memeorandum: Kevin McCarthy says he rented a ‘room’ — in a 7,000-square-foot penthouse (Glenn Kessler/Washington Post)

2:05 PM ET, May 5, 2021

Top Items:

Oversight Board upholds former President Trump's suspension, finds Facebook failed to impose proper penalty — The Board has upheld Facebook's decision on January 7, 2021, to restrict then-President Donald Trump's access to posting content on his Facebook page and Instagram account.

Charlie Warzel / Galaxy Brain:

Trump's New Blog Is a Trap — The only way to win is not to play … A Quick Thought on Facebook's Oversight Board Decision — This morning the Board delivered its long-awaited decision with this slippery, misleading headline: Oversight Board upholds former President Trump's suspension …

Discussion: New York Times, CNBC, IJR, Mediaite and POLITICUSUSA, more at Techmeme »

Washington Post:

Facebook's Oversight Board upheld the social network's decision to ban Trump — Long-awaited ruling has implications for how social media companies govern speech by public officials and other powerful people — Facebook's Oversight Board on Wednesday upheld the social network's decision …

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Associated Press, Variety, Mercury News, The Root, The American Independent, Snopes.com, KNWA FOX24, ABC7, WGN-TV and Jezebel, more at Mediagazer »

Mike Isaac / New York Times:

Facebook Oversight Board Upholds Social Network's Ban of Trump — A company-appointed panel ruled that the ban was justified at the time but added that the company should reassess its action and make a final decision in six months. — SAN FRANCISCO — A Facebook-appointed panel of journalists …

Discussion: CBS News, Breaking News USA, Occupy Democrats, Insider, Bloomberg, IJR, Talking Points Memo, Breitbart, Florida Politics, Fox 8 Cleveland WJW, Althouse, ABC7 and The Daily Beast

Michael Kruse / Politico:

The Facebook Ban Hurt Trump in Surprising Ways — STRONGSVILLE, Ohio— Joe Poldruhi wasn't sure what to believe about his local congressional race. He hadn't heard it straight from Donald Trump. — I had come to Ohio's 16th District to report on Trump's vengeance-fueled decision …

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Washington Examiner, New Republic, The Guardian and Washington Post

The Guardian:
Trump criticizes Facebook ruling and says social media companies ‘must pay a political price’ - live

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA, Washington Times, Twitchy and Althouse

Axios:
Trump and inner circle hang on Facebook verdict

Discussion: Pew Research Center, The Verge, Politico, Insider, The Guardian, Washington Examiner, Raw Story, USA Today, The Week, POLITICUSUSA, HotAir, RedState, Mediaite and The Western Journal

Politico:

Cheney isn't fighting McCarthy push to replace her in leadership — Liz Cheney is not fighting to hold onto her job as House GOP conference chair, even as top Republican leaders openly campaign to replace her in the No. 3 spot. — To the frustration of many fellow Republicans …

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Insider, CNN, The Hill, Donald J. Trump, New Republic, The Wrap, Mediaite and Salon

Wall Street Journal:

Purging Liz Cheney — GOP leaders shouldn't have to lie about 2020 to keep their job. — By The Editorial Board — This should be a hopeful moment for House Republicans. While they're playing defense in the minority for now, their prospects for picking up the five net seats they need …

Discussion: The Bulwark, The Hill, Politico, HuffPost, The National Interest, Donald J. Trump, Breitbart, CNN, NBC News, The Week, Electoral-vote.com, Mediaite, The Gateway Pundit, Raw Story, Forbes and The Western Journal

Dan Balz / Washington Post:

The effort to dump Liz Cheney is the consequence of a party that lost its way — The growing effort to remove Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) from the third-ranking Republican leadership position in the House further accelerates her party's full capitulation to Donald Trump's big lie about the 2020 election.

Discussion: Washington Examiner, ABC News, Politico, National Review, New York Times, Talking Points Memo, The Western Journal, USA Today, Washington Times, CNN, Raw Story, Fox News, davidblaska.com, The Nation, The Dispatch, HuffPost and Times of San Diego

Burgess Everett / Politico:

Ernst defends fellow Republican leader Cheney — but calls for intra-GOP peace — INDEPENDENCE, Iowa — Sen. Joni Ernst doesn't agree with Liz Cheney's opposition to former President Donald Trump. The Iowa Republican still says her fellow GOP leader has the right to stand her ground.

