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2:00 PM ET, June 16, 2026

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
Washington Post:
Records reveal $600M estimate for Trump's ballroom project, with half from taxpayers  —  An internal cost estimate in March by the project's contractor ran $200 million more than Trump has said publicly and counters his claims that no taxpayer money will be spent.  —  Summary
RELATED:
William Kristol / The Bulwark:
Trump Is Stalled Out  —  Would you be shocked to learn that Donald Trump's months of claims that the White House ballroom would go up with zero taxpayer spending were a total lie?  And we don't just mean the $1 billion in “security improvements” for the project they tried (and failed) to get in the latest spending bill.
Discussion: New York Times
Ashleigh Fields / The Hill:
White House ballroom costs may rise to $600M, with half coming from taxpayers: Report
Discussion: Raw Story
Edward Luce / Financial Times:
This time, Trump and Netanyahu have really fallen out  —  Rarely has a geopolitical roll of the dice gone so rapidly wrong as the Israeli PM's  —  Put yourself in Donald Trump's shoes.  It was his 80th birthday and he was planning to cap White House festivities with his US-Iran deal.
RELATED:
Wall Street Journal:
The Trump-Iran Deal Allows Tehran to Immediately Sell Oil  —  The agreement also waives banking and transport sanctions to facilitate transactions, an early financial benefit  —  The U.S. will allow Iran to immediately begin selling oil and fuel under the deal to end the war …
Chloe Taylor / CNBC:
Trump denies U.S. will put ‘any money’ into Iran, as he meets allies at G7 summit … U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that America will not invest money in Iran after a Memorandum of Understanding was agreed with Tehran.  —  “We are not investing any money in Iran, by the way …
Emily Goodin / New York Post:
Trump says he ‘never cared’ about Iran regime change, claims new leaders are ‘not radicalized’
Discussion: The Hill and The Independent
Julia Manchester / The Hill:
Trump: ‘There would be no Israel’ without me
Associated Press:
Iran says the deal to end the war with the US requires Israel to withdraw from Lebanon
Fox News:
FBI disrupts alleged explosive-drone plot targeting White House UFC event, officials say  —  FIRST ON FOX: The FBI and its law enforcement partners disrupted an alleged plot targeting this weekend's UFC Freedom 250 event in Washington, D.C., officials told Fox News Digital.
RELATED:
Victoria Craw / Washington Post:
FBI thwarted attack targeting UFC event at White House, director says
New York Post:
White House Freedom 250 plot involved up to 12 suspects across US with violent, radical ideologies: feds
Associated Press:
Multiple arrests as FBI disrupts ‘planned attacks’ targeting White House UFC show, director says
Ken Dilanian / MS NOW:
Kash Patel may have a ‘personal slush fund’ of taxpayer dollars to pay loyalist agents, says Raskin  —  FBI Director Kash Patel may have authorized taxpayer-funded special payments to his inner circle of FBI executives and agents on his protective detail, according to the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee.
New York Times:
The Untold Story of Jeffrey Epstein's Death  —  Late in the afternoon of July 6, 2019, about a dozen F.B.I. agents and New York Police Department officers gathered at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey, waiting out of view of the tarmac so as not to spook their quarry.
RELATED:
New York Times:
Six Takeaways From the Times Investigation Into Epstein's Death
Discussion: NewsMax.com
Paul Krugman:
The Theory of the Vulgar Class  —  Collapsing norms, cage matches, and a republic in danger  —  On Sunday Donald Trump celebrated his 80th birthday with a cage match on the White House lawn.  The match and the events that surrounded it — especially the press conference with UFC fighters …
Politico:
Trump to shift more programs out of Education Department in latest move to shutter agency … This latest shift, however, is among some of the most high-stakes moves the Trump administration has made to end the agency.  The department's special education office oversees the administration …
Discussion: Washington Post, ABC News and NPR
RELATED:
Annie Ma / Associated Press:   Trump moves oversight of special education and civil rights from the Education Department
Callum Jones / The Guardian:
Algae thwarts Trump's $14.2m attempt to turn reflecting pool ‘American flag blue’  —  Administration had claimed algae at Lincoln Memorial pool would be cleared after the renovation, but it has proliferated amid warm weather  —  Donald Trump's $14.2m bid to turn the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool …
RELATED:
Sarah Davis / The Hill:
Workers dump hydrogen peroxide into reflecting pool to fight algae
Discussion: New Republic, CNN, Metro.co.uk and Raw Story
Politico:
Trump leaves Congress in dark on Iran deal  —  Presented by IN TODAY'S EDITION:  — Speedy Clayton confirmation uncertain  — Housing bill hits final stages in Senate  — Blanche lobbies tepid GOP senators  —  Senate Republicans want a say on a deal President Donald Trump is touting to end the monthslong war in Iran.
RELATED:
Politico:
Republicans hopeful Iran deal could stop the pain at the pump — but it may be too late … And even if prices ease, some Republicans, including those close to the White House, fear that voter perceptions of a sour economy are already baked in and irreversible before the midterms.
RELATED:
Politico:
Trump is turning his attention back to Ukraine — and Kyiv's allies are worried  —  Kyiv's allies want the United States to join their strategy of maximal pressure on Russia.  It's not clear if Trump is on board.  —  EVIAN-LES-BAINS, France — Kyiv's allies are scrambling to avoid a blowup …
RELATED:
Emily Goodin / New York Post:
Macron says he had a ‘difficult’ meeting with President Trump
Saqib Rahim / Politico:
A red-state revolt against insurers … “Politicians [in Oklahoma] may be far right, but they do read polls,” said Bob Hunter, a former Texas insurance commissioner and director of insurance at the Consumer Federation of America.  —  Oklahomans' aggravation dovetails with many homeowners' feelings nationwide …
Discussion: Mercury News
Joel Schectman / Wall Street Journal:
A $40 Million Gold Heist Risks Exposing CIA's Top-Secret Spy Programs  —  Veterans of the agency worry the case will compromise legitimate, highly classified operations against American adversaries  —  Five decades ago, four burglars broke into a billionaire's safe, setting off a chain …
Greg Beacham / Associated Press:
Iran coach says team ordered out of US right after 2-2 draw with New Zealand in World Cup opener  —  The coach of Iran's World Cup team said it was ordered to leave the U.S. and return to its training base in Mexico only a few hours after opening its politically charged tournament by playing …
Jeff Stein / NOTUS:
Trump's Family Crypto Firm Is Expected to Get Federal Banking Privileges  —  Trump-appointed bank regulators' crypto-friendly approach is likely to extend to World Liberty Financial, despite ethics concerns.  — Copy  —  President Donald Trump's family crypto business is expected to soon …
Discussion: Bloomberg
G. Elliott Morris / Strength In Numbers:
Democrats lead by 13 points on trust to handle voters' top problems  —  This poll question has predicted all but one election since 1948.  It suggests Democrats could win by 8-12 points in November.  —  ∙ Paid  —  Every month in our Strength In Numbers/Verasight poll …
Khadeeja Safdar / Wall Street Journal:
JPMorgan, Google Records Sought in Probe Into Epstein's New Mexico Ranch  —  New Mexico's Justice Department orders banks and other companies to preserve records tied to Jeffrey Epstein and his associates  —  New Mexico investigators have sent letters to JPMorgan Chase …
Matt Sepic / MPR News:
15 charged with conspiracy tied to MN ICE protests  —  Federal officials on Tuesday said a grand jury indicted 15 Minnesotans “for conspiracy to impede or injure federal officers,” and for efforts to allegedly “violently oppose immigration law enforcement” during the surge of federal immigration officers in the state earlier this year.
Josh Gerstein / Politico:
Judge recuses herself in Georgia voter rolls case … significantly doubt the undersigned's impartiality in this case," wrote Ross, who worked alongside Willis in the D.A.'s office before Willis was elected to run it in 2020. “  Therefore, out of an abundance of caution for the potential perception of bias …
Douglas MacMillan / Washington Post:
ICE removed detainee protections after private outreach from top contractor  —  In new federal standards released Monday, the agency appeared to make changes that could benefit Geo Group's legal defense.  —  Summary  —  When U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement was revising …
Discussion: The Hill
Associated Press:
8 people died in B-52 bomber crash at US Air Force base in Southern California, officials say  —  A B-52 bomber crashed shortly after takeoff at a U.S. Air Force base in Southern California's Mojave Desert and burst into flames Monday, killing all eight people aboard, military officials said.
Bloomberg:
Trump Taps Defense Act to Boost Stockpiles Worn by Iran War  —  President Donald Trump invoked the Defense Production Act in an effort to bolster delivery of weapons whose stockpiles critics say have been strained by the war in Iran and other conflicts.  —  The president cited …
Discussion: New Republic and Straight Arrow
 
