memeorandum: President George H.W. Bush doing much better (Jamie Gangel/CNN)

1:20 PM ET, April 25, 2018

Top Items:

Another Special Election, Another Really Bad Sign For The GOP — One might describe Arizona's 8th Congressional District as ... nondescript. Covering portions of Phoenix's northern and western suburbs, including the Arizona Cardinals' home stadium, the district isn't all that geographically …

Discussion: Daily Wire, ThinkProgress, ABC News, New York Magazine, The Atlantic and New York Times

New York Times:

Republicans Lost Support in Every Special Election Since Trump Became President — Republicans have fared far worse in recent special congressional elections compared with previous elections. — Republican margin of victory — In a special House election on Tuesday, Debbie Lesko …

Discussion: Arizona Republic, Washington Post and Splinter

New York Times:

Arizona Special Election Results: Eighth House District — CandidatePartyVotesPct. — Rep. — 82,294 — Hiral Tipirneni — Dem. — 73,188 — 155,482 votes, <1% reporting (0 of 143 precincts) — The former Arizona state senator Debbie Lesko fended off an energetic Democratic challenge …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Politico, Townhall, Washington Post, CNBC, MSNBC, Weekly Standard, The Atlantic, The Week, Deadline, Daily Kos, Washington Times, ABC News, Scared Monkeys, Tennessee Star, The Daily Caller, Washington Free Beacon, Axios, The Hill and CNN

Axios:

Trump's election nightmare — Top Republicans have conceded for months that they're likely lose the House in November's midterms. But some well-wired operatives now tell Axios that President Trump may face his real nightmare: losing the Senate, giving Democrats both ends of the Capitol, and one-third of the government.

Discussion: Arizona Republic, Washington Post and Bloomberg

Harry Enten / CNN:
Why the win for Republicans in Arizona 8 is still good for Democrats

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Shareblue Media, The Daily Caller and twitchy.com

Michael Patrick Leahy / Breitbart:
‘Blue Wave’ Fizzles as AP Declares Republican Winner of Arizona Special Congressional Election

Discussion: Mother Jones, AOL, CNN and New York Magazine

Jonathan Martin / New York Times:
Debbie Lesko Wins Arizona Special Election for Congress, Rallying G.O.P.

Discussion: National Review, Outside the Beltway and Politico

Glenn Thrush / New York Times:

Mulvaney's Advice to Bankers: Up Campaign Donations to Diminish Consumer Watchdog — WASHINGTON — Mick Mulvaney, the interim director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, told banking industry executives and lobbyists on Tuesday that they should increase their campaign donations …

Daniel Marans / HuffPost:

Kirsten Gillibrand Unveils A Public Option For Banking — The idea would provide a low-cost alternative to payday loans — and it might just save the Postal Service, too. — Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) is introducing legislation Wednesday that would require every U.S. post office …

Emily Stewart / Vox:
Mick Mulvaney says in Congress, he only talked to lobbyists who gave him money

Discussion: Politico, Washington Post and Splinter

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
Mick Mulvaney, Trump's rumored next chief of staff, admits he sold access to lobbyists while in Congress

Discussion: Raw Story and Mediaite

New York Times:

Don Blankenship, West Virginia Candidate, Lives Near Las Vegas and Mulled Chinese Citizenship — KEYSER, W.Va. — Don Blankenship is running for the United States Senate as a proud West Virginian with Appalachian roots, but his primary residence is a $2.4 million villa with palm trees and an infinity pool near Las Vegas.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, CNN, National Review, Axios, The Week, Political Wire, MSNBC, IJR, Politico, Betsy's Page, Raw Story, Talking Points Memo, twitchy.com and Fox News

Heidi Przybyla / NBC News:

Harry Reid says Trump is damaging the country but warns against impeachment — LAS VEGAS — Former Nevada Sen. Harry Reid said he is worried that U.S. institutions have been “decimated” under President Donald Trump and blames Republicans for being lax on Russian election meddling …

Discussion: Washington Post, Washington Free Beacon and The Daily Caller

New York Times:

Inside the Confidential N.F.L. Meeting to Discuss National Anthem Protests — N.F.L. owners, players and league executives, about 30 in all, convened urgently at the league's headquarters on Park Avenue in October, nearly a month after President Trump began deriding the league and its players over protests during the national anthem.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

CNN:

VA nominee drunkenly banged on female employee's door during overseas trip, sources say — (CNN)During an overseas trip in 2015, Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson, the White House physician, was intoxicated and banged on the hotel room door of a female employee, according to four sources familiar with the allegation.