Discussion: Washington Examiner and National Review

Allahpundit / HotAir:
Report: Trump, McCarthy, Scalise all back Elise Stefanik to replace Cheney in caucus leadership

Discussion: Fox News, Breitbart, The Daily Caller and Wall Street Journal

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
How GOP rage at Liz Cheney makes a future stolen election more likely

Discussion: CNN, VICE, New York Times, NPR, The American Conservative, Forbes, IJR, National Review, Bloomberg and Michael-In-Norfolk

Steve Hayes / The Dispatch:
Kevin McCarthy's GOP is Tired of Hearing the Truth

Discussion: Patterico's Pontifications, Townhall, Page Array and HotAir

Jacqueline Alemany / Washington Post:
Power Up: Marjorie Taylor Greene might have helped Liz Cheney survive this long

Discussion: Erick Erickson's Confessions …, Insider, Politico, National Review, The Western Journal, Forbes and RedState

Brian Schwartz / CNBC:
Liz Cheney's top donors stand with her despite Republicans' push to oust her from House leadership

Discussion: The American Independent, Bloomberg, Tangle, The Hill, National Review, Associated Press, POLITICUSUSA, Washington Times and New York Times

Thomas L. Friedman / New York Times:
Trump's Big Lie Devoured the G.O.P. and Now Eyes Our Democracy

Discussion: CNN, Salon, Digby's Hullabaloo, Los Angeles Times and Hackwhackers

Fadel Allassan / Axios:
Trump, House GOP leaders endorse Elise Stefanik to replace Liz Cheney

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Insider, CBS News, The Hill, National Review, Associated Press, The Federalist, CNN and Talking Points Memo

Brad Stone / Bloomberg:

The Untold Story of How Jeff Bezos Beat the Tabloids — When a gossip rag went after the CEO, he retaliated with the brutal, brilliant efficiency he used to build his business empire. In an exclusive excerpt from the new book Amazon Unbound comes an unrivaled tale of money, sex, and power.

more at Mediagazer »

Wall Street Journal:

Peloton Recalls All Treadmills as CEO Apologizes — Home-fitness company now offering customers refunds, halts sales of Tread+ machine — Peloton Interactive Inc. has agreed to recall its treadmills, and its chief executive apologized for the company's initial refusal to comply …

Discussion: TMZ.com and New York Post

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission:
CPSC and Peloton Announce: Recall of Tread+ Treadmills After One Child Death and 70 Incidents; Recall of Tread Treadmills Due to Risk of Injury

Discussion: CBS News, USA Today, TechCrunch, Gizmodo, Chicago Sun-Times, Jezebel, New York Times, CBS Philly, Forbes, NBC New York, KTVX-TV, ABC News, NBC 6 South Florida, Fox 8 Cleveland WJW, UPI, KRQE-TV and The Verge

Michael S. Schmidt / New York Times:

Judge Says Barr Misled on How His Justice Dept. Viewed Trump's Actions — Judge Amy Berman Jackson said in a ruling that the misleading statements were similar to others that William P. Barr, the former attorney general, had made about the Mueller investigation.

Discussion: Daily Kos, HotAir, Raw Story, The Hill, The Week, Progressive Eruptions and The Daily Caller

Katelyn Polantz / CNN:
Secret William Barr memo saying not to charge Trump must be released, judge says

Discussion: The Guardian, Crooks and Liars, UPI, Associated Press, Washington Examiner and Raw Story

Sabrina Tavernise / New York Times:

The U.S. Birthrate Has Dropped Again. The Pandemic May Be Accelerating the Decline. — Over all, the birthrate declined by 4 percent in 2020. Births were down most sharply in December, when babies conceived at the start of the health crisis would have been born.

Discussion: Washington Post, Reuters, NPR, Human Events and The Hill

Janet Adamy / Wall Street Journal:
Births in U.S. Drop to Levels Not Seen Since 1979

Discussion: CNBC, The Daily Caller and National Review

Glenn Kessler / Washington Post:

Kevin McCarthy says he rented a ‘room’ — in a 7,000-square-foot penthouse — “Frank [Luntz] has been a friend of mine for more than 30 years. ... I've rented a room from Frank for a couple of months, but don't worry, I'm back to — going back to where I normally am, on my couch in my office.

