memeorandum: Romney: Capitol riot was ‘an insurrection against the Constitution’ (Jordan Williams/The Hill)

6:05 PM ET, May 15, 2021

Top Items:

Israel strike in Gaza destroys building with AP, other media — GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — An Israeli airstrike destroyed a high-rise building in Gaza City that housed offices of The Associated Press and other media outlets hours after another Israeli air raid on a densely populated refugee camp killed …

Discussion: Committee to Protect …, New York Times, Al Jazeera, The Daily Beast, RedState, The Other McCain, IJR, New York Post, Mediaite, Reuters, Twitchy, Haaretz, HotAir, WGN-TV, The Week, Slate, The New Arab, Jihad Watch, The Hill, Joe.My.God., Townhall, Washington Post, CNN, BBC, CBS News, TheBlaze, وزا … and The Wrap, more at Mediagazer »

Lauren Easton / The Definitive Source:

AP statement on destruction of Gaza bureau — UPDATED 3:40 P.M. ET: AP President and CEO Gary Pruitt issued this statement Saturday after AP's Gaza bureau was destroyed in an Israeli airstrike: — Director of Media Relations — We are shocked and horrified that the Israeli military …

Discussion: Associated Press, Washington Post, The Hill, Al Jazeera, Breitbart, Politico, Washington Examiner, New York Post, The Week, Mediaite and Twitchy

Associated Press:

AP statement on Israeli attack on building housing AP office — NEW YORK (AP) — An Israeli airstrike destroyed a high-rise building in Gaza City that housed offices of The Associated Press and other media outlets on Saturday. All AP employees and freelancers evacuated the building safely.

Discussion: The Guardian, Al Jazeera, Axios, RedState, Joe.My.God., France 24, National Review, Mediaite, The Daily Caller, NPR, The Daily Beast, The Week, The Wrap and Hackwhackers

Adam Taylor / Washington Post:
With strikes targeting rockets and tunnels, the Israeli tactic of ‘mowing the grass’ returns to Gaza

Discussion: TheBlaze, Jerusalem Post, ABC News and RedState

Wall Street Journal: Almost Nothing You've Heard About Evictions in Jerusalem Is True

Associated Press:
Israeli airstrike in Gaza destroys building with AP bureau

Discussion: Associated Press, NBC Chicago and Twitchy

Barbara Plett Usher / BBC:
Israeli-Palestinian conflict gives Biden foreign policy headache

Discussion: The Economist

Dan Balz / Washington Post:

The purging of Liz Cheney is about much more than the future of the GOP — It was just another week in Donald Trump's Republican Party, and once again, truth was a casualty. — House Republicans replaced a 2020 election truth-teller with a 2020 election truth-denier as the third-ranking member of their leadership.

Discussion: The Hill, Raw Story, CNN, LifeZette, Maryland Matters, Los Angeles Times, Daily Kos, Washington Times, Crooks and Liars and CBS New York

Lexi Lonas / The Hill:

McCarthy dings Biden after meeting: Doesn't have ‘energy of Donald Trump’ — Share to Facebook Share to Twitter — House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said that President Joe Biden doesn't have the “energy of Donald Trump” after meeting with him for the first time in Biden's presidency.

Discussion: Insider, Occupy Democrats, LifeZette, National Review, POLITICUSUSA, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Newsbusters and HotAir

James Arkin / Politico:
Arizona audit divides wobbling state GOP

Discussion: The Hill, Arizona Mirror, Raw Story and The Daily Signal

Lisa Lerer / New York Times:
The G.O.P.'s Big Cancellation

Discussion: USA Today

Jonathan Tamari / The Philadelphia Inquirer:
Today's Paper — On Tuesday, Republican Sean Parnell launched his campaign for U.S. Senate …

Discussion: CNN, Washington Post, Daily Kos and Outside the Beltway

Brian Klaas / Washington Post:
Why personality cults and democracy don't mix

Discussion: The US Sun and LifeZette

W. James Antle III / Washington Examiner:
As Stefanik replaces Cheney, Democrats want to keep spotlight on Trump

Discussion: Can it happen here?, CNN, Raw Story and Insider

Madeleine Ngo / New York Times:

Covid Live Updates: Major U.S. Retailers Drop Mask Requirements — Walmart, Costco, Publix and Starbucks are among the retail giants effectively moving to an honor system. In parts of the U.S., nearly all older adults have been vaccinated. — RIGHT NOW Taiwan hits a daily case record.

