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12:40 PM ET, May 12, 2026

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
Lydia DePillis / New York Times:
Inflation Accelerates After Weeks of War in Iran  —  The Consumer Price Index rose 3.8% in April from a year earlier as higher energy costs replaced tariffs as the driver of higher prices for Americans.  —  Consumer prices in the United States rose at the fastest rate since May 2023 last month …
RELATED:
Steve Kopack / NBC News:
Inflation hits 3.8%, outpacing wage growth for the first time since 2023  —  Increased energy costs are “accounting for over forty percent of the monthly all items increase,” said the Bureau of Labor Statistics. … Inflation surged to 3.8% in April, its highest level in nearly three years …
Discussion: Newsweek, BusinessDay and Daily Kos
Brian Beutler / Off Message:
A Terrible Omen  —  Democrats just chose not to respond to an element of a Republican coup d'etat.  —  ∙ Paid  —  I don't think it will happen.  —  But there's at least some chance Democrats will “win” millions more votes than Republicans in House elections this November …
Discussion: MS NOW
RELATED:
Andy Craig / The UnPopulist:
The VRA Ruling Might Have Handed Republicans a Weapon to Attempt a Jan. 6-style Midterm Coup  —  An outlandish scenario to refuse to seat newly elected blue state representatives just became more plausible  —  Republicans have been throwing everything they can at the 2026 midterms …
Ariel Edwards-Levy / CNN:
Americans' anger about the economy hits Trump and Republicans' midterm prospects  —  It's President Donald Trump's economy - and most Americans aren't happy with it.  —  A new CNN poll conducted by SSRS finds that 77% - including a majority of Republicans - say that Trump's policies …
RELATED:
CNN:
‘My life is not affordable. No one cares’
CNN:
A Russian ship sank in mysterious circumstances.  It may have been carrying submarine nuclear reactors to North Korea  —  Russia Asia North Korea National security  —  A Russian cargo ship likely carrying two nuclear reactors for submarines, possibly destined for North Korea …
Joseph Cox / 404 Media:
ICE Agents Have List of 20 Million People on Their iPhones Thanks to Palantir  —  The comments made by a senior ICE official at a trade show highlight how Palantir is increasing the speed at which ICE operates.  Most people detained by ICE have no criminal conviction.
Judy Kurtz / The Hill:
Rod Stewart tells King Charles he put ‘that little ratbag in his place’ during US trip  —  Rod Stewart praised King Charles III following the British monarch's trip to the United States — which included an address to a joint meeting of Congress and a visit to the White House …
Discussion: HuffPost and IJR
RELATED:
Paige Winfield Cunningham / NOTUS:
One in Five HealthCare.gov Enrollees Dropped Insurance Coverage This Year  —  More Americans are dropping out of health care marketplaces than usual, after Congress let pandemic-era Affordable Care Act subsidies lapse.  — Copy  —  The numbers are bearing out what many lawmakers feared …
Discussion: ACA Signups
Oliver Darcy / Status:
The Major Trouble at ‘60’ … On Sunday evening, “60 Minutes” aired an interview with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.  During the wide-ranging sit-down, Netanyahu's first with a broadcast television outlet since the Iran War began, the prime minister discussed the prospects for peace …
Discussion: Raw Story
Li Yuan / New York Times:
China Increasingly Views Trump's America as an Empire in Decline  —  For decades, many Chinese viewed the United States with a mix of admiration, envy and resentment.  President Trump's volatile second term shattered that image.  —  When President Trump visited China in late 2017 …
New York Times:
Why More Americans Are Seeking Religion  —  The United States seems to be revisiting the role of faith.  In essence, secularization is on pause.  —  This transcript was created using speech recognition software.  While it has been reviewed by human transcribers, it may contain errors.
Jen Rice / Democracy Docket:
Supreme Court greenlights 11th-hour Alabama redistricting plan for 2026 election  —  The U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) has allowed Alabama to select a different map for this year's congressional elections in a stunning, last-minute move to interfere with another state primary election that has already begun.
RELATED:
Associated Press:
Supreme Court halts order for Alabama to use US House map with 2 largely Black districts
US Department of Justice:
Foreign Operators and Technical Superintendent of M/V Dali Indicted for Roles in Key Bridge Crash  —  For Immediate Release  —  Indian and Singapore Corporations and Company Official Charged with Conspiring to Defraud the United States and Causing the Death of Six Construction Workers
G. Elliott Morris / Strength In Numbers:
This year's U.S. House elections will be least competitive on record  —  In 1976, 101 U.S. House seats were structurally competitive.  Under the new 2026 maps, that number could fall to 33 — and just 15 are true toss-ups.  —  ∙ Paid … In 1976, the U.S. House of Representatives had 101 …
Ben Geman / Axios:
Trump's uphill climb on gas taxes  —  President Trump's endorsement of suspending federal gas taxes pushes the idea higher on the political radar, but it still faces long odds. … - The federal tax is 18.3 cents for gasoline and 24.3 cents for diesel (with another .1 cent fee for addressing leaking underground tanks).
Reuters:
Exclusive: FBI questions CIA officers over Russia assessment in Brennan probe, sources say  —  The FBI has begun interviewing current and former CIA employees as part of the Department of Justice's investigation into ex-CIA director John Brennan over his role in an intelligence finding …
Marc Sternfield / KTLA:
Arcadia mayor resigns, to plead guilty to working as an agent for China  —  The mayor of Arcadia, California, Eileen Wang, abruptly resigned Monday as federal prosecutors announced she had been charged with acting as a covert foreign agent for China.  —  Wang has agreed to plead guilty …
RELATED:
US Department of Justice:
Arcadia Mayor Federally Charged with Acting as Illegal Agent of the People's Republic of China
Politico:
Trump officials pitch GOP on ballroom funds  —  Presented by IN TODAY'S EDITION:  — Trump's gas tax holiday faces headwinds  — Dems grasp for redistricting silver lining  — MAHA's junk food assault stalls on the Hill  —  Administration officials are trying …
Roger Parloff / Lawfare:
DHS's Misleading Press Release Smears a U.S. Judge in Rhode Island  —  The judge has referred an assistant U.S. attorney for an ethics inquiry, but she has said that DHS was the truly bad actor.  —  rparloff.bsky.social  —  Meet The Authors  —  On April 30, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security …
Nikki McCann Ramirez / Rolling Stone:
How Much Would It Cost to Fuel Sean Duffy's Reality Show Road Trip?  —  Most Americans wouldn't be able to afford the transportation secretary's road trip — and that's before you add in the luxury cruise  —  Sean Duffy and his family took a super duper ultra cool road trip, and they want you to know all about it.
Andrew Solender / Axios:
Key Republican faces Democratic calls to resign over radio interview  —  Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-Va.) is facing calls to resign from Democratic colleagues who say she expressed agreement with a radio host's remark that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) should get his “cotton-picking hands off of Virginia.”
Washington Free / The Washington Free Beacon:
Abigail Spanberger's Faceplant  —  Has there ever been a more overhyped politician than Virginia governor Abigail Spanberger?  —  Flash back a few months, when the “moderate” pol, boosted by endless media profiles describing her competence and pragmatic leadership, swept into office vowing she would …
Noah Berlatsky / Public Notice:
Farmers are rightfully pissed at Trump  —  PN is supported by paid subscribers.  Become one ⬇️  —  🚜🌽 Subscribe to PN 🚜🌽  —  A couple weeks ago, Adam Hamilton, pastor of the largest United Methodist church in the country …
Sarah Rumpf / Mediaite:
Trump Says the White House ‘Was a Sh*t House’ With Columns ‘Falling Down’ When He Moved Back In  —  President Donald Trump complained that the White House was a “sh*t house” when he moved back in for his second term, claiming that the columns were “falling down” and plaster “falling off.”
Discussion: LGBTQ Nation and IJR
Steven Nelson / New York Post:
Trump urges Mamdani to ‘cherish’ billionaires as Ken Griffin plots Miami move  —  President Trump urged New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani to “cherish” billionaires like Ken Griffin after the Citadel CEO threatened to bolt from a Park Avenue skyscraper project and move to Miami in response to the socialist mayor's attacks.
Discussion: Bloomberg
City of New York:
Governor Hochul and Mayor Mamdani Announce Additional Aid and State Actions to Stabilize New York City's Budget  —  What you should know … NEW YORK - Governor Kathy Hochul and Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani today announced new state support and actions to help New York City close …
Discussion: Bloomberg
New York Times:
Steel Tariffs Are Harming Tin Can Makers and Lifting Food Prices … The simple tin can is proving to be one of the toughest tests for President Trump's tariffs.  —  Just over a year ago, Mr. Trump imposed high tariffs on steel to try to stifle imports of the metal and bolster domestic production.
Associated Press:
How Keir Starmer could be replaced as UK prime minister after discontent rises in his own party  —  U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer is facing a battle for his job after dozens of lawmakers from his own party called on him to step down in the wake of a resounding defeat for his center-left Labour Party in local elections last week.
 
