memeorandum: Thank you! — Thank you for allowing me to serve as your … (Jason Chaffetz)

12:45 PM ET, April 19, 2017

Top Items:

Sources: Fox News Has Decided Bill O'Reilly Has to Go — The Murdochs have decided Bill O'Reilly's 21-year run at Fox News will come to an end. According to sources briefed on the discussions, network executives are preparing to announce O'Reilly's departure before he returns from an Italian vacation on April 24.

Discussion: The Hill, Mother Jones, Washington Post, Axios, Business Insider, The Gateway Pundit, NBC News, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Politicus USA, Mediaite, Joe.My.God., TVNewser and IJR, more at Mediagazer »

Joe Flint / Wall Street Journal:

Fox Is Preparing to Cut Ties With Bill O'Reilly — Popular host has been implicated in a sexual-harassment scandal — Fox News is preparing to cut ties with its biggest star, Bill O'Reilly, according to people close to the situation. — A final decision on Mr. O'Reilly's fate could come …

Brian Stelter / CNNMoney:

Source: Fox News and Bill O'Reilly are talking exit — Fox News will no longer even respond to questions about whether Bill O'Reilly will return to his show. — A well-placed source said Tuesday afternoon that representatives for Fox and O'Reilly have begun talking about an exit.

Jason Horowitz / New York Times: Bill O'Reilly Meets Pope Francis in Vatican V.I.P. Line

Laura Nichols / Morning Consult:
As Controversy Around O'Reilly Builds, So Does Support for Axing His Show

Discussion: Politicus USA, Vox, Power Line, Business Insider, Politico, TVNewser, Mediaite and Associated Press

Sara Fischer / Axios:
Fox considers future without O'Reilly as advertisers flee

Discussion: New York Times, Daily Wire, CNNMoney, The Hill and KTLA

Alexis Levinson / BuzzFeed:

Utah Congressman Jason Chaffetz Will Not Seek Re-Election — The Utah Republican, who chairs the House Oversight Committee, will step down at the end of this congress. — Rep. Jason Chaffetz will not seek re-election in 2018, two sources who have been informed of his decision tell BuzzFeed News.

Discussion: CNBC, Raw Story, TheBlaze and Axios

Jason Chaffetz:

Thank you! — Thank you for allowing me to serve as your Representative in the United States House of Representatives. Serving is an honor and a privilege that I have never taken for granted. — After long consultation with my family and prayerful consideration, I have decided I will not be a candidate for any office in 2018.

Discussion: The Hill, NPR, Talking Points Memo, Politico, Hot Air, Politicus USA, Business Insider, Morning Consult, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Daily Kos, IJR and Washington Free Beacon

CNN:

Rep. Jason Chaffetz is not running for re-election — (CNN)Rep. Jason Chaffetz, a Utah Republican and chairman of the House's powerful oversight committee, will not seek re-election to Congress, he announced Wednesday. — In a message on his Facebook page, Chaffetz thanked supporters and announced he will …

Discussion: Washington Post

Gabriel Debenedetti / Politico:

Democrats begin to wonder: When do we win? — As it became clear late Tuesday evening that Jon Ossoff would fall just short of the 50-percent mark in the first round of voting in a suburban Atlanta special election, Democrats back in Washington started leafing through their calendars and asking: When does the winning start?

Erick Erickson / The Resurgent:

The Truth About What Happened in the GA-06 Special Election is Different From Either Party's Spin — Both sides are spinning their way out of the GA-06 special election. Here's the truth. — First, don't believe the Democrat spin that “it should never have been this close.”

Discussion: RedState

New York Times:
Jon Ossoff, a Democrat, Narrowly Misses Outright Win in Georgia House Race

New York Times:
Live Election Results: Georgia's Sixth Congressional District

Chun Han Wong / Wall Street Journal:

‘Duped by Trump’: U.S. Taunted Over Carl Vinson Aircraft Carrier Tale — Criticism rises after the U.S. Navy says it hadn't sent the USS Carl Vinson directly to North Korea after all — Alastair Gale aboard the USS Ronald Reagan — The revelation that the Pentagon didn't send …

Discussion: Business Insider, Daily Kos and Patterico's Pontifications

Louis Nelson / Politico:
Pence: Misstatements about U.S. aircraft carrier location not intentional

Discussion: ABC News

Kelsey Sutton / Politico: Lindsey Graham heaps praise on Trump: ‘I am all in’

Rex W. Tillerson / US Department of State:

Trump Administration Undergoing Interagency Review of Iran Deal — The U.S. Department of State certified to U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan today that Iran is compliant through April 18th with its commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action however, the Secretary also raised concerns …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Geller Report, Daily Wire and The Daily Caller

Adam Kredo / Washington Free Beacon:
U.S. Considers Re-Imposing All Sanctions on Iran, Dismantling Nuke Deal

Discussion: The Daily Caller

Euan McKirdy / CNN:
Tillerson: Iran complying with nuclear deal, but still sponsoring terrorism

Discussion: Hot Air

Yahoo:

Images show North Koreans playing volleyball at nuclear test site — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. experts who have been forecasting an imminent North Korean nuclear test said on Tuesday they were surprised when they viewed their latest satellite images of the country's nuclear test site and saw volleyball games under way.

