Good evening,

TGIF 🎉 

Before we get to the news, here’s a taste of what’s ahead for all of us this weekend from our weekly ‘Cheers to the Freakin’ Weekend’ section:

What We’re Watching: 

• Mosh: NBA playoffs

• Jill: Joan Rivers: A Dead Funny All-Star Tribute ~ Peacock

• Sam: #1 Happy Family USA ~ Amazon Prime

What We’re Reading:

• Mosh: Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling ~ Ross King

• Jill: Trump's Real Secretary of State ~ The Atlantic’s Isaac Stanley-Becker

• Lauren: Oprah's latest book club pick: The Emperor of Gladness ~ Ocean Vuong

What We’re Eating:

• Mosh: A suitcase's worth of snacks from the Sweets and Snacks Expo in Indianapolis, including peanut butter flavor Nutella

• Lauren: Gemini × Happy Ice Cream in DC

• Sari: DIY sushi

The Mo News Team

🚨 ONE IMPORTANT THING

Former FBI Director James Comey Accused Of Threatening Violence Against Trump In '8647' Post

Former FBI Director James Comey is under fire for a photo he posted on Instagram Thursday that showed seashells on a beach arranged to form the numbers “8647,” which many are interpreting as a call to eliminate (or assassinate) President Trump.

• The Department of Homeland Security and the Secret Service are investigating the post.

Behind the numbers: The term “86-ed” is often used in restaurants to indicate that an order should be canceled; it is also used in newsrooms, the military, and the mob to indicate eliminating something. Trump is the 47th U.S. president.

Comey denied knowing that the numbers were linked to calls for violence.

REACTIONS
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard argued on Fox News Thursday night that for Comey — a former prosecutor of mobsters and head of the FBI — to claim ignorance is to assume “the American people are so stupid.”

• Instead, she said Comey should go to jail for what she called an emerging “assassination culture” on the left where violence against political opponents is downplayed or excused.

In an interview with President Trump set to air Friday night on Fox, the president said, “That meant assassination, and it says it loud and clear. Now he wasn’t very competent, but he was competent enough to know what that meant.” (Here’s a preview of that interview, aired earlier today.)

• In 2017, Trump fired Comey four years into his 10-year term as FBI director.

Bottom line: There is little legal ground to act on Comey’s post alone. Georgetown University law professor David Cole told The Washington Post that the Supreme Court has set a “very high standard” in free speech cases.

🚰 An Easy Way To Stay Hydrated

Keeping up with your hydration can be hard. Luckily, LMNT is here to made it easier.

• What it is: LMNT is a tasty electrolyte drink mix that replaces vital electrolytes without sugar, artificial colors, and other dodgy ingredients.

• Who it’s for: LMNT is perfect for athletes, folks who are fasting, or those following keto, low-carb, whole-food, or paleo diets.

Members of the Mo News community can get a free 8-count LMNT Sample Pack with any purchase if you order through DrinkLMNT.com/MoNews.

🚨 ONE THING WE’RE WATCHING

Inside The GOP’s Intraparty Fighting Over Proposed Medicaid Cuts

The GOP-led House Budget Committee rejected Trump’s “big, beautiful” budget bill in a 16-21 vote Friday, with five Republicans joining Democrats to sink it.

• Ahead of the vote, Trump posted that “Republicans MUST UNITE behind, ‘THE ONE, BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL!’”

99 PROBLEMS & THIS BILL IS ONE
As written, the legislation would add more than $3 trillion to the federal government’s $36 trillion debt over the next decade, due mostly to tax cuts and increased defense spending.

• It has caused tension in the GOP, with some members saying the sweeping tax and spending package doesn’t address the federal deficit enough, and others concerned about deep cuts affecting popular programs like Medicaid.

THE MEDICAID DEBATE
For decades, Medicaid has served as a safety net for low-income and disabled people to access health insurance. There are more than 80 million people enrolled in Medicaid nationally.

• The GOP bill would massively change the Medicaid program by introducing new restrictions and requirements that would cut federal spending by an estimated $625 billion over the next decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).

  • The CBO says the changes would lead to more than 10 million people losing coverage, and nearly 8 million people going uninsured.

• Nearly half of those cuts would come from imposing work requirements that would either disqualify people from the program because they’d make too much money or cause them to stop applying due to bureaucratic paperwork.

  • This issue, specifically, is fueling tensions within the GOP as House Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-LA) aims to pass the bill before Congress leaves for a Memorial Day recess.

🎙️ Mo News spoke with Jonathan Burks, the Executive Vice President for Economic and Health Policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center, who says the divide among Republican lawmakers reflects a shifting GOP electorate, as more of the party’s constituents rely on Medicaid.

• Some Republicans, like Sen. Josh Hawley (MO) called the move "reverse class warfare,” accusing the bill of hurting the poor to help fund tax cuts for the wealthy.

• Other conservatives argue the plan doesn’t go far enough, pushing for Medicaid work requirements to start before the proposed 2029 date.

By the numbers: KFF, which looks at health policy, found that each congressional district has at least 7,400 children, 3,500 seniors, 5,300 other adults, and 2,000 people with disabilities enrolled in Medicaid.

Bottom line: The debate over Medicaid spending reflects a shifting Republican Party, as some members now prioritize working-class concerns over tax cuts for the wealthy. Plus, lawmakers do not want millions of people to lose their healthcare coverage heading into the midterm election cycle.

⏳ SPEED READ

🚨NATION

📌 Supreme Court blocks Trump effort to deport Venezuelan migrants under Alien Enemies Act (USA TODAY)

📌 Trump says US will set new tariff rates for countries, skirting negotiations (POLITICO)

📌 Florida becomes second state to ban fluoride from water (MO NEWS)

📌 Trump administration fires nearly 600 contractors at Voice of America (GUARDIAN)

📌 10 inmates escape from Orleans Parish jail in Louisiana (NBC)

🌎 AROUND THE WORLD

📌 Russia and Ukraine far apart on ceasefire in first meeting in 3 years (AXIOS)

📌 Trump wraps momentous Middle East trip with economic deals, Syria sanctions relief, and warning to Iran (FOX)

 📌 Pope Leo XIV affirms family is based on union between a man and a woman, unborn has inherent dignity (AP)

📌 ICC prosecutor Karim Khan on leave from position amid sexual misconduct probe (J-POST)

📱BUSINESS, SCIENCE & TECH

📌 Americans’ optimism about the economy is at a near-record low (CNN)

📌 US cable giants Charter and Cox pursue $34.5 billion merger (ABC)

📌 Musk’s AI chatbot was giving users off-topic and false responses about “white genocide” in South Africa (AXIOS)

📌 No NJ Transit trains running as engineers strike for first time since 1983 (NBC)

🎬 SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT

📌 Trump slams Taylor Swift, Bruce Springsteen in Truth Social posts (MO NEWS)

📌 DHS says it’s in beginning stages of ‘vetting process’ for immigrant reality TV show (CNN)

📌 Cassie Ventura finishes testimony in Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ trial (YAHOO)

📌 Yuval Raphael, a Hamas attack survivor, is representing Israel at Eurovision (NPR)

ICYMI FROM THE 📲

In case you missed it… Flat feet!? A group of podiatrists from Australia found that a Barbie doll’s foot arch and shape changes depending on the doll’s career or hobby.

“Employment-focused” Barbies were more likely to be designed with flat feet, while fashion-focused dolls more likely remain on tip-toe even when standing.

As Barbie (aka Margot Robbie) says about her newly-flat feet in the movie, “I would never wear heels if my feet were shaped like this!"