memeorandum: Senate Democrats resist Biden's $1.8 trillion pay-for plan (Alayna Treene/Axios)

9:45 PM ET, April 28, 2021

Top Items:

Federal Investigators Execute Search Warrant at Rudy Giuliani's Apartment — Prosecutors obtained the warrant as part of an investigation into whether Mr. Giuliani broke lobbying laws as President Trump's personal lawyer. — Federal investigators in Manhattan executed a search warrant …

ABC News:

Rudy Giuliani's home, office searched by federal agents as part of lobbying probe, sources tell ABC News — Sources say Giuliani's electronic devices were confiscated by authorities. — Feds consider Rudy Giuliani email probe … Bloomberg via Getty Images, FILE

Discussion: Insider and Raw Story

Benjamin Hart / New York Magazine:

Preet Bharara Thinks Rudy Giuliani Is in ‘Deep Trouble’ — On Wednesday, federal agents raided Rudy Giuliani's apartment as part of an investigation into his dealings in Ukraine, which included digging up dirt on Joe Biden in that country. The investigation is being led by prosecutors in the Southern District of New York.

Discussion: Fox News, No More Mister Nice Blog, CNN and Washington Post

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
Giuliani's long quest to put himself in legal jeopardy appears to have paid off

Discussion: CNN, Fox News, The Gateway Pundit and RedState

Wall Street Journal:
Rudy Giuliani's New York Apartment Searched by Federal Investigators

Discussion: The Week, Raw Story, TMZ.com, Mediaite, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, POLITICUSUSA and The Guardian

Shayna Jacobs / Washington Post:

Trump supporter found guilty of threatening to kill members of Congress after Jan. 6 insurrection — NEW YORK — Brendan Hunt, an enthusiastic Trump supporter who called for killing members of Congress days after the Jan. 6 insurrection, was found guilty Wednesday of making a death threat against elected officials.

Discussion: CNN, Mediaite, Associated Press, New York Times, Joe.My.God. and Raw Story

ABC News:
In 1st, two women will sit behind a president for a speech to Congress

Discussion: Associated Press, MSNBC, Defense One, Real America's Voice News, Washington Post, The Guardian and The Sun

Liz Peek / The Hill:
Border crisis torches Kamala Harris's presidential prospects

Discussion: Breitbart

Joe Schoffstall / Fox News:
Pelosi's PACs flooded with over $1M in cash from teachers' unions as debate raged over school reopenings

Discussion: NRCC

Bloomberg:
Biden Disappoints SALT Democrats, Setting Up Headache for Pelosi

Discussion: Raw Story, The Rush Limbaugh Show, New York Sun and Political Wire

Kate Ackley / Roll Call:
Donations from teachers unions spiked as Congress debated school reopening, virus relief

Discussion: The Federalist, Breitbart, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and Townhall

Alayna Treene / Axios:

Senate Democrats resist Biden's $1.8 trillion pay-for plan — President Biden will ask Congress to pay for the entirety of his $1.8 trillion American Families Plan, yet some Democratic senators want him to finance it with deficit spending, lawmakers and their aides tell Axios.

Discussion: New York Times, NPR, The Week and STAT

Meredith Newman / delawareonline:

Delaware man to deliver first joint address to Congress Wednesday night — President Joe Biden, just before his 100th day in office, will deliver his first speech to a joint session of Congress Wednesday night. — After decades of watching these speeches as a U.S. senator and vice president, Biden will deliver one of his own.

Discussion: Washington Examiner, The Hill, Washington Post, Deseret News, CNN and Bloomberg

The White House:

Fact Sheet: The American Families Plan … Today, President Biden announced the American Families Plan, an investment in our kids, our families, and our economic future. — In March, the President signed into law the American Rescue Plan, which continues to provide immediate relief to American families and communities.

