memeorandum: Prisons didn't prescribe much Paxlovid or other Covid-19 treatments, even when they got the drugs (Nicholas Florko/STAT)

6:40 PM ET, May 5, 2022

Top Items:

CNN:

John Roberts calls Supreme Court leak ‘absolutely appalling’ — Atlanta (CNN)Chief Justice John Roberts said Thursday that the leak of a draft opinion that would strike down Roe v. Wade is “absolutely appalling” and stressed that he hopes “one bad apple” would not change “people's perception” …

Discussion: HuffPost, Insider, The Hill, POLITICUSUSA, Political Wire and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Washington Post:

White House scrambles for ways to protect abortion — The White House is looking for actions it can take to protect abortion rights, but its options are limited — In the hours after a leaked Supreme Court document signaled the court was poised to overturn Roe v. Wade in the coming weeks …

Charlie Warzel / The Atlantic:

Why Are the Right Such Sore Winners? — I want to take a moment and share a few observations about the GOP reaction to the leaked draft opinion of the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade (with the obvious caveat that scope of the decision could still change before it becomes public next month).

Discussion: Jezebel, Wall Street Journal and Talking Points Memo

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:

Putting Together the Pieces on The Campaign to Stop Roberts — As I wrote below, the rapid-fire follow-up reporting on John Roberts' position on the Mississippi case, just hours after the Politico exclusive, made me think at the time that the leaked draft opinion wasn't a one off thing.

Discussion: Washington Post and New York Magazine

NBC News:

With Roe likely to fall, Senate Republicans weigh nationwide abortion restrictions — WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans have fought for decades to end Roe v. Wade. Now, with victory in sight, they are discussing whether to pursue nationwide restrictions on abortion if they gain power.

Discussion: HotAir, Iowa Starting Line, Higher Thinking, The Hill, The Conversation, Clayton Cramer, Opinion Today and NewsHounds blog

Tom Goldstein / SCOTUSblog:
How the leak might have happened

Discussion: HuffPost, New York Times and Reason

William Saletan / The Bulwark:
The Politics of Overturning Roe Are Bad for Republicans

Discussion: Washington Post, Washington Examiner, The Hill, Insider, Mother Jones, Bloomberg, The Federalist and Raw Story

Margaret Sullivan / Washington Post:
The media fell for ‘pro-life’ rhetoric — and helped create this mess

Ramesh Ponnuru / Bloomberg:
What's Not Going to Happen After Roe Falls

Discussion: Insider, Salon, Slate, Vox, Los Angeles Times, The Daily Caller, The Editorial Board and National Review

David Cole / Washington Post:
Opinion The Alito opinion would be like Plessy overturning Brown v. Board of Education

Discussion: PolitiFact, The Guardian and Common Dreams

Pete Williams / NBC News:
How the Supreme Court could proceed with the Roe leak probe

Discussion: Reuters

Caitlin Yilek / CBS News:
Hillary Clinton on what happens if Roe v. Wade is overturned: “You have no idea who they will come for next”

Discussion: The Hill and IJR

Tyler Pager / Washington Post:

Karine Jean-Pierre to be next White House press secretary — Jen Psaki's deputy will take over her high-profile spot when Psaki departs in the coming weeks, making her the first Black person to hold the job. — Karine Jean-Pierre will take over as President Biden's next White House press …

Discussion: Politico, Washington Free Beacon, Washington Examiner, New York Times, Fox News, Bloomberg, USA Today, Deadline, Al Jazeera, The Gateway Pundit, The Daily Caller, Axios and Washington Times, more at Mediagazer »

Shannon Pettypiece / NBC News:

Biden names Karine Jean-Pierre as new White House press secretary — WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Thursday named Karine Jean-Pierre as the new White House press secretary, replacing Jen Psaki. — “Karine not only brings the experience, talent and integrity needed for this difficult job …

Discussion: Associated Press, Washington Examiner, POLITICUSUSA, The Federalist and Jewish Telegraphic Agency

The White House:

President Biden Announces Karine Jean-Pierre as White House Press Secretary — Anita Dunn will return as a Senior Advisor — Today, President Biden announced Karine Jean-Pierre has been promoted to be Assistant to the President and White House Press Secretary.