 
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 More Items: 
Jeremy Barr / The Guardian:
Paramount rejected ad criticizing its owners and Warner Bros acquisition
Harrison Ray / Media Matters for America:
Two-thirds of Fox segments about James Talarico included anti-LGBTQ attacks
Discussion: LGBTQ Nation
Peter Stone / The Guardian:
Experts alarmed as Trump launches broad-front attack on US voting rights
Discussion: Raw Story and Just Security
Sophia Cai / Politico:
Olympic organizers working with White House on Trump golf tournament
Jennifer Agiesta / CNN:
CNN poll: Political independents hit their highest level in a decade
Discussion: The Lever
Andrew Solender / Axios:
What Newsom's team is telling Hill allies about his DOJ probe
 Earlier Items: 
Alex Bores / The Nation:
Silicon Valley Is Spending $10 Million Against My Campaign
Jennifer Bowers Bahney / Mediaite:
‘Crazy in the Head!’ White House Rages at George Conway Over Campaign Ad Vowing to Put Trump in Jail
Discussion: Fox News, HuffPost and Breitbart
Ira Stoll / The Washington Free Beacon:
Mamdani's New York City Had a Riot and Barely Anyone Noticed
Alex Cuadros / ProPublica:
Trump Plans to Protect Methane-Leaking Stripper Wells. This Billionaire Donor Will Benefit.
Carmen Paun / Politico:
RFK Jr. keeps showing up in districts Republicans need to win
Discussion: MS NOW
Joe Gould / NOTUS:
Pete Hegseth's War on Mark Kelly Was a Political Gift
Discussion: Raw Story
 

 
From Techmeme:

Reuters:
SpaceX agrees to acquire Cursor in a merger valuing the AI coding startup at $60B, set to close in Q3 2026, or pay a $4B to $10B termination fee

Ed Zitron / Ed Zitron's Where's Your Ed At:
Docs: audited financial figures show OpenAI spent $34B in 2025, up 172% YoY, including $19B on research and development and nearly $6B on sales and marketing

James Franey / New York Post:
Sources: the Trump administration won't allow G7 countries to regain access to Mythos 5 as doing so would be “completely illogical”; UK requested a “carve-out”
 
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