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5:10 PM ET, April 21, 2025

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
Tom Bowman / NPR:
Exclusive: The White House is looking to replace Pete Hegseth as defense secretary  —  The White House has begun the process of looking for a new secretary of defense, according to a U.S. official who was not authorized to speak publicly.  —  This comes as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth continues to find himself mired in controversy.
RELATED:
Rachael Bade / Politico:
‘An amateur person’: GOP Rep. Bacon says Hegseth should go  —  The Nebraska lawmaker is the first House Republican to recommend the president fire the secretary of Defense.  —  Rep. Don Bacon, a prominent Republican on the House Armed Services Committee, became the first sitting GOP lawmaker Monday …
Eli Okun / Politico:
Playbook PM: Trump backs Hegseth  —  FOR PETE'S SAKE: The Trump administration held steady in defense of Pete Hegseth today and instead went after his critics in the wake of this weekend's revelations.  —  Never back down: President Donald Trump said consternation about the Defense secretary was a …
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 …
Politico:
Trump offers private reassurance to embattled Hegseth
Discussion: Raw Story
New York Times:
Trump Administration Live Updates: White House Defends Hegseth Over 2nd Signal Chat on Strikes
Discussion: Reuters
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 …
RELATED:
Victor Mather / New York Times:
Kristi Noem's Bag, With Security Badge and $3,000, Is Stolen  —  The homeland security secretary was dining at a Washington, D.C., restaurant.  She also lost her passport and keys.  —  A handbag belonging to the homeland security secretary Kristi Noem containing her passport …
Sarah Fortinsky / The Hill:   Noem's purse containing DHS access badge, $3K in cash stolen at DC restaurant
Nicole Sganga / CBS News:
Kristi Noem's bag stolen with multiple forms of ID, thousands in cash
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.
RELATED:
Molly Olmstead / Slate:
Pope Francis Changed a Lot About the Church. One Thing Cannot Be Reversed.
Jason Horowitz / New York Times:
Latest Updates: Pope Francis Dies at 88
Washington Post:
Who will be next pope after Francis? Key contenders ahead of conclave.
Tom Sykes / The Daily Beast:
Pope Francis' Last Act Was to Give JD Vance a Lesson About Migrants
Associated Press:
Live updates: Pope Francis dies at 88
Devin Watkins / vaticannews.va:
Pope Francis has died on Easter Monday aged 88
Larry David / New York Times:
My Dinner With Adolf  —  Imagine my surprise when in the spring of 1939 a letter arrived at my house inviting me to dinner at the Old Chancellery with the world's most reviled man, Adolf Hitler.  I had been a vocal critic of his on the radio from the beginning, pretty much predicting everything …
Caroline Kitchener / New York Times:
Trump Aides Solicit Ideas to Raise Birthrate, From Baby Bonuses to Fertility Planning … “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: Vanity Fair and Raw Story
RELATED:
Caroline Kitchener / New York Times:
Baby Bonuses, Fertility Planning: Trump Aides Assess Ideas to Boost Birthrate
Discussion: National Review and Raw Story
Steve Vladeck / One First:
145. Justice Alito's Misbegotten Dissent in A.A.R.P.  —  Justice Alito's after-the-fact opinion dissenting from the Court's early-Saturday-morning Alien Enemy Act ruling rests on a revealing array of misrepresentations, misstatements, and non-sequiturs.  —  Welcome back to “One First,” …
RELATED:
Annie Ma / Associated Press:
Student loans in default to be referred to debt collection, Education Department says  —  The Education Department will begin collection next month on student loans that are in default, including the garnishing of wages for potentially millions of borrowers,officials said Monday.
Jennifer Rubin / The Contrarian:
Stop Waiting for a Formal Declaration of “Crisis”  —  Are we in a “constitutional crisis”?  —  You have likely heard that question innumerable times over the past three months, followed by a discussion as to whether our president has actually, explicitly, openly violated a court order (make that a Supreme Court order).
Discussion: NPR, Townhall and The Hill
RELATED:
Lisa Kashinsky / Politico:
House Dems travel to El Salvador to secure Maryland man's return
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 …
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.
Dana Hull / Bloomberg:
Tesla Slides as Analyst Warns of ‘Code Red’ Ahead of Earnings … Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives said Tesla's chief executive officer should step back from his controversial work at the Department of Government Efficiency and re-focus his attention on the carmaker.