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, Slate, Breitbart and WINK NEWS, more at Techmeme »

Marisa Iati / Washington Post: The new mask guidance relies on an honor system. Do we trust each other enough to make it work?

Apoorva Mandavilli / New York Times:
Why the CDC Changed Its Advice on Masks

Discussion: HotAir

New York Times:
How The CDC Change on Mask Guidance Set Off Confusion in States and Cities

Discussion: Fox Business, HotAir, NPR and WOOD-TV

Marc Caputo / Politico:

McKissick whips Wood in South Carolina GOP race — Pro-Trump lawyer Lin Wood's bid to bring “chaos” to South Carolina's GOP was halted on Saturday when he failed to unseat the party's chairman after baselessly accusing the incumbent of voter fraud and a host of other slurs.

Discussion: The Hill, Joe.My.God., HotAir and Political Wire

Marc Caputo / Politico:
Stolen election myth rattles key GOP race

Discussion: Associated Press, Forbes and Raw Story

New York Daily News:

Make it Mayor Garcia: New Yorkers should choose Kathryn Garcia in the Democratic primary — The next mayor of New York will assume leadership of America's largest city at a hinge in its history, and not only because the five boroughs are still reeling from the loss of more than 30,000 lives …

Joe Walsh / Forbes:

Marjorie Taylor Greene Allegedly Broke Georgia Law By Taking Tax Exemptions On Two Homes — Controversial freshman Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R) may have violated property tax laws in her home state of Georgia by listing two different houses as her primary residence, an Atlanta television station alleged Friday.

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Mock Paper Scissors, Crooks and Liars and Insider

Kimberly Leonard / Insider:
How Marjorie Taylor Greene became the Voldemort of Congress. Few lawmakers even want to say her name.

Discussion: The Hill and Raw Story

Pilar Melendez / The Daily Beast:

Neo-Nazi Dumps 3 Dead Bodies at Albuquerque Hospital Then Flees: FBI — Richard Kuykendall drove to hospital, removed his shirt and told a security officer “that there were three dead guys in the Chevy,” according to a criminal complaint. — A suspected white supremacist is facing charges …

Discussion: Raw Story

Katherine Rosman / New York Times:

Paulina Porizkova on Instagram, Aaron Sorkin and Aging — The veteran supermodel is contesting the will of her late husband, Ric Ocasek — and writing herself a splashy new chapter. — When the writer and model Paulina Porizkova was asked by Aaron Sorkin to join him at the Oscars …

Oriana Pawlyk / Military.com:

Space Force CO Who Got Holiday Call from Trump Fired Over Comments Decrying Marxism in the Military — A commander of a U.S. Space Force unit tasked with detecting ballistic missile launches has been fired for comments made during a podcast promoting his new book, which claims Marxist ideologies …

Discussion: Washington Examiner and Joe.My.God.

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:

Conservatives Excommunicated the Last Republican President Who Lost — One of the rationalizations Republicans have made for their party's refusal to disavow Donald Trump's authoritarianism is that asking a party to renounce a former president is categorically unreasonable. “He's an ex-president.

Discussion: Digby's Hullabaloo

Jordan Williams / The Hill:

Romney: Capitol riot was ‘an insurrection against the Constitution’ — Share to Facebook Share to Twitter — Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) called the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol an “insurrection against the Constitution” as some GOP lawmakers sought to minimize the violence this week.

Discussion: Breitbart and JONATHAN TURLEY

Julian Borger / The Guardian:

Isolated Biden in bid to forge UN consensus on conflict — Attempt to salvage a common position on Israel after US team tries to delay, citing bad timing — The UN security council will meet in open session on Sunday to attempt to salvage a common position on the new conflict between Israel …