memeorandum: The fixer is in: What Bradley Tusk sees in Andrew Yang, and in the future of politics (Harry Siegel/New York Daily News)

4:30 PM ET, May 9, 2021

Top Items:

Melinda Gates Was Meeting With Divorce Lawyers Since 2019 to End Marriage With Bill Gates — Melinda Gates had discussions with divorce lawyers in October 2019 around when Bill Gates's ties to Jeffrey Epstein became public — The split between Bill and Melinda Gates, announced last week, has been in the works for a long time.

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Raw Story, Forbes, New York Post, Law & Crime and LifeZette

Mychael Schnell / The Hill:

Kinzinger compares Republican Party to the Titanic — Share to Facebook Share to Twitter — GOP Rep. Adam Kinzinger (Ill.) on Sunday compared the Republican Party to the Titanic amid an internal battle surrounding Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) and the push to oust her from her GOP leadership position.

Discussion: Insider, Occupy Democrats, IJR, Raw Story, The Daily Caller and LifeZette

Cameron Cawthorne / Fox News:
Rep. Jim Banks: Liz Cheney ‘failed’ in House GOP leadership role

Discussion: Insider, Washington Post, Townhall, New York Post, The Moderate Voice, The Daily Beast, Raw Story, The Hill and Crooks and Liars

CNN:
McCarthy confirms he's backing Stefanik for No. 3 House Republican post

Discussion: CBS News, Associated Press, Forbes, New York Post and Political Wire

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
McConnell safe in power, despite Trump's wrath

Discussion: CBS News, Associated Press, USA Today, Political Irony, Talking Points Memo, CNN, POLITICUSUSA, Raw Story and NBC News

Chip Somodevilla / ABC News:
‘This Week’ Transcript 5-9-21: Dr. Anthony Fauci, Fatima Goss Graves, Diane Swonk & Lareina Yee

Discussion: Washington Examiner, NBC News, HotAir and Fox News

Sandra Tan / Buffalo News:

Free beer offer results in more vaccinations than all Erie County first-dose clinics last week — The idea of getting vaccinated had been rolling around in the back of Tyler Morsch's mind for weeks. As a 28-year-old, he didn't feel in any particular danger, but he finally decided …

Discussion: Balloon Juice

Dana Goldstein / New York Times:

Schools Are Open, but Many Families Remain Hesitant to Return — Even as fears of the coronavirus abate, many students are continuing to opt out of in-person learning. Some school leaders are trying to woo — or push — them back. — Pauline Rojas's high school in San Antonio is open.

Discussion: Washington Monthly and Twitchy

Stef W. Kight / Axios:

The next political battleground: school boards — The debate over coronavirus precautions and school reopening has fueled a surge of new candidates for school boards across the country. — Why it matters: What was traditionally a nonpartisan, hyper-local role is now at center of a swirling national political debate.

Harry Siegel / New York Daily News:

The fixer is in: What Bradley Tusk sees in Andrew Yang, and in the future of politics — Maybe it says something about the limits of Bradley Tusk's argument that the old political gatekeepers (newspaper columnists very much included) are basically dead wood just one good whack or gust …

Shant Shahrigian / New York Daily News:

Mayoral hopefuls spar over police, crime in wake of Times Square shooting — The shocking shooting of three people in Times Square prompted mayoral candidate Andrew Yang to speak out against the movement to defund police on Sunday, followed by a stinging rebuke from rival Eric Adams depicting him as a Johnny-come-lately to the issue.

Discussion: New York Post

The Philadelphia Inquirer:

Larry Krasner deserves a second term as Philly district attorney | Endorsement — The Democratic primary for Philadelphia district attorney has been drawing national attention, and understandably so. Aside from its colorful main characters — an incumbent DA who's a national icon in progressive circles …

Will Bunch / The Philadelphia Inquirer: Police robbed these Black men of their lives, too, but we're not talking about this

Jesus Jiménez / New York Times:

2 Oklahoma Boys Pulled From Class for ‘Black Lives Matter’ T-Shirts — In addition to the disciplinary action they have faced, the boys' mother said that at least one of her three sons has been bullied because of the shirts. — Two brothers, 8 and 5, were removed from their Oklahoma …