Ben Leonard / Politico:
What Jill Biden's guest list tells us about the president's speech tonight

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Associated Press, CNN and The Hill

Michelle Stoddart / ABC News:
Biden's speech to joint session of Congress: Live updates

Discussion: Politico, Breitbart, The Crime Report and Political Wire

CNN:
Biden says China is betting the US can't keep up with autocracy

Discussion: HotAir, Insider, Slate, Los Angeles Times, The Daily Caller, Bloomberg, New York Post, The American Independent and Washington Examiner

New York Times:

Cuomo Aides Spent Months Hiding Nursing Home Death Toll — Aides to the New York governor, Andrew M. Cuomo, repeatedly prevented state health officials from releasing the number of nursing home deaths in the pandemic. — The effort by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's office to obscure the pandemic death toll …

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Fox News, New York Magazine, Politico, National Review, The Week, The Hill, HotAir, Townhall, RedState, Mediaite, Insider, The Daily Caller, OutKick, IJR, Twitchy, Washington Post and CBS New York

Ted Cruz / Wall Street Journal:

Your Woke Money Is No Good Here — Corporations have taken advantage of Republicans for too long. I won't take their PAC dollars anymore. — Georgia's new election law runs 98 generously spaced pages. A fast reader can get through it in one sitting. If you're the CEO of a major corporation …

Discussion: Mediaite

Laurie McGinley / Washington Post:

Biden administration expected to announce plan to ban menthol cigarettes — A prohibition on menthol cigarettes is a priority for Black health advocates and anti-tobacco groups, which note that African Americans have been disproportionately harmed by the product

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon, Daily Mail, New York Post, Joe.My.God., Outside the Beltway, Fox 8 Cleveland WJW, The Daily Caller, Forbes, RedState, ABC7, Washington Examiner, New York Times, Fox News, Politico, USA Today and Twitchy

Bo Erickson / CBS News:
Biden expected to ban menthol cigarettes

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Breitbart and Washington Times

Caleb Howe / Mediaite:

Roll The Tape: CNN's New Day Claims to be Straight News, But Adopts Dunks-and-Owns Format — The new New Day debuted last week on CNN. Brianna Keilar is now the co-host alongside John Berman. The show's reboot comes with a new attitude as they chase audience share.

Aidan McLaughlin / Mediaite: Fox's Bill Hemmer on Anchoring From the Studio During Covid, the Cable News Landscape, and Why He's ‘Bearish’ on New York

Spencer Buell / Boston Magazine:

They Wanted to Call Roller World. Instead They've Been Calling the New York Times — The calls come out of the blue. He'll be relaxing on a weekend afternoon, wrapping up work on deadline, or chatting with friends on a Zoom call. And then all of a sudden, his phone will buzz …

Gabby Orr / CNN:

‘Not an easy transition’: Inside Trump's unconventional first months out of office — Palm Beach, Florida (CNN)Most Mondays and Tuesdays, former President Donald Trump skips golf to confer with aides about the week ahead. — Together they decide which Republican candidates he will meet …

Discussion: Breitbart, The Week, National Review, The Gateway Pundit, Raw Story, Insider, The Daily Caller, Washington Examiner and The Hill

U.S. Department of Justice:

Three Georgia Men Charged with Federal Hate Crimes and Attempted Kidnapping in Connection with the Death of Ahmaud Arbery — Three Georgia men were indicted today by a federal grand jury in the Southern District of Georgia and charged with hate crimes and the attempted kidnapping of Ahmaud Arbery.

Discussion: New York Times, HuffPost, The Hill, Washington Examiner, CBS News, Associated Press, USA Today, Insider, UPI, Raw Story, The Daily Caller, Joe.My.God. and Law & Crime

Alex Bollinger / LGBTQ Nation:

Concerned father arrested while peacefully testifying against Arkansas trans health care ban — He was arrested for going 30 seconds over his allotted two minutes to speak. The anti-LGBTQ hate group representative who spoke before him talked for 40 minutes.

Jonah Goldberg / The Dispatch:

Outrage Overload — You will be assimilated into the rage machine. — 1 hr ago — The York Minster Police are a small but proud lot. There are only eight of them (the North Yorkshire Police are the major crime fighting force in the area), but they do important work.