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Townhall, Forbes, Human Events, Joe.My.God., White House Correspondents …, The Daily Wire, The Guardian, KRON4 and IJR

Kaitlan Collins / CNN:
Karine Jean-Pierre to become White House press secretary, the first Black and out LGBTQ person in the role

Discussion: NPR, Insider, ABC News, UPI, Jezebel, NewsOne and Mediaite

Eli Stokols / Los Angeles Times:
Psaki to cede White House lectern to her history-making deputy, Karine Jean-Pierre

Discussion: The Hill, CNBC, Newsbusters, Raw Story and POLITICUSUSA

Maggie Haberman / New York Times:

Trump Proposed Launching Missiles Into Mexico to ‘Destroy the Drug Labs,’ Esper Says — It is one of the moments in his upcoming memoir that the former defense secretary described as leaving him all but speechless. — Give this article- - - Read in app

Discussion: Raw Story

NBC News:

U.S. intel helped Ukraine sink Russian flagship Moskva, officials say — Intelligence shared by the U.S. helped Ukraine sink the Russian cruiser Moskva, U.S. officials told NBC News, confirming an American role in perhaps the most embarrassing blow to Vladimir Putin's troubled invasion of Ukraine.

Discussion: Washington Post, CBS News, nationalinterest.org, Responsible Statecraft, National Review, HotAir, HuffPost, Crisis Crossroads and Vox Popoli

U.S. Department of Justice:
$300 Million Yacht of Sanctioned Russian Oligarch Suleiman Kerimov Seized by Fiji at Request of United States

Discussion: Politico, Washington Examiner, CBS News, Washington Post, UPI, CNBC, Radio Free Europe/Radio …, Associated Press, The Hill, Мед …, New York Post and The Guardian

New York Times:

In Ohio Senate Race, Democrats Pin Their Hopes on the Suburbs — J.D. Vance, the Republican nominee, enters the general election as the favorite. For Representative Tim Ryan, the Democrat, Ohio's sprawling metro areas offer a possible path to victory. — Give this article- - - Read in app

Discussion: The Daily Caller, One America News Network, Washington Post, BizPac Review and The American Spectator

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Opinion Why a secretive tech billionaire is bankrolling J.D. Vance

Discussion: The Federalist and The Hill

Politico:
Trump reasserts his GOP dominance

New York Times:

In Musk's Past, a South Africa Rife With Misinformation and White Privilege — Elon Musk grew up in elite, nearly all white enclaves littered with anti-Black government propaganda and sheltered from the atrocities of apartheid. — Give this article- - - Read in app

Discussion: The Independent, Instapundit, Twitchy, HotAir, Power Line, The Daily Caller, New York Post and Chuck Munson

Roger Sollenberger / The Daily Beast:

Madison Cawthorn May Have a New Ethics Violation to Handle — Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) has been embroiled in scandal after scandal. But this one, while much more traditionally Washington, could still be a problem. … Overpaying a staff member hardly seems like Rep. Madison Cawthorn's biggest scandal …

Discussion: Washington Post and Raw Story

Camila DeChalus / Insider:
Voters in Madison Cawthorn's North Carolina district have very mixed feelings about the freshman lawmaker as controversies swirl before his May 17 primary

Discussion: The Hill, Joe.My.God., The Charlotte Observer and Raw Story

Washington Post:

Sen. Collins voices opposition to Democratic legislation that would create statutory right to abortion — Sen. Susan Collins (Maine), one of two prominent Republican senators who support abortion rights, said Thursday that she does not support a Democratic measure that would create statutory right …

Discussion: CNN, Fox News, ABC News, The Daily Caller, New York Post, Daily Kos, RedState, Forbes and claytoonz

