memeorandum: Ex-New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to join Harvard (Steve Leblanc/Associated Press)

12:15 AM ET, April 26, 2023

Top Items:

Fox Has a Secret ‘Oppo File’ to Keep Tucker Carlson in Check, Sources Say — Eight sources tell Rolling Stone that the network's top brass has been stockpiling information on the departing primetime host … When Fox announced Carlson's departure on Monday, the network presented the separation as amiable.

Discussion: acecomments.mu.nu, Raw Story, Mediaite, Breitbart, Political Wire and Insider, more at Mediagazer »

Gabriel Sherman / Vanity Fair:

Tucker Carlson's Prayer Talk May Have Led to Fox News Ouster: “That Stuff Freaks Rupert Out” — Fox Corp. chair Rupert Murdoch is said to have balked at Carlson's remarks in a Friday night speech, driving another theory about the prime-time star's abrupt exit. “He doesn't like all the spiritual talk,” said a source.

Discussion: Raw Story, HuffPost, Page Array, National Review, Mediaite, Alternet.org, The Daily Signal, Louder With Crowder, Mother Jones, The Post Millennial, The Western Journal, RADAR, The Wrap and Kevin Drum, more at Mediagazer »

American Prospect:

The Smuggest Man On Air — Goodbye for now to Tucker Carlson, who punctured the lazy pieties of the media class. — Tucker Carlson poses in a Fox News Channel studio on March 2, 2017, in New York. — Tucker Carlson has left Fox News, just days after the network settled a historic defamation lawsuit …

Discussion: Forbes, Joe.My.God., Washington Examiner, The Desk and Vox, more at Mediagazer »

Phil Boas / Arizona Republic:

Tucker Carlson had to go because he was having way too much fun at others' expense — Opinion: Fox host Tucker Carlson took the place of comedians, who these days won't challenge the establishment. That also made him a liability. — Anyone who spouts their strong opinions on national television …

Discussion: Breitbart

Aimee Picchi / CBS News:
Fox loses $500 million in value after announcing Tucker Carlson is leaving

Discussion: NDTV

Oliver Darcy / CNN:
Fox News' sudden firing of Tucker Carlson may have come down to one simple calculation

Discussion: Washington Post, Mercury News, Morning Shots, Vox, RADAR, Forbes, New York Times, The Daily Beast, IJR and Raw Story

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:

The analyst who saw through 2022's red mirage has a prediction for Biden 2024 — Throughout the 2022 elections, Democratic strategist Simon Rosenberg offered up a counterintuitive diagnosis: Confident GOP predictions of a “red wave” weren't just wrong, they were designed to deenergize Democratic voters with “negative sentiment.”

Discussion: Reuters, Raw Story, ABC News, The Hill, CNN, Twitchy, The Lincoln Project, Rolling Stone, Washington Examiner, The Daily Caller and IJR

Steve Peoples / Associated Press:

Sen. Bernie Sanders says he's endorsing Biden for reelection — Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont said Tuesday that he would forgo another presidential bid of his own and instead endorse President Joe Biden's reelection. The leading progressive, who was Biden's chief rival …

Discussion: The Hill, NDTV, Fox News, Daily Kos, Joe.My.God., OpenSecrets.org, Washington Post, CBS News, RedState, Forbes, Washington Examiner, Just The News, The Daily Caller, Washington Times, Twitchy, TheBlaze, Political Wire and Al Jazeera

Washington Post:
Biden announces 2024 reelection bid, saying he wants to ‘finish the job’

Jonathan Weisman / New York Times:
The Map, the Issues and the Incumbency Favoring Democrats

Discussion: Steady, Sabato's Crystal Ball, USA Today, Insider, Queen City News, The Guardian, Raw Story, Washington Examiner, Al Jazeera, Power Line, Politico and FiveThirtyEight

David Rothkopf / The Daily Beast:
Joe Biden Is Old. Get Over It.

Discussion: Washington Post, New York Times, Politico, National Review, The Hill, KOLR, Los Angeles Times, City & State New York, HotAir, CBS News, Vox, Advocate, The Guardian, FiveThirtyEight, Fox News, NBC Bay Area, The Daily Caller, Just The News, Bloomberg and CNN

Brett Samuels / The Hill:
RNC's AI-generated Biden attack ad puzzles pundits, Democrats

Discussion: Ars Technica, Washington Post, Mashable, Mother Jones, Quartz, The San Francisco Standard, Alternet.org, RedState, Raw Story, Forbes, Page Array, The Verge, Washington Free Beacon, New York Post and Joe.My.God.