Discussion: The Hill

E.J. Dionne / Washington Post:

Tory lessons for Republicans — Opinion by — Local and regional election results across Britain last week hold lessons for American politicians. Not least is this: A Trumpist Republican Party that had taken the coronavirus pandemic more seriously and had delivered tangible benefits …

Discussion: BBC

Tony Romm / Washington Post:

GOP governors slash jobless aid to try to force more Americans to return to work — Arkansas, Montana and South Carolina have acted in recent days to end extra $300 weekly payments to unemployed Americans, even as the Biden administration maintains generous benefits are not deterring people from seeking work

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, CBS News, BizPac Review, Zandar Versus The Stupid, Insider and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Jesse Naranjo / Politico:

Fauci predicts ‘dramatic difference’ in pandemic outlook if more are vaccinated — Top Biden health adviser Anthony Fauci on Sunday predicted that the country's coronavirus situation will be dramatically different a year from now if larger proportions of the population are vaccinated.

Discussion: CNN and National Review

Davone Morales / ABC News:
Vaccinations are the ‘end game’ to the COVID-19 crisis in India: Fauci

Discussion: The Hill and Fox News

C. Ryan Barber / Insider:

FBI director Chris Wray barely survived the Trump era. Now he's working with Biden's attorney general taking on domestic terrorism and probing Trump allies. — Then-Attorney General Bill Barr threatened to quit last spring when Trump tried to fire FBI Director Chris Wray, Insider has learned.

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA

Associated Press:

Former Delaware Governor Pierre ‘Pete’ Du Pont IV Dies — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS (The Associated Press) — Wilmington, Del. (AP) — Pierre S. “Pete” du Pont IV, a former Delaware governor and congressman who sought the Republican presidential nomination in 1988, has died. He was 86.

Discussion: The Hill, New York Times and USA Today

Christina Zhao / MSN:

Birthing People's Day? Cori Bush Debate Rages Into Mother's Day Weekend — An online debate sparked by Missouri Democratic Congresswoman Cori Bush calling women “birthing people” has raged on into Mother's Day weekend. — On Thursday, Bush drew praise and criticism after she used the term …

Discussion: Raw Story and Crooks and Liars

Hugo Lowell / The Guardian:

Democrats renew effort to get Donald Trump's financial records — House committee is arguing to federal judge that with Trump out of office, he no longer has a viable claim to withhold materials — A powerful Democrat-led House committee is pushing a federal judge to order Donald Trump …

Discussion: Raw Story

Niall Stanage / The Hill:

The Memo: The Obamas unbound, on race — Share to Facebook Share to Twitter — Former President Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama are more willing than ever to speak frankly about race. — At one time, political risk — and a guaranteed storm of criticism …

Amity Shlaes / The Hill:

Biden as the new FDR: It's the same old bad deal for jobs — Share to Facebook Share to Twitter — President Biden doesn't want merely to showcase Franklin Roosevelt. He wants to replicate him. As President Roosevelt once did with the New Deal, Biden intends to spend to spur growth …

Washington Post:

As convention ends, Virginia Republicans wait for governor nominee to emerge — Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly labeled a list of candidates running for the Republican nomination for attorney general of Virginia as lieutenant governor candidates. The article has been corrected.

Discussion: Blue Virginia

Graham Moomaw / Virginia Mercury: ‘Tired of getting whupped’: GOP convention voters offer competing visions for a red Virginia

Deanna Paul / Wall Street Journal:

Alvin Bragg Leans on Harlem Roots in Manhattan District Attorney Race — Bragg, the only Black candidate, has emerged as a front-runner in the crowded field seeking to replace Cyrus Vance — | Photographs by Thalia Juarez/The Wall Street Journal — Growing up in Harlem during …

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: New York Magazine

Jacob Bogage / Washington Post:

Push to electrify mail trucks gains wide support, an unlikely win for both DeJoy and Biden — USPS had long spurned EVs over cost, but sustainability goals from the White House and top House Democrats could transform the agency's fleet — House Democratic leaders are lining up behind …

Discussion: Insider