memeorandum: The raging controversy over a profile of Ben Rhodes, explained (Matthew Yglesias/Vox)

10:55 AM ET, May 12, 2016

Top Items:

Valerie Boey / WOFL:

George Zimmerman's gun up for auction — LAKE MARY, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch captain who was acquitted in the shooting of Trayvon Martin in 2013, is selling his gun. — The 9mm pistol that Zimmerman said was used to shoot and kill Trayvon Martin on February 26 …

Discussion: The Atlantic, Talking Points Memo, NBC News, Daily Kos, NPR, LawNewz, AMERICAblog NewsAMERICAblog … and New York Times

New York Daily News:

George Zimmerman puts gun that killed Trayvon Martin up for auction — SALE: One .9-mm pistol — and whatever's left of George Zimmerman's bankrupt soul. — The Florida neighborhood watchman who fatally shot unarmed teen Trayvon Martin in 2012 is putting the killer handgun up for auction — and hoping to fetch at least $5,000.

Discussion: Scared Monkeys, Hot Air, The Atlantic and twitchy.com

Hannah Parry For / Daily Mail:
George Zimmerman AUCTIONS OFF the gun he used to kill Trayvon Martin: Acquitted killer describes pistol …

Discussion: CBS Miami

Josh Feldman / Mediaite:
George Zimmerman Says He's Auctioning Off His Gun from Trayvon Martin Shooting

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Raw Story, Latest from Crooks and Liars, AOL, Mashable and New York Magazine

Travis M. Andrews / Washington Post:
George Zimmerman to auction off gun he used to kill Trayvon Martin

Discussion: Friendly Atheist and Raw Story

Timothy L. O'Brien / Bloomberg:

I Saw Trump's Tax Returns. You Should, Too. — In January, Donald Trump had this to say when he was asked about whether he would release his tax returns: “I have very big returns, as you know, and I have everything all approved and very beautiful and we'll be working that over in the next period of time.”

Discussion: The Week, Slate, Hullabaloo, Politico, Washington Post and MarketWatch

Mitt Romney / Facebook:

It is disqualifying for a modern-day presidential nominee to refuse to release tax returns to the voters, especially one who has not been subject to public scrutiny in either military or public service. Tax returns provide the public with its sole confirmation of the veracity …

Jeanne Sahadi / CNNMoney:
Nixon released his tax returns under audit. Why can't Trump?

Discussion: Forbes, Bloomberg, Washington Post and Guardian

David Wright / CNN:

Trump: Muslim ban ‘just a suggestion’ — Washington (CNN)Donald Trump, who issued a December press release “calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States,” said Wednesday such a ban “hasn't been called for yet” and it was “only a suggestion.”

Discussion: JustOneMinute, Patterico's Pontifications, Politicus USA, The Week, Gothamist and RedState

Hanna Trudo / Politico:
Trump: Muslim ban was ‘just a suggestion’

Discussion: The Independent, Mother Jones, Outside the Beltway, Arizona Republic, The Hill, Betsy's Page, CNN, Hot Air, Hit & Run, Fox News Insider, mrctv.org/videos and Vox

Rush Limbaugh:
Flashback 2012: Trump Endorses Hillary

Discussion: Mediaite, Outside the Beltway and Washington Times

Bloomberg:

Trump Heads Into Ryan Meeting With Little Reason to Compromise — House speaker has withheld endorsement of presumptive nominee — Both sides seem to have widely varying aims ahead of meeting — Donald Trump is coming to his meeting with House Speaker Paul Ryan Thursday to deliver …

Discussion: Politico

Michael Falcone / ABC News:

The Note: Trump Thursday in DC — NOTABLES —MR. TRUMP GOES TO WASHINGTON: Presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump will meet with top Republican leaders in Washington, D.C., today as he tries to bridge the divide within the Republican Party after a contentious primary race, ABC's ARLETTE SAENZ reports.

Discussion: Mediaite, The Gateway Pundit and KUSA-TV

CNN:
House GOP warns Ryan to back Trump

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, NBC News, Bloomberg, AMERICAblog NewsAMERICAblog … and Hot Air

Patricia Mazzei / miamiherald:

Will Miami's Republican mayor vote for Trump? ‘Of course not’ — Tomás Regalado said he won't vote for Clinton, either — The mayor was an early Rubio supporter — Miami Mayor Tomás Regalado remembers walking to school as a young man in Miami and getting heckled.

Discussion: Politico and Washington Post

Bloomberg:
Donald Trump Is Considering Newt Gingrich for Vice Presidential Role

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, New York Magazine, Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, The Atlantic, Independent Journal …, National Review, Daily Kos, RedState, Hot Air, American Spectator and Guardian

Matthew Yglesias / Vox:

The raging controversy over a profile of Ben Rhodes, explained — About a week ago, David Samuels published a profile in the New York Times magazine of Ben Rhodes, a second-tier but highly influential member of President Obama's national security team, that's set Washington ablaze.

