memeorandum: What to Look For as Bridge Scandal Trial Opens (Kate Zernike/New York Times)

5:25 PM ET, September 19, 2016

Top Items:

Police Raid New Jersey Home in Search of Manhattan Bomber — Hours after five pipe bombs were discovered near a train station in Elizabeth, N.J., federal agents and the police raided a home nearby early Monday morning as part of the sweeping search for the person or people responsible for Saturday night's bombing in Manhattan.

DNAinfo New York:

Thieves Helped Crack the Chelsea Bombing Case, Sources Say — MANHATTAN — Leave the bomb, take the bag. — In two separate cases, thieves snatching bags from city streets and train stations inadvertently helped law enforcement get the upper hand in an ongoing bomb spree that's hurt dozens …

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Talking Points Memo, The Daily Caller, NY State of Politics, Mother Jones, New York Times, Mediaite, The Right Scoop, Creeping Sharia, New York's PIX11, Vocativ, Hot Air, The Week, Business Insider and The Mahablog

Dan Atkinson / Boston Herald:

Pal: Terror suspect underwent ‘shocking’ change after Afghanistan trip — ELIZABETH, N.J. — A man who described himself as a childhood friend of the man wanted in connection with the New York City bombing told the Herald the suspect had made a life-changing trip to Afghanistan two years ago.

Discussion: Breitbart, Little Green Footballs, The Right Scoop and Walid Shoebat

CNN:

New York bombing: Police presence intensifies after explosion — New York (CNN)[Breaking news update at 1:41 a.m. ET] — Up to five devices have been found in a backpack in a waste basket in Elizabeth, New Jersey, according to Elizabeth Mayor Chris Bollwage.

NBC New York:

NY, NJ Bombing Suspect Rahami in Custody After Shootout — Ahmad Rahami, the naturalized 28-year-old native of Afghanistan hunted in connection with a series of bombings in New York City and New Jersey over the weekend, was taken into custody after a gun battle with police that left two officers injured …

Discussion: CBS New York, Independent Journal Review, The Right Scoop, New York Post, Daily Kos, Pamela Geller, LawNewz, ABC News, The Week and The New Civil Rights Movement

Daniel Bates / Daily Mail:

EXCLUSIVE: Wanted New York and New Jersey bomb suspect sued his local police claiming they PERSECUTED him for being a Muslim — Ahmad Rahami filed federal lawsuit claiming cops in Elizabeth, New Jersey subjected his and his family to discrimination and ‘selective enforcement’

Discussion: Raw Story, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, The Daily Caller, Pamela Geller, Jihad Watch and The Gateway Pundit

Marty Golden / New York Daily News:
FBI arrests five people near Verrazano Bridge in possible connection to Chelsea bombing …

Discussion: Fox News, New Jersey Online, New York Post, Mediaite, The Gateway Pundit, Gothamist, Pamela Geller, Jihad Watch, NY State of Politics, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Talking Points Memo and Patterico's Pontifications

Katherine Krueger / Talking Points Memo:
What We Know About Ahmad Khan Rahami, Suspect In NYC, NJ Blasts

Discussion: NBC News, ABC News, NYPD News, Washington Post, Business Insider, Los Angeles Times, Politico and ImmigrationProf Blog

Bill Chappell / NPR:
Police Arrest Suspect Ahmad Khan Rahami Over Bombs In New York Area

Discussion: New York Times, USA Today, The Daily Beast, AOL, The Jawa Report, The Root, The New Civil Rights Movement, Right Wing Watch and The Daily Caller

Federal Bureau of Investigation:
AHMAD KHAN RAHAMI

Discussion: AOL, Vocativ, Business Insider, The Gateway Pundit, Creeping Sharia, The Verge, KFOR-TV, New York Magazine, Fox News Insider, Al Jazeera English, ABC News, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Liberty Unyielding

Nate Schweber / New York Times:
Suspect's Family Ran a Restaurant That Aggravated Neighbors

Discussion: Mediaite, Vocativ, Business Insider, USA Today, Gothamist and alan.com

Washington Post:
Suspect in New York, N.J. bombings taken into custody

Discussion: Breitbart, The New York Observer, Vox, NBC News, Shareblue, USA Today, Mother Jones, New Jersey Online, New York Times, Hot Air, The Daily Caller, Talking Points Memo, The Root, The Week, ABC News, Shakesville and CNN

J. David Goodman / New York Times:
Cellphone Alerts Used in New York to Search for Bombing Suspect

Discussion: New York Magazine, The Week and Mashable

Kate Zernike / New York Times:

What to Look For as Bridge Scandal Trial Opens — After three long years, it's time for some traffic problems in ... Newark. — That is where reporters are lining up at federal court on Monday morning, waiting for opening arguments in the George Washington Bridge lane-closing trial …

Discussion: MSNBC, Washington Monthly, ThinkProgress, Washington Post, Vox, Hot Air, Gothamist, RedState, Mother Jones, The New Civil Rights Movement, Boing Boing, Guardian, The Week, Daily Kos, LawNewz and Shareblue

Paul Berger / NorthJersey.com:
Feds: Christie told of Bridgegate lane closures 3 days into traffic jams on 9/11 anniversary

Discussion: The Atlantic

Matt Friedman / Politico:
Federal prosecutor says Christie knew about lane closings

Discussion: Mother Jones, Associated Press and Talking Points Memo

Jonathan Swan / The Hill:

Republican friendships shatter over Trump — A few months ago, Matt Schlapp, the former White House political director under president George W. Bush, walked into a cocktail party and tried to join a conversation with Republican consultants he has known for years.

