memeorandum: Vice President Pence to graduates: Be prepared to be ridiculed for being Christian (Maureen Groppe/USA Today)

3:25 PM ET, May 12, 2019

Top Items:

‘The safe choice:’ Biden widens SC lead in 2020 Democratic presidential primary — Now that he's formally entered the race, former Vice President Joe Biden widened his lead in South Carolina among 2020 Democratic presidential candidates, according to a new poll.

Discussion: Bloomberg, Axios and POLITICUSUSA

Dan Balz / Washington Post: Biden's entry into the Democratic race provides a jolt to the Sanders candidacy

David Rothkopf / The Daily Beast:

Can Wharton Revoke Trump's Economics Degree Now? — His ideas are dumb and destructive. — Despite all the success enjoyed by 19th Century industrial magnate Joseph Wharton, the 21st Century has not been kind to his family's legacy. His great-great-great grandson, Josh Rosen …

Jonathan Martin / New York Times:

‘There He Goes Again’? Not Yet, as Biden Avoids Major Gaffes — LOS ANGELES — The mayor of Los Angeles was attempting to praise Joseph R. Biden Jr. to the press, but Mr. Biden's aides were more focused on shooing the press away. — At the end of a made-for-cameras lunch he shared …

Axios:

Trump's Biden obsession — Behind the scenes, aides to President Trump have long seen Joe Biden as his biggest potential threat in 2020. Now, the president is saying it out loud. — Driving the news: “Looks to me like it's going to be SleepyCreepy Joe over Crazy Bernie. Everyone else is fading fast!”

Discussion: Raw Story and Breitbart

Zachary Basu / Axios:

White House adviser Larry Kudlow contradicts Trump on who pays tariffs — White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow admitted to Fox News' Chris Wallace on Sunday that the Chinese do not directly pay tariffs on goods coming into the U.S., but argued that China will suffer GDP losses as a result of a diminishing export markets.

Felicia Sonmez / Washington Post:
Kudlow acknowledges U.S. consumers, not China, pay for tariffs on imports

Discussion: Vox, The Guardian and Foreign Policy

David J. Lynch / Washington Post: As Trump fights with China over trade, U.S.-China economic relationship already being redefined

Financial Times: China's Liu He denies backtracking on trade agreements with the US

Grant Stern / The Stern Facts:

SOURCE: Wall GoFundMe just paid for a ‘nearly’ $1 million yacht — A source close to the Florida man who raised over $22 million on GoFundMe in the “We The People Will Build the Wall” campaign just revealed today that the money has been diverted to pay for a ‘million dollar’ yacht and high-flying lifestyle.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, New York Post, The Daily Caller and Washington Post

Kyle Cheney / Politico:

Nadler squeezed with calls for ‘inherent contempt’ — House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler is in a bind. — A growing number of Democratic committee members are pushing Nadler to take more aggressive steps to force President Donald Trump and top administration officials to comply with a host of congressional subpoenas.

Discussion: Raw Story

Washington Post:
Trump and his allies are blocking more than 20 separate Democratic probes in an all-out war with Congress

Discussion: IJR, Raw Story and CNN

Josh Lederman / NBC News:

Buttigieg calls out Democrats for playing ‘identity politics’ — In a risky speech to the Human Rights Campaign, a major LGBT rights group, Buttigieg warned of a “crisis of belonging in this country.” — LAS VEGAS — Pete Buttigieg sought to diffuse weeks of fraught questions about white privilege …

Discussion: New York Times and The Week

Louis Casiano / Fox News:
Buttigieg takes shot at social conservatives, describes coming out during Vegas LGBTQ gala

Discussion: Breitbart

William J. Broad / New York Times:

Your 5G Phone Won't Hurt You. But Russia Wants You to Think Otherwise. — RT America, a network known for sowing disinformation, has a new alarm: the coming ‘5G Apocalypse.’ — The cellphones known as 5G, or fifth generation, represent the vanguard of a wireless era rich in interconnected cars, factories and cities.

Eli Rosenberg / Washington Post:

A reporter declined to reveal his source. Then police showed up at his front door with guns. — Bryan Carmody, a freelance reporter in San Francisco, awoke Friday to the sounds of someone trying to break into his house. — About 10 officers from the San Francisco Police Department …

more at Mediagazer »

Campbell Robertson / New York Times:

They Were Promised Coding Jobs in Appalachia. Now They Say It Was a Fraud. — Mined Minds came into West Virginia espousing a certain dogma, fostered in the world of start-ups and TED Talks. Students found an erratic operation. — BECKLEY, W.Va. — On a spring day in 2017 …

more at Techmeme »

Philip Klein / Washington Examiner:

Rashida Tlaib says thinking of the Holocaust provides her a ‘calming feeling,’ shockingly claims Palestinians created ‘safe haven’ for Jews — Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., has made yet another shocking and historically ignorant claim: That thinking about the Holocaust gives her a “calming feeling” …

Discussion: Breitbart, The Gateway Pundit, Human Events, The Daily Caller and acast

New York Times:

Russia Is Targeting Europe's Elections. So Are Far-Right Copycats. — LONDON — Less than two weeks before pivotal elections for the European Parliament, a constellation of websites and social media accounts linked to Russia or far-right groups is spreading disinformation …

Discussion: The Daily Beast

New York Times: Trump Tries to Bring Hungary's Orban in From the Cold

John Bresnahan / Politico:

‘A dream ticket’: Black lawmakers pitch Biden-Harris to beat Trump — The Congressional Black Caucus may have found an answer to its Joe Biden dilemma: Vice President Kamala Harris. — Some black lawmakers are agonizing over whether to back Biden or two members of the close-knit caucus …

Discussion: Breitbart, IJR and Fox News

Mattha Busby / The Guardian:

Andrew Neil: questions to Ben Shapiro were legitimate — BBC presenter says interview style not aimed at ‘destroying’ anyone after criticism — Play Video — Andrew Neil has defended his interviewing style following criticism from supporters of the conservative US pundit Ben Shapiro …

Maureen Groppe / USA Today:

Vice President Pence to graduates: Be prepared to be ridiculed for being Christian — WASHINGTON -The last time Vice President Mike Pence spoke at Liberty University, he used the backdrop of one of the world's largest Christian schools to vouch for candidate Donald Trump's faith credentials during the 2016 campaign.

Discussion: Mother Jones, Fox News, Splinter, Washington Times and IJR

Washington Post:

Applying ‘maximum pressure,’ Trump faces burgeoning crises overseas — President Trump ran for office vowing to extricate the United States from entanglements abroad. But his administration now finds itself juggling three national security crises overseas — with Iran, Venezuela and North Korea …

New York Times:
Trump Said He Would Tame Rogue Nations. Now They Are Challenging Him.

Discussion: The Atlantic

Matthew Boyle / Breitbart:

North Carolina Blowback Intensifies on Richard Burr's Rogue Subpoena — The intense home state backlash against Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC), the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, for issuing a rogue subpoena of President Donald Trump's eldest son Donald Trump, Jr. …

Discussion: RedState, Mother Jones and USA Today