memeorandum: Democrat Nguyen launches campaign for Georgia's top election official (Greg Bluestein/Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

1:50 PM ET, May 4, 2021

Top Items:

Kadia Goba / Axios:

Scoop: McCarthy trashes Cheney on hot mic — House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said Tuesday he's “lost confidence” in Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) during a moment of candor caught on a hot mic, a tape reviewed by Axios shows. — What he's saying: “I think she's got real problems …

Discussion: Bloomberg, Breitbart, Mediaite, LifeZette, TheBlaze, Blue Virginia and The Gateway Pundit

Amanda Carpenter / The Bulwark:

Kevin McCarthy: Master of Strategery — Pushing our Liz McCarthy makes it easier to turn 2022 into another referendum on Trumpism. — Kevin McCarthy, apparently, thinks that if he can stop Liz Cheney from talking about former President Trump's promotion of the election lies that led to the January 6 riot …

Discussion: USA Today, ABC News, Insider, Associated Press, The Hill, Washington Examiner, The Gateway Pundit, The Daily Caller and Washington Times

Melanie Zanona / Politico:

The pro-Trump Republican trying to upstage Cheney — Jim Banks is the head of the House GOP's biggest caucus. He's also earning another unofficial title: shadow chair of the House GOP Conference. — The Indiana Republican, who's made no secret of his future leadership ambitions …

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Washington Post, New Republic, The Moderate Voice, NBC News, Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, CNN, Fox News, The Hill and Slate

Dominick Mastrangelo / The Hill:

McCarthy confirms living arrangements with Luntz after tip to Tucker Carlson — Share to Facebook Share to Twitter — House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) confirmed on Tuesday he rented a room from GOP pollster Frank Luntz during the coronavirus pandemic …

Discussion: CNBC, Daily Mail, New York Post, The Gateway Pundit, IJR, The Daily Caller, Mediaite and Breitbart

Alayna Treene / Axios:
Scoop: GOP wants to replace Cheney with another woman

Discussion: HotAir, Crooks and Liars, Talking Points Memo, Forbes, CNN, IJR, Balloon Juice, Insider, New York Post, The Moderate Voice, The Hill and Breitbart

Politico:
POLITICO Playbook: Tucker Carlson has a new GOP target

Discussion: Daily Kos, The Week, HotAir and CNN

Colby Hall / Mediaite:
Why Has Fox News Completely Ignored Trump and Liz Cheney's Battle Over ‘The Big Lie’?

Discussion: The Daily Beast

Michael Gerson / Washington Post:

Elected Republicans are lying with open eyes. Their excuses are disgraceful. — “Lord, Lord, how this world is given to lying!” — “Henry IV,” Part 1, Act 5 — For the activist base of the Republican Party, affirming that Donald Trump won the 2020 presidential contest has become …

Discussion: HuffPost, Piecebusiness, POLITICUSUSA, Zandar Versus The Stupid, CNN, Daily Kos and The Guardian

Speaker Nancy Pelosi:

From the GOP Leadership: Help Wanted - Non-Threatening Female — Seeking Replacement for House Republican Conference Chair — Word is out that House GOP Leaders are looking to push Rep. Liz Cheney from her post as House Republican Conference Chair - their most senior woman in GOP leadership …

Discussion: CNN, The Hill, IJR and POLITICUSUSA

Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:
When will Liz Cheney and the GOP break up?

Discussion: CNN, POLITICUSUSA, One America News Network, Twitchy, Bloomberg and Mediaite

Chandelis Duster / CNN:
GOP candidate crushed after opposing Trump says party ‘not living up to this moment’

Discussion: The Hill, Washington Post, POLITICUSUSA and Associated Press

John Wagner / Washington Post:
Biden to deliver remarks on vaccinations as pace of shots slows nationwide

Discussion: Washington Examiner, HuffPost, CNN, Judicial Watch, ABC News, Daily Kos, HotAir and Associated Press

CNN:
Cheney: What Trump did ‘is a line that cannot be crossed’

Emma Green / The Atlantic:

The Liberals Who Can't Quit Lockdown — Lurking among the jubilant Americans venturing back out to bars and planning their summer-wedding travel is a different group: liberals who aren't quite ready to let go of pandemic restrictions. For this subset, diligence against COVID-19 remains …

Discussion: Breitbart

Michael M. Grynbaum / New York Times:

