memeorandum: How Alex Jones and Infowars Helped a Florida Man Stalk Sandy Hook Families (Elizabeth Williamson/New York Times)

7:20 PM ET, March 29, 2019

Top Items:

Lucy Flores / The Cut:

An Awkward Kiss Changed How I Saw Joe Biden — In 2014, I was the 35-year-old Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor in Nevada. The landscape wasn't looking good for my party that year. There were no high-profile national races to help boost turnout, and after the top candidate bowed …

Discussion: Vox, Politico, RedState, Breitbart, Front Page Magazine, Big League Politics, twitchy.com, The Week, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Splinter, Daily Wire, The Daily Caller, Washington Free Beacon, Mediaite, New York Post and Slate

Rebecca Traister / The Cut:

Joe Biden Isn't the Answer — It's still three months before the first Democratic debate, nearly a year before Super Tuesday, and he hasn't even declared yet, but poll after presidential poll continues to show 76-year-old former vice-president Joe Biden leading an enormous, diverse, and talented Democratic field.

Discussion: New York Times, Mediaite and LifeNews.com

Sebastian Murdock / HuffPost:

We Got Alex Jones' Deposition Video. It Was A Predictable Disaster For Him. — For all his dangerous talk about the Sandy Hook school shooting, Alex Jones couldn't even recall the date it happened. — Infowars host Alex Jones was questioned earlier this month for three hours by the lawyer …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Law & Crime, Raw Story, HillReporter.com and Boing Boing

Elizabeth Williamson / New York Times:

How Alex Jones and Infowars Helped a Florida Man Stalk Sandy Hook Families — In the world of conspiracy theorists, Alex Jones and Wolfgang Halbig fueled each other's darkest tendencies. — Soon after the Dec. 14, 2012, mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. …

Discussion: The Trace, Boing Boing, Daily Kos and YouTube

Jonathan Tilove / Austin American-Statesman:

In Sandy Hook deposition, Alex Jones blames ‘a form of psychosis’ for thinking everything is staged — Alex Jones, the Austin-based provocateur embroiled in several lawsuits filed by parents of victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, said in a deposition released Friday …

Discussion: Mediaite

Devlin Barrett / Washington Post:

Mueller report will be delivered by ‘mid-April, if not sooner,’ attorney general tells Congress — Special counsel Robert S. Mueller III's report detailing his investigation of President Trump and Russia's election interference will be delivered to Congress by mid-April …

Discussion: The New Civil Rights Movement, Political Wire and Slate

CNN:

Justice Dept. expects to release Mueller report to Congress by ‘mid-April, if not sooner’ — Washington (CNN)The Justice Department will have special counsel Robert Mueller's report ready to release by “mid-April, if not sooner,” Attorney General Bill Barr said Friday.

Discussion: RedState, Test Feed Using Fields, Fortune and twitchy.com

Susan B. Glasser / New Yorker:

Our President of the Perpetual Grievance — “The Russian hoax is finally dead,” President Trump declared on Thursday night, at a campaign rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan. “The collusion delusion is over.” Trump, though, was not over it, and he was definitely not moving on.

Discussion: Raw Story, Hullabaloo, NPR, Daily Wire, ABC News and Shareblue Media

Carrie Johnson / NPR:

Nominee For No. 3 At Justice Department Withdraws After Backlash From GOP Senators — Updated at 10: 17 a.m. — President Trump's pick to serve as third in command at the Justice Department, overseeing health care and immigration cases, withdrew her name from consideration Thursday evening amid backlash …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Raw Story, New York Times, RedState, Law & Crime, Fox News, Washington Post, U.S. Department of Justice and Splinter

Rashaan Ayesh / Axios:
New Barr letter: Mueller report will be sent to Congress by mid-April

Discussion: Politico, Washington Post and Breitbart

Kristen Hare / Poynter:

AP says the percentage sign now OK when used with a numeral (that's shift+5) — Brace yourselves. — The AP Stylebook says the percentage sign is now acceptable when paired with a numeral in most cases. — On Friday, Stylebook Editor Paula Froke announced the latest round of changes …

Doris Truong / Poynter:
AP Stylebook update: It's OK to call something racist when it's racist

more at Mediagazer »

Linda Qiu / New York Times:

Trump's Inaccurate Claims on Mueller, Health Care and the Great Lakes — At a rally in Michigan, President Trump misstated the findings of the special counsel investigation, misleadingly promised to protect patients with pre-existing conditions and falsely described funding for a restoration program for the Great Lakes.

Discussion: Mediaite

Toluse Olorunnipa / Washington Post: 'It'll happen fast': Trump creates problems and then rushes in to solve them

Sahil Kapur / Bloomberg:
GOP Sees Political Peril as Party Scrambles for Health-Care Plan

Discussion: Political Wire

Sabrina Eaton / Plain Dealer:
President Donald Trump reverses course on Great Lakes Restoration Initiative

Discussion: Vox, Rolling Stone, IJR and Toledo Blade

James Hohmann / Washington Post:
The Daily 202: What Trump's reversal on the Special Olympics reveals about his presidency

Discussion: The Hill, The Root, Mother Jones and Slate

Christopher Rivas / New York Times:

I Broke Up With Her Because She's White — When it comes to dating, I'd rather not think about race. But that's been hard to avoid. — O.K., let me just get to it. I think I broke up with my last girlfriend because she's white. Actually, no, I definitely broke up with her because she's white.

Miriam Jordan / New York Times:

Former Trump Family Driver Has Been in ICE Custody for 8 Months — When Donald Trump's children and campaign staff arrived in South Florida during the 2016 presidential campaign, they were often greeted at the airport by Zoltan Tamas in a black Cadillac Escalade.