Discussion: Hot Air and The Week

Martinlongman / Washington Monthly:

You Break It, You Own It — You might want to take out the tiniest violin in the world to play for the sad, sad Trump-supporting Washington staffers and consultants who are getting shunned by their peers. — Take this guy: — A senior House Republican staffer who works for a committee chairman …

Discussion: bradford-delong.com

Alicia A. Caldwell / Associated Press:

More than 800 immigrants mistakenly granted citizenship — WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. government has mistakenly granted citizenship to at least 858 immigrants from countries of concern to national security or with high rates of immigration fraud who had pending deportation orders …

Discussion: National Review, Politico, BizPac Review, New Urban Legends, Washington Free Beacon, The Week, twitchy.com and Pamela Geller

Fox News:
Watchdog: Feds wrongly granted citizenship to hundreds facing deportation

Discussion: The Right Scoop, Patterico's Pontifications and ImmigrationProf Blog

Esme Cribb / Talking Points Memo:

Trump Deletes Tweet Hitting Obama, Clinton Over Weekend Attacks — A tweet knocking President Barack Obama's and Hillary Clinton's “failed” policies after three potential terror attacks over the weekend was deleted from Donald Trump's account on Monday.

Discussion: reverbpress.com

David Rutz / Washington Free Beacon:
Reporter to Clinton: Are You Concerned These Bombings Are ISIS Sympathizers or 'Maybe …

Discussion: The Counter Jihad Report, Jihad Watch and Mediaite

Evan Osnos / New Yorker:

President Trump's First Term — His campaign tells us a lot about what kind of Commander-in-Chief he would be. — On the morning of January 20, 2017, the President-elect is to visit Barack Obama at the White House for coffee, before they share a limousine—Obama seated on the right …

Dylan Byers / CNNMoney:

Joe Scarborough, Donald Trump look to repair relations — Joe Scarborough wants to make nice with Donald Trump. — Last week, Scarborough and his “Morning Joe” co-host, Mika Brzezinski, visited the Republican presidential nominee at Trump Tower to rekindle a once-rosy relationship …

Discussion: Political Wire, Hot Air, The Daily Caller, Mediaite, The Right Scoop, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Raw Story and TVNewser

Kevin Drum / Mother Jones:

The Progressive Case for Hillary Clinton Is Pretty Overwhelming — For a lot of liberals, the most important goal of this election is to keep Donald Trump out of the White House. And since Trump naturally sucks up most of the political oxygen, that means lots of blogging about Trump and not so much about Clinton.

Discussion: Washington Monthly and Unfogged

Hillary Clinton / Mic:
HERE'S WHAT MILLENNIALS HAVE TAUGHT ME

Discussion: Mother Jones, New York Magazine, Daily Kos, ABC News and Shadowproof

Bob Owens / Bearing Arms:

Man Who Shot Crossroads Mall Terrorist Is USPSA Competitor, 3-Gun Shooter — USPSA Shooter, 3-Gunner, and NRA-certified firearms instructor Jason Falconer has been identified as the man who shot and killed a 22-year-old Somali immigrant who went on a stabbing rampage inside a St. Cloud, (MN) Mall on Saturday.

Discussion: mprnews.org, CNN, The Right Scoop, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Hot Air and The Federalist

Paul Walsh / Star Tribune:
Family ID's attacker behind ‘potential act of terrorism’ in St. Cloud

Paul Krugman / New York Times:

Vote as if It Matters — Does it make sense to vote for Gary Johnson, the Libertarian candidate for president? Sure, as long as you believe two things. First, you have to believe that it makes no difference at all whether Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump moves into the White House — because one of them will.

Discussion: Hit & Run, Independent Journal Review and Shareblue

Glenn Thrush / Politico:
Jill Stein: Trump may have ‘memory problem’

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog and Raw Story

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:

Trump On Our Timid Police — I suspect most New Yorkers look with some pride at how rapidly the NYPD working with the FBI, New Jersey police departments and other agencies, identified a prime suspect in the Chelsea bombing and took him into custody. But look at what Donald Trump said this morning on Fox and Friends.

Discussion: Obsidian Wings

Peter Beinart / The Atlantic:

The Death of ‘He Said, She Said’ Journalism — Last Saturday, The New York Times published an extraordinary story. What made the story extraordinary wasn't the event the Times covered. What made it extraordinary was the way the Times covered it. — On its front page, top right …

Discussion: Washington Monthly and Booman Tribune, more at Mediagazer »

Alan Cole / Tax Foundation:

Details and Analysis of the Donald Trump Tax Reform Plan, September 2016 — By — Key Findings — Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's tax plan would significantly reduce income taxes and corporate taxes, and eliminate the estate tax. — According to the Tax Foundation's Taxes …

Discussion: TheStreet.com, Mother Jones, ThinkProgress, NPR, Washington Post, Washington Times and Politicus USA

The Hill:

A doctor asks: Was ObamaCare designed to fail? — As ObamaCare's troubles mount, I've heard my patients and my peers in healthcare ask: How could the law's authors not have seen this coming? — For my part, I think a different question needs to be asked: What if they did?