memeorandum: The Opioid Epidemic We Failed to Foresee (David A. Kessler/New York Times)

12:45 PM ET, May 7, 2016

Top Items:

Mitt Romney met privately with William Kristol, who is leading the effort to draft an independent candidate — In spite of his insistence that he will not run, Mitt Romney is being courted this week by a leading conservative commentator to reconsider and jump into the volatile 2016 presidential race as an independent candidate.

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, Outside the Beltway, The San Diego Union …, Political Wire, The Last Refuge, Althouse, Politico, Breitbart, Talking Points Memo, Independent Journal …, FiveThirtyEight, New York Times, Western Journalism and Mediaite

Los Angeles Times:

Obama to Republicans: Like it or not, you're stuck with Trump — President Obama speaks Friday in the White House briefing room. — If Republican leaders won't line up behind Donald Trump, President Obama is trying to lash them together himself. — Obama seized on the deepening fracture …

Discussion: New York Times, Post and Courier, Politico, Washington Post, Donald J. Trump, The Week, RedState, The Gateway Pundit and WSPA-TV

Bloomberg:

Masters in Politics Podcast: Adviser Says Trump Is ‘Very Much’ Like Bill Clinton — “When they talk to you they just own you. They're staring right into your soul,” says Barry Bennett, a senior adviser to Trump. — haddadmedia — In an interview on Bloomberg's Masters in Politics podcast Friday …

Discussion: Politicus USA and Mediaite

Jim Hoft / The Gateway Pundit:

Top House Republicans Speak Out Against Paul Ryan: “I Don't Understand What He's Thinking” — On Thursday Republican Speaker Paul Ryan told Jake Tapper on CNN he was “not ready” to endorse Donald Trump yet. — Today top Republicans in the House of Representatives spoke out against Paul Ryan.

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:

No, a Conservative Third-Party Candidate Can't Steal the Electoral College — The <em>Morning Joe</em> panel does not understand how elections work. — Some conservative Republicans who hate Donald Trump want to run a third-party presidential candidate, such as Nebraska Republican senator Ben Sasse, who has lambasted Trump.

Discussion: USA Today, The Hayride, AOL, National Review and Reuters

Jeb Bush / Facebook:

I congratulate Donald Trump on securing his place as the Republican Party's presumptive nominee. There is no doubt that he successfully tapped into the deep sense of anger and frustration so many Americans around the country rightfully feel today. — The tremendous anger of the current U.S. electorate …

Jeremy Diamond / CNN: Trump: Hillary Clinton a ‘nasty, mean enabler’

Alexandra Jaffe / NBC News:
Trump Ramps Up Attacks On Clinton Over Husband's Affairs

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Scared Monkeys, ABC News, CBS Boston, Politicus USA, Western Journalism, Red Alert Politics and Taylor Marsh

Doug McKelway / Fox News:
Elizabeth Warren going on Trump attack for Dems

Discussion: BizPac Review, John Hawkins' Right Wing News and The Last Tradition

Harper Neidig / The Hill:
Jeb Bush: I won't vote for Trump or Clinton

Discussion: Politico, Instapundit, Guardian, NBC News and Washington Post

Jennifer Steinhauer / New York Times:
Ryan-Trump Breach May Be Beyond Repair

Discussion: Washington Post, CANNONFIRE, NPR.org, CNN and The Atlantic

Edward-Isaac Dovere / Politico:
Obama previews his Trump attack plan

Discussion: Western Journalism, The Last Tradition, Washington Post, New York Times and ABC News

Harper Neidig / The Hill:
Election analyst flips 11 states toward Democrats due to Trump

Discussion: Politico, Politicus USA, Liberal Values, Gawker and Hot Air

Caleb Howe / RedState:

LYIN' DON: Trump Just Totally Made Up the Story that he Talked to Marco Rubio Recently — In case you missed it, on Thursday, Donald Trump told Bret Baier that he spoke with Marco Rubio and that Rubio was very supportive of him and even open to a VP spot. Late Friday night …

Rachael Bade / Politico:
Top allies break with Ryan over Trump

Discussion: Hot Air and RedState

Brandon Morse / RedState:
Rubio Compares Trump to 3rd World Strongman

Discussion: John Hawkins' Right Wing News

Sam Stein / The Huffington Post:
Why Hillary Clinton Is Uniquely Suited To Take On Donald Trump

Discussion: Daily Kos

Campbell Robertson / New York Times:

Roy Moore, Alabama Judge, Suspended Over Gay Marriage Stance — An Alabama judicial oversight body on Friday filed a formal complaint against Roy S. Moore, the chief justice of the state's Supreme Court, charging that he had “flagrantly disregarded and abused his authority” …

Discussion: Southern Poverty Law Center, RedState, Outside the Beltway, Friendly Atheist, The Last Tradition and Joe.My.God.

Kyle Whitmire / al.com:

Roy Moore suspended from office: Alabama chief justice faces removal over gay marriage stance — For the second time in his career, Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore faces charges before the Alabama Court of the Judiciary and potential removal from office. — Until that court hears and rules …

Discussion: Vox, ThinkProgress, Southern Poverty Law Center, Washington Post, Raw Story, Outside the Beltway, Gay Star News and Balloon Juice

Jesse Byrnes / The Hill:

Sanders leaves door open to Clinton VP spot … Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders — on Friday left the door open to being Hillary Clinton — 's running mate if she were to offer him the position after the party's convention this summer. — “Right now, we are focused …

Discussion: ABC News, CNN, The Daily Caller, Towleroad and Raw Story

Joanna Walters / Guardian:

How to use a urinal like a lady: a trans woman's rebel tour of North Carolina — In defiance of North Carolina's ‘absurd’ new bathroom law, trans actress Shakina Nayfack is staging a piece of renegade performance art in men's toilets — Apparently it's really quite difficult to use a urinal - if you're a woman.

Catherine Rampell / Washington Post:

Ivy League economist ethnically profiled, interrogated for doing math on American Airlines flight — On Thursday evening, a 40-year-old man — with dark, curly hair, olive-skinned and an exotic foreign accent — boarded a plane. It was a regional jet making a short, uneventful hop from Philadelphia to nearby Syracuse.

Discussion: Mother Jones and The Week

Anis Shivani / Salon:

Our awful elites gutted America. Now they dare ring alarms about Trump, Sanders — and cast themselves as saviors — Both parties ignored workers, spewed hate, enriched themselves, hollowed out democracy. Now the problem's populism? — This week, on the night of the Indiana primary …

Discussion: Mashable

Sara Ganim / CNN:

Sandusky victim: Joe Paterno told me to drop abuse accusation — Paterno family lawyers: That claim is inconsistent with the facts and how late football coach lived his life — (CNN)After four years of feuding over the legacy of Joe Paterno, with a few vague details about what he may have known …

Discussion: NBC News, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Slate, The Big Lead, CollegeFootballTalk and Independent Journal …

Washington Post:

Man arrested in Maryland killing spree allegedly menaced his wife, stepdaughters — When Gladys Tordil went to court in March to plead for protection against her husband, she portrayed him as a man who had menaced her and her two daughters for at least a decade.