memeorandum: White House assessing if Israel violated “red line” with Rafah strike (Barak Ravid/Axios)

11:20 AM ET, May 28, 2024

Top Items:

Dems in full-blown ‘freakout’ over Biden — One adviser to major Democratic donors keeps a running list of reasons Biden could lose. — A pervasive sense of fear has settled in at the highest levels of the Democratic Party over President Joe Biden's reelection prospects …

Discussion: Washington Examiner, New Jersey Online, Mediaite, IJR, RedState, Fox News and Wall Street Journal

Politico:

Trump trial ends, Biden alarm accelerates — With help from Eli Okun, Garrett Ross and Bethany Irvine — DRIVING THE DAY — FULL-BLOWN ‘FREAKOUT’ — Chris Cadelago, Sally Goldenberg and Elena Schneider take the pulse of top Democratic strategists and elected officials and report that …

Discussion: New York Times, Outside the Beltway and Sun-Sentinel

New York Times:

Eyeing Trump, but on the Fence: How Tuned-Out Voters Could Decide 2024 — Politically disengaged Americans are increasingly Trump-curious, but President Biden has a shot at winning some of them back. Reaching them in a changed media environment will be his challenge.

Discussion: Business Insider

Jonathan Allen / NBC News:
The first Biden-Trump debate of 2024 features new fights between old rivals

Discussion: Washington Examiner

Frank LaRose / Wall Street Journal:

Don't Blame Me for Biden's Ballot Problem — It's my duty as Ohio's chief elections officer to uphold the law. — In Ohio we say that if you don't like the weather, wait five minutes. The same can be said lately of our politics. — The Democratic Party's antics after its failure …

Discussion: The Hill, Washington Examiner, Ohio Capital Journal, IJR and Twitchy

Harry Davies / The Guardian:

Revealed: Israeli spy chief ‘threatened’ ICC prosecutor over war crimes inquiry — Mossad director Yossi Cohen personally involved in secret plot to pressure Fatou Bensouda to drop Palestine investigation, sources say — The former head of the Mossad, Israel's foreign intelligence agency …

Discussion: Middle East Monitor, Mediaite, The Times of Israel, Al Jazeera and The New Arab

Judd Legum / Popular Information:

EXCLUSIVE: Florida educators trained to teach students Christian nationalism — Training materials produced by the Florida Department of Education direct middle and high school teachers to indoctrinate students in the tenets of Christian nationalism, a right-wing effort to merge Christian and American identities.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Raw Story

New York Times:

Live Updates: Defense Urges Jurors Not to Believe ‘Lies’ in Trump's Criminal Trial — Closing arguments have begun in the trial of Donald J. Trump, who faces 34 felony counts in connection with a hush-money payment to a porn star before the 2016 election. The jury could have the case by Wednesday.

Discussion: The Bulwark, CBS News, Gizmodo, Forbes, NBC News, New York Daily News, Axios, The Guardian, The Mahablog and Political Wire

New York Times:

Trump Leans Into an Outlaw Image as His Criminal Trial Concludes — Preparing for a potential verdict in Manhattan, the former president has increasingly aligned himself with fellow defendants and people convicted of crimes. — Over the past week, Donald J. Trump rallied alongside …

Discussion: Raw Story and Punchbowl News

Nidal Al-Mughrabi / Reuters:

Israeli tanks advance into Rafah's centre despite global outcry — Israeli tanks advanced to the centre of Rafah for the first time on Tuesday, witnesses said, three weeks into a ground offensive in the southern Gaza city that has stirred global condemnation for its continued civilian toll.

Discussion: The Daily Beast, The Guardian, The Times of Israel, Middle East Monitor, Al-Monitor, The National, New York Post, Semafor, Associated Press and New York Times

New York Times:

The Untold Story of the Network That Took Down Roe v. Wade … It happened almost by accident, over cocktails. Exactly the kind of accident that Leonard Leo intended to happen at his Federalist Society's annual conference — a three-day gathering of the conservative tribe and a strategy session …

Lawrence Hurley / NBC News:

Supreme Court rejects lawyer Michael Avenatti's appeal in Nike fraud case — The jailed lawyer, who previously represented adult film star Stormy Daniels, was convicted of trying to extort Nike. — WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected disgraced lawyer Michael Avenatti's appeal …

Discussion: USA Today, Reuters, Raw Story, CBS News and Law & Crime

Brittany Gibson / Politico:

Republicans irked that Herschel Walker is sitting on millions in unspent campaign funds — They say his money could go a long way to help the GOP. — Few are clamoring for Herschel Walker's return to politics since he flamed out in his Georgia Senate bid nearly two years ago.

Discussion: IJR

The Daily Beast:

Trump Just Sold His $10M Jet to One of His Megadonors — JUST BETWEEN FRIENDS — The sale, executed earlier this month, was reportedly worth about $10 million. — After nearly half a billion dollars in legal judgments against him this year, Donald Trump's company opted to offload …

Discussion: Breitbart and Raw Story

Karen Townsend / HotAir:

Theatre Apologizes for Actor Richard Dreyfuss Exercising His First Amendment Rights — A theatre in Massachusetts apologized for doing an event with actor Richard Dreyfuss on Saturday night. The nattering nabobs on social media are trying to cancel Dreyfuss so The Cabot Theater in Beverly, Massachusetts issued an apology.