memeorandum: Exclusive: As more troops head to the U.S.-Mexico border, drones designed for war could be going too (James LaPorta/Newsweek)

6:35 PM ET, August 9, 2019

Top Items:

Edward Helmore / The Guardian:

Anger as grinning Trump gives thumbs-up while Melania holds El Paso orphan — A backlash is building over a picture posted by Melania Trump on Twitter that showed her and Donald Trump smiling broadly while holding a baby who was orphaned in the mass shooting in El Paso.

Discussion: Mediaite, The Daily Beast, Bangor Daily News, Law & Crime, Talking Points Memo, Splinter, Breitbart and Washington Post

Dahlia Lithwick / Slate:

Trump's Photo-Op With the Orphaned El Paso Baby Was the Smallest Moment of His Presidency — It took a tiny baby to reveal how small Donald Trump really is. — The president's trip to Dayton, Ohio, and El Paso, Texas, this week, ostensibly undertaken to comfort the mourners and the injured …

Discussion: The Guardian, Talking Points Memo, Fox News, Dan Froomkin's White … and The Daily Caller

Associated Press:

Police: El Paso shooting suspect said he targeted Mexicans — EL PASO, Texas (AP) — The man accused of carrying out last weekend's deadly mass shooting at a Walmart in the Texas border city of El Paso confessed to officers while he was surrendering and later explained that he had been targeting Mexicans, authorities say.

Discussion: Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, Fox News, Splinter, The Week and Mediaite

Brandy Zadrozny / NBC News:

Armed Trump supporter detained and released at El Paso immigrant center — People at the community center are still “terrified” and “frustrated,” a center employee told NBC News. — An armed Trump supporter was detained and released by police Wednesday outside a community space for immigrants in El Paso …

Discussion: KTSM-TV and Washington Examiner

Kelly Tyko / USA Today:

Walmart removing violent video game displays, signs from stores but still selling guns — Following two shootings inside its stores, Walmart is removing violent video game displays and signs from stores, the retailer confirmed Thursday. — Stores were sent a memo that called for …

Discussion: Reason, The Guardian, Talking Points Memo, Bloomberg, CNN, The Week, NPR, Polygon, Rolling Stone, The Wrap, Shareblue Media, TheBlaze, New York Post and VICE

Charles Sykes / The Bulwark:

The Denialists — It takes a lot of work to try to exonerate the president's fomenting of racist violence, but Trump fans are giving it their all. — “This attack is a response to the Hispanic invasion of Texas.” —The El Paso killer's manifesto — Byron York wants to make sure …

Discussion: Fox News, Power Line and MinnPost

Colin Drury / The Independent:
Grinning Trump gives thumbs-up with baby whose parents were shot dead in El Paso terror attack

Discussion: Mediaite, The Guardian, Daily Kos, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Jezebel

Wall Street Journal: Lost in Life, El Paso Suspect Found a Dark World Online

The Daily Beast:

Jeffrey Epstein Accuser Names Powerful Men in Alleged Sex Ring — In newly unsealed documents, Virginia Giuffre claims that Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell trafficked her to politicians, princes, and a high-flying financier, among others. — A young woman who says financier Jeffrey Epstein …

Discussion: Rolling Stone, The Verge, New York Post, Mediaite, The Daily Caller and Jezebel

Julie K. Brown / Miami Herald:

Huge record cache details how Jeffrey Epstein, madam lured girls into depraved world — A chilling picture of how hundreds of girls and young women from around the world were trafficked for sex by Jeffrey Epstein, his alleged madam, Ghislaine Maxwell, and a number of other powerful business …

Discussion: VICE and Boing Boing

KYTV-TV:

Former firefighter stops man armed with 100 rounds of ammunition at south Springfield Walmart — SPRINGFIELD, Mo. The Springfield Police Department says it responded to a call of an active shooter at the Walmart Neighborhood Market at Republic Rd., near Golden Ave., Thursday evening.

Darren Reynolds / ABC News:
Man arrested after walking into Missouri Walmart armed with a rifle and wearing body armor

Discussion: Daily Mail

Benjamin Fearnow / Newsweek:

FBI Ranks ‘Black Identity Extremists’ Bigger Threat Than Al Qaeda, White Supremacists: Leaked Documents — Leaked FBI documents indicate “black identity extremists” and animal rights activists are among the agency's top counterterrorism priorities under President Donald Trump.

Discussion: theGrio and TYT Network

Yahoo News:

Here's the data on white supremacist terrorism the Trump administration has been ‘unable or unwilling’ to give to Congress — WASHINGTON — Alleged white supremacists were responsible for all race-based domestic terrorism incidents in 2018, according to a government document distributed earlier …

Discussion: NBC News and Politico

Jonathan Lemire / Associated Press:

Trump heads for golf club holiday - but summer storms loom — NEW YORK (AP) — Now is the summer (vacation) of the president's discontent. — As Donald Trump prepares to leave Friday for his annual August holiday at his lush New Jersey golf club, he's confronting a storm of crises …

Discussion: The Week and Mediaite

Yonhap News Agency: (LEAD) N. Korea fires 2 unidentified projectiles into East Sea: JCS

Peter Weber / The Week:
Trump's aides reportedly expect his August vacation will center around ‘golf, cable news, and Twitter’

Discussion: Political Wire and Washington Post

Washington Post:

'If you're a good worker, papers don't matter': How a Trump construction crew has relied on immigrants without legal status — OSSINING, N.Y. — For nearly two decades, the Trump Organization has relied on a roving crew of Latin American employees to build fountains and waterfalls …

Discussion: Little Green Footballs, Splinter, Daily Kos and Mediaite

Axios:
Report: Trump Organization employed undocumented construction workers

Discussion: Washington Post and Associated Press

Zachary Cohen / CNN:

