memeorandum: New Centcom Chief Walks Tightrope on Iran (Foreign Policy)

7:00 PM ET, June 17, 2019

Top Items:

Lawyers: Alex Jones sent child porn to Sandy Hook families — BRIDGEPORT - Conspiracy theorist and InfoWars host Alex Jones sent child pornography to the lawyers for the families of the Sandy Hook tragedy, their lawyers said. — The law firm representing the families of the 2012 mass shooting …

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money and Balloon Juice

Associated Press:

Alex Jones sent Sandy Hook victims files with child sex abuse images, say lawyers — Far-right conspiracy theorist denied the allegations and accused one of the lawyers of framing him — Lawyers for relatives of some victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting allege …

Sara Coello / Dallas Morning News:

Gunman shot dead after opening fire on federal courthouse in downtown Dallas — This is a breaking news story and it is constantly being updated. — A man in a mask, combat gear and glasses who opened fire Monday morning at the Earle Cabell federal courthouse in downtown Dallas was shot …

Discussion: Fox News, New York Post, Talking Points Memo, CBS Dallas, American Military News, ABC News, Newser, The Daily Caller, KTLA and Mediaite

The Daily Beast:

Dallas Federal Building Shooter Posted Far-Right Memes About Nazis and Confederacy — Brian Clyde, 22, showed off guns and racist imagery on Facebook before attacking a federal building in Texas. — A Texas man accused of opening fire outside a Dallas courthouse uploaded right-wing memes to Facebook …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Fox News

NBC News:
Gunman dead after shootout with police outside Dallas court building

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Task & Purpose and New York Post

Jacqueline Thomsen / The Hill:

Supreme Court hands Virginia Democrats a win in gerrymandering case — The Supreme Court has ruled against the Virginia House of Delegates in a racial gerrymandering case that represents a victory for Democrats in the state. — In the 5-4 ruling, the justices found that the House …

Discussion: Mother Jones, Daily Wire, Politico, Conservative News Today, Common Dreams, Townhall, The Root, Axios, Shakesville and Political Wire

Richard Wolf / USA Today:

Supreme Court upholds ‘double jeopardy’ standard that could blunt impact of potential Trump pardons — WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court upheld Monday the ability of federal and state governments to prosecute defendants twice for the same crime - a form of double jeopardy that could come into play …

Discussion: CNN

Ronn Blitzer / Fox News:

Supreme Court tosses ruling against bakers who refused cake for gay couple — The Supreme Court on Monday threw out a ruling against two Oregon bakers who refused to bake a wedding cake for a lesbian couple. — The couple, Melissa and Aaron Klein, cited religious beliefs as their reason for not providing services for a gay wedding.

Discussion: Washington Post, Daily Wire and The Gateway Pundit

Natasha Bertrand / Politico:
Supreme Court rules in case watched for impact on Trump pardons

Discussion: Richmond Times-Dispatch and CNN

Ben Shapiro / Daily Wire:

Harvard Rescinds Admission To Conservative Kyle Kashuv Over Private Racist Remarks He Wrote At 16, Despite Apology And Evidence Of Growth. This Is Disgusting. — Our universities may be irrevocably broken. — On Monday, Parkland survivor and outspoken conservative Kyle Kashuv announced …

Discussion: RedState, The Federalist, Talking Points Memo, Townhall, The Guardian, PJ Media Home, UPI, Newser, twitchy.com, TheBlaze and Patterico's Pontifications

Will Sommer / The Daily Beast:

Harvard Pulls Pro-Gun Parkland Survivor Kyle Kashuv's Admission Over Racial Slurs — Kashuv will not study at the Ivy League school in 2020 thanks in part to a campaign led by—of all people—right-wing activist Laura Loomer. — Harvard University has revoked the admission of conservative pundit …

Discussion: Spectator USA, USA Today, Boston Magazine, The Atlantic, No More Mister Nice Blog and Splinter

David French / National Review:
Harvard Demonstrates Once Again That Post-Christian America Is Post-Forgiveness America

Discussion: Daily Wire and twitchy.com

Robby Soave / Reason:
Harvard University Cancels Kyle Kashuv

Discussion: twitchy.com

Caitlin Oprysko / Politico:

Trump interview on ABC was a ratings bust — President Donald Trump's much-teased interview with ABC was not the ratings bonanza the numbers-obsessed president likely would have wanted. — The hourlong special with ABC chief anchor George Stephanopoulos came in third in its timeslot Sunday night …

Discussion: TV By The Numbers …, Shareblue Media, POLITICUSUSA, Mediaite and Balloon Juice

Aaron Rupar / Vox:
Trump's interview with George Stephanopoulos, explained

Discussion: Mediaite, The Atlantic and Breitbart

Audrey McNamara / The Daily Beast:
Trump's ABC Interview With George Stephanopoulos Was a Ratings Disappointment

Discussion: Fox News and The Daily Beast

Shlomo Shamir / Jerusalem Post:

U.N. officials: U.S. planning a ‘tactical assault’ in Iran — The military action under consideration would be an aerial bombardment of an Iranian facility linked to its nuclear program, the officials further claimed. — Is the US going to attack Iran soon?

Discussion: The American Conservative

Kathy Gilsinan / The Atlantic:
Iran Has Options and It's Starting to Use Them

Discussion: New York Times, Defense One and Home Page Rotator

New York Times:
Iran Threatens to Violate Nuclear Deal's Limits on Uranium Enrichment

Discussion: USA Today, Washington Post, National Review, The Daily Caller, UPI, Townhall and Fox News

Kyle Cheney / Politico:

Dems investigating Trump have a new tactic to break his blockade — Democrats investigating Donald Trump for obstruction of justice are eyeing a new strategy to break the president's all-out oversight blockade: calling witnesses who never worked in the White House.

