memeorandum: The F.D.A. ended its recommended pause on the J.&J. vaccine, clearing the way for states to use it again. (New York Times)

11:45 PM ET, April 23, 2021

Top Items:

The F.D.A. ended its recommended pause on the J.&J. vaccine, clearing the way for states to use it again. — The Food and Drug Administration ended its recommended pause on the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine on Friday and will add a warning to its label to note the potential risk of rare blood clots.

Discussion: Iowa Capital Dispatch, TASS, Fox 8 Cleveland WJW, CBS Denver and CBS News

Sam Baker / Axios:
U.S. lifts pause on Johnson & Johnson's coronavirus vaccine

Discussion: Breitbart and Daily Herald

Associated Press:
US to resume J&J COVID vaccinations despite rare clot risk

Discussion: Japan Times, HotAir, Florida Politics and Associated Press

New York Times:
Covid-19 Live Updates: Some U.S. Vaccination Sites Will Close as Demand Drops

Discussion: Politico, ABC News, Washington Post, Texas Standard, The Western Journal, Townhall and The Week

NBC News:
FDA, CDC lift pause on J&J Covid vaccinations

Discussion: National Review, The Daily Caller, The Guardian, UPI, NPR and Mother Jones

Politico:
White House writes off Johnson & Johnson vaccine after string of production failures

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Wall Street Journal, Axios, NOQ Report, The Hill, HotAir and New York Times

Helen Branswell / STAT:
U.S. lifts pause on use of J&J's Covid-19 vaccine

Discussion: CNN, ABC17NEWS, WGN-TV and Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Steven Perlberg / Insider:

The New York Times is readying a big newsletter push as Substack tries to poach its top writers with advances worth hundreds of thousands — The New York Times is readying a newsletter push as Substack comes after top journalists. — Substack offered opinion writer Liz Bruenig a $200,000 advance, double her Times salary.

Discussion: Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »

Will Oremus / Slate:

What Substack Is Really Doing to the Media — This week, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg granted a rare, live, hourlong interview to a tech journalist, where he revealed the company's plans for a slew of new audio products. Normally, such a scoopy, wide-ranging interview would be a coup for the media company that landed it.

Discussion: Techonomy and Forbes, more at Mediagazer »

Marshall Cohen / CNN:

Capitol rioter arrested after being turned in by match on online dating app Bumble — (CNN)The Justice Department has charged a Capitol rioter who was turned in by someone he matched with on the dating app Bumble, after he bragged about his exploits on January 6.

Discussion: New York Post, Raw Story and KFOR-TV

Minyvonne Burke / NBC News:
Capitol riot suspect arrested after Bumble match alerts feds

Discussion: allsides.com, CBS New York and CBS News

Katie Shepherd / Washington Post:
He boasted on Bumble about storming Capitol, feds say. His would-be date turned him in: ‘We are not a match’

Discussion: The Sun, One America News Network, NPR, TheGrio, Forbes, Occupy Democrats, Fox News, The Daily Caller, Mediaite, Hackwhackers, Joe.My.God., Tech Xplore, Insider and The Root

Pete Williams / NBC News:
Justice Dept. now expects to charge more than 500 in Capitol riot probe

Discussion: Joe.My.God.

Axios:

Scoop: Caitlyn Jenner makes it official for California governor — Former Olympic decathlete and reality TV star Caitlyn Jenner has filed her initial paperwork to run for governor of California and will officially announce her bid later today, her campaign tells Axios.

Morgan Phillips / Fox News:
California Gov. Newsom raising money by tying Caitlyn Jenner to Trump

Discussion: NPR, Politico, Twin Cities, NewsLooks, Washington Examiner, Towleroad Gay News, CBS San Francisco and National Review

Jonathan VanBoskerck / Orlando Sentinel:

I love Disney World, but wokeness is ruining the experience | Commentary — My family and I have been loyal Disney customers for decades. We vacation at Disney World every year. We take a Disney cruise every year or two. Consequently, we spend way too much money in Orlando.

Discussion: Fox News, Las Vegas Review-Journal, Deadline, Raw Story, Mediaite and Gothamist

Mike Levine / ABC News:

After Chauvin's conviction for Floyd murder, DOJ weighs charging him for 2017 incident involving Black teen: Source — The judge in Chauvin's murder trial didn't let lawyers bring up the incident. — DOJ reportedly looking into 2017 incident between Chauvin and Black teen

Discussion: TheGrio, Insider, Raw Story, Joe.My.God. and The Intellectualist

Robert A. George / Bloomberg:
Police Reformers Need to Pick Their Battles

Discussion: Townhall, Washington Post and Washington Examiner

Jeremy Duda / Arizona Mirror:

Dems won't post $1M bond, so election audit won't be paused — A brief weekend pause in the Arizona Senate's election audit that a judge ordered on Friday won't happen because the Arizona Democratic Party declined to put up a $1 million bond that the judge requested to cover any expenses …

Discussion: Arizona Republic, Talking Points Memo, Forbes, The Gateway Pundit, We Love Trump, Becker News, Page Array and Political Wire

Rosalind Helderman / Washington Post:
GOP-backed recount of Maricopa County ballots appears on track to move forward after initial pause ordered by Arizona judge

Discussion: Washington Examiner, CNN, Arizona Mirror, Arizona Republic, The Post & Email, The Gateway Pundit, MyNorthwest.com, Insider, New York Times and Arizona Democratic Party

Rich Mendez / CNBC:

MIT researchers say you're no safer from Covid indoors at 6 feet or 60 feet in new study challenging social distancing policies — An MIT study showed that people who maintain 60 feet of distance from others indoors are no more protected than if they socially distanced by just 6 feet.

