memeorandum: Florida IG report: ‘Insufficient evidence’ for DeSantis critic's claims of Covid cover-up (Marc Caputo/NBC News)

8:40 PM ET, May 26, 2022

Top Items:

Uvalde Residents Voice Frustration Over Shooting Response — Videos circulating on social media show parents confronting police outside the school; ‘The police were doing nothing’ — UVALDE, Texas—Residents here expressed anger and frustration Thursday about the time it took for law enforcement …

Kipp Jones / Mediaite:

Texas Police Lieutenant Says Cops Were Reluctant to Engage Gunman Because 'They Could've Been Shot' — A Texas Department of Public Safety official said responding officers were cautious as they entered Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas because “they could've been shot.”

Discussion: TheBlaze, CBS News, The Daily Caller, BizPac Review, Unreported Truths, New York Times and The Indianapolis Star

New York Times:

Uvalde Live Updates: 2 Police Officers Were Reportedly Shot Early in Gunman's Rampage — Some parents who lost children are angry about the police response as new details emerge about the hour of terror in the classrooms where a gunman took 21 lives. “This could have been over in a couple of minutes,” one anguished father said.

Discussion: HotAir, Washington Post, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Press Watch, Raw Story, Digby's Hullabaloo, The Column, Rolling Stone, The Texas Tribune, The Daily Beast, The Daily Caller, Common Dreams, Mediaite and Twitchy

Haisten Willis / Washington Examiner:

White House sidesteps question about police response to Texas school shooting — The White House refused to call for an investigation into the police response to the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, saying President Joe Biden “has the utmost respect for the men and women of law enforcement.”

Discussion: The Hill, HotAir, Axios, Washington Post and Twitchy

Tommy Christopher / Mediaite:

WATCH: Texas Police Spox on Live TV Confirmed Cops Went In for Their Own Kids During Uvalde Shooting — Texas Department Public Safety spokesman Lt. Christopher Olivarez confirmed to a reporter during a live shot that police officers went into Robb Elementary School to get their own children during the massacre.

Discussion: HotAir, BizPac Review and Louder With Crowder

Associated Press:

Police face questions over response to Texas school shooting — UVALDE, Texas (AP) — Law enforcement authorities faced mounting questions and criticism Thursday over how much time elapsed before they stormed a Texas elementary school classroom and put a stop to the rampage by a gunman who killed 19 children and two teachers.

Discussion: Fox News, Heartland Signal, New York Post, Common Dreams, The Daily Caller, ARLnow.com, Shore News Network, Washington Examiner, Insider, Raw Story, American Greatness and Just An Earth-Bound Misfit, I

The Texas Tribune:

Why 18-year-olds can buy AR-15s in Texas but not handguns — This week's massacre in Uvalde highlights disparities in how federal laws regulate rifles and handguns. The shooter bought two rifles days after his 18th birthday. — Copy link … The fact that the gunman responsible …

Discussion: CNN

Henry Ramos / kens5.com:
'It's time to die' | Fourth-grader who survived Uvalde school shooting gives heartbreaking account of what gunman told students

Dana Goldstein / New York Times:
Popular school security strategies have not stopped mass shootings.

Discussion: PolitiFact, The Gateway Pundit and Politico

NBC News:
‘More could have been done’: Witnesses question law enforcement response to Texas school shooting

Discussion: New York Times, The Hill, Bloomberg, NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth, Rolling Stone, The Daily Caller and CNBC

The Texas Tribune:
Texas lawmakers again want to “harden” schools. But security efforts are lacking, and experts question their worth.

Discussion: NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth, Reuters, CNN and New Republic

Politico:

Meadows burned papers after meeting with Scott Perry, Jan. 6 panel told — Then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows burned papers in his office after meeting with a House Republican who was working to challenge the 2020 election, according to testimony the Jan. 6 select committee has heard from one of his former aides.

Discussion: The Daily Beast, PennLive, New York Times, Talking Points Memo, Digby's Hullabaloo, Mock Paper Scissors, Mediaite, Raw Story, Rolling Stone, Insider and Daily Kos

Kyle Cheney / Politico:

Behind the Jan. 6 panel's last-minute efforts to win 3 key Trump-world lawsuits — Since September, former President Donald Trump and his allies have launched 25 lawsuits to stymie the Jan. 6 select committee. But the panel has decided to fight aggressively in just four, a strategic gambit that's paying off.

Discussion: Raw Story

Amy B Wang / Washington Post:
Jordan seeks Jan. 6 panel evidence as condition to comply with committee

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, The Hill, CNN, Washington Examiner, Talking Points Memo, Daily Kos, Bloomberg, Raw Story and Plain Dealer

Shannon McCaffrey / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

Herschel Walker fumbles gun control response - twice — As Republican U.S. Senate nominee Herschel Walker launches his general election campaign, he is struggling to talk about guns. — Twice in recent days Walker has fumbled questions on gun control: in one interview he seemed …

Discussion: Raw Story, Washington Examiner, CNN and The Root

CNN:
Exclusive: McConnell says he has directed Cornyn to engage with Democrats on a ‘bipartisan solution’ on gun violence

Discussion: Bloomberg, Forbes, NBC News, Vanity Fair, The Hill, Washington Post, Insider, The Daily Caller, USA Today and Washington Times

Fox News:
Texas school shooting: Senate Dems say 6 to 12 GOPers engaged in gun talks, plan tough votes if they back out

Discussion: ABC News and Washington Examiner

NBC News:
Bipartisan group of senators holds first talks on gun safety

Discussion: CNBC

New York Times:
Where Senate Republicans Stand on Gun Legislation

Discussion: The American Independent, Politico, Washington Examiner, CBS News, Washington Times, HotAir, The Hill, Politico, Erick Erickson's Confessions …, CNN, Washington Post, CNSNews, Politico, NBC News and Common Dreams

