memeorandum: Donald Trump inauguration bankrolled by corporate giants (Dave Levinthal/Center for Public Integrity)

3:00 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.

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 …

Jason Horowitz / New York Times:

Bill O'Reilly Meets Pope Francis in Vatican V.I.P. Line — ROME — Bill O'Reilly, the embattled Fox News host facing a barrage of sexual harassment accusations, briefly met Pope Francis in St. Peter's Square on Wednesday morning during the pontiff's weekly general audience …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, LGBTQ Nation, AOL, Raw Story, Joe.My.God., CNNMoney, CBS New York, Mediaite, TVNewser and New York Magazine, more at Mediagazer »

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: Common Dreams, CNBC, Raw Story, Washington Free Beacon, 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, IJR, NPR, Talking Points Memo, Politico, Common Dreams, Hot Air, TheBlaze, Politicus USA, Morning Consult, Business Insider, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Daily Kos and Washington Free Beacon

Amber Phillips / Washington Post:

Why is Jason Chaffetz suddenly retiring from Congress? One word: Ambition. — One of the most high-profile House Republicans is rather abruptly stepping out of politics. Rep. Jason Chaffetz (Utah), chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, announced Wednesday …

Discussion: Heat Street, Raw Story and Balloon Juice

CNN:
Rep. Jason Chaffetz is not running for re-election

Discussion: Raw Story and Washington Post

New York Times:
Jason Chaffetz, Powerful House Republican, Won't Run in 2018

Discussion: RedState, Roll Call, Outside the Beltway and The Resurgent

McKay Coppins / The Atlantic:
Jason Chaffetz's Abrupt Exit

Discussion: IJR

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: The Atlantic, New York Magazine, Politico and RedState

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

Sean Trende / Real Clear Politics:
Five Takeaways From the Georgia Special Election

Discussion: New York Times and Daily Wire

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: The Hill, ThinkProgress, Business Insider, Daily Kos and Patterico's Pontifications

Louis Nelson / Politico:
White House deflects responsibility for aircraft carrier confusion

Discussion: Mother Jones, The Diplomat, NPR and Talking Points Memo

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’

Washington Post:
Trump's missing ‘armada’ finally heading to Korea — and may stay a while

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Guardian 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: Mother Jones, Lawyers, Guns & Money and The Verge

Wall Street Journal:

300 km — The State Department is among the U.S. government agencies that have a say on Exxon's waiver application, according to current and former U.S. officials. — Mr. Tillerson is recusing himself from any matters involving Exxon for two years, and won't be involved with any decision …

Discussion: Reuters

Tal Kopan / CNN:

Dispute over whether US deports first DACA recipient — Cops: Abuse victims scared of deportation — His lawyers say he had active protection under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program — (CNN)Advocates on Tuesday accused the government of improperly deporting a young man …

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Breitbart, Talking Points Memo, USA Today, Daily Kos, Mediaite, RedState, KFOR-TV, The Hill, Hot Air, New York Times, ThinkProgress and Washington Free Beacon

Byron York / Washington Examiner:
DHS says Dreamer deportation valid; caught hopping border fence

Discussion: Vox, Washington Post, Common Dreams, Shakesville, Refinery29 and John Hawkins' Right Wing News

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

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

Discussion: Washington Monthly and Mediaite

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, NPR, 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

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: Hot Air and Political Wire

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

Nicholas Fandos / New York Times:

Sheldon Adelson Gave $5 Million for Trump's Inauguration, Filing Shows — WASHINGTON — Sheldon G. Adelson, the casino magnate and stalwart Republican donor, gave $5 million to support the festivities surrounding President Trump's inauguration, according to federal election filings.

Discussion: Jewish Telegraphic Agency, The Daily Caller and Political Wire

Dave Levinthal / Center for Public Integrity:
Donald Trump inauguration bankrolled by corporate giants

Discussion: Axios

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

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: Politico, Florida Times Union, Florida Politics, Mediaite, The Root, AOL, The Orlando Political Observer, Naked Politics, Talking Points Memo, Raw Story and 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. — Read: Keller: Think Before You Comment On Suicide — Here is the message sent out by Christopher Fallon …

Discussion: CBS Pittsburgh, Hot Air, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Big Lead, CBS New York, Althouse, Daily Wire, WNCN, Scared Monkeys and The Root

Doyle Rice / USA Today:

California again leads list with 6 of the top 10 most polluted U.S. cities — California's smoggy reputation appears to be deserved: Six of the USA's 10 cities with the worst air pollution are in the Golden State, according to a new report. — Bakersfield, Calif., again holds …

Discussion: Mashable

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