Discussion: Twitchy, OutKick and TheBlaze

CNN:

Gaetz probe includes scrutiny of potential public corruption tied to medical marijuana industry — Women detail late-night parties with Gaetz — (CNN)Federal authorities are looking into whether a 2018 trip to the Bahamas involving Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz and several young women …

Discussion: The Hill, Talking Points Memo, Joe.My.God., Forbes, Raw Story and Insider

Andrew Solender / Forbes:

GOP Sen. Ron Jonhson Criticizes ‘Big Push’ To Get Everyone Vaccinated — Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.) on Thursday questioned the “big push” to ensure everyone is vaccinated against coronavirus, putting him at odds with many of his Senate Republican colleagues who have attempted to close the partisan gap in vaccination rates.

Adam Klasfeld / Law & Crime:

Oath Keeper's Chilling Exchange About Nancy Pelosi Keeps Him Behind Bars in Capitol Siege Case — An Oath Keepers leader's chilling correspondence with another person who allegedly fantasized about House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's “head rolling down the front steps” persuaded a federal judge …

U.S. Department of Justice:

Florida Family Indicted for Selling Toxic Bleach as Fake “Miracle” Cure for Covid-19 and Other Serious Diseases, and for Violating Court Orders — Defendants Accused of Attempting to Avoid Government Regulation by Selling Products Through a Company They Deceptively Named “Genesis II Church of Health and Healing”

Discussion: The Daily Beast, New York Post and The Daily Caller

Bloomberg:

Rich Americans Face Biden Tax Hike With Anger, Denial and Grief — Investors irked by plan for capital gains tax of up to 43.4% — The proposal strikes at the heart of widening U.S. wealth gap — Charles Myers was sitting in a first-class seat on a flight from New York to Dallas when his phone started blowing up Thursday.

Discussion: Issues, Townhall, One America News Network, Reuters, Washington Post and Insider

Rana Ayyub / TIME:

‘This Is Hell.’ Prime Minister Modi's Failure to Lead Is Deepening India's COVID-19 Crisis — Ayyub is an Indian journalist and the author of Gujarat Files: Anatomy of a Cover Up — Dr. Jalil Parkar, one of India's leading pulmonologists, wears his exhaustion on his face.

Discussion: BBC, NDTV.com, The National Interest, The Guardian, HotAir and The Daily Beast

Tom LoBianco / Insider:

Donald Trump plots temporary move from Mar-a-Lago north to New Jersey — The Trump National Golf Club Bedminster will serve as the former president's summer base. — Expect New Jersey to become the new center of Republican politics for a few months. — Trump will gain easy access …

Discussion: Raw Story, Mediaite, Breitbart, Joe.My.God., Balloon Juice and The Daily Beast

Laura Vozzella / Washington Post:

Virginia GOP won't let Orthodox Jews vote absentee in Sabbath-day convention — RICHMOND — Republican Party leaders have rejected a plea to let Orthodox Jews and others with religious obligations on Saturdays vote absentee in the GOP's May 8 nominating convention, in which the party will choose …

Katherine Clarke / Wall Street Journal:

The Newest Status Symbol for High-Net Worth Homeowners: Trophy Trees — In search of the perfect garden, the super rich are paying upwards of hundreds of thousands of dollars to bring in huge old trees by helicopter, barge and flatbed truck — For decades, Walter Acree operated …

Washington Post:

Ted Cruz maintains ties to right-wing group despite its extremist messaging — On Aug. 4, 2019, the day after a gunman who had posted a hateful diatribe against Hispanics fatally shot 23 people at an El Paso Walmart, a leader of a tea party group in Texas said on Facebook …

Discussion: Raw Story and Political Wire

Benjamin Din / Politico:

Rep. Dan Crenshaw ‘hopeful and confident’ of recovery following emergency eye surgery — Rep. Dan Crenshaw said Friday that his emergency eye surgery “went very well,” although he still had “a while to go” before he was fully recovered. — “I can lift my head up again and no longer …

Discussion: Dallas Morning News, Washington Examiner, Fox News, New York Post and TheBlaze

The White House:

President Biden Announces Key Administration Nominations in National Security … WASHINGTON - Today, President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate the following individuals to serve in key national security positions in his Administration. — Brenda Sue Fulton …

Los Angeles Times:

California Guard members feared fighter jet would be ordered to frighten protesters — In March of last year, California National Guard members awaited orders from Sacramento headquarters to make preparations for any civil unrest that might arise from the outbreak of the coronavirus.

Discussion: Raw Story

Department of Homeland Security:

DHS Announces Rescission of Civil Penalties for Failure-to-Depart — WASHINGTON - Today, at the direction of Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) rescinded two delegation orders related to the collection of civil financial penalties …

Keir Giles / Chatham House – International …:

Europe must admit Russia is waging war — The persistent lack of response from the EU, NATO, or individual countries only convinces Russia it is free to carry out attacks across Europe with impunity. — EXPERT COMMENT — The bad news from Russia continues to come thick and fast …

Discussion: Washington Post, TIME and Insider

Zaid Jilani / INQUIRE:

Why Aren't We Celebrating Operation Warp Speed? — Partisanship shouldn't prevent us from recognizing our own achievements. — 5 hr ago — About half of all U.S. adults have now received at least one COVID-19 vaccine shot. While the pandemic is far from over, our rapid pace of vaccination …

New York Times:

U.K. Far Right, Lifted by Trump, Now Turns to Russia — The anti-Islam agitator Tommy Robinson struck gold in America. Keeping it might require help from Moscow, where other British far-right activists are also finding friends. — LONDON — Two days after supporters …