memeorandum: At New Zealand vigil, Chelsea Clinton confronted over her criticism of Rep. Ilhan Omar (Colby Itkowitz/Washington Post)

4:10 PM ET, March 16, 2019

Top Items:

Morrison government bans Milo Yiannopoulos in wake of Christchurch massacre — The Morrison government has banned Milo Yiannopoulos from entering Australia after the controversial right-wing commentator responded to the New Zealand mosque massacre by describing Islam as a “barbaric” and “alien” religious culture.

Discussion: Splinter and The Root

ITV:

Egg cracked on head of Australian senator Fraser Anning who blamed New Zealand attack on Muslim immigration — An Australian senator who sparked outrage for blaming the New Zealand mosque shootings on Muslim immigration has been hit on the head with a raw egg.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Slate, Mother Jones, New York Times and Vox, more at Mediagazer »

Stephen Collinson / CNN:

Trump again punts on white supremacy after New Zealand attacks — (CNN)Once again, President Donald Trump is having a tough time calling out far right-wing white nationalism. — His response to the carnage in New Zealand, where 49 people died in an attack on two mosques …

Discussion: Mother Jones, Hullabaloo, Slate, The Guardian and ABC News

Calla Wahlquist / The Guardian:

Australia cancels Milo Yiannopoulos's visa after Christchurch comments — Immigration minister says remarks by far-right figure were ‘appalling and foment hatred and division’ — The Australian government has cancelled the visa of far-right commentator Milo Yianopoulos just a week …

Discussion: Al Jazeera, Raw Story, The Week and Contemptor

BBC:

Christchurch shootings: Brother proud of ‘hero’ mosque victim — The brother of a Pakistani man who was killed during Friday's mosque attacks in Christchurch, New Zealand, has told the BBC of his pride and pain. — Khursheed Alam said he was proud his brother, who was killed alongside his son, had tried to tackle the gunman.

Discussion: Fox News, New York Post and Hot Air

Phil Smith / Radio New Zealand New Zealand Headlines:
Attorney-General David Parker back-tracks on comments about gun control

Discussion: Vox, Splinter, CNN, Fox News, TheBlaze and Bloomberg, more at Mediagazer »

ZB:
Attorney General: NZ will ban semi-automatic weapons

Discussion: Breitbart and ThinkProgress

Calla Wahlquist / The Guardian:
New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern urged to act quickly to ban semi-automatic weapons

Discussion: Townhall, New Zealand Herald, Breitbart, Joe.My.God., Slate, Common Dreams, Daily Wire and VICE News

David C. Atkinson / New Republic:
The Longer History of the Christchurch Attacks

Discussion: Raw Story

Wajahat Ali / New York Times:
The Roots of the Christchurch Massacre

Discussion: Slate, middleeastmonitor.com, Breitbart, Salon, Talking Points Memo, The Atlantic and IndieWire

Quint Forgey / Politico:

Trump says he told House GOP to ‘play along’ on Mueller report vote — President Donald Trump on Saturday said he encouraged House Republicans to vote in favor of a resolution calling on the Justice Department to make Robert Mueller's final report public — despite tweeting a day earlier …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Mediaite and Political Wire

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:

The House voted 420 to 0 to release the Mueller report. So why is Lindsey Graham blocking the bill? — On Thursday, the House passed a bill urging the public disclosure of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III's report. It did so nearly unanimously — the vote was 420-0.

Discussion: USA Today

Darren Samuelsohn / Politico:

Mueller's busy week offers new signs his report is coming soon — The Mueller probe appears to be in the home stretch. — Some Trump aides and advisers have been making that claim for more than a year, with little basis. But the signs are mounting that it's finally happening.

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA, Raw Story and Reuters

Olivia Nuzzi / New York Magazine:

Trump's Phone Friends May Be More Important Than His Staff. So Who's He Calling? — Shortly after news broke this month that Bill Shine would resign as the White House communications director and deputy chief of staff, a person knowledgeable about his decision told me the former Fox News …

New York Times:

Beto O'Rourke is 46. Bernie Sanders is 77. Does Age Matter Anymore for Democrats? — KEOKUK, Iowa — Diana Martinez, 70, looked at Beto O'Rourke, 46, and made her choice: It was time for Generation X to fix this country. — “Doesn't he remind you of Kennedy?”