Ty Ross / Occupy Democrats:

FINANCIAL INSANITY: Florida loses nine-figure sum on Russian investments that it refused to divest — Florida Governor Ron DeSantis refused to divest $300 million in Russian assets, and now the state's pension fund is $200 million lighter for it. — Democratic Rep. Andrew Learned shed light …

Wall Street Journal:

Facebook Deliberately Caused Havoc in Australia to Influence New Law, Whistleblowers Say — When Facebook blocked news pages last year to pre-empt Australian legislation that would force it to pay for content, it also took down hospitals, emergency services and charities.

more at Mediagazer »

Jerry Dunleavy / Washington Examiner:

175 House Republicans want answers on DHS disinfo board and chief — EXCLUSIVE — At least 175 House Republicans are demanding answers from Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas about his department's new Disinformation Governance Board as he struggles to defend the group's creation …

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon, Fox News and HotAir

Glenn Greenwald:
Homeland Security's “Disinformation Board” is Even More Pernicious Than it Seems

Discussion: Daily Briefing, New York Post, Politico, The Work of Happiness …, Integrity and Growth …, Mad Mommy and lewrockwell.com

CNN:

Michigan State Police seizes voting machine as it expands investigation into potential breaches tied to 2020 election — The Michigan State Police has expanded its investigation into whether third parties gained unauthorized access to voting machine data after the 2020 election …

Discussion: Washington Examiner

Ian Phillips / Associated Press:

The AP Interview: Belarus admits Russia's war ‘drags on’ — MINSK, Belarus (AP) — Belarus' authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko defended Russia's invasion of Ukraine in an interview Thursday with The Associated Press, but he said he didn't expect the 10-week-old conflict to “drag on this way.”

Discussion: Washington Examiner, NPR, Insider, Radio Free Europe/Radio … and Foreign Policy

Morgan Watkins / Courier-Journal:

Mitch McConnell gives wry nod to Donald Trump with Kentucky Derby gift to GOP senators — Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell brought the Kentucky Derby spirit to Capitol Hill Thursday — and had a little fun with former President Donald Trump's mocking nickname for him by gifting …

Discussion: The Hill, The Daily Caller, Joe.My.God. and Forbes

Justin Baragona / The Daily Beast:

GOP Candidate Suggests He'll Tear-Gas ‘Liberal Media’ in New Campaign Ad — “If the media wants to shed some real tears, I can help them out with that,” a smirking Mills says alongside footage of him shooting gas canisters. — Weeks after Politico reported that GOP congressional hopeful Cory Mills …

Discussion: YouTube, Joe.My.God. and Florida Politics

getrevue.co:

Franklin & Marshall Poll Release: May 2022 — Today's newsletter contains information from the May 2022 Franklin and Marshall College Poll, conducted April 20 - May 1 among a sample of 792 registered Pennsylvania voters. The survey asked about a wide range of topics, including voters' feelings …

Discussion: Fox News, Breitbart and Political Wire

Alan Feuer / New York Times:

New Evidence Undercuts Jan. 6 Instigator Conspiracy Theory — Recordings released to defense lawyers directly challenge assertions by prominent Republicans that an Arizona man named Ray Epps was a federal informant and helped start the Capitol riot. — Give this article- - - Read in app

The Lever:

Amazon Gets Huge Contract Despite Biden's Union Pledge — The president promised to halt federal contracts to union busters — but the deal was just re-awarded to Amazon while the company was crushing a union drive. — The Biden administration has re-awarded a massive $10 billion federal contract …

Discussion: The Hill, Bloomberg and TechCrunch

The Times of Israel:

Putin apologizes for Russian envoy's ‘Jewish Hitler’ comments, Bennett's office says — Kremlin readout of call doesn't mention an apology, says president spoke with PM about ‘historic memory,’ the Holocaust and the situation in Ukraine — In a phone call Thursday, Russian President …