memeorandum: China sends back new Boeing jet made more expensive by tariffs (Helen Davidson/The Guardian)

11:55 AM ET, April 21, 2025

Top Items:

Hegseth Said to Have Shared Attack Details in Second Signal Chat — The defense secretary sent sensitive information about strikes in Yemen to an encrypted group chat that included his wife and brother, people familiar with the matter said. — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shared detailed information …

John Ullyot / Politico:

Former Top Pentagon Spokesperson Details ‘Month From Hell’ Inside the Agency — The total chaos at the Department of Defense is becoming a major distraction for the Trump administration, writes John Ullyot. — It's been a month of total chaos at the Pentagon.

Discussion: The Hill, Washington Examiner, Fox News, Wall Street Journal, Daily Mail, Raw Story, The Independent, Mediaite, Fortune, Alternet.org, TIME, NBC News, The Gateway Pundit and Bloomberg

Politico:

White House backs Hegseth, Leavitt says ‘entire Pentagon’ is resisting him — Hegseth “is doing phenomenal leading the Pentagon,” Leavitt said during a Monday “Fox & Friends” appearance. — President Donald Trump “stands strongly behind Pete Hegseth,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Monday morning …

Discussion: Deadline, Raw Story and Political Wire

Ryan Bort / Rolling Stone:

Turns Out It Wasn't Such a Great Idea to Put Pete Hegseth in Charge of the Military — The former Fox News host's tenure at the top of the Pentagon has been riddled with scandal and broader institutional turmoil — Pete Hegseth barely received enough votes to win confirmation as Donald Trump's defense secretary.

Discussion: The Independent and Politico

William Kristol / The Bulwark:

A Pope Who Preached Decency in Indecent Times — If you were an ailing pope, one of the metal things you could do is gut it through Holy Week out of sheer force of will and die on Easter Monday. RIP, Francis. … I WAS WALKING ALONG THE TIBER RIVER when a push notification delivered …

Discussion: Global News, CityNews Toronto, Al Jazeera, Axios and Los Angeles Times

Paul McLeary / Politico:
Former Pentagon official warns department's dysfunction could topple Hegseth

Discussion: The Status Kuo, Washington Examiner, Business Insider, Raw Story and The Hill

Rebecca Shabad / NBC News:
Hegseth blames Signal group chat story on ‘disgruntled former employees’

Discussion: Grabien and Raw Story

Jennifer Rubin / The Contrarian:
Stop Waiting for a Formal Declaration of “Crisis”

Discussion: The Hill and HuffPost

CNN:

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's bag, including $3,000 in cash, is stolen from DC restaurant — Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem fell victim to a thief while eating dinner at a downtown Washington, DC, restaurant Sunday night, two sources familiar with the incident …

Discussion: New York Post and The Independent

Nicole Winfield / Associated Press:

Pope Francis, first Latin American pontiff who ministered with a charming, humble style, dies at 88 — Pope Francis, history's first Latin American pontiff who charmed the world with his humble style and concern for the poor but alienated conservatives with critiques of capitalism and climate change, died Monday.

Jason Horowitz / New York Times:

Latest Updates: Pope Francis Dies at 88 — His groundbreaking pontificate worked to make the Catholic Church more inclusive. Cardinals will now decide whether to continue his approach or restore more doctrinaire leadership. — Buenos Aires — Jerusalem — Havana — Washington

Devin Watkins / vaticannews.va:

Pope Francis has died on Easter Monday aged 88 — Pope Francis died on Easter Monday, April 21, 2025, at the age of 88 at his residence in the Vatican's Casa Santa Marta. — At 9:45 AM, Cardinal Kevin Farrell, Camerlengo of the Apostolic Chamber, announced the death of Pope Francis from the Casa Santa Marta with these words:

Tom Sykes / The Daily Beast:
Pope Francis' Last Act Was to Give JD Vance a Lesson About Migrants

Francis X. Rocca / Wall Street Journal:
Pope Francis, Advocate for Economic and Social Justice, Dies at 88

Discussion: Washington Post, Politico, HotAir, WFAA-TV, To the Contrary, New York Times, East Bay Times, Reuters, Reason, America Magazine, Associated Press, Metro.co.uk, KTFT, Fox News, New York Post, RNS, Al Jazeera, WBAL Baltimore News, The Hill and NPR

Jonathan Wolfe / New York Times:
Pope Francis' Calling Came as a Boy in Argentina, and It Led Him to the Vatican

Discussion: The Hill, Bloomberg, Reuters, UnHerd, Politico, NPR, CBS News, Al Jazeera, WTOP News and Althouse

Joshua McElwee / Reuters:
Pope Francis has died, Vatican says

Discussion: CBS News, The Atlantic, NPR, Washington Examiner, New York Post, The Guardian, Breitbart, Fox News, The Dispatch, Hollywood Life, Raw Story, Semafor, Axios, New York Times and Al Jazeera

New York Times:
Francis, the First Latin American Pope, Dies at 88

Discussion: WBEZ Chicago, PennLive, Aleteia, Columbia Journalism Review, Associated Press, The 19th, The Daily Wire, WHDH-TV and Variety

Lisa Kashinsky / Politico:

House Dems travel to El Salvador to secure Maryland man's return — More Democrats are making the trip abroad to raise awareness for what they call a “constitutional crisis” surrounding Kilmar Abrego Garcia's deportation. — Four more Democratic lawmakers have landed in El Salvador …