Top intel official interrupted meeting to urge his deputy to resign — Washington (CNN)The country's No. 2 intelligence official, Sue Gordon, knew it was likely she would have to eventually step down from her post, but the timing of that decision became more urgent on Thursday after her boss …

Discussion: The Resurgent, WDEF-TV, Shareblue Media and KTLA

Jonathan Shieber / TechCrunch:

Reports say White House has drafted an order putting the FCC in charge of monitoring social media — The White House is contemplating issuing an executive order that would widen its attack on the operations of social media companies. — The White House has prepared an executive order called …

Brian Fung / CNN:
White House proposal would have FCC and FTC police alleged social media censorship

Discussion: The Verge, Gizmodo, Breitbart, Reason and American Enterprise Institute, more at Techmeme »

Jonathan Swan / Axios:

Stephen Ross expressed qualms about Trump bash after liberal backlash — Billionaire New York real estate developer Stephen Ross privately expressed qualms about going ahead with his Hamptons fundraiser for President Trump today. — The state of play: Liberal customers had threatened …

Discussion: Hot Air, The Daily Beast, Washington Post, The Week, Breitbart, Associated Press and New York Times

Tommy Christopher / Mediaite:
MSNBC Host to Trump Supporters: ‘You Own the Blood That Happens’

Discussion: Townhall and The Daily Caller

Amy Walter / The Cook Political Report:

The Iowa Caucus Is a Frontrunners' Nightmare — This week was the start of the Iowa State Fair. Besides being one of the few places in America where you can eat fried Oreos AND watch a baby pig being born, the Iowa State Fair is also the unofficial kick-off to campaign season in the state.

Discussion: Breitbart, Washington Post and Opinion Today

Stephen Gruber-Miller / Des Moines Register:
Joe Biden says ‘poor kids’ are ‘just as talented as white kids’

Discussion: NBC News, Splinter, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, UPI and Mediaite

Nahal Toosi / Politico:

Fury grows over delayed probe of Trump aides' alleged political retaliation — Democrats and many in the State Department are increasingly exasperated that they have yet to see the results of an investigation into whether President Donald Trump's political appointees mistreated career staffers.

Timothy Bella / Washington Post:

A black man was about to buy a cop's house. Then, he found a KKK application in a bedroom. — The Confederate flag place mat on the dining room table was Rob Mathis's first hint that something was off inside the home he was thinking of buying. — “I thought to myself …

Discussion: VICE and New York Post

New York Times:

Trump's Opponents Want to Name His Big Donors. His Supporters Say It's Harassment. — WASHINGTON — For many businesses, a sudden deluge of phone calls might signal an influx of new customers. But most of the 25 calls Justin Herricks received before noon on Thursday were from people …

Discussion: Michael Berry, RedState, Los Angeles Times, Fox News, NB Blog, BizPac Review, Daily Kos, Patterico's Pontifications, Advocate, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Slate

James LaPorta / Newsweek:

Exclusive: As more troops head to the U.S.-Mexico border, drones designed for war could be going too — A month before President Donald Trump withdrew Patrick M. Shanahan's nomination to be installed as the permanent defense secretary, the former Boeing executive approved a Homeland Security request …

Chuck Ross / The Daily Caller:

Bruce Ohr Documents Undercut FBI Claims In Carter Page FISAs — Justice Department official Bruce Ohr told the FBI in November 2016 about meetings between dossier author Christopher Steele and a reporter who published a story about the former British spy's allegations against Carter Page.

Discussion: Daily Wire, New York Post and emptywheel

Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times:

Heavily redacted texts show Mayor Garcetti's request for home to be checked during Woolsey fire — On a November afternoon, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti texted the city's fire chief to ask how much destruction the Woolsey fire had caused in a wealthy gated Ventura County neighborhood.

Ellen Ioanes / Business Insider:

A scathing new Pentagon report blames Trump for the return of ISIS in Syria and Iraq — The Pentagon inspector general issued a report to Congress saying that the Islamic State is again growing in power in Syria and Iraq, with approximately 14,000 to 18,000 militants.

Discussion: CNBC and Wall Street Journal

Sudarsan Raghavan / Washington Post:

Egypt jails American traveler, saying she criticized the government on Facebook — CAIRO — When Reem Mohamed Desouky arrived from Washington last month with her 13-year-old son, Egyptian authorities detained them at the airport, he said. They confiscated their phones and interrogated Desouky, holding the two for hours.

Discussion: National Review

David Byler / Washington Post:

Blue Texas is a Democratic dream. Shifting left is a reality. — For three years now, Texas Republicans have been taking on water. In 2016, Donald Trump won the state by nine points — a seven-point decline from Mitt Romney's 16-point margin four years earlier.

Sara Boboltz / HuffPost:

Suspected White Nationalist Leader Suspended From State Department: Reports — The employee, Matthew Q. Gebert, allegedly oversaw a chapter of a white nationalist group and hosted white nationalists at his home. — The State Department has placed one of its employees on leave following …

Discussion: Southern Poverty Law Center and WhoWhatWhy

Sarah Taylor / TheBlaze:

School reportedly punishes sixth-grade boy for saying trans-curious boy is not a girl, but a boy — What are the details? — The incident took place in July at a school within an undisclosed Ohio school district. — A sixth-grade boy, according to a news release by the religious liberty …

Discussion: The College Fix

Caitlin Byrd / Post and Courier:

Sen. Tim Scott says his 2022 SC reelection bid will be his last political race — In three years time, Republican U.S. Sen. Tim Scott will be facing reelection in South Carolina, but he will also be facing something else: His last political run. — In a wide-ranging interview Thursday …