Ryan Bort / Rolling Stone:
Bernie Sanders Endorses Biden for President

Discussion: Washington Post

Dan Balz / Washington Post:
Biden's balance sheet: Weak numbers, but in Donald Trump, a valuable foil

Discussion: The Hill, Politico, The Atlantic, Washington Examiner, New York Times, Truthout, Washington Times, CNN, New York Daily News, Mother Jones, Fox News, Associated Press, CBS News, USA Today and Deadline

Associated Press:

Taliban kill mastermind of suicide bombing at Kabul airport — The Taliban have killed the senior Islamic State group leader behind the August 2021 suicide bombing outside the Kabul airport that left 13 U.S. service members and about 170 Afghans dead, according to the father of a Marine killed …

Discussion: Washington Post, Bloomberg.com, CNN, NBC News, Washington Examiner, CBS News, NDTV, Al Jazeera, RedState, Forbes, National Review, The Gateway Pundit, New York Post, Al-Monitor, The Hill and Just The News

New York Times:

Taliban Kill Head of ISIS Cell That Bombed Kabul Airport — Thirteen U.S. service members and scores of Afghan civilians died in the bombing as the United States was evacuating in August 2021. — WASHINGTON — The Taliban have killed the leader of the Islamic State cell responsible …

Discussion: CBS17.com and CBS News

Matt Seyler / ABC News:
Taliban kills suspected ‘mastermind’ of bombing that killed 13 US troops, officials say

Discussion: CBS News, Fox News, Just The News, The Hill, UPI, Politico, FOX8 WGHP and The Daily Caller

Washington Post:

Audio of Cruz's talk with Fox host sheds light on plan to challenge 2020 results — Sen. Ted Cruz advocated the creation of a congressionally appointed electoral commission ahead of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol to make a credible assessment of unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud …

Discussion: HuffPost, PoliticusUSA and The Daily Beast

Sarah K. Burris / Raw Story:

‘Damning’ new J6 recording: Ted Cruz discusses how to force a reassessment of Biden's win — MSNBC's Ari Melber on Tuesday said that he had acquired a “damning” new recording of Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) discussing how to potentially overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

Discussion: New York Post, RedState and New York Times

Kylie Cheung / Jezebel:

Woman with Cancerous Pregnancy Was Told to Wait in Parking Lot Until She Was ‘Crashing’ — “We can't touch you unless you're crashing in front of us or your blood pressure goes so high that you're fixing to have a heart attack,” she says she was told. — Jaci Statton, a 25-year-old mother …

Selena Simmons-Duffin / NPR:
In Oklahoma, a woman was told to wait until she's ‘crashing’ for abortion care

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money and KFOR-TV

The Intercept:

Clarence Thomas Billionaire Benefactor Harlan Crow Bought Citizenship in Island Tax Haven … In partnership with — Harlan Crow, the billionaire GOP donor who paid for luxury travel on his private jet and yacht for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, was a dual citizen of the U.S …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

Ian Millhiser / Vox:

The real reason for the Supreme Court's corruption crisis — Who watches the philosopher kings with lifetime appointments? — The Supreme Court has run out of excuses. — Earlier this month, after ProPublica revealed that Justice Clarence Thomas frequently takes lavish vacations funded …

Discussion: Los Angeles Times and Raw Story

A.G. Gancarski / Florida Politics:

Ron DeSantis calls for cease fire in Ukraine … A.G. Gancarski — A.G. Gancarski has written for FloridaPolitics.com since 2014. He is based in Northeast Florida. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter: @AGGancarski

Discussion: Fox News and Joe.My.God.

Nikkei Asia:
Ron DeSantis says deterrence key to preventing Taiwan conflict

Discussion: The Hill, CBS News, Just The News and Raw Story

Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:

Nate Silver Out at ABC News as Disney Layoffs Once Again Hit News Division — ABC News is expected to retain the FiveThirtyEight brand, with plans to streamline the data-driven site. — The second round of Disney layoffs once again hit ABC News on Tuesday, with Nate Silver's data-driven politics …

J.D. Morris / San Francisco Chronicle:

S.F. repeals its boycott of 30 states that passed conservative laws. Here's why — San Francisco will no longer boycott 30 states that passed conservative laws after city officials determined that the restrictions were too costly and had little impact other than adding more bureaucracy.

Juliegrace Brufke / Axios:

McCarthy runs into a wall of corn … - It only takes five GOP “no” votes to tank the bill. — The group includes all four Iowa House Republicans, plus at least four more members from the corn belt, Axios has learned. — McCarthy is meeting with this group on Tuesday evening …

Discussion: HuffPost, Talking Points Memo, Washington Times, The Hill and Political Wire

Jordan Fischer / wusa9.com:

In closing arguments, Proud Boys say ‘lying’ witness — also a Proud Boy — can't be trusted — Five Proud Boys accused of seditious conspiracy asked jurors to discount testimony from one of their own about the group's plans on Jan. 6. — WASHINGTON — Five Proud Boys accused of plotting …

Discussion: Associated Press

Ryan J. Reilly / NBC News:
Proud Boys blame Trump as defendants prepare to find out fate in sedition trial

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Politico, ABC News, Washington Post, American Greatness, New York Daily News, RedState, USA Today, Associated Press, The Daily Caller, NPR, Raw Story, CBS News and CNN

