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9:45 AM ET, May 21, 2026

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 Top Items: 
Glenn Thrush / New York Times:
Trump's Fund Shows Blanche Choosing Loyalty Over Pushing Back  —  Once seen by some as the most conventional of President Trump's political appointees, Todd Blanche has taken off the gloves in his new role as acting attorney general.  —  Todd Blanche, the acting attorney general …
Discussion: CNN, Raw Story and Scripps News
RELATED:
Noah Shachtman / New York Times:
Trump Just Took Us Somewhere the Country Has Never Been Before  —  Donald Trump has been thinking a lot about his place in history.  That's one of the reasons, according to recent reporting by The Atlantic and The Times, why he's paying so little attention to his plummeting popularity …
New York Times:
Trump's $1.8 Billion Slush Fund Will Benefit Criminals and the President Himself  —  Has there ever been an episode of presidential corruption so blatant and threatening to constitutional order?  Certainly not in modern times.  President Trump's Justice Department is using taxpayer money to create a $1.8 billion political slush fund.
Peter Baker / New York Times:
Trump's Government Moves to Spare an Unhappy Taxpayer Named Trump  —  No president has ever used the federal government to advance his own personal interests and those of his family and allies as expansively and openly as Mr. Trump has.  —  It is hard to imagine that any previous president …
Meryl Kornfield / Washington Post:
Trump's allies are already lining up to apply to his $1.8 billion fund  —  Jan. 6 rioters, George Santos, Mark McCloskey and Rod Blagojevich: A wide range of figures are eyeing the president's new settlement fund.  —  Summary  —  Mark McCloskey is eagerly waiting for details to emerge …
Devlin Barrett / New York Times:
How the $1.8 Billion Trump Fund May Violate Past Practice and Policy
Discussion: Raw Story, The Hill and Axios
Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff / Reuters:
'I'm not greedy': January 6 rioters and Trump allies eye $1.8 billion ‘weaponization’ fund
Jordain Carney / Politico:
Ballroom won't be funded after Senate GOP drops $1 billion Trump security request … And several GOP senators aired public concerns about including any ballroom funding in a bill otherwise dedicated to immigration enforcement.  A larger swath of Republicans were privately opposed …
RELATED:
Politico:   Dems' midterm attack plan
Casey Wooten / NBC News:
Colorado Democrats censure Gov. Jared Polis for commuting election denier's sentence  —  Polis reduced Tina Peters' nine-year sentence Friday, saying her term was disproportionate to the crime.  —  Colorado Democrats voted Wednesday to censure Gov. Jared Polis, a fellow Democrat …
RELATED:
Jack Healy / New York Times:
Colorado Governor Censured for Commuting Sentence of Election Denier  —  The Colorado State Democratic Party, reflecting the anger of rank-and-file Democratic voters, rebuked Gov. Jared Polis on Wednesday over his decision to release Tina Peters from prison.
New York Times:
Democrats' Midterm Strength Masks Fierce Divides and Frustration, Poll Shows  —  Democratic voters are in a combative, anti-establishment mood, unhappy with their party and disagreeing about its best path forward, a New York Times/Siena poll found.  —  The Democratic Party is entering …
RELATED:
New York Times:
A $5 Million Donation From Big Tobacco Preceded F.D.A. Vape Decision  —  Reynolds American's contribution to MAGA Inc. came about one week before the Trump administration announced a new policy on e-cigarettes the company had sought.  —  The tobacco company Reynolds American donated $5 million …
Discussion: Raw Story
Dan Diamond / Washington Post:
Trump officials say they can build 250-foot arch without Congress's okay  —  To build a triumphal arch near Arlington Cemetery, the administration hopes to rely on a 100-year-old authorization for a different project in the area.  —  Summary  —  The Trump administration does not plan …
Discussion: Associated Press, WUSA and Raw Story
Melody Schreiber / The Guardian:
US is ‘simply choosing not to stop’ Ebola outbreak after massive public health cuts, experts say  —  Hundreds of cases reported in the DRC after USAID has been dismantled and key scientific research canceled  —  A previously undetected outbreak of Ebola is coursing through parts of central Africa …
RELATED:
Politico:
What Ebola and hantavirus are revealing about America's public health system
Discussion: NPR and Gothamist
Steven Lee Myers / New York Times:
Bluesky Says Kremlin Is Hacking Its Platform to Spread Propaganda  —  The company said it was fighting Russian efforts to hijack real users' accounts to post fake content, an apparently novel tactic.  —  Ben Gilbert describes himself on Bluesky, the social media app, as an “economist …
CNN:
Iran rebuilding military industrial base faster than expected, already producing drones, according to US intel  —  Iran has already restarted some of its drone production during the six-week ceasefire that began in early April, one sign it is rapidly rebuilding certain military capabilities degraded …
Steve Vladeck / One First:
Bonus 228: The $1.776B Political Question  —  President Trump's $1.776B “Anti-Weaponization” slush fund is just the latest (and gravest) move that underscores the limits of judicial remedies, and the need to reinvigorate political ones.  —  ∙ Paid  —  Every so often a story comes along …
Discussion: PBS NewsHour
BBC:
Empty rooms and Fifa cancellations - US hotels fear World Cup washout  —  The World Cup was supposed to provide a tourism boom for the US, but now the fear is it may never materialise.  —  A report  —  produced by the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) has found that bookings …
Discussion: WHYY, SFist and Raw Story
Holly Otterbein / Axios:
Scoop: Fetterman's chief of staff resigns  —  Sen. John Fetterman's chief of staff resigned Wednesday, a source familiar with the move told Axios. … She became his chief of staff in 2025.  — Her official last day will be in the coming weeks.  — Fetterman, who was once a darling …
Discussion: Mediaite
Grace Vance / KCRG-TV:
Iowa lawmakers move to mandate students take Center for Intellectual Freedom classes amid low enrollment  —  It comes after a report found the center must require courses to boost student participation  —  IOWA CITY, Iowa (KCRG) - University of Iowa students could soon be required to take classes …
Bloomberg:
Xi Plans Reported North Korea Summit After Hosting Trump, Putin  —  After hosting Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in the span of a week, Xi Jinping may already be eyeing the next big move on his diplomatic calendar: a visit to North Korea.  —  Such a trip, which Yonhap News reported Thursday …
Barak Ravid / Axios:
New Iran peace proposal triggers tense Trump-Netanyahu call  —  President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed a new effort to reach a deal with Iran in a difficult call on Tuesday, three sources said, with one source saying Netanyahu's “hair was on fire” after the call.
Lisa Needham / Public Notice:
How Hennepin County unwound an ICE agent's web of lies  —  PN is supported by paid subscribers.  Become one ⬇️  —  🧠 Subscribe to PN 🧠  —  During the Trump administration's siege of Minnesota, federal agents behaved with the sort of impunity that comes …
Discussion: BLCK Press and Chicago Sun Times
Camille Mumford / Emerson Polling:
New York City 2026 Congressional Polling: NY-07, NY-10, NY-12  —  Home Polls New York City 2026 Congressional Polling: NY-07, NY-10, NY-12  —  New Emerson College Polling/PIX 11 surveys measure key New York City Democratic congressional primaries in New York's 7th, 10th, and 12th districts.
 
