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4:30 AM ET, April 23, 2026

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
New York Times:
Navy Secretary John Phelan Is Leaving the Pentagon and the Trump Administration  —  John Phelan is leaving the Pentagon after months of tension with Pete Hegseth and other Pentagon leaders.  The tumult comes as the Navy has been engaged in war with Iran.  —  Navy Secretary John Phelan …
RELATED:
Wall Street Journal:
John Phelan Out as U.S. Navy Secretary  —  Hung Cao, currently undersecretary for the Navy, will take over on an acting basis  —  John Phelan has left his position as U.S. Navy secretary, the Pentagon announced Wednesday evening.  —  His departure was revealed in a social-media post by Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell.
Associated Press:
Pentagon says Navy Secretary John Phelan is leaving, in latest departure of a top defense leader  —  The Pentagon announced Wednesday that the Navy's top civilian official, Secretary of the Navy John Phelan, is leaving his job.  In a statement posted to social media, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell …
Jennifer Jacobs / CBS News:
Iran's military more capable than Trump administration is publicly acknowledging, sources say
Discussion: Breitbart and New Republic
Winston Rogers / WJLA-TV:
Virginia judge blocks redistricting referendum from being certified  —  ARLINGTON, Va. (7News) — A Virginia judge blocked the state from certifying the results of Tuesday's congressional map referendum, deeming the referendum and the bill that triggered it as unconstitutional, according to a judge's order issued Wednesday.
RELATED:
Wall Street Journal:
Republicans Are Worried the Redistricting Fight Is Backfiring  —  After a victory in Virginia, some analysts say Democrats may pick up more seats in Congress following the nationwide redistricting battle  —  Republicans are increasingly worried that a battle President Trump started last summer …
Greg Sargent / New Republic:
How Trump Accidentally Handed Dems Their Big Win in Virginia  —  On Monday night, just before Virginia voters approved a referendum Tuesday that will allow Democrats to draw up to four new House seats before the midterms, Donald Trump captured the true essence of this situation in a single sentence.
Michael S. Schmidt / New York Times:
F.B.I. Said to Have Investigated Times Reporter After Article on Patel's Girlfriend  —  The bureau said it is not pursuing a case, but the scrutiny is an example of the Trump administration weighing whether to criminalize routine news gathering.  —  The F.B.I. began investigating …
Shawn Cohen / Charleston Daily Mail:
Secret ‘sugar daddy’ sex scandal explodes inside Trump's counterterrorism HQ: Read glamorous senior aide's voracious text messages, itemized ‘trophies’... and her utterly shameless justification  —  A top-level Trump counterterrorism official is under investigation amid claims she actively looks …
RELATED:
Josh Christenson / New York Post:
DHS bigwig put on leave after ex-boyfriend accuses glitzy terror official of $40K sugar baby scheme
Discussion: TMZ.com
David Gardner / The Daily Beast:
Trump's Plans for ‘Mic-Drop’ Media Confrontation Are Leaked  —  AFTER-DINNER SCREECH  —  The president is planning a rage-fueled moment at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner.  —  Donald Trump will launch a “revenge” attack on the White House media when he confronts …
Politico:
Trump admin agrees to pay $1.25M to 2016 Trump adviser over surveillance … A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment.  Page and one of his attorneys did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.  —  The settlement does not resolve Page's effort to revive his claims …
Hailey Fuchs / Politico:
Oversight members split over whether to pardon Ghislaine Maxwell, committee chair says  —  Members on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee are divided over whether President Donald Trump should pardon Jeffrey Epstein's convicted co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell in exchange …
Discussion: NewsMax.com, Raw Story and RedState
RELATED:
Hailey Fuchs / Politico:
House Democrat pushes DOJ on possible pardon for Ghislaine Maxwell
Discussion: Raw Story and The Hill
Chris Cameron / New York Times:
RFK Jr. Defends Trump's Mathematically Impossible Drug Discount Claims  —  President Trump has claimed that he has secured discounts of 400 to 1,500 percent on prescription drugs.  A price discount cannot be more than 100 percent because that would lower the price to zero.
Wall Street Journal:
What Everyone Got Wrong About Jobs and the Immigration Crackdown  —  Deportations haven't meaningfully lifted wages for Americans, nor have they caused widespread disruptions to the labor market  —  Change in average hourly earnings, year-over-year by select industry
Drop Site News:
Two Iranian Women in ICE Detention Are Not, In Fact, Related to Qasem Soleimani, Documents Show  —  After Laura Loomer pointed to two women she claimed were connected to the late Iranian military commander, they were arrested and remain in immigration detention.  One is now gravely ill.
José Olivares / The Guardian:
Ron DeSantis signs law blocking local Florida governments from funding DEI  —  Florida governor says white men have been discriminated against in new effort to challenge inclusion programs  —  Florida governor Ron DeSantis on Wednesday signed a law prohibiting local governments from funding …
RELATED:
Mike Schneider / Associated Press:   DeSantis signs Florida law banning local DEI funding, says white men are ‘disfavored’
Wall Street Journal:
Secretive Shipments of Iranian Oil to China Are Under Threat by U.S.  —  Boarding of tanker raises risk for sanctions-evading ‘shadow fleet’  —  Iran, China and an array of middlemen have evaded U.S. sanctions for years by shipping oil on aging tankers with opaque records …
RELATED:
Reuters:
Exclusive: US intercepts three Iranian oil tankers in Asian waters, sources say
Discussion: Forbes, Al Jazeera and Bloomberg
Nik Popli / Time:
Congress Rejects Calls For Iran War Oversight as Key Deadline Nears … In the meantime, negotiations between the U.S. and Iran appear at a standstill.  On Tuesday, Trump announced an indefinite ceasefire with Iran while maintaining a blockade of Iranian ports.
RELATED:
Reuters:
Trump says eight Iranian women won't be executed, Iran disputes entire account  —  President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that Iran had agreed not to execute eight women protesters in a sign of respect for him, while officials in Tehran denied the executions had been planned and accused the U.S. president of spreading falsehoods.
Dan Mangan / CNBC:
Kalshi suspends, fines 3 congressional candidates in ‘insider trading’ enforcement actions … Prediction market platform Kalshi said Wednesday it had suspended and fined three candidates for Congress from Minnesota, Texas and Virginia for “political insider trading” activity on their own campaigns.
RELATED:
Bobby DeNault / Kalshi:
Enforcement update: Kalshi continues crackdown on political insider trading
Politico:
New Jersey's most vulnerable GOP incumbent is MIA  —  Rep. Tom Kean Jr. represents New Jersey's most competitive district this November — but nobody, even his GOP colleagues, can say where he's been for the past month.  A scion of one of the state's most storied political dynasties …
Discussion: Mediaite
Wall Street Journal:
Trump Administration Nearing Rescue Deal for Spirit Airlines  —  President signaled this week the government could help discount carrier, which has struggled with surging jet-fuel prices  —  The Trump administration is nearing a rescue deal for Spirit Airlines, people familiar with the matter said.
Esther Webber / Politico:
UK divers prepare for mine-clearing operations in Strait of Hormuz  —  Preparatory step comes on second day of London-hosted talks on reopening the strait.  —  LONDON — British military divers are preparing to conduct mine-clearing operations in case they are needed in the Strait of Hormuz, according to the Ministry of Defence.
Discussion: NewsMax.com and Politico
Yunior Rivas / Democracy Docket:
Virginia court blocks voter-approved redistricting, appeal coming  —  A Virginia judge temporarily halted the state's newly approved congressional map — but state officials are already moving to try to overturn the ruling, setting up a rapid legal fight in the state's Supreme Court.
Mike Stobbe / Associated Press:
US health officials nix publication of a study on COVID vaccine effectiveness  —  U.S. health officials stopped the publication of a study on whether the COVID-19 vaccine was keeping adults from becoming sick enough to have to go to the hospital.  A U.S. Department of Health and Human Services spokesman …
Adam Gabbatt / The Guardian:
What Trump's Bible stunt says about his complicated history with Christianity  —  On Tuesday, the president read from the Bible in a taped message.  Religious scholars were not impressed  — This was originally published in This Week in Trumpland.  Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Wednesday
Discussion: Raw Story and LGBTQ Nation
 
