memeorandum: US ex-diplomat sentenced to 15 years for spying for Cuba over decades (Andrew Goudsward/Reuters)

8:45 PM ET, April 12, 2024

Top Items:

Andrew Solender / Axios:

House Republicans fume over “messaging” votes … - Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas) said he is moving his “focus to the presidential election.” — “I think it's fair to say we've been frustrated for the past several months,” Nehls said. — “This place is dysfunctional, unfortunately,” he added.

Discussion: MSNBC, The Gateway Pundit and Business Insider

Politico:
House finally passes surveillance bill after three stumbles

Discussion: The American Conservative and Wall Street Journal

ABC News:
Trump holds Mar-a-Lago joint appearance with Johnson amid speakership threat

Mychael Schnell / The Hill:
House advances revised FISA bill after floor revolt, teeing up final vote

Discussion: The Guardian, The Federalist, RedState, Washington Examiner, New Republic, Forbes and Axios

Marianna Sotomayor / Washington Post:
House GOP bridges divide to reauthorize controversial surveillance bill

Discussion: Politico, Plain Dealer, The Hill, One America News Network, ClearanceJobs, Truthout, Twitchy, American Prospect, Fox News, UPI, Washington Times, NOTUS and ABC News

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Senate Republicans furious over Trump trying to derail FISA bill

Discussion: CNN, Breitbart, WAGA-TV, Wired, Reuters, Axios, USA Today, New York Post, The Daily Caller, Washington Times, RedState, HuffPost, BizPac Review, Raw Story, The Federalist, The Daily Signal, Washington Examiner and CBS News

New York Times:
House Passes 2-Year Surveillance Law Extension Without Warrant Requirement

Discussion: American Prospect, The Daily Signal, New Jersey Globe, Washington Times, Mediaite, The Hill, The Verge, Rolling Stone, Breitbart, CBS News, ABC News, Roll Call and Washington Examiner

NBC News:
House votes to renew FISA spying tool after earlier Republican revolt

Discussion: Washington Examiner and Washington Times

Lauren Peller / ABC News:
House passes FISA reauthorization bill after previous GOP setback

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Fox News, CNN, CBS News, The Hill, Reason, UPI, NewsNation, Roll Call, Forbes, Los Angeles Times, Washington Times, Axios, BizPac Review, The Post Millennial and Semafor

Kevin Breuninger / CNBC:

Trump tries to boost support for Truth Social as DJT stock tanks … Donald Trump on Friday urged his followers to support his social media app Truth Social, as its parent company's stock continues to sink lower. — Trump in a post on that app said he believes Truth Social embodies the political …

Discussion: The Guardian and New Republic

Brian Schwartz / CNBC:

Marjorie Taylor Greene won't say what happened to her Trump Media stock … US Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R) speaks alongside former US President and 2024 presidential hopeful Donald Trump at a campaign event in Rome, Georgia, on March 9, 2024. — A media company with ties …

Discussion: NBC News, Raw Story, Fortune, PoliticusUSA and Quartz

Dan Mangan / CNBC:

Trump Media shares end week down nearly 20%, losing billions in market cap … The price of Trump Media closed trading Friday down nearly 20% for the week. — DJT shares, which dropped by more than 8% within the first hour of trading Friday, eked out a slight gain by the end of the day.

Discussion: CNN, Variety, Raw Story and Quartz

Ruxandra Iordache / CNBC:

The West urges China to intervene with Iran amid fears of a direct attack on Israel … Iranians attend a funeral procession in Tehran, held for seven Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps members killed in a strike in Syria. — Western diplomats have mounted pressure on China to prevent Iran …

Discussion: United States Department …, New York Times, CBS News, ABC News and RedState

Barak Ravid / Axios:
Scoop: Iran warns U.S. to stay out of fight with Israel or face attack on troops

Discussion: Washington Post, Foreign Policy, U.S. Department of Defense, NBC News, New York Times, The Daily Caller, New York Post, One America News Network, USA Today, The Hill, The Times of Israel, Associated Press, CBS News, IJR, Voice of America and Politico

Wall Street Journal:
Iranian Attack Expected on Israel in Next Two Days

Ryan Lizza / Politico:

Michael Cohen on the Trump Trial: Prepare To Be Surprised — Trump's former attorney on the hush money trial, how he's preparing for life as the key witness and who he expects Trump will choose as a 2024 running mate. — Michael Cohen may be the only person standing between Donald Trump and jail.