Discussion: Power Line, Salon, The Daily Signal, War on the Rocks and BarbWire.com

Annie Karni / Politico:

Biden wanted Warren as his VP — Joe Biden took months to decide he wouldn't run for president — but he was sold on Elizabeth Warren as his running mate from the start, people familiar with the situation told POLITICO. — And he still thinks the Massachusetts firebrand …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Week, Booman Tribune and ABC News

Numbers / Pew Research Center's Social …:

America's Shrinking Middle Class: A Close Look at Changes Within Metropolitan Areas — The middle class lost ground in nearly nine-in-ten U.S. metropolitan areas examined — The American middle class is losing ground in metropolitan areas across the country, affecting communities from Boston to Seattle and from Dallas to Milwaukee.

Discussion: MishTalk, The Week, Pew Research Center, Informed Comment and CityLab

Emily Badger / Washington Post:
The middle class is shrinking just about everywhere in America

Discussion: Hullabaloo, Pew Research Center's …, Pew Research Center and Marginal REVOLUTION

New York Times:

Brazil's Senate Suspends President Dilma Rousseff — BRASÍLIA — Brazil's Senate voted Thursday morning to suspend President Dilma Rousseff and begin an impeachment trial against her, ousting a deeply unpopular leader whose sagging political fortunes have come to embody widespread public anger …

Discussion: The Atlantic

Washington Post: Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff suspended in push toward impeachment

Ross Douthat / New York Times:

The Party Surrenders — With Marco Rubio's grudging, painful statement this week that he intends to support “the nominee” (for many Republicans, He Who Must Not Be Named), and with Paul Ryan possibly contemplating assimilation, it's a good time to take one last look back at what I got wrong …

Discussion: Washington Post

Tim Kenneally / The Wrap:

Caitlyn Jenner Experienced ‘Sex Change Regret,’ Might De-Transition, Biographer Says — “It hasn't been easy for Caitlyn, it's been very hard,” Ian Halperin recalls one source telling him — Caitlyn Jenner, who announced her transition from man to woman last year, has considered de-transitioning …

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Mediaite, Fox News, CBS Detroit and John Hawkins' Right Wing News

Shane Harris / The Daily Beast:

The FBI Is Keeping 80,000 Secret Files on the Saudis and 9/11 — The secret ‘28 pages’ are just the start. The FBI has another 80,000 classified documents, many of which deal with Saudi connections to the 9/11 terror plot. What's the Bureau got? — The Obama administration …

Discussion: Washington Post

Daily Mail:

‘Screw the next generation’: Anonymous congressman writes tell-all and slams ‘nation of naive, self-absorbed sheep’ as he admits he never reads bills he votes on — ‘My main job is to keep my job, to get reelected. It takes precedence over everything,’ an anonymous member of Congress writes in a new book

Discussion: The Week

The Hill:

Dem meeting boils over with Reid-Grayson confrontation — A routine meeting of liberal Democrats grew heated on Wednesday when Rep. Alan Grayson — (D-Fla.) confronted Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid — (D-Nev.) over the ethics charges dogging Grayson as he vies for the Senate.

Discussion: Politico, Political Wire, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Week, Talking Points Memo and Hot Air

Alex Seitz-Wald / NBC News:
Alan Grayson Blows Up at Harry Reid in Meeting: ‘Say My Name’

Discussion: FOX News Radio

David Wade / Politico:

Bernie Sanders, the Zombie Candidate — When he first decided to run for president, Bernie Sanders had a goal in mind: to start a political revolution by getting big money out of politics. — If he wants to do it—if Sanders wants to build a lasting movement to fight money's outsize influence …

Jonathan Updated / Glenn Beck:

Glenn Makes Wild Prediction About Trump — Donald Trump has faced consistent pressure and scrutiny from Glenn, so his prediction Wednesday on The Glenn Beck Program came as a surprise. — “I'm going to make a prediction about Donald Trump,” Glenn said. “I could say he's going to be the nominee of the Republican Party.

Discussion: Pirate's Cove, The Hill, Hot Air and Fire Andrea Mitchell!

David M. Drucker / Washington Examiner:

Mike Lee on Donald Trump: ‘He scares me to death’ — Sen. Mike Lee said Wednesday that Donald Trump “scares me to death” and that he still has concerns about the presumptive Republican presidential nominee and isn't ready to endorse him. — The Utah Republican, who previously backed Texas …

Discussion: RedState, Talking Points Memo, The Hill and Mediaite

Marshall Zelinger / TheDenverChannel.com:

Multiple voters confirm for Denver7 their signatures were forged on Keyser petitions for U.S. Senate — DENVER - Forged signatures appear on the petition that may have helped former State Rep. Jon Keyser qualify for the U.S. Senate Republican primary ballot.

Center for Constitutional Rights:

CCR Mourns the Passing of Michael Ratner — May 11, 2016, New York - The Center for Constitutional Rights is sad to release the following statement on the occasion of the passing of the Center's president emeritus Michael Ratner:

Discussion: The Nation, New York Times, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Just Security and The Talking Dog