Discussion: Townhall, Twitchy and Washington Times

Congressman Robert Garcia:
U.S. Reps. Garcia, Frost, Ansari, and Dexter Arrive in El Salvador to Pressure Trump Administration To Abide By Supreme Court Order And Facilitate Return …

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Blaze Media, The Daily Caller, UPI and Washington Times

Luke Garrett / NPR:
House Democrats land in El Salvador, demand Abrego Garcia's return

Discussion: HotAir, New York Times, Associated Press and Los Angeles Times

Andrew Solender / Axios:
Four House Dems travel to El Salvador despite GOP refusal

Discussion: Fox News, Washington Post and Reuters

Split Ticket:

How Democrats Won Wisconsin In 2025: Turnout. — Democrats swelled with confidence after their victory in the State Supreme Court race in Trump-won Wisconsin. It seemed that public opinion swung sharply against Donald Trump and the GOP despite Elon Musk's eight-figure investment in the state.

The Free Press:

Is Donald Trump Breaking the Law? Seven Experts Weigh In. — Trump critics say we are in a constitutional crisis. The White House says that's hysterical. What do our top legal minds say? — The first 90 days of President Trump's second term have been marked by a series of aggressive legal maneuvers.

Discussion: Reason

Jack Goldsmith / Executive Functions:

Solicitor General John Sauer's Predicament — His incompatible duties to the president and the Supreme Court are coming to a head. … Yesterday Justice Alito published a fiery statement explaining his dissent from the Supreme Court's early Saturday morning order directing the U.S. government …

Discussion: One First, Reason and Daily Caller News Foundation

Janna Brancolini / The Daily Beast:

Diplomats Are Freaking Out About Trump's Leaked Executive Order — STATE OF PANIC — One official said monkeys with a typewriter could have come up with a more logical plan for the State Department. — American diplomats spent the weekend panicking about a possible plan to radically reshape …

Discussion: The Independent, Rough Draft Atlanta, Bloomberg, CNBC, Politico, Rolling Stone, Fortune, UPI and Raw Story

Anthony Clark / The Last Campaign:

Trump's Surgeon General Pick Distorted Key Parts of Her Résumé — Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, an urgent-care physician and former Fox News medical contributor 1 who is President Donald Trump's nominee for surgeon general of the United States, has over at least the last 15 years falsely represented …

Washington Post:

The ‘5 things’ emails are going by the wayside as Musk readies his exit — After the DOGE leader demanded federal workers list accomplishments, agencies applied an inconsistent patchwork of policies. — When Elon Musk and President Donald Trump commanded all federal workers …

Discussion: Raw Story and The Independent

Ashley Mowreader / Inside Higher Ed:

What We've Learned So Far From Tracking Student Visa Data — More than 1,500 students from nearly 250 colleges have had their visas revoked, but who they are—and why they've been targeted—is still largely unknown. … Our goal was to understand the scope of the federal government's involvement …

Discussion: The Harvard Crimson

Victor Davis Hanson / American Greatness:
Do Elite Universities Really Wish to Fight the Federal Government?

Discussion: The Atlantic

Wall Street Journal:

Trump Administration Irate at Harvard, Plans to Pull Additional $1 Billion in Funding — The university publicized a government demand letter that asked for federal oversight of the campus — The Trump administration has grown so furious with Harvard University after a week …

Discussion: The Hill, The Harvard Crimson, Fox News, New York Post and The Washington Free Beacon

Svante Myrick / The Hill:

At the first whiff of power, these Republicans betrayed the rule of law — Every day the Trump regime tramples the rule of law makes Americans less free and less safe. — Every day the president defies the Constitution and courts makes America less America.

Perry Bacon Jr / Washington Post:

Polls aren't going to save us from Trump — Democrats are praying on polls too much. They need to act instead. — About 50 percent of Americans now disapprove of President Donald Trump, compared with just 46 percent who approve of him, according to recent polls.

Discussion: New York Times and City Journal

New York Times:

Trump Administration Live Updates: White House Defends Hegseth Over 2nd Signal Chat on Strikes — Where Things Stand — Hegseth chat: President Trump “absolutely has confidence” in Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, told reporters …

Discussion: Reuters

Lawrence Hurley / NBC News:

Supreme Court rejects Minnesota effort to revive ban on young adults from carrying guns — The measure struck down by lower courts bars 18-to-20-year-olds from applying for licenses to carry firearms in public. — WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday delivered a blow to Minnesota's attempt …

Discussion: The Hill, USA Today and WTOP News

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

GOP lawmakers running out of options to pay for Trump's costly agenda — Republican leaders are rapidly running out of ways to pay for President Trump's agenda as GOP lawmakers shoot down various proposals to cut spending or increase revenues. — Without finding some new ideas …

Discussion: Punchbowl News, Alternet.org and Daily Kos

Caroline Kitchener / New York Times:

Baby Bonuses, Fertility Planning: Trump Aides Assess Ideas to Boost Birthrate … “We need to channel the MAHA spirit and really dive deep into infertility,” said Emma Waters, a policy analyst at the Heritage Foundation, referring to Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s Make America Healthy Again campaign.Rebecca Kiger for The New York Times

Discussion: Raw Story