Discussion: Associated Press, RedState, Politico, Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, IJR, Raw Story, Weekly Standard, AOL, CBS Miami, The Daily Caller, Washington Times, Mediaite, Washington Press and thenewcivilrightsmovement.com

Sophie Tatum / CNN:
Sen. Tester: VA nominee handed out prescriptions ‘like candy’

Discussion: Washington Post, National Review, Vox, Fox News, Raw Story, RedState and Talking Points Memo

Joe Flint / Wall Street Journal:

NBC Bet $69 Million on Megyn Kelly—Then Viewers Vanished — The former Fox News star was supposed to bring a bigger audience for ‘Today,’ but ratings declines and high costs have dragged down a critical franchise — Megyn Kelly was supposed to bring star power to NBC News and a bigger …

Discussion: Mediaite, Contemptor and TVNewser

Ariel Zilber / Daily Mail:

The officers pulled over a car whose Nevada registration had expired. The car was driven by a male friend of her daughter, who was a passenger in the back seat — The daughter had called her mother after the vehicle was pulled over as they were driving along Route 9W in Bergen County on March 31.

Discussion: Politico and Louder With Crowder

Associated Press:

The Latest: Macron lashes out against fake news — The Latest on French President Emmanuel Macron speaking in front of a joint meeting of Congress (all times local): — French President Emmanuel Macron is urging the United States against “closing the door to the world.”

Discussion: Axios, Bloomberg Politics and ABC News

Shannon Vavra / Axios:
Macron to Congress: U.S. must step up on world stage

Discussion: ABC News, thenewcivilrightsmovement.com and One America News Network

Mark Landler / New York Times:

A National Security Aide's Departing Wish: Cooking for the State Dinner — WASHINGTON — In the ceaseless churn of the Trump administration, there are many ways to leave the White House. Lt. Gen. H. R. McMaster, the ousted national security adviser, exited to the applause of colleagues who lined the West Wing parking lot.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Splinter

Stephen Chen / South China Morning Post:

North Korea's nuclear test site has collapsed ... and that may be why Kim Jong-un suspended tests — The mountain's collapse after a fifth blast last fall has led to the creation of a massive ‘chimney’ that could leak radioactive fallout into the air, researchers have found

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Al Jazeera English and 38 North

Jeremy Page / Wall Street Journal:
North Korea's Nuclear Test Site Is Largely Unusable, Chinese Scientists Say

Discussion: Mother Jones and The Week

Wall Street Journal:

Alito: What About Cases of Threat of Infiltration? — Justice Alito offers a somewhat less extreme hypothetical than the chief justice's airstrike question. He asks Mr. Katyal, Can you imagine any situation where the threat of infiltration by foreign enemies was so severe that the president …

Sam Baker / Axios:
The Trump show goes to the Supreme Court

Discussion: Washington Post, Politico, ABC News and electionlawblog.org

Justin Elliott / ProPublica:

The Hidden Hand of a Casino Company in Trump's Contact with Vietnam — “Trump, Inc.” Podcast — On Dec. 14, 2016, one month after his election, President-elect Donald Trump had a call with the prime minister of Vietnam. At a time when foreign governments were scrambling to contact Trump …

Discussion: Above the Law and Daily Kos

Washington Post:

News organizations seek access to Mueller materials in Russia investigation … A coalition of news organizations, including The Washington Post, asked a federal court on Tuesday to unseal materials used by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III to obtain search warrants in his investigation …

Discussion: Political Wire

Katelyn Polantz / CNN:
CNN, news orgs ask court to unseal Manafort court documents

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

Aidan McLaughlin / Mediaite:

Ronan Farrow: Hillary Clinton Tried to Cancel Interview Because I Was Reporting on Weinstein Story — Ronan Farrow appeared on Good Morning America Wednesday to talk about his new book, and made a revelation about an interview he was slated to have with Hillary Clinton.

Discussion: Althouse, twitchy.com and Politico

Becket Adams / Washington Examiner:

Vox rewrites history to make Barbara Bush-hating professor the victim — Vox's fundamental problem isn't that many of its writers are astonishingly ignorant. It's that they are aggressively dishonest. — Consider, for example, how the website that promises to “explain the news” …

Discussion: Daily Wire, twitchy.com and Vox

Eddie Hughes / Fresno State News:
President Joseph I. Castro letter on conclusion of review regarding professor

Discussion: Mother Jones, The Daily Caller, IJR and TheBlaze

Campbell Robertson / New York Times:

A Lynching Memorial Is Opening. The Country Has Never Seen Anything Like It. — The National Memorial for Peace and Justice, opening Thursday in Montgomery, Ala., is dedicated to victims of white supremacy. — MONTGOMERY, Ala. — In a plain brown building sits an office run by the Alabama Board …