 
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 More Items: 
Sanne Wass / Bloomberg:
US Opens Greenland Consulate as Unease Grows Over Trump Push
Discussion: NewsMax.com and The Hill
ProPublica:
This Sheriff's Office Says Racial Profiling Reforms Are Too Costly. Auditors Found It Misused $163 Million.
Mark Hertling / The Bulwark:
The Last Full Measure, Quietly Remembered
Alex Shultz / New York Magazine:
The Man Who Explains Israel to John Fetterman
Dave Levinthal / NOTUS:
The White House Gave an Anti-Fraud Leader a Conflict-of-Interest Waiver
Discussion: Raw Story
Jose Pagliery / NOTUS:
Tom Kean's Neighbors Haven't Seen Him Either
Discussion: Raw Story and Mediaite
Matthew Cooper / Washington Monthly:
Be Thankful Barney Frank Wasn't Pushed Out in 1989
Discussion: WCVB, UPI and New York Times
 Earlier Items: 
Joyce Vance / Civil Discourse with Joyce Vance:
Shame and the Supreme Court
Discussion: Reuters
Ebony Davis / MS NOW:
Judge orders White House staff to comply with Presidential Records Act after DOJ calls it ‘unconstitutional’
The White House:
Presidential Message on Cuban Independence Day
Kelsey Brugger / Politico:
Senators consider taking legislative action on prediction markets
Adora Brown / NOTUS:
Kari Lake Earned Tens of Thousands of Dollars From Media Side Hustles
US Department of Justice:
Former DOJ Attorney Indicted for Concealment, Theft of Government Records
 

 
From Techmeme:

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

Nathan Lambert / Interconnects AI:
Kimi K3 marks the arrival of frontier open-weight models; the core Kimi team has incredible culture and a freedom to express it within a GPU-limited environment

Philippa Wain / BBC:
UK PM Andy Burnham abolishes the Department for Science, Innovation, and Tech and elevates UK AI Minister Kanishka Narayan, who oversees AISI, to attend cabinet
 
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