 
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 More Items: 
William Kristol / The Bulwark:
1-800-Trump-Scammed-Us  —  The latest inflation numbers are in, and the war in Iran has them looking alarming.
Rebecca Crosby / Popular Information:
Violent crime plummets in “Democrat run cities” blasted by Trump
Aidan Stretch / CBS News:
Ukraine and U.S. move toward landmark drone defense deal as Iran war highlights capabilities, and necessities
Axios:
Behind the Curtain: Scaling sin
Sudarsan Raghavan / New Yorker:
The Art of the Ceasefire  —  How President Trump's approach to the war in Iran …
Toby Buckle / Liberal Currents:
Respecting Reform Voters Means Telling Them They're Wrong and Immoral
Greg Rosalsky / NPR:
The economic chilling effect of Trump's immigration crackdown
 Earlier Items: 
Associated Press:
Survey work begins for contested Trump Triumphal Arch project in Washington
Discussion: Washington Examiner
Samuel Benson / Politico:
This moderate Republican senator is already eyeing the exits 16 months into his term
Discussion: Raw Story and NewsMax.com
Wall Street Journal:
Trump's Complaints About Iran War Leaks Prompt Aggressive DOJ Investigations
 

 
From Mediagazer:

Stephanie Stacey / Financial Times:
Spotify removed 500K+ streams of Malcolm Todd's Earrings after a 70% surge in 24 hours sent it to #1 on Spotify USA and coincided with suspicious Kalshi wagers

Associated Press:
After a short-term hold, SCOTUS denies former Fox News reporter Catherine Herridge's bid to stay an $800-a-day fine if she refuses to reveal a source

Jessica Toonkel / Wall Street Journal:
A look at Comcast co-CEO Brian Roberts' earlier bundling strategy for connectivity and content, and his plan now to unbundle in order to keep growing

 
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