memeorandum: Justice Department will not charge Baton Rouge officers in fatal shooting of Alton Sterling (Matt Zapotosky/Washington Post)

9:30 PM ET, May 2, 2017

Top Items:

Ivanka Trump Has the President's Ear. Here's Her Agenda. — A month before Donald J. Trump was elected president, he and his aides watched his daughter's coolly composed surface crack open. — Inside Trump Tower, the candidate was preparing for a debate when an aide rushed in with news …

Discussion: The Atlantic, Shareblue, Daily Kos, Business Insider, Politicus USA, Racked, ThinkProgress, New York Magazine, The Week, Talking Points Memo, National Review, Althouse, Raw Story, Axios, AOL and Eschaton

Shane Goldmacher / Politico:

White House aims for Thursday signing of religious liberty executive order — President Donald Trump has invited conservative leaders to the White House on Thursday for what they expect will be the ceremonial signing of a long-awaited—and highly controversial—executive order on religious liberty …

Discussion: Towleroad, Political Wire, LifeNews.com, Politicus USA, CNBC, Joe.My.God. and Political Insider blog

Nikita Vladimirov / The Hill:
Trump set to sign religious liberty order: report

Discussion: RedState

Robert Bluey / Heritage Foundation:

Statement From the Chairman of Heritage's Board of Trustees — Vice President, Publishing & Editor in Chief, Daily Signal … The Heritage Foundation's Board of Trustees, by a unanimous vote, has asked for and received the resignation of Jim DeMint as president and CEO of the organization.

Discussion: Washington Post, The Daily Beast, The Gateway Pundit, Talking Points Memo, The Week, The Daily Caller, NPR, Mediaite, Shareblue, RedState, New York Post and TheBlaze

Nancy Cook / Politico:

The real reason Jim DeMint got the boot — Jim DeMint's ouster from The Heritage Foundation came as a shock to the hundreds of scholars and staffers who've seen the organization's political influence grow thanks to DeMint's controversial decision to align the leading conservative think tank closely with Donald Trump.

Discussion: twitchy.com and Political Wire

Mollie Hemingway / The Federalist:
Coup Against Jim DeMint Threatens To Tear Apart Heritage Foundation

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Washington Examiner, RedState and The Atlantic

CNN:

Sources: Former Acting AG Yates to contradict administration about Flynn at hearing — Washington (CNN)Former Acting Attorney General Sally Yates is prepared to testify before a Senate panel next week that she gave a forceful warning to the White House regarding then-National Security Advisor …

Discussion: Business Insider, Political Wire, Politicus USA, Raw Story and Shareblue

Tommy Christopher / Shareblue: Rep. Cummings busts Pence: “I warned the vice president directly” about Michael Flynn

Mark Graham / Decider:

Stephen Colbert's Shocking Attack On Trump Concludes With A Homophobic Slur … Once the clock struck midnight on Donald Trump's 100 days in office, Stephen Colbert's claws came out. He delivered his most vicious attack on the President to date during the monologue of Monday night's …

Discussion: Power Line and The Gateway Pundit

Matt Wilstein / The Daily Beast:

Stephen Colbert Demolishes Trump for Insulting ‘Face The Nation’ Host John Dickerson … President Donald Trump insulted Face The Nation host John Dickerson and Stephen Colbert is pissed. — As the Late Show host explained in his monologue on Monday, during his CBS colleague's Sunday morning interview …

Discussion: Hot Air, twitchy.com, TheBlaze, AOL, The Daily Caller, BizPac Review, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, The Gateway Pundit, Instapundit, RedState, Washington Free Beacon and Patterico's Pontifications

Philip Klein / Washington Examiner:

Fred Upton's cynical reversal on repealing Obamacare shows why people distrust Republicans — If you want to gain an understanding of why it's so difficult for many people to trust Republicans on healthcare, look no further than the cynical decision of Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich. …

Discussion: Bloomberg, Townhall.com, National Review, Washington Post, Vox and Hot Air

