memeorandum: It's Time to Worry about Health Care in the Senate (David Leonhardt/New York Times)

4:55 PM ET, May 23, 2017

Top Items:

Statement on coverage of Seth Rich murder investigation — On May 16, a story was posted on the Fox News website on the investigation into the 2016 murder of DNC Staffer Seth Rich. The article was not initially subjected to the high degree of editorial scrutiny we require for all our reporting.

Oliver Darcy / CNNMoney:

Seth Rich's brother pleads with Hannity to stop spreading conspiracy theory — July 2016: DNC staffer Seth Rich fatally shot — The brother of slain Democratic National Committee staffer Seth Rich wrote a letter on Tuesday to the executive producer of Sean Hannity's Fox News show pleading with him to find …

Discussion: KTLA, Hot Air, Mediaite and Media Matters for America, more at Mediagazer »

Margaret Sullivan / Washington Post:

The Seth Rich lie, and how the corrosion of reality should worry every American — For lies to successfully masquerade as news, they need help. They need accessories to the crime against truth. — In two ways that have the power to shock, even in this almost shockproof era, lies are getting plenty of help.

Discussion: CNNMoney, No More Mister Nice Blog and The Week, more at Mediagazer »

Oliver Darcy / CNNMoney: Fox News removes false story on Seth Rich's murder — six days after it was debunked

One America News Network:
The Mysterious Death Of Seth Rich

Discussion: Daily Wire

Martin Evans / Telegraph:

Salman Abedi named as the Manchester suicide bomber - what we know about him — The suicide bomber who killed 22 people and injured dozens more at the Manchester Arena has been named as 22-year-old Salman Abedi. — Born in Manchester in 1994, the second youngest of four children his parents …

Discussion: USA Today, Media Matters for America, Daily Wire, The Gateway Pundit, The Daily Caller, New York Magazine and New York Times

New York Times:

Salman Abedi, 22, Is Identified as Manchester Arena Bomber — MANCHESTER, England — A 22-year-old British man whose parents had emigrated from Libya was identified by the police on Tuesday as the bomber who carried out Britain's deadliest terrorist attack since 2005, an explosion …

CBS News:

Latest on investigation into Manchester concert bombing — LONDON — CBS News confirmed Tuesday that the man who blew himself up the previous night at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England, was 23-year-old Salman Abedi, who was known to British authorities prior to the attack.

Discussion: Mirror.co.uk, The Hill, Friendly Atheist, CBS New York, Daily Wire, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Infowars, The Daily Caller and Geller Report

BuzzFeed:

Here Is All The Fake News About The Manchester Terror Attack — A terror attack has claimed the lives of at least 22 people at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester. Here are the claims you shouldn't believe about the incident. — BuzzFeed News Reporter, Australia

Discussion: The Guardian, Washington Post, The Verge, AOL, vice and NPR

Washington Post:
Manchester bombing suspect identified; Islamic State claims responsibility

Discussion: IJR, Department of Homeland …, National Review, TheBlaze, Common Dreams, Breaking911, Hit & Run and NPR

CNBC:
19 dead in possible suicide blast at Ariana Grande UK concert

Discussion: Friendly Atheist, NBC News, WREG-TV, Telegraph, Media Matters for America, Daily Mail, BBC, The Gateway Pundit, creepingsharia.wordpress.com, Common Dreams, The Daily Caller, Infowars, Washington Post, Sky News, twitchy.com, RedState and Geller Report

Morrissey Official:
Celebrating my birthday in Manchester as news of the Manchester Arena bomb broke.

Discussion: The Daily Caller

Daveed Gartenstein-Ross / The Atlantic:
The Manchester Attack Shows How Terrorists Learn

Discussion: BBC, TheBlaze, Raw Story, New York Times, IndieWire and ThinkProgress

Daily Mail:
Manchester concert suicide bomber is named

Discussion: RedState and Geller Report

Justin davenport / London Evening Standard:
Manchester suicide attacker ‘was known to security services but not thought to pose immediate threat’

Discussion: Fox News, Fusion, The Daily Signal, Geller Report, Daily Mail and IJR

Telegraph:
Manchester terror attack: Everything we know so far

CNN:
Manchester Arena attack: ISIS claims blast that killed 22 at Ariana Grande concert

Discussion: neo-neocon, Washington Free Beacon, TheBlaze and The Daily Caller

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:

Trump Budget Based on $2 Trillion Math Error — One of the ways Donald Trump's budget claims to balance the budget over a decade, without cutting defense or retirement spending, is to assume a $2 trillion increase in revenue through economic growth. This is the magic of the still-to-be-designed Trump tax cuts.

Discussion: Mother Jones, New York Times, Washington Monthly, Raw Story and The Hill

Lawrence H. Summers / Washington Post:

Larry Summers: Trump's budget is simply ludicrous — Details of President Trump's first budget have now been released. Much can and will be said about the dire social consequences of what is in it and the ludicrously optimistic economic assumptions it embodies.