Yamiche Alcindor Is Named Host of ‘Washington Week’ on PBS — She succeeds Robert Costa at a program best known as the longtime home of the anchor Gwen Ifill. — Last month, when Yamiche Alcindor learned she would become the next moderator of the PBS current-affairs show “Washington Week …

Discussion: Twitchy, Washingtonian, TVNewser and The Wrap

WETA:
Yamiche Alcindor Named Moderator of Washington Week

Discussion: Variety, The Hill and Deadline

Cristina Cabrera / Talking Points Memo:

CNN's Don Lemon Slams Santorum's Non-Apology For Racist Comments: ‘It Was Horrible’ — CNN anchor Don Lemon raked former GOP senator-turned-CNN contributor Rick Santorum (R-PA) over the coals on Monday night after Santorum refused to apologize for his racist comments downplaying European settlers' genocide of Native Americans.

Discussion: The Hill, The Week, Washington Examiner, Crooks and Liars, The Daily Caller and Twitchy

Ed Mazza / HuffPost:
‘Furious’ Don Lemon Loses His Cool After Chris Cuomo Has Rick Santorum On

Discussion: Raw Story

Ross A. Lincoln / The Wrap:
Even Don Lemon Calls Out Chris Cuomo for Having Rick Santorum as a Guest (Video)

Discussion: spectator.us, Instapundit, Mediaite, The Root, IJR and The Hill

Robert Mendick / Telegraph:

MI6 spy Christopher Steele ‘produced second dossier on Donald Trump for FBI’ — The dossier is believed to be raw intelligence that makes claims of Russian meddling and sex tapes — The former MI6 spy Christopher Steele produced a second dossier for the FBI on Donald Trump while he was in the White House, sources told The Telegraph.

Discussion: Crooks and Liars and Raw Story

Insider:
Former MI6 spy Christopher Steele produced a 2nd unverified dossier about Trump while he was president, report says

Discussion: HotAir

BuzzFeed News:
Flynn, Bannon, Manafort, Ivanka: Private Emails From Inside The Mueller Investigation

Discussion: Raw Story

The Yeshiva World:

Former NY Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver Has Been Released Early From Prison — Sources tell YWN that NY Assemblyman Sheldon Silver has been released from prison and is on his way home. He was released five years earlier than his six year sentence. His original release date was March 10, 2026.

Discussion: Associated Press

Isaac Stanley-Becker / Washington Post:

White House will make unordered vaccine supply available to other states — Unordered doses will go into a federal bank available each week to states where demand continues to outstrip supply. — The White House on Tuesday told states that coronavirus vaccine supply they choose not to order …

Discussion: CNN, Insider, Forbes and Political Wire

Casey Newton / The Verge:

Inside the all-hands meeting that led to a third of Basecamp employees quitting … I. — At 8AM PT on Friday, a bleary-eyed Basecamp CEO Jason Fried gathered his remote workforce together on Zoom to apologize. Four days earlier, he had thrown the company into turmoil by announcing that …

Discussion: The Daily Caller and Wall Street Journal, more at Techmeme »

Nate Cohn / New York Times:

Why Rising Diversity Might Not Help Democrats as Much as They Hope — Voters of color make up an increasing percentage of the United States electorate, but that trend isn't hurting Republicans as much as conservatives fear. — The Census Bureau released two important sets of data last week …

Discussion: Althouse

David Zweig / New York Magazine:

Experts: CDC's Summer-Camp Rules Are ‘Cruel’ and ‘Irrational’ — From the peak on January 8 to today, following the trajectory of new COVID cases in the U.S. is like a descent on the Matterhorn. The mortality rate has taken a similar plunge over the past few months.

Teo Armus / Washington Post:

Are the Bidens giants? Are the Carters tiny? Or are our eyes failing us? — On first glance, the photograph seems typical enough. President Biden and first lady Jill Biden kneel beside their predecessors in the White House, Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter, during a trip to Georgia last week.