Discussion: Breaking News USA, Mock Paper Scissors, The Gateway Pundit and The Hill

Signal Blog:

The Instagram ads Facebook won't show you — Companies like Facebook aren't building technology for you, they're building technology for your data. They collect everything they can from FB, Instagram, and WhatsApp in order to sell visibility into people and their lives.

Discussion: Gizmodo, Washington Post, MacRumors, The Indian Express and Forbes, more at Mediagazer »

Larry McShane / New York Daily News:

Please buy this newspaper: A Daily News reporter begs a local owner to rescue the tabloid from Alden Global Capital — Like any good tabloid headline, it's simple, snappy and succinct: DAILY NEWS NEEDS NEW OWNER. — And not just any owner: a New York owner, someone who knows the city …

Discussion: Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »

New York Times:

Why Democratic Departures From the House Have Republicans Salivating — A growing number of Democrats in battleground districts are retiring or leaving to seek higher office, imperiling the party's slim House majority and President Biden's expansive agenda.

Discussion: The American Independent, The Nation, Politico, HotAir, The Hill, New York Post and CNN

Anne Gearan / Washington Post:

Strongmen who got cozy with Trump get the cold shoulder from Biden — The Biden administration has zinged Russia and China over human rights and alleged thuggery against their neighbors, cut off some arms sales to Saudi Arabia, and stiff-armed Turkey's increasingly authoritarian leader.

Discussion: Washington Examiner and National Review

Barak Ravid / Axios:

Scoop: Jared Kushner founds “Abraham Accords Institute” — Jared Kushner is founding an organization called the Abraham Accords Institute for Peace, to work on deepening the normalization agreements he helped strike between Israel and Arab countries. — The big picture: The Abraham Accords …

Discussion: The Times of Israel, Algemeiner.com and Insider

Jessica M. Goldstein / Washingtonian:

The Awkward Feeling of Rooting for the White House Press Secretary — Half of America is smitten with Jen Psaki, while a swath of the White House press corps sounds quite taken with how polite she is. — In her first three months on the job, White House press secretary Jen Psaki has yet …

Reuters:

U.S. eyes nuclear reactor tax credit to meet climate goals -sources — The White House has signaled privately to lawmakers and stakeholders in recent weeks that it supports taxpayer subsidies to keep nuclear facilities from closing and making it harder to meet U.S. climate goals …

Discussion: Washington Examiner and The Daily Caller

Neal Rothschild / Axios:

Trump's spell over the media broke once he lost his megaphones — Social media interactions about former President Trump have fallen 91% since January, according to exclusive data from NewsWhip. — Why it matters: When Trump lost his social media accounts, he lost his once-immense power …

Discussion: Mock Paper Scissors

Michael Tesler / FiveThirtyEight:

Republicans' Pessimistic Views On The Economy Have Little To Do With The Economy — Since Joe Biden became president, several surveys have found a sharp rise in Republican pessimism about the economy. — This might seem surprising considering the national economy — which experienced …

CREW:

Trump family travel cost $140,000+ in just the first month post-presidency … Trump's adult children have cost taxpayers a lot of money over the years, but this time, it's different. CREW got records from the Secret Service that show that in just the thirty days after Donald Trump left the presidency …

Discussion: Raw Story

Annie Nova / CNBC:

Federal judge overturns national eviction ban — A federal judge struck down on Wednesday the national eviction moratorium, potentially leaving millions of Americans at risk of losing their homes. — Housing advocates have said that the national ban is necessary to stave off …

Discussion: Raw Story and Political Wire

Seth Borenstein / Associated Press:

Nature at its craziest: Trillions of cicadas about to emerge — COLUMBIA, Md. (AP) — Sifting through a shovel load of dirt in a suburban backyard, Michael Raupp and Paula Shrewsbury find their quarry: a cicada nymph. — And then another. And another. And four more.

Discussion: The Daily Caller and Fox 8 Cleveland WJW

Jeff Schogol / Task & Purpose:

Eddie Gallagher now says SEALs intended to kill unarmed fighter and ‘nobody had a problem with it’ — Nearly two years after being found not guilty of killing an unarmed ISIS fighter, retired Navy SEAL Chief Eddie Gallagher has made an earth-shattering admission: Neither he nor any of the other SEALs …

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Raw Story and ABC News