memeorandum: Coats not commenting on report Trump asked him to deny evidence of Russia collusion (Jeremy Herb/CNN)

12:20 PM ET, May 23, 2017

Top Items:

CNBC:

19 dead in possible suicide blast at Ariana Grande UK concert — At least 19 people were killed and about 50 others were injured in a suspected suicide bombing Monday night after an Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena in England, authorities said. — Greater Manchester Police said the incident was being treated as terrorism.

New York Times:

Ariana Grande Manchester Concert Ends in Explosion, Panic and Death — MANCHESTER, England — An explosion that may have been a suicide bombing killed at least 19 people on Monday night and wounded 59 others at an Ariana Grande concert filled with adoring adolescent fans, in what the police were treating as a terrorist attack.

New York Times:

ISIS Claims Responsibility for Manchester Concert Attack; 22 Are Dead — MANCHESTER, England — The Islamic State claimed responsibility on Tuesday for a bombing at Manchester Arena, the deadliest terrorist assault in Britain since 2005, as the death toll rose to 22.

Discussion: Telegraph, Daily Mail, Mother Jones, ABC News, Sputnik International, IndieWire, Why Evolution Is True, Conservative News Today, Gothamist, Outside the Beltway, New York's PIX11, The Resurgent, Sky News, Fusion, rubber hose, Patterico's Pontifications, Al Jazeera English and Business Insider

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: Washington Post, The Verge and Mashable

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: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Geller Report, The Daily Caller, creepingsharia.wordpress.com and Daily Mail

Telegraph:
Manchester terror attack: Everything we know so far

Helena Horton / Telegraph:
Eight-year-old confirmed dead after Manchester attack at Ariana Grande concert

Discussion: Business Insider, RedState, The Daily Caller and American Power

Reuters:
Manchester suicide attack lays bare limits of security measures

Discussion: Infowars

The Guardian:
Second Manchester bomb victim named as eight-year-old Saffie Rose Roussos

Chloe Chaplain / London Evening Standard:
Manchester attack: First victim of suicide bomber named as teenager Georgina Callander

Discussion: BBC, Fusion, Bloomberg, CBS Dallas, Townhall.com, Business Insider, Infowars, The Daily Caller, New York Times, Conservative News Today, Daily Mail and myfox8.com

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

Rebecca Kheel / The Hill:
US intelligence chief: No confirmation ISIS responsible for Manchester attack

Discussion: RedState

Daily Mail:
ISIS fans celebrate Manchester attack on Twitter

Discussion: AP News and Mediaite

Adam Entous / Washington Post:

Trump asked intelligence chiefs to push back against FBI collusion probe after Comey revealed its existence — President Trump asked two of the nation's top intelligence officials in March to help him push back against an FBI investigation into possible coordination between his campaign …

Shane Savitsky / Axios:

Coats: I can't comment on my discussions with Trump — Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats told the Senate Armed Services Committee this morning that he doesn't “feel it's appropriate to characterize [his] discussions with the president” after being asked about yesterday's reports …

Discussion: ABC News

New York Times:
Former C.I.A. Chief Testifies About Concern Over Russia's Ties to Trump Campaign

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Political Wire, Washington Post and vice

CNN:
Trump asked DNI, NSA to deny evidence of Russia collusion

Discussion: Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, vice, Just Security, The Daily Caller, Hullabaloo and The Last Tradition

Jeremy Herb / CNN: Coats not commenting on report Trump asked him to deny evidence of Russia collusion

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

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: Washington Monthly

Sarah Ferris / Politico:
Trump releases budget hitting his own voters hardest

Discussion: Vox, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times and Political Wire

Jordain Carney / The Hill:
Key Senate Republican offers dim outlook for Trump budget

Discussion: New York Times, The Week, ABC News and Politicus USA

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

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Vox, The Resurgent, New York Magazine, Hot Air, Politico, Daily Wire and Daily Kos

Bloomberg:
Trump's $3.6 Trillion Budget Cuts Hit His Own Supporters Hard

Discussion: Business Insider, The Daily Caller and Mediaite

Betsy Klein / CNN:

First lady's hand swat a viral sensation — (CNN)Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, rolled out the red carpet for President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump at Ben Gurion International Airport Monday morning, but one moment stood out: a flick of the wrist seen 'round the world.