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Daily Kos and Talking Points Memo

Andrew Desiderio / Politico:
The House committee quietly racking up oversight wins against Trump

Discussion: Daily Kos

Reuters:

As promised, Trump slashes aid to Central America over migrants — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's administration announced on Monday plans to permanently divert hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, after Trump blasted …

Discussion: TalkLeft, The Daily Caller and Shareblue Media

Stef W. Kight / Axios:
U.S. to permanently end foreign aid for Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador

Discussion: Associated Press

Ross Ramsey / The Texas Tribune:

Trump's reelection support is 50-50 in Texas, Biden and O'Rourke lead the Democrats, UT/TT Poll says — Texas voters are split when asked about reelecting the president, and Joe Biden and Beto O'Rourke are their favorites for the Democratic nomination to challenge him, according to the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The Daily Caller and Politico

Paul Steinhauser / Fox News:
Biden predicts 2020 victory across the South, where Democrats haven't won in decades

Discussion: Breitbart

Felicia Sonmez / Washington Post:

McConnell: I don't know why Jon Stewart is ‘all bent out of shape’ on 9/11 victims fund — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Monday responded to comedian Jon Stewart's criticism of his handling of the Sept. 11th Victim Compensation Fund, saying that he didn't know why Stewart was “all bent out of shape.”

David Montanaro / Fox News:
McConnell says he'll bring up ‘freestanding’ bill to address humanitarian crisis at border: 'What's the objection?'

Discussion: The Hill, National Review, TheBlaze, UPI, IJR, Breitbart and Newser

Associated Press:

Buttigieg returns to South Bend after man killed by police — SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — Authorities say a man has died after a shooting involving a police officer in South Bend, the Indiana city where Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg is mayor.

Discussion: CNN, Front Page Magazine and Washington Times

Elena Schneider / Politico:
Pete Buttigieg raised staggering $7 million in April alone

Discussion: Washington Post, Real Clear Politics, Vox, Breitbart, One America News Network, RedState, Towleroad Gay News, Townhall, Axios, The American Mirror, TheBlaze, Newser and New York Times

Paul Bedard / Washington Examiner:

Poll: AOC disliked, distrusted, unwanted in her own NY district — She's a star on the national political stage, but Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is viewed skeptically back in her Queens and Bronx 14th Congressional District, according to a new door-to-door survey.

Discussion: Front Page Magazine, Daily Wire and IJR

William Langewiesche / The Atlantic:

What Really Happened to Malaysia's Missing Airplane — 1. The Disappearance — At 12:42 a.m. on the quiet, moonlit night of March 8, 2014, a Boeing 777-200ER operated by Malaysia Airlines took off from Kuala Lumpur and turned toward Beijing, climbing to its assigned cruising altitude of 35,000 feet.

Discussion: New York Post, The Daily Caller and The Daily Beast

Daniel Dahm / WKMG:

President Trump supporters line up 40 hours before Orlando rally — Trump to announce re-election bid at Amway Center — ORLANDO, Fla. - More than 40 hours before President Donald Trump will announce his re-election bid in Orlando, supporters started lining up outside the Amway Center.

Discussion: WFTV, Fox News, WOFL, Orlando Sentinel, The Hill, The Daily Caller, WSVN-TV, Breitbart, American Greatness, Daily Wire, PJ Media Home, The Gateway Pundit and IJR

PBS NewsHour:

All of the Mueller report's major findings in less than 30 minutes — When Robert Mueller broke his silence in May, his main point was that his long-awaited report spoke for itself. But the report is 448 pages long. So Lisa Desjardins and William Brangham decided to dig into what the findings say - and what they don't.

Tony Romm / Washington Post:

Robocalls are overwhelming hospitals and patients, threatening a new kind of health crisis — In the heart of Boston, Tufts Medical Center treats scores of health conditions, administering measles vaccines for children, as well as pioneering next-generation tools that can eradicate the rarest of cancers.

Chris Sommerfeldt / New York Daily News:

Undocumented immigrants fired from Trump golf clubs to crash his 2020 campaign kickoff in Florida — Undocumented immigrants canned from President Trump's ritzy golf clubs in New York and New Jersey are crashing his 2020 campaign kickoff in Florida to shed light on what they consider his …

Discussion: Daily Kos

Mike DeBonis / Washington Post:

'It doesn't break through': Democrats worry about grip on House as Trump overshadows agenda — Democrats are quietly airing concerns that battles with President Trump, including investigations of the president and his administration along with the noisy debate over impeachment …

Discussion: Splinter

Foreign Policy:

New Centcom Chief Walks Tightrope on Iran — Gen. Kenneth McKenzie must strike a balance between sending a strong deterrent signal and provoking a war in the Middle East. — Though he is just months into the job, the new commander of U.S. Central Command, Gen. Kenneth McKenzie …

Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux / FiveThirtyEight:

The Citizenship Question Could Cost California And Texas A Seat In Congress — In a matter of days, the Supreme Court may dramatically change the census. The court is slated to rule on whether the Trump administration can add a question about citizenship to the 2020 form.

Discussion: The Guardian, ThinkProgress, Shakesville and Conservative News Today

Bob Egelko / San Francisco Chronicle:

Nearly all Democratic candidates oppose death penalty as public opinion shifts — Not so long ago, opposing the death penalty was pretty much a death knell for a presidential candidate. Michael Dukakis, for one, sank his remaining hopes in 1988 when he told a debate questioner …

Katharine Q. Seelye / New York Times:

Alan Brinkley, Leading Historian of 20th-Century America, Dies at 70 — Alan Brinkley, one of the pre-eminent historians of his generation, with a specialty in 20th-century American political history, died on Sunday night at his home in Manhattan. He was 70.