John Bresnahan / Politico:
House Republicans floundering on Obamacare repeal

Discussion: ABC News, Vox, Speaker.gov and Daily Kos

Scott Wong / The Hill:
Former GOP chairman ‘cannot support’ new healthcare bill

Discussion: Politico, The Atlantic, Axios, The Guardian, CNBC, New York Times, Daily Kos, ThinkProgress, Talking Points Memo, Shareblue, Mother Jones and Vox

Sarah Kliff / Vox:
Trumpcare's long odds in the Senate, explained by a Republican senator

Discussion: Politico and Hit & Run

Matt Zapotosky / Washington Post:

Justice Department will not charge Baton Rouge officers in fatal shooting of Alton Sterling — The Justice Department has decided not to bring charges against the officers involved in the death of Alton Sterling, whose videotaped shooting by police in Baton Rouge last summer prompted unrest across the city …

Discussion: The Atlantic, Mother Jones, RedState, New Orleans Times-Picayune, New York Magazine, Business Insider, The FADER and The Root

Rebecca R. Ruiz / New York Times:
Officers Won't Be Charged in Black Man's Death in Louisiana

Discussion: Hot Air and theGrio

Matt Zapotosky / Washington Post:
Former S.C. police officer pleads guilty in fatal shooting caught on video

Discussion: CNN, Daily Kos, ThinkProgress, Business Insider, NBC News and Vox

Charles Hurt / Washington Times:

Shut up, Jimmy Kimmel, you elitist creep — ANALYSIS/OPINION: — This is why America hates Hollywood. — Late night “funny” man Jimmy Kimmel delivered a heart-wrenching monologue Monday night that every mother and every father could relate to. — In the emotion-drunk moments last month …

Discussion: NPR, Media Matters for America, Media Matters for America and The Daily Caller

YouTube:

Jimmy Kimmel Reveals Details of His Son's Birth & Heart Disease … Jimmy and his wife Molly welcomed their second child together, William “Billy” Kimmel. At three days old, Billy had successful open heart surgery at Children's Hospital Los Angeles and is now home with his family.

Dan Merica / CNN:

Clinton: ‘If the election had been on October 27, I would be your president’ — New York (CNN)Hillary Clinton said Tuesday she takes personal responsibility for her 2016 loss, but also pointed to the timing of a letter from FBI Director James Comey and Russian interference as factors.

Discussion: The Daily Caller, TheBlaze, Hot Air and Balloon Juice

Associated Press:
Full public FBI reveal is rare for Trump-Russia type probes

Discussion: Politico, Washington Post and ABC News

Josh Dawsey / Politico:

White House scrambles to rebrand spending bill as Trump ‘win’ — The Trump administration is doing damage control as Congress inches toward passage of a massive spending deal that ducks the president's most contentious demands. — Less than 48 hours after the funding bill's release …

Discussion: Hot Air, New York Times, Real Clear Politics, KTLA, Townhall.com, Vox and Power Line

Louis Nelson / Politico:
Trump tries to claim border wall win in budget deal

Discussion: The Atlantic, Common Dreams and The Root

Carl Hulse / New York Times:
Why Congress's Bipartisan Budget Deal Should Make Trump Worried

Discussion: Political Wire

George Prayias / The Rush Limbaugh Show:

Vice President Calls the Show to Defend the Budget Deal — RUSH: We welcome back to the program the vice president of the United States, Mike Pence. Welcome back, sir. Great to have you here with us today. — THE VICE PRESIDENT: Rush Limbaugh, it is an honor to be with you always.

Discussion: Breitbart and Business Insider

Dr. Susan Berry / Breitbart:
Paul Ryan: ‘Planned Parenthood Is Not Funded’ in Budget Reconciliation Bill

Discussion: Speaker.gov

Jesse Singal / New York Magazine:

This Is What a Modern-Day Witch Hunt Looks Like — In late March, Hypatia, a feminist-philosophy journal, published an article titled “In Defense of Transracialism” by Rebecca Tuvel, an assistant professor of philosophy at Rhodes College in Memphis, as part of its spring 2017 issue.

