated Press, Bloomberg and Reuters