memeorandum: Should New Yorkers quit Equinox to protest Trump fundraiser? (Cody Lyon/Crain's New York Business)

7:40 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, WhoWhatWhy, The Daily Beast, Law & Crime, Mother Jones, 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, The Week, Splinter and Mediaite

Washington Post:

Why one family mourning El Paso victims chose to meet with Trump — Tito Anchondo wishes people would stop politicizing his family's tragedy. — Anchondo, who lost his beloved brother and sister-in-law in the rampage by an El Paso Walmart on Saturday, said he wanted to take his orphaned nephew …

Discussion: CBS Dallas, WGN-TV, TheBlaze, Bangor Daily News and Talking Points Memo

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

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: Mercury News, Law & Crime, Press Herald, Rolling Stone, New York Post, Mediaite, The Daily Caller, The Verge 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, Boing Boing, The Daily Beast and Progress Pond

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, KTLA and Washington Times

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

Associated Press:

S.Korea says N.Korea has fired 2 more projectiles into sea — SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea on Saturday fired two more projectiles into the sea, according to South Korea's military. It is likely another protest at the United States and South Korea continuing joint military exercises …

Jonathan Lemire / Associated Press:
Trump heads for golf club holiday - but summer storms loom

Discussion: The Week

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

Cody Lyon / Crain's New York Business:

Should New Yorkers quit Equinox to protest Trump fundraiser? — The Related Companies founder and CEO Stephen Ross, is hosting a big fundraiser for President Donald Trump on Friday in the Hamptons and the news is not sitting well with a lot of left-leaning New Yorkers.

Discussion: New York Magazine, Axios and The Daily Beast

Jonathan Swan / Axios:
Stephen Ross expressed qualms about Trump bash after liberal backlash

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

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

Discussion: Townhall and The Daily Caller

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.

Robbie Gramer / Foreign Policy: Hiring Freeze Put U.S. Diplomats Under Threat Worldwide, Report Says

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

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

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 »

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: National Review, Axios, Splinter, Daily Kos, Little Green Footballs and Mediaite

Naomi Lim / Washington Examiner:

Kamala Harris moves toward nixing the Senate filibuster — SIOUX CITY, Iowa — Kamala Harris is open to doing away with the filibuster if Democrats recapture control of the Senate next year. — “I want to find common ground on legislation, but if there's gonna be the obstructionist kind …

Discussion: Washington Post, Lawyers, Guns & Money and New York Magazine

Daniel Chaitin / Washington Examiner:
Twitter unlocks Mitch McConnell campaign account after two-day standoff

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Townhall, Talking Points Memo and Patterico's Pontifications

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

Jerry Iannelli / Miami New Times:

Publix Heirs Are Maxing Out Donations to Donald Trump's 2020 Campaign … Progressives, critics, and basically all people with moral backbones and souls this week are furious at Stephen Ross — the multibillionaire owner of the Miami Dolphins and the gym chains Equinox and SoulCycle …

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

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 …

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

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: American Greatness, Judicial Watch, 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.

CNN:

White House tells ICE to conduct dozens more workplace enforcement operations, source says — Child makes tearful plea to ICE: I need my dad — (CNN)The White House has told ICE officials to conduct dozens more workplace enforcement operations this year, a senior immigration official with knowledge of the conversations told CNN.

Discussion: KTLA, The Guardian and The Root

The Daily Beast:

Trump Freaks Out Over ‘The Hunt,’ a Satirical Film He Doesn't Understand, as U.S. Reels From Mass Shootings — As the country grapples with two deadly mass shootings in one weekend, the president took time out of his busy Friday to rant about a movie that Fox News has also obsessed over.

Discussion: RedState, Hullabaloo, Breitbart and The Last Refuge

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.