Discussion: Daily Nous

Art Tavana / Playboy:

Tomi Lahren Exclusively Talks To Playboy After Her Blaze Fallout — Tomi Lahren came of age at the altar of Fox News, a product of the YouTube generation who's been endowed with a Facebook platform and Instagram looks. She was born at the start of the Clinton years—around …

Discussion: The Hill, Mediaite, Red Alert Politics, The Daily Caller, twitchy.com, CNNMoney and IJR, more at Mediagazer »

Donie O'Sullivan / CNN:

Video captures fistfight between passengers on flight to Los Angeles — (CNN)One minute passengers were settling into their seats for the 11-hour flight from Tokyo, Japan, to Los Angeles. — The next they were scrambling out of the way as a male passenger became irate and began throwing punches …

Discussion: The Root, AOL, CBS Los Angeles and CBS Denver

Japan Today:
American passenger arrested for assaulting ANA employee

Discussion: Washington Post, Daily Mail, The Gateway Pundit, IJR, Fox News, Hot Air, Boing Boing, TheBlaze and Fox News Insider

Ryan J. Reilly / HuffPost:

A Woman Is On Trial For Laughing During A Congressional Hearing — Activist was arrested by a rookie cop after laughing at a claim that Jeff Sessions treated “all Americans equally.” … WASHINGTON The U.S. Capitol Police officer who decided to arrest an activist because she briefly laughed …

Discussion: Vox, Hit & Run, The FADER, Raw Story and The Week

Wall Street Journal:

Trump Adviser Jared Kushner Didn't Disclose Startup Stake — Investments show ties to Goldman Sachs, George Soros and Peter Thiel as well as a number of loans — Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law and senior adviser, didn't identify on his government financial disclosure form …

Discussion: Breitbart, Slate, The Hill, Mediaite, The Gateway Pundit, The Real Deal New York, IJR, Raw Story, Business Insider, Shareblue, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, RedState, The Week and Axios

Jennifer Emily / Dallas Morning News:

Balch Springs police fire Officer Roy Oliver, who fatally shot Jordan Edwards with rifle — Balch Springs police Tuesday fired the officer who fatally shot a 15-year-old as he was leaving a party. — Roy Oliver fired his rifle into a car of unarmed teens Saturday night as they drove away, fatally striking Jordan Edwards in the head.

Discussion: The Atlantic, Mother Jones, The Root, CNN and WFAA-TV

BBC:

France election: Le Pen accused of plagiarising Fillon — French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen has been accused of plagiarising defeated rival François Fillon in a speech she delivered on Monday. — Several sections of her speech in Villepinte, north of Paris …

Discussion: CNN, New York Times, Washington Post, Boing Boing, New York Magazine and Althouse

Ben Tulchin / Medium:
First Brexit, Then Trump. Is Le Pen the Next Political Earthquake? (Part 2)

Discussion: Axios

James Ball / BuzzFeed:

UK Defence Ministry Casts Doubt On Trump Aide's Military Service Claims — Sebastian Gorka, an aide to President Donald Trump, has claimed roles relating to counter-terror, Northern Ireland, and in investigating war crimes in the former Yugoslavia — but the UK Ministry of Defence can't find evidence for any of it.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

Sarah Jones / New Republic:

Bret Stephens Isn't the Only Problem at the New York Times Op-Ed Page — From Friedman to Bruni, the paper of record's columnists are abysmal. — At this point the case against the New York Times's decision to give Bret Stephens an op-ed column is well-known.

Discussion: Breitbart, Newsweek, AOL, Climate Depot, Los Angeles Times, Media Matters for America, Axios, National Review, Boing Boing, Philly.com and The Week, more at Mediagazer »

Deepa Seetharaman / Wall Street Journal:

Facebook's Female Engineers Claim Gender Bias — Analysis found female engineers received 35% more rejections of their code than men — Last year, a longtime engineer at Facebook Inc. FB .21% gathered data that revealed a controversial finding: Code written by women was rejected …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Mashable, The Verge and Axios, more at Techmeme »

Bob Nightengale / USA Today:

Orioles' Adam Jones berated by racist taunts at Fenway Park — BOSTON — Baltimore Orioles All-Star center fielder Adam Jones was berated by racist taunts at Fenway Park while a bag of peanuts was thrown at him Monday night, calling it one of the worst cases of fan abuse he has heard in his career.