Discussion: Axios, New York Magazine, Political Wire and The Daily Caller

David Ignatius / Washington Post:
Trump needs a dose of ‘manly virtues’

Discussion: Mediaite

Nick Wadhams / Bloomberg:
Trump Mulls U.S. Military Options for North Korea, All Grim

Discussion: Politico and The Daily Caller

Bloomberg:

Silicon Valley's $400 Juicer May Be Feeling the Squeeze — One of the most lavishly funded gadget startups in Silicon Valley last year was Juicero Inc. It makes a juice machine. The product was an unlikely pick for top technology investors, but they were drawn to the idea of an internet-connected device …

Discussion: The Verge

AP News:

The Latest: Fresno suspect faces 4 murder charges — FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — The Latest on a fatal shooting in downtown Fresno, California (all times local): — An official says a man suspected of killing a motel security guard and three people he targeted for being white is being charged with four counts of murder.

Discussion: RedState, The Daily Caller, Daily Wire, Fox News, Mediaite, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Fresno Bee, Geller Report and NPR

Anna Hopkins / Daily Mail:
Fresno shooting ‘solely based on race,’ police say

Discussion: Associated Press, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, John Hawkins' Right Wing News and KRON4.com

CNN:
Police chief: Fresno killings a hate crime

Discussion: TheBlaze

Patricia Mazzei / miamiherald:

Miami state senator curses at black lawmaker — and refers to fellow Republicans as ‘niggas’ — TALLAHASSEE — Miami Republican Sen. Frank Artiles dropped the n-word to a pair of African-American colleagues in private conversation Monday night — after calling one of them a “f**king a**hole …

Discussion: Mediaite, Naked Politics, AOL, Talking Points Memo, Florida Politics, The Root, Raw Story and Political Wire

Marc Caputo / Politico:
After offensive comment, Miami state senator fends off calls for resignation, condemnation

Discussion: Florida Times Union, The Orlando Political Observer, Florida Politics, Naked Politics and Joe.My.God.

USA Today:

First protected DREAMer is deported under Trump — Federal agents ignored President Trump's pledge to protect from deportation undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children by sending a young man back to his native Mexico, the first such documented case …

Richard Gonzales / NPR:
First DREAMer Protected By Deferred Action Program Is Deported, Lawyers Say

Discussion: National Immigration …, Washington Post, Washington Times and The Resurgent

Brooke Seipel / The Hill:

GOP senator calls on Trump to release his tax returns — Oklahoma Sen. James Lankford (R) is joining calls for President Trump to release his tax returns, saying Trump should “keep his promise.” — “[Trump] promised he would,” Lankford said at a town hall Tuesday night in Claremore …

Discussion: RedState, CNNMoney and Washington Free Beacon

Randy Krehbiel Tulsa / Tulsa World:
Sen. James Lankford experiences little of the rancor aimed at other members of Congress

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

Tom Precious / The Buffalo News:

How did Cuomo make $783,000 on memoir that sold 3,200 copies? — ALBANY - Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo reported his income last year more than doubled from the previous year, thanks to another round of royalty payments on a 2014 HarperCollins memoir that saw lackluster sales.

Discussion: Political Wire

CBS Boston:

Aaron Hernandez Kills Himself In Prison — SHIRLEY - Former New England Patriot and convicted killer Aaron Hernandez killed himself in prison overnight, authorities said Wednesday morning. — Here is the message sent out by Christopher Fallon, the Assistant Deputy Commissioner of Communications …

Discussion: CBS Pittsburgh, Hot Air, Daily Wire, CBS New York, Althouse, Scared Monkeys and WNCN

Sari Horwitz / Washington Post:

A month after dismissing federal prosecutors, Justice Department does not have any U.S. attorneys in place — Attorney General Jeff Sessions is making aggressive law enforcement a top priority, directing his federal prosecutors across the country to crack down on illegal immigrants and …

Discussion: Business Insider and Daily Kos

Ross Douthat / New York Times:

A Requiem for ‘Girls’ — The romance between this newspaper and the HBO show “Girls” is somewhat legendary. Between its debut in 2012 and its finale last Sunday, according to some exhaustive data journalism from The Awl, The New York Times published 37 articles about the show, its fans …

Discussion: Taylor Marsh and Althouse

Bloomberg:

French Election Shocker: Pollsters Baffled by Four-Way Race — ‘Unprecedented’ close battle makes polling more difficult — Victories of Sarkozy in 2007, Hollande in 2012 seen by polls — The four-candidate battle to reach the runoff in France's presidential election is putting pollsters to the test as never before.

Tara Palmeri / Politico:

White House aides grapple with newfound celebrity — Kellyanne Conway could barely move across the White House lawn at the Easter Egg Roll on Monday without being accosted by a crush of selfie-seeking fans and enraptured young girls who wanted to stare at her.

Discussion: Washington Post and Raw Story