Check out Mini-memeorandum for simple mobiles or memeorandum Mobile for modern smartphones.
8:20 PM ET, March 31, 2025

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
David Gilbert / Wired:
The Proud Boys and Militias Come to Tesla's Defense  —  After weeks of “Tesla Takedown” protests, extremist groups are showing up to back Elon Musk's beleaguered car company.  —  Over the weekend, thousands of people joined the “Tesla Takedown” protest movement at the company's showrooms across the country.
Discussion: Talking Points Memo
New York Times:
Stocks Mark Worst Month in Years as Trump's Tariffs Loom  —  Markets around the world have wavered as fear and uncertainty over tariffs and trade wars rattle investors.  The S&P 500 just recorded its worst month since 2022, shedding 5.8 percent in March.  —  The S&P 500 ended March …
RELATED:
Alan Rappeport / New York Times:
Trump's Tariff Agenda Bets on Americans Giving Up Cheap Goods  —  Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent argues that the American dream is about more than cheap televisions, but inflation-weary consumers might disagree.  —  President Trump's sweeping tariffs are expected to raise the cost of cars …
Discussion: HuffPost
Ana Swanson / New York Times:
Estimates Imply That Burden of Tariffs Could Fall Heavily on Consumers  —  A White House trade adviser projected that tariffs would raise about $6 trillion over the next decade.  But raising so much revenue for the government conflicts with the administration's goal of reshoring manufacturing.
Matthew Lynn / Telegraph:
Trump is plotting the biggest tax rise in global history  —  The burden for paying the bulk of the president's Liberation Day tariffs will fall on consumers, potentially at some $600 billion a year  —  We might think of him as a tax-cutter, an enemy of big government, and an instinctive ally …
Coral Davenport / New York Times:
DOGE Accesses Federal Payroll System Over Objections of Career Staff  —  Elon Musk's team gains visibility into sensitive information about hundreds of thousands of government workers despite security concerns raised by IT officials.  —  Members of Elon Musk's cost-cutting Department …
Discussion: Ars Technica and NPR
RELATED:
Tim Marchman / Wired:
Top Officials Placed on Leave After Denying DOGE Access to Federal Payroll Systems  —  DOGE demanded full access to a US Department of the Interior system that handles even the Supreme Court's paychecks.  When top staff asked questions, they were put on leave.
Anna Betts / The Guardian:   Musk's Doge gains access to federal payroll system despite staff warnings
J.D. Wolf / MeidasTouch News:
Republican Operative Nicholas Jacobs Locks Twitter After Elon Musk Check Controversy  —  Jacobs received a $1M check from Musk at a rally in support of Brad Schimel  —  Nicholas Jacobs, chair of the Wisconsin College Republicans and a rising GOP operative, has locked his Twitter account …
New York Times:
Trump Administration Will Review Billions in Funding for Harvard  —  The administration has already canceled hundreds of millions in federal grants and contracts at Columbia and the University of Pennsylvania.  —  The Trump administration said on Monday that it was reviewing roughly $9 billion …
RELATED:
Collin Binkley / Associated Press:
Trump task force to review Harvard's funding after Columbia bows to federal demands
Angelique Chrisafis / The Guardian:
Marine Le Pen barred from running for French presidency in 2027  —  Far-right leader found guilty of embezzlement of European funds and immediately barred from running for office  —  The French far-right leader Marine Le Pen has been barred from running for president in 2027 after a court found …
RELATED:
Astha Rajvanshi / NBC News:
France's far-right leader Le Pen sentenced to prison and banned from office in embezzlement trial
Nicole Russell / Yahoo News:
I'm tired of being mocked and hated because I'm a conservative woman  —  As a conservative woman living in Texas, I often feel like I'm living a dual reality.  I'm a mom and a writer, but that's not all.  I go to church, laugh with friends and wave at my neighbors while we are walking our dogs.
David R. Lurie / Public Notice:
John Roberts created a monster.  It's about to eat him.  —  ✍️ ⚖️ ✍️ With corporate outlets obeying in advance, supporting independent political media is more important right now than ever.  Public Notice is possible thanks to paid subscribers.
Discussion: Raw Story
Kenneth P. Vogel / New York Times:
Trump Commutes the Sentence of Another Hunter Biden Business Associate  —  Jason Galanis had pleaded guilty to his role in two fraud schemes before cooperating with Republican congressional investigations into the Bidens.  —  President Trump last week commuted the lengthy fraud sentence …
Discussion: Townhall, Axios and The Gateway Pundit
RELATED:
Gregory Svirnovskiy / Politico:
Trump commutes sentence of convicted fraudster who aided GOP effort to impeach Biden
Politico:
New FDA commissioner agreed to oust top vaccine regulator after private swearing-in  —  The forced resignation of Peter Marks has unsettled scientists and researchers.  —  Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary signed off on the ouster of top vaccine official Peter Marks shortly …
RELATED:
Reuters:
China, Japan, South Korea will jointly respond to US tariffs, Chinese state media says  —  China, Japan and South Korea agreed to jointly respond to U.S. tariffs, a social media account affiliated with Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said on Monday.  —  The comments came after the three countries held …
Discussion: Washington Examiner and Bloomberg
Steve Vladeck / One First:
136. Setting the Record Straight on the Anti-Trump Injunctions  —  Welcome back to “One First,” a weekly newsletter that aims to make the U.S. Supreme Court more accessible to all of us.  —  Every Monday morning, I'll be offering an update on goings-on at the Court ("On the Docket"); …
Discussion: The Hill and Raw Story
RELATED:
Jack Brook / Associated Press:
Louisiana voters reject constitutional amendments championed by Republican governor  —  Louisiana voters soundly rejected four constitutional amendments championed by Republican Gov. Jeff Landry related to crime, courts and finances.  Voters said no to each amendment by margins exceeding 60% …