David Gilbert / VICE:

This Crossfit Chiropractor Is Secretly One of QAnon's Leading Influencers — IET, a leading and hugely antisemitic voice in the Q community, has gone to great lengths to conceal his identity, which VICE News can now reveal. — DG — Under his pseudonym of InevitableET, or IET …

Greg Suskin / WSOC-TV:

‘I did a stupid thing’: Volunteer fire chief apologizes for racially charged social media post — LANCASTER COUNTY, S.C. — A volunteer fire chief in Lancaster County is receiving criticism for an offensive, racially charged post he made on Facebook. — The Facebook post from Butch Ghent read:

Discussion: The Root and Raw Story

David Crary / Associated Press:

US Catholic bishops may press Biden to stop taking Communion — When U.S. Catholic bishops hold their next national meeting in June, they'll be deciding whether to send a tougher-than-ever message to President Joe Biden and other Catholic politicians: Don't receive Communion if you persist in public advocacy of abortion rights.

Discussion: Fox News, The Daily Caller, IJR and The Hill

Mead Gruver / Associated Press:

Cheney: ‘Wishful thinking’ by Trump she won't seek 4th term — CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — Speculation by former President Donald Trump that she won't seek re-election next year is “wishful thinking,” Liz Cheney said Wednesday. — Trump suggested Tuesday that Wyoming's congresswoman would become a lobbyist or …

Discussion: Washington Examiner

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission:

Alex Oh Resigns from SEC; Melissa Hodgman Named Acting Director of Enforcement — The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Alex Oh has resigned her position as Director of the Division of Enforcement for personal reasons. Melissa Hodgman will return to the role of Acting Director of the Division of Enforcement.

Discussion: Bloomberg

The White House:

FACT SHEET: Biden-Harris Administration Delivers Emergency COVID-19 Assistance for India … Reflecting the United States' solidarity with India as it battles a new wave of COVID-19 cases, the United States is delivering supplies worth more than $100 million in the coming days to provide urgent relief to our partners in India.

Discussion: The Week

Christopher Mathias / HuffPost:

The Fascist Face Of Charlottesville Joined The Military. Then He Got Kicked Out. — A rare example of the military taking proactive steps to keep an extremist — the man in a viral photo from the deadly 2017 white supremacist rally — out of its ranks. — The white nationalist featured …

Devin Dwyer / ABC News:

Supreme Court debates student free speech rights on social media — Justices consider teenager's challenge to school punishment for vulgar Snapchat. — Snapchat battle over free speech heads to Supreme Court — ABC News' Devin Dwyer speaks with a teen who is at the center of a Supreme Court case …

Discussion: Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Fox News, New York Times, Washington Free Beacon, Politico, Slate, SCOTUSblog, Law & Crime, CNN, CBS News, Washington Examiner and Bloomberg

Jerry Iannelli / The Appeal:

Lori Lightfoot's Record Shows the Limits of ‘Police Reform’ — In various offices across two decades, Mayor Lightfoot has failed to bring change to the Chicago Police Department. — Lori Lightfoot has had several chances to hold the Chicago Police Department accountable for its actions.

Washington Post:

Deadly air pollutant ‘disproportionately and systematically’ harms Americans of color, study finds — Black, Latino and Asian Americans face higher levels of exposure to fine particulate matter from traffic, construction and other sources — Nearly every source of the nation's most pervasive …

Discussion: New York Times and Earther

Max Greenwood / The Hill:

Loeffler asks Georgia attorney general to investigate Raffensperger over 2020 election — Former Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.) is calling on Georgia's top law enforcement official to investigate Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) for his handling of the 2020 election.

Discussion: New York Magazine, Washington Examiner, Breitbart, Mediaite and Raw Story

Molly O'Toole / Los Angeles Times:

‘A gold rush for human smugglers’: Biden's Title 42 policy fuels migrant family kidnappings at border, extortion in U.S. — Kidnapped, but returned safely — Karen Cruz Caceres's sister Tani, left, with her son, upon arriving in Memphis on April 13. — WASHINGTON —

Discussion: HotAir and The Daily Caller

William Saletan / Slate:

What We Know About the People Who Don't Want to Get Vaccinated — Over the past three weeks, the U.S. rate of vaccination against the coronavirus has slowed. That's because many people who wanted to get their shots have gotten them, and many people who remain unvaccinated are reluctant.

BuzzFeed News:

Facebook Is Hiding Posts With #ResignModi — Facebook is hiding posts calling for the resignation of India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, marking the platform's latest foray in a series of controversial decisions affecting free speech in a country experiencing a full-blown COVID-19 crisis.

Discussion: The Guardian and The Verge, more at Techmeme »