Discussion: Axios, Committee for a …, Vox, Business Insider, The Guardian, CNBC, New York Times, Fusion, Equitable Growth and bradford-delong.com

Damian Paletta / Washington Post:
Trump's budget proposal slashes spending by $3.6 trillion over 10 years

Josh Rogin / Washington Post:
Lindsey Graham: Trump's State Department budget could cause ‘a lot of Benghazis’

Discussion: Mediaite

The White House:
Off-camera Briefing of the FY18 Budget by Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney

Discussion: ThinkProgress, The Daily Caller and Washington Post

ABC News:
Why Trump's budget plan wouldn't likely accelerate growth

Discussion: Politico and Associated Press

Katie Jennings / Politico:

MacArthur resigns as co-chairman of ‘clearly divided’ Tuesday Group — Rep. Tom MacArthur resigned Tuesday as co-chairman of the caucus of GOP moderates known as the Tuesday Group in the wake of deep divisions among its members over the House Obamacare replacement bill he helped craft.

Discussion: Vox, Washington Post, Axios, Talking Points Memo, Political Wire and The Daily Caller

David Leonhardt / New York Times:
It's Time to Worry about Health Care in the Senate

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

Matt Shuham / Talking Points Memo:
Ryan Justifies Waiting For CBO Score To Send Health Bill To The Senate

Discussion: Washington Examiner and Daily Kos

Sharon Begley / STAT:

Trump wasn't always so linguistically challenged. What could explain the change? — t was the kind of utterance that makes professional transcribers question their career choice: — “ ... there is no collusion between certainly myself and my campaign, but I can always speak for myself — and the Russians, zero.”

Discussion: The Week and Unfogged

Austin Wright / Politico:

Brennan: Russia may have successfully recruited Trump campaign aides — Former CIA Director John Brennan said on Tuesday that he had concerns that Russian officials may have successfully recruited aides from Donald Trump's campaign to help in the Kremlin's efforts to influence last year's presidential election.

Discussion: The Hill, Townhall.com, Talking Points Memo, Axios, Hot Air and The Week

Greg Miller / Washington Post:
CIA director warned Russian security service chief about interference in election

Discussion: Mother Jones, New York Times, Washington Monthly, New York Magazine, ThinkProgress, CNN, Common Dreams, The Guardian, Politico, Daily Kos and AOL

David Corn / Mother Jones:
Republicans Focus on Protecting Trump at Russia Hearing

Discussion: Daily Kos

Susan Page / USA Today:

Al Franken, comedian-turned-senator, takes on Donald Trump, TV-star-turned-president — WASHINGTON — For Al Franken, it's finally safe to be funny again just at a moment all the news around him has taken a decidedly unfunny turn. — The two-term Minnesota senator and one-time Saturday Night Live comedian …

Discussion: Political Wire and The Week

Alec MacGillis / New York Times:

Jared Kushner's Other Real Estate Empire — Baltimore-area renters complain about a property owner they say is neglectful and litigious. Few know their landlord is the president's son-in-law. — The townhouse on High Seas Court in the Cove Village development, in the Baltimore suburb of Essex …

Discussion: Fusion

Rafael Olmeda / Sun-Sentinel:

Margate man acquitted in murder case after oral-sex defense — Richard Henry Patterson, the Margate man accused of choking his girlfriend to death in 2015 and leaving her body to decompose for two days before hiring a defense lawyer instead of calling the police, was found not guilty Monday of murder.

Discussion: IJR, New York Post and The Daily Caller

Cate Cadell / Reuters:

Google AI beats Chinese master in ancient game of Go — A Google artificial intelligence program defeated a Chinese grand master at the ancient board game Go on Tuesday, a major feather in the cap for the firm's AI ambitions as it looks to woo Beijing to gain re-entry into the country.

Discussion: JustOneMinute

Paul Mozur / New York Times:
Google's AlphaGo Defeats Chinese Go Master in Win for A.I.

Discussion: CNBC, NPR and Gizmodo, more at Techmeme »

Ben Smith / BuzzFeed:

While You Were Watching Trump, The Democratic Party Changed — Donald Trump has already changed the Democratic Party more than his own Republican Party. — While the president has merely reduced his own party into a panicked mess, the Democrats' trajectory seems to have moved subtly …

Jennifer Bendery / HuffPost:

GOP Senator Slams His Party's Process For Crafting Health Care Bill — No experts in the room. No public hearings. No media analysis. “Those are all informative, right?” — WASHINGTON Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) on Tuesday unexpectedly torched his party's process for crafting an Obamacare repeal bill behind closed doors.

CNN:

Sheriff David Clarke says he's unsure if Trump administration will still hire him after plagiarism report — Sheriff Clarke plagiarized parts of thesis — “This is about weakening, like I said, the support that I give and that I have with President Donald Trump and Secretary Kelly …

Discussion: Raw Story, Mediaite and Washington Free Beacon

Greg Bensinger / Wall Street Journal:

Uber Shortchanged New York City Drivers by Millions of Dollars — The ride-hailing company says it is refunding the money after miscalculating its commissions — Uber Technologies Inc. on Tuesday said it mistakenly underpaid New York City drivers for the past 2½ years …

Discussion: Recode, Engadget, Mashable and The Verge, more at Techmeme »