Victoria Scott / InsideEVs:
The Pragmatic And Moral Case To Sell Your Tesla  —  If you were waiting for a sign, this is it.  It's time to sell.  —  When I tell strangers my job is to review cars for a living, the most common response is “What do you think of Tesla?”  For well over a decade, Tesla has been the strange …
Discussion: The Atlantic
Pascal Sabino / Bolts:
Missouri Officials Seize Control of St. Louis Police, in Latest Bid to Shutter Local Reforms  —  It has taken nearly a decade for St. Louis' Civilian Oversight Board to find the footing needed to effectively investigate police misconduct and give residents the tools to hold police accountable, says board member Keith Rose.
Discussion: KSDK-TV
Michael Pack / Wall Street Journal:
Voice of America Is Broken and Can't Be Reformed  —  The U.S. international broadcaster is politically biased, confused and ineffective.  Tear it down.  —  President Trump, in a March 14 executive order, called for the elimination of the U.S. Agency for Global Media to the extent possible by law.
Laura Gamboa / Foreign Affairs:
How to Save a Democracy  —  Americans Can Learn From Opponents of Authoritarianism Elsewhere  —  The first few weeks of Donald Trump's second presidency have accelerated a process of democratic erosion in the United States.  In just two months, the president and his allies have issued executive orders …
Discussion: Washington Post
New Republic:
Transcript: Trump Text Fiasco Worsens as Knives Come Out for Hegseth  —  The following is a lightly edited transcript of the March 31 episode of the Daily Blast podcast.  Listen to it here.  —  Greg Sargent: This is The Daily Blast from The New Republic, produced and presented by the DSR network.
Discussion: Raw Story
Dan Glaun / The Boston Globe:
‘Obstructing justice’: Judge holds ICE agent in contempt over detention of defendant mid-trial  —  A Boston Municipal Court judge has held an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in contempt for allegedly obstructing justice when agents arrested a defendant in the middle of his jury trial last week.
Discussion: masslive.com
Anne Applebaum / The Atlantic:
America's Future Is Hungary  —  MAGA conservatives love Viktor Orbán.  But he's left his country corrupt, stagnant, and impoverished.  —  flashy hotels and upmarket restaurants now dominate the center of Budapest, a city once better known for its shabby facades.
Judd Legum / Popular Information:
How the Social Security Administration and DOGE are gaslighting Americans  —  The Social Security Administration (SSA) sent an email on March 27 to beneficiaries saying that reports that field offices were closing was an invention of fake news media.  “Recent reports in the media that the …
Discussion: masslive.com and Plain Dealer
Joseph Gedeon / The Guardian:
Trump administration deports more alleged gang members to El Salvador  —  Move is latest in controversial method of deporting people to be imprisoned abroad without due process in US  —  The US has sent 17 more people accused of being gang members to El Salvador without providing their names …
Carol Rosenberg / New York Times:
U.S. Has Spent $40 Million to Jail About 400 Migrants at Guantánamo  —  The disclosure of the tab so far came after five senators visited the offshore operation, which they condemned as a waste of resources.  —  Five senators who visited the U.S. base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba …
Associated Press:
Comic Amber Ruffin cut from White House correspondents' event after angering Trump team  —  The White House Correspondents Association says it canceled comedian Amber Ruffin from performing at its annual dinner because it wants to refocus the event on journalistic excellence.
Senator Cory Booker / Senator Cory Booker on YouTube:
Live: Speaking on Trump, Musk, and America's Moral Moment on the Senate Floor  —  Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) has taken the Senate floor and is speaking as long as he is physically able to lift the voices of Americans who are being harmed a...
Discussion: Talking Points Memo
Dan Kaufman / New Yorker:
Why Is Elon Musk Trying to Buy a Wisconsin Supreme Court Seat?  —  Tuesday's election, as the only statewide race in the country before November, is a crucial test for the growing backlash against the Trump Administration's agenda.  —  In mid-January, Brad Schimel, a Wisconsin circuit-court judge running …
Michael Tomasky / New Republic:
Of Course Trump Will Tank the Economy.  It's What Republicans Do.  —  Here it comes: Wednesday is “Liberation Day,” when Donald Trump plans to announce the tariff structures that will save America.  Politico reported over the weekend that no one in the White House has any idea what's going on, because it's all in Trump's head.
Discussion: Washington Post, Democrats and Politico
Alexander Tin / CBS News:
RFK Jr.'s layoffs expected to gut worker safety agency NIOSH, officials say  —  At least two-thirds of the staff at the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, or NIOSH, are expected to be laid off as part of a restructuring ordered by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. …
Jacob Knutson / Democracy Docket:
Democrats Sue to Block Trump Bid to Control Elections  —  The Democratic Party is suing President Donald Trump over his sweeping executive order last week that attempted to wrest control of elections from the states.  —  Filed Monday by Elias Law Group on behalf of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer …
Discussion: The Daily Signal
Daniel Strauss / New York Magazine:
Tim Walz: Why We Lost  —  The would-be Democratic vice-president on 2024's mistakes and 2025's opportunity.  —  Every Democrat seems to have their own diagnosis for why the party lost power in Washington last year, but only one of them was on the vice-presidential ticket.
Glenn Thrush / New York Times:
Trump's Pick for Top D.C. Prosecutor Faces Calls for Confirmation Hearing  —  Congressional aides of both parties believe that the nominee for U.S. attorney, Ed Martin, appears to have a solid chance of squeaking through on a party-line vote.  —  The Senate Judiciary Committee rarely holds hearings …
Discussion: Raw Story
 