Discussion: WHNT-TV

Megan Messerly / The Nevada Independent:

The Independent Poll: Heller, Rosen neck and neck in U.S. Senate race though Rosen still largely unknown; majority disapprove of Trump — Sen. Dean Heller is in a dead heat with Democratic challenger Rep. Jacky Rosen in one of the most closely watched U.S. Senate races in the country …

Discussion: Vox and Political Wire

Danielle McLean / ThinkProgress:

Unearthed photo reveals ‘New Yorker’ Steve Mnuchin enjoys solar eclipses after all — When the public first learned about Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin's trip aboard a (pricey) military jet to tour Fort Knox last August, it didn't take an astrologer to note the interesting timing of the visit …

Tennessean.com:

Phil Bredesen holds narrow edge over Marsha Blackburn, new Mason-Dixon poll shows — Phil Bredesen and Marsha Blackburn are the leading candidates to replace Bob Corker in the U.S. Senate Michael Schwab/USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee — Another poll on the U.S. Senate race between former …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

Jay Rosen / NYR Daily:

Why Trump Is Winning and the Press Is Losing — There is alive in the land an organized campaign to discredit the American press. This campaign is succeeding. Its roots are long. For decades, the Republican coalition has tried to hang together by hating on elites who claim to know things, like: “What is art?”

Chronicle of Higher Education:

Drew Cloud Is a Well-Known Expert on Student Loans. One Problem: He's Not Real. — Drew Cloud is everywhere. The self-described journalist who specializes in student-loan debt has been quoted in major news outlets, including The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, and CNBC …

Discussion: Talking Biz News, more at Mediagazer »

Reason:

Chicago Is Trying to Pay Down Its Debt by Impounding Innocent People's Cars … On June 21, 2016, Chicago police pulled Spencer Byrd over for a broken turn signal. Byrd says his signal wasn't broken, but that detail would soon be the least of his worries. Ever since, Byrd has been trapped …

Maria Sacchetti / Washington Post:

Federal judge: Trump administration must accept new DACA applications … A D.C. federal judge has delivered the toughest blow yet to Trump administration efforts to end deportation protections for young undocumented immigrants, ordering the government to continue the Obama-era program and …

Discussion: New York Times, RedState, Politico, Daily Wire, NBC News, Daily Kos, Mother Jones, ImmigrationProf Blog, TheBlaze, Axios and Political Wire

Reuters:

Exclusive: Russian civilians helping Assad use military base back home - witnesses — MOLKINO, Russia (Reuters) - The Kremlin says it has nothing to do with Russian civilians fighting in Syria but on three recent occasions groups of men flying in from Damascus headed straight to a defense ministry base …

Loyd Brumfield / Dallas Morning News:

Dallas police officer dies a day after Home Depot shooting that wounded 2 others — Update at 10:45 a.m.: Updated to include comments from the police chief. — A Dallas police officer has died after a theft suspect opened fire at a Home Depot in Lake Highlands, a shooting that left …

Discussion: RedState, Corpus Christi Caller-Times, WFAA-TV and Bearing Arms

Michael Kruse / Politico:

How the Trump Show Gets Old — On September 20, 2004, the director of the Museum of Television & Radio in Los Angeles welcomed a packed crowd to an evening discussion “featuring the two people responsible for giving television audiences across America a mesmerizing cultural phenomenon. ...

Reena Flores / Politico:

‘Like vigilantes on the rampage’: Top donor blasts Democrats' response to #MeToo — Susie Tompkins Buell, a close friend of Hillary Clinton, called the ousting of Al Franken ‘unfair’ and ‘a stain on the Democrats’ — Susie Tompkins Buell, the prominent Democratic donor …

Discussion: Raw Story and The Daily Caller

Jamie Gangel / CNN:

President George H.W. Bush doing much better — Gupta: Bush could have broken heart syndrome — (CNN)Former President George H.W. Bush is doing much better, a source close to the Bush family said Wednesday, days after the 41st President was admitted to intensive care.

Discussion: Axios and CBS Dallas

Rachel Maddow / MSNBC:

Firing Mueller won't end Trump investigation, Mueller made sure — Rachel Maddow shows how Robert Mueller has worked with other departments and agencies in the course of the Trump Russia investigation, ensuring that even if the special counsel is fired, the elements of the investigation live on.

Nathanael Blake / Public Discourse:

The Dual Legitimation Crisis: Elitism, Populism, and Political Power — Because liberal Western democracies are ostensibly rooted in the theory of popular sovereignty, elite disdain for the people creates another legitimation crisis—one that many fail to recognize.