Jake Lahut / Insider:
GOP Senate candidate Herschel Walker proposes 'a department that can look at young men that's looking at women that's looking at social media' in response to Texas shooting

Discussion: The Daily Dot, Daily Kos and HuffPost

U.S. Department of Justice:

Federal Officials Adhere to Prior Decision Related to Nassar Investigation — The Justice Department announced today that after careful re-review of evidence gathered in the investigation of two former FBI special agents in connection with their involvement in the FBI's investigation of Lawrence G. Nassar …

Discussion: New York Times and The Hill

Wall Street Journal:
Justice Department Won't Charge FBI Agents in Nassar Case Failures

Discussion: Roll Call, The Daily Beast, Washington Examiner, CNN, CBS News, Detroit News, Big League Politics, NPR and Shore News Network

Mike Fleming Jr / Deadline:

‘Goodfellas’ Star Ray Liotta Dies at 67 — A shocker. Ray Liotta, the terrific actor whose career breakout came in the Martin Scorsese crime classic Goodfellas, has died. Deadline hears he died in his sleep in the Dominican Republic, where he was shooting the film Dangerous Waters.

Mark Stone / Sky News:

Texas school shooting: Senator Ted Cruz storms off over questions about gun reform — Among the mourners at a vigil for the 21 people killed at Tuesday's mass shooting are Greg Abbott, the governor of Texas, and his ally in the senate, Ted Cruz; Republican politicians who block all Democratic Party attempts to change gun laws.

Discussion: Washington Post, HuffPost, Rolling Stone, Metro.co.uk, Lawyers, Guns & Money, emptywheel, BizPac Review, HotAir, Variety, POLITICUSUSA, Axios, Daily Kos, New York Post and Jackal Action

Philip Bump / Washington Post:
Demands not to ‘politicize’ tragedy are themselves political demands

Discussion: Digby's Hullabaloo and New York Times

Martin Pengelly / The Guardian:
Ted Cruz angrily quits interview after being confronted about gun control

Discussion: CNN, Vanity Fair, The Daily Beast, The Liberty Loft, Summit News, The Hill and The Daily Wire

Washington Post:

Supreme Court allows Biden climate regulations while fight continues — The Supreme Court on Thursday allowed the Biden administration, for now, to use a higher estimate for the societal cost of rising greenhouse gases when federal agencies draft regulations.

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Politico, Associated Press, Fox News, The Hill, NBC News, Articles Archive and SCOTUSblog

Julia Rock / The Lever:
Biden Is Preparing To Crush A Historic Climate Change Lawsuit

Discussion: Jacobin

Marc Caputo / NBC News:

Florida IG report: ‘Insufficient evidence’ for DeSantis critic's claims of Covid cover-up — A prominent critic of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' Covid response made “unsubstantiated” claims that state health officials had fired her because she refused to present manipulated data online …

Discussion: HotAir, The Hill, Townhall, Raw Story and Twitchy

Victoria Eavis / Casper Star-Tribune:

Rep. Liz Cheney officially files for U.S. House — Rep. Liz Cheney officially filed to run for U.S. House on Thursday, announcing her reelection bid in a video that focused on her allegiance to the U.S. Constitution. — The announcement, one day before the filing deadline …

Discussion: Fox News, The Hill and YouTube

Kashmir Hill / New York Times:

A Face Search Engine Anyone Can Use Is Alarmingly Accurate — PimEyes is a paid service that finds photos of a person from across the internet, including some the person may not want exposed. “We're just a tool provider,” its owner said. — Give this article- - - Read in app

Discussion: The Hill

CNN:

US preparing to approve advanced long-range rocket system for Ukraine — Washington (CNN)The Biden administration is preparing to step up the kind of weaponry it is offering Ukraine by sending advanced, long-range rocket systems that are now the top request from Ukrainian officials, multiple officials say.

Discussion: The Times of Israel, rbc.ru, Reuters, John's Newsletter and The Guardian

Ben Dreyfuss / Good Faith:

Progressives Need To Stop Obsessing About What To Name Things — The myth of the “death tax” rebranding — “The end of natural gas has to start with its name,” is the provocative and inaccurate headline of a Vox story calling on the media to stop referring to natural gas as, uh, natural gas.1

Jeff Parrott / Salt Lake Tribune:

Mitt Romney received $0 from the NRA during his 2018 senate campaign, not millions — While Romney was campaigning against President Barack Obama in 2012, the National Rifle Association spent millions to get a Republican in the White House. — A review of Federal Election Commission filings shows …

Discussion: God's Politics with Jim Wallis

Eric Lipton / New York Times:

Trump E.P.A. Chief ‘Endangered Public Safety’ by Ordering His Drivers to Speed — An internal report validated whistle-blower allegations that Scott Pruitt repeatedly forced his security detail to drive at dangerous speeds on routine trips because he was running late. — Give this article- - - Read in app

Charlie Savage / New York Times:

Documents Shed Light on Secret U.S. Plans for Apocalyptic Scenarios — Dating back to 1950s preparations for nuclear war and revised after the Sept. 11 attacks, the presidential directives are not shown to Congress. — Give this article- - - Read in app

Discussion: Bailiwick News and Political Wire

James Finn / Los Angeles Blade:

Texas Trans girl assaulted over GOP lies about Uvalde shooting — Why was this teen girl assaulted by a grown man she'd never met, harassed by four strangers who could tell she was trans — In a phone interview today, Tracey told me the man grabbed her arm and forced her body around …

Discussion: The Present Age