 
 New Item Finder: 
6 hours ago
Esther Webber / Politico:
UK divers prepare for mine-clearing operations in Strait of Hormuz   Find
6 hours ago
David Gardner / The Daily Beast:
Trump's Plans for ‘Mic-Drop’ Media Confrontation Are Leaked   Find
6 hours ago
Chris Cameron / New York Times:
RFK Jr. Defends Trump's Mathematically Impossible Drug Discount Claims   Find
6 hours ago
Wall Street Journal:
Republicans Are Worried the Redistricting Fight Is Backfiring   Find
6 hours ago
Nik Popli / Time:
Congress Rejects Calls For Iran War Oversight as Key Deadline Nears   Find
7 hours ago
José Olivares / The Guardian:
Ron DeSantis signs law blocking local Florida governments from funding DEI   Find
 
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 More Items: 
Theodore Schleifer / New York Times:
As Democrats Outraise Republican Candidates, the G.O.P. Has This $600 Million Edge
Yunior Rivas / Democracy Docket:
GOP blocks plan to prepare North Carolina counties for ballot seizures, ICE at polls
Discussion: Raw Story
Ward Clark / RedState:
Couple Accused of Taking Child to Cuba for Gender Surgery Now Facing Kidnapping Charges
Brendan Bordelon / Politico:
Justice Department asks California judge to pause its Anthropic appeal
Katherine Tully-McManus / Politico:
Arrington says House GOP's appetite for Senate reconciliation path no sure bet
 Earlier Items: 
Politico:
House GOP FISA tensions boil over as Johnson hunts for a plan
Julia Ornedo / The Daily Beast:
Disgraced MAGA Congressman Floats Post-Prison Comeback
Discussion: Raw Story and NewsMax.com
Associated Press:
Southern Poverty Law Center indicted on federal fraud charges
Will Knight / Wired:
5 AI Models Tried to Scam Me. Some of Them Were Scary Good
Jaimie Ding / Associated Press:
Federal appeals court blocks California law requiring federal agents to wear identification
Tom Winter / NBC News:
Judge tosses Kash Patel's defamation suit against former MSNBC contributor
Associated Press:
Rep. David Scott, a Georgia Democrat seeking his 13th term in Congress, dies at age 80
Joseph Gedeon / The Guardian:
Democrats demand FBI director, Kash Patel, take alcohol abuse test
 

 
From Mediagazer:

Brian Stelter / CNN:
WBD shareholders vote early Thursday on the Paramount deal, likely to be OK'ed; David Ellison will be in DC later for Paramount's event honoring the White House

Lucas Manfredi / The Wrap:
The FCC launches a review of TV Parental Guidelines, citing concerns that “gender identity issues are being included or promoted in children's programs”

Joe Flint / Wall Street Journal:
Filing: the NFL met with the FCC on Friday to defend the league's media rights strategy and said 87% of games are primarily aired for free on broadcast TV
 
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