Ryan Bort / Rolling Stone:

Neil Gorsuch Has Joined the Supreme Court Ethics Scandal Party — The head of a law firm that practices before the court bought property from the conservative justice nine days after he was confirmed, Politico reports — Clarence Thomas is not alone. Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch …

Discussion: New York Times, Twitchy, Washington Press and PoliticusUSA

Heidi Przybyla / Politico:
Law firm head bought Gorsuch-owned property

Shauna Sowersby / The Olympian:

WA becomes 10th state in the U.S. to ban assault weapons after Inslee signs bill into law — Washington state became the 10th state in the U.S. to ban assault weapons on Tuesday when Gov. Jay Inslee signed a bill passed by this year's legislature as part of a sweeping package of proposals aimed at reducing gun violence.

Discussion: FOX31 Denver, CBS News, New York Post, Joe.My.God. and Fox News

Jim Brunner / The Seattle Times:
WA bans sale of AR-15s and other semiautomatic rifles, effective immediately

Discussion: New Republic, Washington Post, Associated Press, New York Times, The Hill, Pluribus News, National Review, CNN and HuffPost

Lara Seligman / Politico:

‘Good riddance’: Pentagon officials cheer Tucker Carlson's ouster — The former Fox host ridiculed top DoD leaders over Biden-era policies. — From maternity flight suits to diversity policies to Ukraine aid, the military was a favorite punching bag for Tucker Carlson.

Discussion: The Daily Caller and TheBlaze

NPR:

Chief Justice Roberts declines to testify before Senate panel — Chief Justice John Roberts has declined an invitation from Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, to testify before the panel, calling such testimony by chief justices “exceedingly rare.”

Discussion: CNN, Washington Examiner, NBC News, RedState, HuffPost, UPI, Fox News, The Gateway Pundit, New York Post, CBS News, Bloomberg, Washington Post, USA Today, The Hill, Politico and The Daily Caller

Ross Douthat / New York Times:

The Tucker Realignment — Across Donald Trump's presidency and immediately afterward there was a lot of talk about realignment. Everyone could see that the Republican coalition was becoming more working-class and the Democratic coalition more dominated by upper-class professionals.

Discussion: Washington Post, Mediaite, The Daily Beast and The American Conservative

Alex Griffing / Mediaite:

Ex-Tucker Producer Suing Fox News Has NINETY Recordings From the Network — Nicolle Wallace interviewed Abby Grossberg, the former booker for Tucker Carlson Tonight who is Fox News for discrimination, on her MSNBC show on Tuesday. — The lengthy interview covered everything …

Discussion: The Daily Beast, The Gateway Pundit and Breitbart

Jesse Bedayn / Associated Press:

Colorado To Become 1st State To Pass ‘Right To Repair’ For Farmers — The law follows a nationwide outcry from farmers that manufacturers prevent them from fixing their own machines when they break down. — Colorado is set to become the first state to ensure farmers can fix their own machines …

Discussion: The Colorado Sun, TechCrunch and Mercury News

Wesley Lowery / Columbia Journalism Review:

A Test of the News — Objectivity, democracy, and the American mosaic — We find ourselves in a perilous moment. Democracy is under withering assault. Technological advances have empowered propagandists to profit through discontent and disinformation.

Kelli María Korducki / The Atlantic:

America's Death Trap — Why the life-expectancy rate in the United States is falling behind that in other rich countries — Compared with its wealthy peer nations, the United States is failing the most basic test of a civilization: keeping its denizens alive.

Adam Klasfeld / Law & Crime:

E. Jean Carroll v. Donald Trump: Trials are unpredictable, but here's the roadmap for this one — As a trial begins in writer E. Jean Carroll's lawsuit against former president Donald Trump, the United States contemplates the startling possibility that a federal jury may declare …

Discussion: Insider, New York Daily News, Vanity Fair, Raw Story, Politico, The Guardian, USA Today, National Review, CNN and The Daily Beast

Steve Leblanc / Associated Press:

Ex-New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to join Harvard — Former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who helped lead her country through a devastating mass shooting, will be joining Harvard University later this year, Kennedy School Dean Douglas Elmendorf said Tuesday.

Discussion: The Hill, Harvard Kennedy School and Berkman Klein Center

Raymond Zhong / New York Times:

Here Are the Places Most at Risk From Record-Shattering Heat — It's the regions of the world that haven't yet experienced an off-the-charts heat wave that we should worry about, a new scientific study argues. — What's new in this research — Global warming is making dangerously hot weather …

Discussion: CBS News, NBC News, The Daily Beast and The Verge

Natalie Allison / Politico:

Nikki Haley promised to address abortion ‘directly and openly.’ Then she didn't. — The conversation is not getting any easier for the GOP presidential contenders. — Nikki Haley's campaign had billed her Tuesday address on abortion as a “major policy speech” that would make clear …