memeorandum: Presidents Trump, Macron solidify political bromance with state visit (Jordyn Phelps/ABC News)

12:10 PM ET, April 22, 2018

Top Items:

Maeve Reston / CNN:

Mitt Romney fails to secure Utah GOP nomination, will face primary — West Valley, Utah (CNN)Mitt Romney did not win the Utah Republican Party's nomination on Saturday, meaning he must compete in a June primary election as he seeks to replace retiring US Sen. Orrin Hatch.

Discussion: RedState, Hot Air, Daily Wire, The Week and Washington Press

Spencer Cox / Salt Lake Tribune:

Senate race — Romney blamed his second-place finish — out of a dozen Republicans seeking the seat of retiring seven-term Sen. Orrin Hatch — on delegates' dislike of candidates like him who hedge their convention bids by also gathering signatures to ensure at least a place on the primary ballot.

Discussion: Politico, Mother Jones, The Hill, HuffPost, Outside the Beltway, Washington Post, Political Wire and Roll Call

John Bowden / The Hill:

Romney forced into GOP primary for Utah Senate nomination — Former GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney — failed to secure the Utah Republican Party's nomination for Senate on Saturday, triggering a June primary. — In the final round of voting at the party's convention …

Discussion: Breitbart and Politico

Maeve Reston / CNN:
Mitt Romney says he'll make decision on supporting Trump in 2020 ‘down the road’

Discussion: Vox, Townhall, KSL-TV and Washington Times

CNN:

4 killed at Tennessee Waffle House as police search for seminude suspect — (CNN)Nashville police are asking residents to lock their doors and stay alert after a seminude gunman killed four people at an area Waffle House. — “Keep your doors locked, keep your eyes open.

Dana Schuster / Page Six:

Ivana Trump thinks Vanessa will ‘have a problem’ finding a new man — Ivana Trump doesn't want Donald Trump to run for president again in 2020. — “I'll tell you something, I don't think it's necessary,” she told The Post during an interview Wednesday at her Upper East Side townhouse.

Discussion: Althouse

Haaretz:

Natalie Portman's Boycott of Netanyahu Borders on anti-Semitism, Israeli Minister Says — Among widespread criticism from Israeli political sector includes Internal Security Minister Gilad Erdan, who wrote Natalie Portman a letter with references to Star Wars imploring her ‘not to let the dark side win’

Kyle Feldscher / Washington Examiner:

Kellyanne Conway goes off on CNN's Dana Bash for asking about her husband's Trump criticisms: WATCH — White House counselor Kellyanne Conway went after CNN's Dana Bash for asking her about her husband's tweets critical of President Trump in an interview Sunday morning.

John Dickerson / The Atlantic:

I. A Broken Office — Donald Trump often appears to be a president in rebellion against his office. A president, we have come to expect, hastens to the scene of a natural disaster to comfort the afflicted. After Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, President Trump arrived tardily …

Washington Post:

Barbara Bush visited our facility for children with HIV/AIDS. It was unforgettable. — Debbie Tate is president of TERRIFIC, a D.C. nonprofit that provides housing and human services to families in crisis. Joan McCarley is executive director of TERRIFIC.

Rachel Siegel / Washington Post:
‘You were the reason’: Barbara and George Bush's love story remembered at her funeral

Discussion: Splinter, LGBTQ Nation and Politico

Maureen Dowd / New York Times: Barbara Bush: Fake Pearls, Real Heart

John Bacon / USA Today:

World's oldest person, last survivor of 19th century, dies in southern Japan at 117 — The world's oldest known person and the last survivor of those born in the 19th century has died in Japan at age 117. — Nabi Tajima died in a hospital Saturday in Kikai, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan's Kyodo News reports.

Discussion: Associated Press and The Week

ABC:
World's oldest person, Nabi Tajima, dies in Japan at the age of 117

Discussion: AOL

David Siders / Politico:

'We've never seen a campaign start this early, ever' — COLUMBIA, S.C. — The first presidential contests of 2020 are nearly two years away, but for one Democrat the campaign is already in full swing. John Delaney — a wealthy, little-known congressman from Maryland …

Discussion: Booman Tribune

ABC News:

Trump lawyer Michael Cohen is subject of ‘epic battle’ by prosecutors for his cooperation: Alan Dershowitz — Alan Dershowitz said prosecutors are engaged in “an epic battle for the soul and cooperation of Michael Cohen,” the longtime lawyer to President Donald Trump whose office and hotel room were raided by the FBI this month.