Discussion: Fox News, Washington Examiner, Breitbart, Townhall, The Guardian, Snopes.com, spectator.us and ABC7

Olivia Nuzzi / New York Magazine:

Whatever Happened to ‘the Clinton Kid’? — On the morning of April 19, Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson posed on the steps of the statehouse in Little Rock, a big grin spread across his face. He was greeting guests who had come out to kick off “Save AR Students,” a campaign sponsored …

Luke Nozicka / Kansas City Star:

White supremacist who killed 3 at Jewish sites in Overland Park dies in Kansas prison — A white supremacist who in 2014 killed three people at Jewish sites in Overland Park has died in prison, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections. — F. Glenn Miller Jr. …

Discussion: Algemeiner.com and Snopes.com

Hayes Brown / MSNBC:

How Democrats can get a voting rights bill through the Senate — Senate Democrats have their marching orders: The caucus leadership has vowed to pass a national voting rights bill that will curb changes Republicans have made in the states that will make it harder to vote for too many Americans.

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, Vox, Raw Story and Daily Kos

Kevin D. Williamson / National Review:

What the Republican Party Needs vs. What It Wants — A failed congressional candidate in Texas told Republicans truths they needed to hear, but didn't want to. — Welcome to the Tuesday, a weekly newsletter about thus and such and whatnot, language and politics and culture, and other things.

Jordain Carney / The Hill:

Hawley defends Jan. 6 fist pump — Share to Facebook Share to Twitter — Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), who led efforts to challenge the 2020 election results in Congress, on Tuesday defended his fist pump to protesters outside of the Capitol on Jan. 6. — A photo that shows Hawley outside …

Discussion: The American Independent and IJR

CNN:

CIA briefing to lawmakers on suspected energy attacks turned contentious — A briefing on suspected energy attacks on US intelligence officers turned contentious last week, two sources told CNN, as senators demanded more information about the mysterious incidents from the CIA and accountability for how the agency has handled them.

Discussion: Politico

Jaclyn Peiser / Washington Post:

Pennsylvania man admits he voted for Trump with his dead mom's name: ‘I listened to too much propaganda’ — Weeks before Election Day, Bruce Bartman mailed his mother's absentee ballot with a check mark next to President Donald Trump's name. — The problem was, his mother had been dead since 2008.

Discussion: Washington Examiner and Law & Crime

Reuters:

Senior Swiss diplomat in Iran found dead after fall from high-rise — The first secretary at the Swiss embassy in Tehran was found dead on Tuesday after falling from a high-rise building where she lived in the north of the city, a spokesman for emergency services was quoted as saying by Iranian news agencies.

Discussion: CBS News, BBC, Breitbart, Al Jazeera, The Guardian, The Daily Caller, Insider and Fox News

Will Carless / USA Today:

Proud Boys saw wave of contributions from Chinese diaspora before Capitol attack — The donations started coming in about 10 p.m. on Dec. 17. — A donor named Li Zhang gave $100. A few minutes later, someone named Jun Li donated $100. Then Hao Xu gave $20, followed shortly by $25 from a Ying Pei.

Discussion: Raw Story and Reuters

Noga Tarnopolsky / Washington Post:

Netanyahu is desperate, unhinged and totally uninterested in governing — Unable to claim a mandate, the Israeli prime minister is trying to cling to power anyway — In the end, it took only four days to settle a matter that has hovered over Israel for years: How far would Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu …

Aniruddha Ghosal / Associated Press:

‘Horrible’ weeks ahead as India's virus catastrophe worsens — NEW DELHI (AP) — COVID-19 infections and deaths are mounting with alarming speed in India with no end in sight to the crisis and a top expert warning that the coming weeks in the country of nearly 1.4 billion people will be “horrible.”

Discussion: UPI

Associated Press:

How companies rip off poor employees — and get away with it — Already battered by long shifts and high infection rates, essential workers struggling through the pandemic face another hazard of hard times: employers who steal their wages. — When a recession hits, U.S. companies are more likely to stiff their lowest-wage workers.

Emma Colton / Washington Examiner:

Texas Democratic Party leader who called Tim Scott an ‘oreo’ resigns — The Texas Democratic Party official who called Sen. Tim Scott an “oreo” is resigning after multiple state leaders condemned his “disgusting” comments. — “I am deeply and sincerely sorry for my inappropriate and hurtful use …

Discussion: National Review, Townhall, LifeZette and DJHJ Media

Paul Steinhauser / Fox News:

Florida's Crist making third run for governor, second as Democrat — The former GOP governor and current Democratic congressman is hoping to challenge Republican Gov. DeSantis next year — Fox News Flash top headlines for May 4 — Rep. Charlie Crist, the former Republican governor …