Discussion: Politico and Althouse

Alexandra Jaffe / Associated Press:
O'Rourke apologizes for teen writings, rhetoric toward wife

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA and Axios

Eric Bradner / CNN:
Beto O'Rourke apologizes for jokes about wife, says he has benefited from ‘white privilege’

Discussion: Townhall, Mediaite, Chicks On The Right, Fox News, New York Post, Althouse and The American Conservative

Seth Richardson / Plain Dealer:
Presidential hopeful Beto O'Rourke will visit Northeast Ohio Monday, sources say

Discussion: Michigan Advance

Scott Bland / Politico:
O'Rourke ‘not ... proud’ of teenage murder fantasy writing

Discussion: Des Moines Register, Washington Times, The Texas Tribune, Reuters, The Daily Caller and Axios

New York Times:

She Extols Trump, Guns and the Chinese Communist Party Line — JUPITER, Fla. — The Republican National Committee promised an “evening reception with Donald J. Trump” last March at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Fla. — A contribution of $2,700 toward the president's re-election would get you in the door.

Discussion: Raw Story

Jerry Dunleavy / Washington Examiner:

Christopher Steele admitted using posts by ‘random individuals’ on CNN website to back up Trump dossier — Former British spy Christopher Steele admitted that he relied on an unverified report on a CNN website for part of the “Trump dossier,” which was used as a basis for the FBI's investigation into Trump.

Lukas Mikelionis / Fox News:
Old CNN website was source of unvetted ‘random’ info used by author of anti-Trump dossier, docs reveal

Discussion: The Daily Caller

Chuck Ross / The Daily Caller:
Judge Unseals Portions Of Christopher Steele's Deposition In Dossier Lawsuit

Discussion: Power Line

Adam Shaw / Fox News:
Court files reveal role of McCain, associate in spreading anti-Trump dossier

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, Power Line and RedState

Colby Itkowitz / Washington Post:

At New Zealand vigil, Chelsea Clinton confronted over her criticism of Rep. Ilhan Omar — When Chelsea Clinton showed up at a vigil Friday night in New York for victims of the New Zealand mosque massacre, she was confronted by a small group of college students who blamed her for inciting the violence.

Discussion: Axios, The Right Scoop, Why Evolution Is True, twitchy.com and Althouse

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty:

Exclusive: Washington Autopsy Files Reveal Lesin Sustained Broken Bone In Neck — WASHINGTON — Mikhail Lesin, the former Russian press minister who turned up dead in a Washington hotel room in 2015, sustained a fracture to a neck bone just below the jaw line “at or near the time” of his death …

Wall Street Journal:

Terrorist Suspect Traced His Radicalization to a Visit to France — The man charged with murder in the terrorist attacks in New Zealand wrote that what fueled him was a visit to Western Europe, in particular France. Many of the ideas in his screed—including its title—echo the writings of 72-year-old French author Renaud Camus.

Dartunorro Clark / NBC News:

Supreme Court expands scope of census citizenship question case — The move comes after a federal judge in California ruled that Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, whose agency oversees the census, violated the Constitution's Enumeration Clause. — The U.S. Supreme Court announced Friday …

Discussion: Raw Story, Los Angeles Times, Axios and INDIVISIBLE VENTURA

Washington Post:

Pete Buttigieg, the young and openly gay Midwest mayor, finds a voice in crowded Democratic presidential field — WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — Pete Buttigieg — the mayor of South Bend, Ind., who is likely to become a presidential candidate — won't wear his dress jacket, not when he appears …

Travis Fain / WRAL-TV:

No voter ID approval for 12 UNC campuses, including Chapel Hill — RALEIGH, N.C. — Student IDs from a dozen University of North Carolina schools, including UNC-Chapel Hill, didn't get the signoff they needed Friday for students to use them at the polls during the 2020 elections.

Discussion: Political Wire