Discussion: NY State of Politics, Splinter and Political Wire

Ariel Edwards-Levy / HuffPost:

Most Americans Agree On One Thing About The Mueller Report — A slew of new polls show little consensus on the report's findings, but a lot of support for its full release. — Americans' first reactions to the end of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation are mixed …

Discussion: Townhall, Hullabaloo and Fox News

Domenico Montanaro / NPR:
Poll: After Barr Letter, Overwhelming Majority Wants Full Mueller Report Released

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Fox News, Shareblue Media, POLITICUSUSA, Raw Story, The Week and PBS NewsHour

Christopher Ingraham / Washington Post:

The share of Americans not having sex has reached a record high — You can blame young people for this dry spell, data show — The share of U.S. adults reporting no sex in the past year reached an all-time high in 2018, underscoring a three-decade trend line marked by an aging population and higher numbers of unattached people.

Discussion: RedState, The Hill and Althouse

David Ignatius / Washington Post:

How the mysteries of Khashoggi's murder have rocked the U.S.-Saudi partnership — It has been nearly six months since Jamal Khashoggi was brutally murdered inside Saudi Arabia's consulate in Istanbul, but the aftershocks continue. The U.S.-Saudi defense and intelligence partnership has been rocked.

Joel Gehrke / Washington Examiner:
Pompeo meets Saudi prince who lured Jamal Khashoggi to his death

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Vanity Fair

Aaron Rupar / Vox:

Trump's latest comments about the border indicate he doesn't understand how trade works — It's supposedly his signature issue! — During a brief news conference he held at Mar-a-Lago on Friday afternoon, President Donald Trump claimed that closing the border with Mexico would be a …

Discussion: Reuters, Political Wire and Washington Press

Dara Lind / Vox:
Trump's threats to close the US-Mexico border, explained

Discussion: Slate, Mother Jones, Breitbart, ABC News and Common Dreams

Daily Mail:

TIMELINE OF BUSH'S DECADE-LONG AFFAIR WITH JENNIFER FITZGERALD — Early 1970s — Bush is introduced to Jennifer by a mutual friend. They have flirtatious calls that lead to a romance that carries on for at least 12 years. — 1974 — President Gerald Ford appoints Bush to Chief of the Liaison Office in China.

Discussion: The Daily Caller

Eben Novy-Williams / Bloomberg:

Restricting Gun Sales Cost Dick's $150 Million Last Year — Last February, when Dick's Sporting Goods boss Ed Stack announced he was restricting gun sales at the country's largest sports retailer, he knew it'd be costly. — At the time, Dick's was a major seller of firearms.

Discussion: RedState, TheBlaze, Louder With Crowder, Daily Wire, The Daily Caller and Front Page Magazine

Daniel Lippman / Politico:

Linda McMahon to leave Cabinet for Trump 2020 PAC — Linda McMahon is stepping down as head of Small Business Administration to chair the pro-Trump super PAC America First Action, according to three people familiar with the move. — Trump allies have spent weeks searching for someone …

Discussion: CNN, Townhall, The Atlantic, Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, New York Times, Washington Post, Axios, Breitbart, The New Civil Rights Movement and New York Post

John Bowden / The Hill:

Flake: Better for a Dem to win in 2020 than Trump — Former Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) said Thursday that he would rather see a Democrat win in 2020 than have President Trump elected to a second term. — Flake made his comments at a debate in New York hosted by the nonprofit Intelligence Squared.

Discussion: Washington Post, The Gateway Pundit and IJR

Timothy Bella / Washington Post:

‘Clearly an end-run’: Federal judge rejects Trump's health care plan to go around Obamacare — A federal judge in Washington ruled late Thursday that the Trump administration's push to make health insurance plans available outside the Affordable Care Act that avoid the requirements …

Discussion: Politico, ThinkProgress, POLITICUSUSA, The Week and CNN

Dylan Scott / Vox:
Trump's health care agenda is a legal disaster

Discussion: Politico

David Corn / Mother Jones:

Here's the Real Trump-Russia Hoax — It's Trump defenders and lefty Russiagate skeptics claiming there is no scandal. — There has been much crowing from Trumpsters on the right and Russiagate skeptics on the left about Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report.

Jenni Russell / New York Times:

Is Theresa May the Worst Politician Ever? — The British prime minister's deal has failed. Again. — This Op-Ed has been updated to reflect news developments. — LONDON — My first attempt to charm Theresa May was eight years ago, in the grand surroundings of the State Dining Room in Downing Street …

The Guardian:
May hopes to hold fourth vote on Brexit deal

Discussion: Quartz, Shakesville and BuzzFeed

Emily Larsen / Washington Examiner:

Outed CIA spy Valerie Plame set for Senate run as Democrat — Valerie Plame, the former CIA officer who shot to fame when she was outed during George W. Bush's presidency, is poised to run for U.S. Senate in New Mexico. — The ex-spy told the Washington Examiner Friday that she would run …

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon, Front Page Magazine, Liberty Unyielding, twitchy.com and Roll Call

Dion Rabouin / Axios:

Larry Kudlow wants the Fed to cut rates — White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow on Friday told Axios that he wants the Federal Reserve to “immediately” cut interest rates by 50 basis points. — Why it matters: This mirrors comments by Stephen Moore, who President Trump is expected …

Discussion: Bloomberg, One America News Network and CNBC

Dan Diamond / Politico:

Exclusive: Key Trump health official spends millions on GOP-connected consultants — The Trump appointee who oversees Medicare, Medicaid and Obamacare quietly directed millions of taxpayer dollars in contracts to Republican communications consultants during her tenure atop the agency …

Discussion: ACA Signups, Shareblue Media, Splinter and Daily Kos