memeorandum: Proposed Rules Would Allow U.S. to Track and Destroy Drones (Charlie Savage/New York Times)

7:45 AM ET, May 24, 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.

Mary Rich / Washington Post:

We're Seth Rich's parents. Stop politicizing our son's murder. — The writers are the parents of Seth Rich, who was killed in the District in 2016. — Imagine living in a nightmare that you can never wake up from. Imagine having to face every single day knowing that your son was murdered.

Discussion: Politico, Business Insider, RedState, Mediaite, Media Matters for America, TheBlaze, The Guardian and Little Green Footballs, more at Mediagazer »

John Podhoretz / Commentary Magazine:

The Shame of Defaming Seth Rich — The conspiracy theorizing has to stop. — Seth Rich was 27 when he was killed on a dark street in a sketchy neighborhood in the nation's capital last July. He has become world-famous in the past month because his corpse is being used as a proxy in the war over the reputation of Donald J. Trump.

Discussion: Showbiz411 and Hot Air

David Weigel / Washington Post:

The life and death of the Seth Rich conspiracy theory — When Seth Rich's Gmail account received an alert this week from Mega.com, attempting to start a new account on a website created by the New Zealand-based Internet businessman and convicted hacker Kim Dotcom, his family knew that something was off.

Discussion: Salon and Daily Wire

Joe Concha / The Hill:
Hannity on Seth Rich coverage: ‘I retracted nothing’

Discussion: RedState

Oliver Darcy / CNNMoney:
Seth Rich's brother pleads with Hannity to stop spreading conspiracy theory

Discussion: Mediaite, The Hill, Mashable, IJR, TheBlaze, Business Insider, RedState, Washington Post, KTLA, Right Wing Watch, No More Mister Nice Blog, Media Matters for America and Hot Air, more at Mediagazer »

David Nakamura / Washington Post:

Trump calls Kim Jong Un a ‘madman with nuclear weapons,’ according to transcript of Duterte call — President Trump labeled North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un a “madman with nuclear weapons” during a private phone conversation with Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte last month …

Discussion: New York Magazine, The Times of Israel, RT, Mediaite, Business Insider, Politico, Raw Story, The Daily Caller, Axios and Political Wire

The Intercept:

TRUMP CALLED RODRIGO DUTERTE TO CONGRATULATE HIM ON HIS MURDEROUS DRUG WAR: “YOU ARE DOING AN AMAZING JOB” — Photo Illustration: The Intercept/Getty Images — In a phone call from the White House late last month, U.S. President Donald Trump heaped praise on Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte …

Discussion: The Week, ThinkProgress and Political Wire

The Intercept: Read the Full Transcript of Trump's Call With Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte

The Intercept:
What Trump and Duterte Said Privately About the North Korean Nuclear Threat

Discussion: Daily Mail

New York Times: Trump Praises Duterte for Philippine Drug Crackdown in Call Transcript

The Guardian:

US leak of Manchester attacker's name strikes new blow to intelligence sharing — Naming of Salman Abedi by ‘US officials’ hours before it was announced by UK authorities is latest in series of leaks that may damage credibility with allies … American officials have been criticised …

Discussion: Geller Report, Business Insider, TheBlaze and The Atlantic

Jerome Hudson / Breitbart:
Katy Perry on Manchester Bombing: ‘No Barriers, No Borders, We All Just Need to Co-Exist’

Elake / The Sun:
FACE OF PURE EVIL Brit-born Manchester bomber Salman Abedi, 22, is pictured for the first time …

Discussion: Coffee House, Mashable, USA Today, Geller Report, and that's the way it was, France 24, Telegraph, Infowars, RedState, creepingsharia.wordpress.com and Business Insider

Mark Steyn / Steyn Online:
“Dangerous Woman” Meets Dangerous Man

Discussion: Coffee House, Patterico's Pontifications, The Independent, The Guardian, CBS Pittsburgh and Friendly Atheist

Mitch Prothero / BuzzFeed:
US Officials Keep Talking About The Manchester Attack And It's Freaking Out European Allies

Discussion: Business Insider, IJR, AOL, ThinkProgress, Infowars, Mediaite, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Mother Jones, The Week, The Daily Caller, Daily Wire, Geller Report, BBC and Patterico's Pontifications

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

Discussion: CNN, BBC, Power Line, Lawfare, Hit & Run, France 24, Daily Wire, IJR, TheBlaze, The Week, National Review, Raw Story, Department of Homeland …, IndieWire, Common Dreams, BuzzFeed, The Guardian and Telegraph

David M. Schwartz / Newsday:

In upset, Democrat Pellegrino wins 9th District Assembly seat — Democrat Christine Pellegrino, left, won the race against Conservative Tom Gargiulo in a special election Tuesday, May 23, 2017, in the 9th Assembly District. She will fill the seat that opened when Assemb.