Discussion: Associated Press, Washington Examiner, The Daily Caller, Raw Story, MeidasTouch, Iowa Capital Dispatch, The Hill, Forbes, The Federalist, CBS News, PoliticusUSA, PolitiFact and CNN

Michael Tomasky / New Republic:
Trump's Abortion Gambit Proves He's Bad at Politics

Discussion: Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Mahablog, Washington Examiner, New York Times and New Yorker

James Romoser / Politico:
How Donald Trump Gets Special Treatment in the Legal System

Discussion: Raw Story, The Guardian, Talking Points Memo, Digby's Hullabaloo and New York Times

Politico:
Playbook: Harris takes the gloves off in Arizona

Discussion: CBS News, New York Times, NBC News, Fox News and ABC News

Alex Finley / New Republic:

Russia Is Buying Politicians in Europe. Is It Happening Here Too? — Democrats for years have warned about Russian influence in the Republican Party under Donald Trump. But now even some prominent GOP members of Congress are sounding the alarm. — “I think Russian propaganda …

Discussion: Politico

Mared Gwyn Jones / Euronews:

Belgium investigating Russian influence network suspected of paying EU lawmakers — The Belgian federal prosecutor has opened an investigation into EU lawmakers accused of receiving payments for spreading pro-Russian propaganda. — Prime Minister Alexander De Croo told reporters on Friday …

Discussion: Associated Press, Reuters, Voice of America, UPI, Al Jazeera, The Guardian, Bloomberg, Politico and WTOP News

Billy Perrigo / TIME:

Exclusive: Google Contract Shows Deal With Israel Defense Ministry — Google provides cloud computing services to the Israeli Ministry of Defense, and the tech giant has negotiated deepening its partnership during Israel's war in Gaza, a company document viewed by TIME shows.

Danielle Douglas-Gabriel / Washington Post:

Biden administration cancels another $7.4 billion in student loans — The president is wiping away the loan balances of 277,000 Americans through a mix of existing forgiveness programs — Days after heralding its latest student debt forgiveness plan, the Biden administration …

Sarah Bregel / The Daily Beast:

‘The Golden Bachelor’ Divorce Has Killed My Belief in Love — Did Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist just dismantle the whole point “The Golden Bachelor” tried to prove? — Like the rest of groggily caffeinating America, this morning I woke up to the wild news that Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist …

Discussion: Good Morning America, New York Post, Page Six, Fox News, CBS News, New Jersey Online, TMZ.com, Deadline, IJR, Slate, Los Angeles Times, Boston Herald, Variety, Reuters, UPROXX, WFAA-TV and Fox 8 Cleveland WJW

Alejandra Borunda / NPR:

Florida blocks heat protections for workers right before summer — Florida Governor Ron DeStantis has signed a law that prevents cities or counties from creating protections for workers who labor in the state's often extreme and dangerous heat. — Two million people in Florida …

Discussion: Associated Press, Florida Phoenix, Florida Politics and WFLA-TV

Brett Samuels / The Hill:

Trump tells Arizona Legislature to act after GOP blocks bills to repeal 1864 abortion ban — Former President Trump on Friday urged Arizona lawmakers to act “as fast as possible” to adjust the state's abortion policy after a state Supreme Court ruling upheld an 1864 law and made performing the procedure a felony.

Discussion: Politico, Talking Points Memo, CBS News, Daily Kos, Breitbart, Washington Examiner, Voice of America, Washington Post, Raw Story, Political Wire and Press Herald

Jeremy Duda / Axios:
How Arizona's court ruling will impact abortion access

Discussion: The Hill, Associated Press, CNN, Breitbart, Daily Kos, NBC News, The Center Square and Cronkite News

Jose Pagliery / The Daily Beast:

Trump Bond's Cayman Connection ‘Stinks to High Heaven’ — ISLAND TIME — The company that saved Donald Trump with a $175 million bank fraud bond is playing an insurance game that has experts questioning whether New York will ever see the money. … When the questionably leveraged company …

Discussion: New Republic and Raw Story

David Leonhardt / New York Times:

The New Great-Power Politics — How an emerging alliance is shaping the world. — The Houthis, the Iran-backed militia that controls much of Yemen, have disrupted the global economy by firing on commercial ships traveling through the Red Sea. But the Houthis have made some exceptions …

Discussion: Roll Call

Massy Arts / Pluralistic:

No, “convenience” isn't the problem (permalink) — Using Amazon, or Twitter, or Facebook, or Google, or Doordash, or Uber doesn't make you lazy. Platform capitalism isn't enshittifying because you made the wrong shopping choices. — Remember, the reason these corporations were able …

Misty Severi / Washington Examiner:

Pence's second act: Former VP will teach about Christianity in public institutions at Pennsylvania college — Former Vice President Mike Pence has found his first official job since dropping out of the 2024 Republican presidential primaries, and will be teaching at a private college in Pennsylvania.