Discussion: Breitbart and The Daily Beast

Marlow Stern / The Daily Beast: Stormy Daniels' Lawyer Warns Trump: Evidence DVD Is ‘Locked and Loaded’

Jordyn Phelps / ABC News:

Presidents Trump, Macron solidify political bromance with state visit — Their relationship began with a show of machismo — an extended, white-knuckle handshake on their first meeting last year in Belgium. — Emmanuel Macron had reportedly studied Donald Trump's style …

Discussion: One America News Network, Daily Wire and Associated Press

Daily Mail:

Think it's harmless? Now nine in ten teens at drug clinics are being treated for marijuana use — Cannabis is responsible for 91 per cent of cases where teenagers end up being treated for drug addiction, shocking new figures reveal. — Supporters of the drug claim it is harmless …

Michael Tackett / New York Times:

As Another Pence Runs for Congress, His Business Record Raises Questions — COLUMBUS, Ind. — When you have the best known name in your congressional district and your younger brother is a heartbeat away from the presidency, it is difficult to run a stealth campaign. But Greg Pence is doing a pretty good job of it.

Salena Zito / Washington Examiner:

Democrats try to win back labor in order to win back the House — WAYNESBURG, Pa. — When Democrat Conor Lamb stood in a sea of United Mine Workers of America here in early March, it was clear that Democrats had found a way to bring the blue-collar worker back into their camp.

Loyd Brumfield / Dallas Morning News:

Sharing nude photos of current or ex-partners protected under First Amendment, court rules — Is distributing intimate photos of current or previous sexual partners without their consent protected by the First Amendment? A state appeals court says yes. — Now it will be up to the state …

Larry O'Connor / Washington Times:

Conservative author Brad Thor announces 2020 challenge to Trump — ANALYSIS/OPINION: — Conservative author and commentator Brad Thor took to Twitter Saturday to announce he would challenge President Donald Trump for the Republican nomination in 2020. — America is great because it is good.

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, WGN-TV, The Daily Caller, TheBlaze and RedState

Brett Samuels / The Hill:

Trump considering pardon for boxing legend after call from Sylvester Stallone — said Saturday he's considering a posthumous pardon for boxer Jack Johnson at the urging of actor Sylvester Stallone. — “Sylvester Stallone called me with the story of heavyweight boxing champion Jack Johnson.

Discussion: Townhall, Newsday, Slate, CNN, HuffPost, twitchy.com, No More Mister Nice Blog and Instapundit

Cindy Otis / The Daily Beast:

CIA Discrimination Against Disabled Officers Is Hurting the U.S. … I grinned as the taxi raced through the busy streets of a bustling Middle Eastern city in the middle of the night with my 200-lb. electric wheelchair strapped to the back with bungee cords.

Fox Business:

Mueller team said to be amused as Giuliani pledges to end Russia probe — Investigators inside the office of Special Counsel Robert Mueller reacted with a mixture of skepticism and laughter at Rudy Giuliani's claim that he will negotiate a swift end to Mueller's probe of President Donald Trump …

Carole Cadwalladr / The Guardian:

Arron Banks, the insurers and my strange data trail — Carole Cadwalladr just wanted to insure her car. Six months later, she found a mass of personal details held by a firm she had never contacted that is run by Leave.EU's biggest donor, Arron Banks. How did it get there?

A Fine Theorem:

The 2018 John Bates Clark: Parag Pathak — The most prestigious award a young researcher can receive in economics, the John Bates Clark medal, has been awarded to the incredibly productive Parag Pathak. His CV is one that could only belong a true rocket of a career: he was a full professor …

Discussion: bradford-delong.com

New York Times:

‘Overwhelmed’ Postal Carrier Hoarded 17,000 Pieces of Mail, Officials Say — A mail carrier in Brooklyn stashed about 17,000 pieces of undelivered mail for more than a decade because he was “overwhelmed” by the amount he had to deliver, the authorities said.

Rick Montgomery / Kansas City Star:

New poll puts Missouri Gov. Greitens' approval rating at 37 percent — Fifty-one percent of Missourians disapprove of embattled Gov. Eric Greitens' job performance, according to a new poll, and he maintains a 37 percent approval rating. — The survey released Saturday …

Discussion: Political Wire and Splinter

Kaylee Remington / Plain Dealer:

2-year-old girl accidentally shot and killed at Wickliffe hotel, police say — WICKLIFFE, Ohio — A 2-year-old girl was accidentally shot and killed by her mother at a hotel Friday night, police say. — The shooting happened just before 11 p.m. at a hotel on Euclid Avenue …

Discussion: Raw Story

Dan Diamond / Politico:

Trump challenges Native Americans' historical standing — Tribes say they should be exempt from Medicaid work requirements. — The Trump administration says Native Americans might need to get a job if they want to keep their health care — a policy that tribal leaders say will threaten access …