 
 Archived Page Info: 
This is a snapshot of memeorandum at 8:20 PM ET, March 31, 2025.

View the current page or another snapshot:


Page version:
 
 See Also: 
memeorandum: site main
memeorandum River: reverse chronological memeorandum
memeorandum Mobile: for phones
memeorandum Leaderboard: memeorandum's top sources
 
 Subscribe: 
memeorandum RSS feed
memeorandum on Mastodon
 
 
 More Items: 
Politico:
Internal fallout at HHS delays 10,000 firings
Democracy Docket:
League of United Latin American Citizens v. Executive Office of the President
Alex Fitzpatrick / Axios:
Canadians' demand for U.S. travel is cratering
Matt Cohen / Democracy Docket:
Pennsylvania Must Count Undated Mail-In Ballots, Federal Court Rules
Discussion: Votebeat and PoliticsPA
Jared Gans / The Hill:
Majority of voters say it was wrong to hold Signal app discussion: Poll
Discussion: New Republic and Townhall
Jessica Glenza / The Guardian:
More than 1,900 scientists write letter in ‘SOS’ over Trump's attacks on science
Discussion: STAT and Common Dreams
Caitlin Oprysko / Politico:
Sinema lands at Hogan Lovells
Discussion: The Hill
 Earlier Items: 
Veronika Melkozerova / Politico:
Putin to conscript 160,000 more Russians for war with Ukraine
Discussion: The Kyiv Independent and Politico
Matthew Yglesias / Slow Boring:
The founding myth of progressive economics
Leah Juliett / Teen Vogue:
Chuck Schumer Is Pushing Young People Away From the Democratic Party With His Toothless Leadership
Discussion: Mediaite and Raw Story
Jeffrey Blehar / National Review:
Where Do You Draw the Line?  —  While I concede the legality of the administration's move …
 

 
From Techmeme:

Qianer Liu / The Information:
Sources: Intel and TSMC have reached a preliminary agreement to form a joint venture that will operate Intel's chipmaking facilities; TSMC will take a 20% stake

Annmarie Hordern / Bloomberg:
President Trump reiterates he's open to tariff relief for China if it approves the sale of TikTok's US operations; the app faces an April 5 divestment deadline

Michael Nuñez / VentureBeat:
OpenAI makes ChatGPT Plus free for college students in the US and Canada until the end of May 2025, intensifying competition with Anthropic in higher education

 
Sister Sites:

Techmeme
 Top news and commentary for technology's leaders, from all around the web
Mediagazer
 Top news and commentary for media professionals from all around the web
WeSmirch
 The top celebrity news from all around the web on a single page