Discussion: NY State of Politics

Michael Grunwald / Politico:

Trump's Budget Scam — I have a plan to dunk a basketball. First, I'll grow a foot taller. Next, I'll recapture the athleticism of my youth, so I can jump a lot higher. I didn't say I had a serious plan—just a plan. — Today, the Trump administration released a plan to balance …

Dylan Matthews / Vox:
The trillions in shocking cuts in Donald Trump's budget, explained

Discussion: Center on Budget …, The Atlantic, Bloomberg, Daily Kos, Politico, Mashable, Rewire, Common Dreams, Marginal REVOLUTION, ThinkProgress, Mother Jones, Business Insider, New York Magazine, Washington Monthly, New York Times, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Washington Post

Dylan Scott / Vox:
Who knew bringing down drug prices could be so complicated

Discussion: Politico, ABC News, Common Dreams and Washington Post

patribotics:

EXCLUSIVE: Marshal of the Supreme Court Warned Trump over ‘Muslim Ban’ — Multiple sources confirm that Pamela Talkin, Marshal of the Supreme Court, was dispatched to the White House by Chief Justice Roberts last Friday. The decision to send her was taken, sources say, when White House Counsel …

Chris Geidner / BuzzFeed:
No, Impeachment Doesn't Work That Way — Despite the fact …

Discussion: Daily Wire

Gabriel Debenedetti / Politico:

Republicans: Montana special election ‘closer than it should be’ — It's the latest example of a tight race in a traditional GOP stronghold. — GREAT FALLS, Mont. — Republican Greg Gianforte's closing motivational speech to voters ahead of Thursday's special House election in Montana …

Ryan Struyk / ABC News:
The single county to watch in Montana's special election

Discussion: Political Wire and Politico

Jonathan Swan / Axios:

New GOP fear: nine months of failure — Republican leaders are coming to the bleak conclusion they will end summer and begin the fall with ZERO significant legislative accomplishments. Privately, they realize it's political malpractice to blow at least the the first nine of months of all Republican rule …

John Wagner / Washington Post:

Trump retains outside lawyer Marc Kasowitz to help with Russia investigations — President Trump has retained the services of a trusted lawyer, Marc E. Kasowitz, to help him navigate the investigations into his campaign and Russian interference in last year's election, according to people familiar with the decision.

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

Michael Del Moro / ABC News:
Trump expected to retain attorney for Russia inquiry

Discussion: Politico, The Week and The Last Tradition

Ted Johnson / Variety:

FCC Will Not Take Action Over Stephen Colbert's Trump Remarks — The FCC will not take any action in response to complaints over a May 1 broadcast of “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” in which the host quipped during his opening monologue that “the only thing [Trump's] mouth is good for is being Vladimir Putin's c— holster.”

Discussion: CNNMoney, Deadline, Washington Free Beacon, Mediaite, Refinery29, The Verge, The Week, The Guardian, twitchy.com and The Daily Caller

Diane Ravitch / New Republic:

Don't Like Betsy DeVos? Blame the Democrats. — The Democratic Party paved the way for the education secretary's efforts to privatize our public schools. — Of all the corrupt, unqualified, and extremist characters Donald Trump has tapped to lead his administration …

Discussion: Eschaton

Billy House / Bloomberg:

Fate of Republican Health Bill Teeters on New Financial Analysis — Congressional Budget Office to release analysis Wednesday — Bill could miss required targets, forcing House to redo vote — House Republicans are waiting anxiously for a new financial estimate Wednesday …

Discussion: New York Times and Talking Points Memo

Emily Jane Fox / Vanity Fair:

Exclusive: Sources Say Chris Christie Says He Gave Jared Kushner Legal Advice About Trump — The two, whose spokespeople deny this claim, used to be adversaries. But the New Jersey governor knows something about being investigated, and the president's son-in-law knows how Christie investigates.

Discussion: AOL, Business Insider, Raw Story and CNN

Media Matters for America:

These are Sean Hannity's advertisers — Here are Hannity's primary advertisers: — Alfa Romeo — Allstate — Angie's List — AstraZeneca — Bayer — Blink Health — Boehringer Ingelheim — Booking.com — Capital One — Casper — Consumer Cellular — DirecTV

Discussion: Mediaite

Scott Adams' Blog:

Scott Adams' Blog — President Trump just gave ISIS its new name: Losers. (Short for Evil Losers). — If you think that's no big deal, you're wrong. It's a big deal. This is - literally - weapons-grade persuasion from the most powerful Master Persuader of our time.

Discussion: Shot in the Dark

Christopher Roach / American Greatness:

Tales of a Coup: What Trump Can Learn from Gorbachev — The president was widely seen as incompetent, naïve, hostile to the professional experts in the bureaucracy, if not an outright traitor, paid off by the nation's ancient enemies. The traditional political establishment …

John J. Pitney / USA Today:

I was a Republican until Donald Trump hijacked my party — It is painfully evident that Trump's sorry brand will stick to the GOP for years. — Until last year, I was as Republican as you could get. My family had belonged to the GOP since the 1850s, and both my grandfathers labored in local Republican politics.

Discussion: Liberal Values

Olivia Solon / The Guardian:

Study finds magic mushrooms are the safest recreational drug — People taking mushrooms in 2016 needed medical treatment less than for MDMA, LSD and cocaine, while one of the riskiest drugs was synthetic cannabis — Mushrooms are the safest of all the drugs people take recreationally, according to this year's Global Drug Survey.

Discussion: Daily Mail