Discussion: Forbes and Raw Story
Luke Kawa / Sherwood News:
The “sell America” trade has reached levels not seen since the 1980s  —  Traders are dumping US assets like mullets are back in style and “Endless Love” is topping the Billboard Hot 100.  —  Rising recession risks thanks to onerous tariffs have catalyzed a global downgrade of US stocks …
Shayna Jacobs / Washington Post:
Wife of former senator Bob Menendez found guilty in corruption case  —  Prosecutors described Nadine Menendez as a liaison between then-Sen. Bob Menendez and the contacts who paid him, seeking bribes and sharing in illegal profits.  —  NEW YORK — The wife of former U.S. senator Bob Menendez …
vaticannews.va:
Pope's death due to stroke and irreversible cardiocirculatory collapse  —  The Director of the Directorate of Health and Hygiene of the Vatican City State, Dr. Andrea Arcangeli, releases the official medical report on the death of Pope Francis, which was confirmed through electrocardiographic thanatography.
Stephen Smith / CBS News:
Delta plane engine catches fire at Orlando airport, passengers evacuate on slides  —  A Delta passenger jet caught fire on the tarmac at Orlando International Airport Monday and passengers had to evacuate via the emergency slides, the Federal Aviation Authority said Monday.
Michelle Kaske / Bloomberg:
Trump Gives New York ‘One Last Chance’ to End Congestion Pricing  —  The Trump administration is threatening to stop future federal approvals for transportation projects in Manhattan and may withhold funding if New York City's congestion pricing program continues.
Bloomberg:
Walmart, Target Executives Meet Trump as Tariff Fear Spreads … President Donald Trump met with major retailers at the White House, as business executives seek relief from sweeping tariffs that have destabilized global supply chains and rattled US consumers.
Associated Press:
Gunman who killed 23 in a racist attack at a Walmart in El Paso pleads guilty to capital murder  —  The gunman who killed 23 people when he targeted Hispanic shoppers at a Walmart in Texas in 2019 pleaded guilty Monday to capital murder and was scolded by a judge over the racist attack in El Paso near the U.S.-Mexico border.
Margaret Sullivan / American Crisis:
Trump pretends he's a dictator — and the credulous media too often nods along  —  Immediately after retaking the presidency in January, Donald Trump began signing executive orders with lightning speed.  Wielding his fancy pen like a wrecking ball, he acted like he was autographing new copies of “The Art of the Deal” for his fans.
Lauren Irwin / The Hill:
Raskin to Bukele: ‘Trump administration is not going to last forever’  —  Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) had a warning for Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele about his growing relationship with President Trump, noting the Trump administration “is not going to last forever.”
Discussion: The Daily Wire
CNBC:
Dow drops 1,200 points, S&P 500 loses 3% as Trump again attacks Powell and sows investor doubt: Live updates  —  Stocks fell again on Monday as President Donald Trump ramped up his attacks on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, raising questions about the central bank's independence …
Discussion: CBS News, CNN, The Hill, Fortune and UPI
 
 
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 More Items: 
Maura Judkis / Washington Post:
She told Trump the Smithsonian needs changing. He's ordered her to do it.
Brian O'Neill / The Contrarian:
Not with a bang but a backdoor  —  DOGE's quiet access to government networks is a counterintelligence threat in plain sight.
Discussion: Bloomberg
Associated Press:
FACT FOCUS: Examining RFK Jr.'s claims about measles, autism and diet as head of HHS
Andrew Solender / Axios:
First House Republican calls for Pete Hegseth's ouster
Discussion: The Hill and New York Post
 Earlier Items: 
Annabella Rosciglione / Washington Examiner:
Georgia state Democrat jumps into governor race by slamming Trump
Julia Mueller / The Hill:
Trump hosts corporate-sponsored Easter Egg Roll: 'We're bringing religion back'
Daniel Strauss / New York Magazine:
A Democrat Who Knows How to Win on Fighting Trump
Discussion: Raw Story
Anil Oza / STAT:
STAT+: NIH bans all future grants to universities with DEI programs or Israel boycotts
Dustin Gardiner / Politico:
'There's a reckoning to be had': San Francisco Dems move to push the national party to the center.
Discussion: Washington Examiner and Breitbart
Svante Myrick / The Hill:
At the first whiff of power, these Republicans betrayed the rule of law