Discussion: The Independent, New York Times and The Guardian

Philip Rucker / Washington Post: Palestinians welcome Trump's talk of peace but offer lessons in two-state demands

Adam Kredo / Washington Free Beacon:
Trump Admin Declares Jerusalem Part of Israel in Major Policy Shift

Discussion: Geller Report and Althouse

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: Talking Points Memo, Axios and The Week

Katie Bo Williams / The Hill:
Ex-CIA head: Intel showed contacts between Russians and Trump team

Discussion: Mediaite

Avi Selk / Washington Post:

A belligerent man in a Trump hat was kicked off a flight as a crowd chanted: ‘Lock him up!’ — Like some bizarre parody of a Trump rally, a belligerent man in a “Make America Great Again” hat was booted off a plane in Shanghai Sunday — defiantly waving as a crowd of passengers jeered in the terminal: “Lock him up!

Discussion: The Root, Sputnik International and Gothamist

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 …

Austin Wright / Politico:

Chaffetz postpones Wednesday hearing after speaking with Comey — House Oversight Chairman Jason Chaffetz on Monday said he will postpone a hearing scheduled for Wednesday after speaking with former FBI Director James Comey, who had been invited to testify. — “Spoke with Comey.

Discussion: CNN, The Hill, Daily Kos, New York Times, The Gateway Pundit, ABC News, Mediaite, Daily Wire, ThinkProgress and Washington Free Beacon

Burgess Everett / Politico:
Burr: Flynn could be held in contempt

Discussion: The Hill, ACS Blog, Talking Points Memo, The Week and NBC News

Bruce Stokes / Pew Research Center:

NATO's Image Improves on Both Sides of Atlantic — European faith in American military support largely unchanged — In both North America and Europe, views of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) have generally improved over the past year. Today, roughly six-in-ten Americans hold …

Discussion: NPR

Tegna / WXIA-TV:

Exclusive 11Alive poll: Ossoff leads 51% to Handel's 44% … One month from tomorrow, voters in the battleground 6th district will choose the next U.S. Representative from Georgia. In a new 11Alive exclusive poll conducted by Survey USA, Democrat Jon Ossoff leads the race 51 percent, compared to Karen Handel's 44 percent.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Mediaite, Political Insider blog and Washington Free Beacon

Oliver Darcy / CNNMoney:

Fox News staffers ‘disgusted’ at network's promotion of Seth Rich conspiracy theory — July 2016: DNC staffer Seth Rich fatally shot — Fox News staffers expressed frustration on Monday that on-air personalities at their network like prime time host Sean Hannity are continuing to peddle …

Discussion: Washington Post, RedState, The Daily Beast, THE WARREN (HENRY) REPORT, The Week, Media Matters for America, The Resurgent and USA Today

Kenneth P. Vogel / Politico:

FEC member urges escalated Trump-Russia inquiry — A member of the Federal Election Commission is calling on the agency to investigate whether Russian agents paid for Facebook ads to spread damaging stories about Hillary Clinton ahead of last fall's presidential election.

Discussion: The Hill and Raw Story

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.

Megan McArdle / Bloomberg:

What a Conservative Sees From Inside Trump's Washington — Republicans wish all that bad news was fake. But no, it's real: The administration is destroying itself. — The conservative voters who elected Donald Trump seem to feel especially betrayed when those who document his failures and violations are fellow conservatives.

Bloomberg:

Trump Proposes Selling Off Half the U.S. Strategic Oil Reserve — U.S. stockpile contains 687.7 million barrels of crude — Proposal Includes Alaska Oil Leasing, Gulf Royalties Repeal — The White House plan to trim the national debt includes selling off half of the nation's emergency oil stockpile …

Discussion: The Daily Caller and Political Wire