memeorandum: McConnell changes position and backs $250 million for election security (Leigh Ann Caldwell/NBC News)

10:20 PM ET, September 19, 2019

Top Items:

Whistleblower complaint about President Trump involves Ukraine, according to two people familiar with the matter — A whistleblower complaint about President Trump made by an intelligence official centers on Ukraine, according to two people familiar with the matter, which has set off …

New York Times:

Whistle-Blower Complaint Sets Off a Battle Involving Trump — The complaint, from a member of the intelligence community, remained opaque but involved at least one of the president's communications with a foreign leader. — WASHINGTON — A potentially explosive complaint by a whistle-blower …

Sarah K. Burris / Raw Story:

Trump appointee Darrell Issa's confirmation hearing held up because he couldn't pass the background check: report — Former Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) was once the chair of the House Intelligence Committee, but as of Thursday, he's no longer being considered for a position in President Donald Trump's administration.

Discussion: Roll Call

CNN:
White House also involved in advising DNI not to share whistleblower complaint

Discussion: The Week

Alex Rogers / CNN: Senate panel postpones Darrell Issa confirmation hearing over FBI file questions

David Frum / The Atlantic:
The Question Posed by Trump's Phone Call

Discussion: Hullabaloo, Alternet.org, CNN, Mediaite, Daily Kos, Outside the Beltway and The Week

Ken Dilanian / NBC News:
Annual complaints to intel watchdog hotline have more than doubled since Trump took office

Discussion: Daily Kos, The Root and Washington Post

Brooke Singman / Fox News:
Sen. Menendez stalls Issa nomination over fake ID flap from youth

Discussion: Politico

Caitlin Oprysko / Politico:
Schiff threatens to sue over secret whistleblower complaint

Discussion: Front Page Live, ABC News, Washington Press, Fox News, POLITICUSUSA, Raw Story, Slate, RedState, The Last Refuge, The Rush Limbaugh Show and NB Blog

David Brooks / New York Times:

A Brief History of the Warren Presidency — A look back at American politics from the year 2050. — A crisis of legitimacy swept across American politics in the second decade of the 21st century. Many people had the general conviction that the old order was corrupt and incompetent.

Philip Klein / Washington Examiner:

Kamala Harris's big blunder — Sen. Kamala Harris started this year with a smooth rollout that had many insiders predicting she was the likeliest Democratic nominee in 2020. Now, as the fall campaign season kicks off, she finds herself well out of the top tier of candidates, struggling just to stay relevant.

Discussion: Washington Post, PJ Media Home, FiveThirtyEight and Progress Pond

David M. Drucker / Washington Examiner:
‘Only plausible candidate’: Never Trump Republicans plotting to back Biden

Discussion: twitchy.com, Hot Air, RedState and Fox News

Associated Press:
Buttigieg calls Warren ‘extremely evasive’ on health taxes

Discussion: Breitbart

Gideon Resnick / The Daily Beast:
Why These Wall Streeters Are Giving to Elizabeth Warren

Discussion: Fox News, Hullabaloo and Raw Story

Scott Shafer / KQED: KQED Poll: Harris Slips in California, as Warren, Sanders and Biden Lead the Pack

John Myers / Los Angeles Times:

Federal judge blocks California law to force disclosure of Trump's tax returns — A federal judge ordered a temporary injunction Thursday against California's first-in-the-nation law requiring candidates to disclose their tax returns for a spot on the presidential primary ballot …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Breitbart, Politico, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Axios, Associated Press, The Gateway Pundit, The Week, Judicial Watch, U.S. Political News … and New York Post

Michael Gold / New York Times:

Trump Lawyers Argue He Cannot Be Criminally Investigated — The president's legal team is trying to block a subpoena seeking his tax returns, claiming that any criminal investigation of Mr. Trump is unconstitutional. — Lawyers for President Trump argued in a lawsuit filed on Thursday …

Discussion: U.S. Political News …, Politico, BuzzFeed News, Daily Kos and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Associated Press:
Trump gets victory in bid to block California tax return law

Discussion: RedState

Associated Press:
The Latest: California defends tax return law after setback

Discussion: Townhall

Associated Press:

Colt suspends production of AR-15 for civilian market — WEST HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Gunmaker Colt says it is suspending its production of rifles for the civilian market including the popular AR-15. — Colt's chief executive officer, Dennis Veilleux, says it is not permanently ending production …

Discussion: NBC News, ABC News, National Review, Bearing Arms, Daily Wire, Townhall, The Daily Caller, IJR and Daily Kos

Laura Widener / American Military News:
Colt is ending production of AR-15s

Discussion: Washington Post, NB Blog, New York Times, SHOOTING ILLUSTRATED, New York Post, PJ Media Home, Fox News, VICE, Raw Story, The Week and Task & Purpose

Washington Post:

HUD Secretary Ben Carson makes dismissive comments about transgender people, angering agency staff — Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson expressed concern about “big, hairy men” trying to infiltrate women's homeless shelters during an internal meeting, according to three people present …

Discussion: CNN, Out Magazine, Political Wire, Alternet.org, Mediaite and Raw Story

Amir Tibon / Haaretz:

Netanyahu Used ‘Misinformation’ to Persuade Trump, Says Tillerson — U.S. President Donald Trump's first secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, spoke at Harvard on Tuesday during a 90-minute panel interview with Harvard professors — >> Election results are in. Subscribe now - save 30%

Harvard University Gazette:

Rex Tillerson details his frustrations on Iran, Israel, Russia, and his revamp of the State Department — Rex Tillerson had seen and learned much in his 41-year career at ExxonMobil Corp., and some of it proved useful in his 13 months as U.S. secretary of state.

Discussion: U.S. Political News …, Politico, Axios, Los Angeles Times, BuzzFeed News, Algemeiner.com, Washington Post and Jewish Insider

Carl Zimmer / New York Times:

Birds Are Vanishing From North America — The number of birds in the United States and Canada has declined by 3 billion, or 29 percent, over the past half-century, scientists find. — The skies are emptying out. — The number of birds in the United States and Canada has fallen by 29 percent since 1970 …

Discussion: Washington Post, The Week, Mother Jones, Earther, Alternet.org, Science, Deseret News, The Atlantic and NPR

Katherine Krueger / Splinter:

Black Leaders Condemn Attacks by Sanders Supporters Amid Fallout From WFP's Warren Endorsement — In a draft letter obtained by Splinter on Thursday, dozens of prominent black progressive leaders condemned the “hateful, violent, and racist threats” they said have been leveled by “self-identified …

Discussion: Salon, The Nation and U.S. Political News …

Sam Adler-Bell / The Outline:
Here's why an endorsement of Elizabeth Warren drove leftists mad

Discussion: Daily Kos

Medium:
2020 and the Party We're Building Together

Discussion: The Atlantic and The Federalist

Erica L. Green / New York Times:

U.S. Orders Duke and U.N.C. to Recast Tone in Mideast Studies — WASHINGTON — The Education Department has ordered Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to remake the Middle East studies program run jointly by the two schools after concluding that it was offering students …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Federal Register, The Independent, Alternet.org and Algemeiner.com

Collin Binkley / Associated Press:
UNC-Duke program too positive on Islam, Trump officials say

Discussion: The Hill

Leigh Ann Caldwell / NBC News:

McConnell changes position and backs $250 million for election security — Democrats said the Senate majority leader had finally caved into their pressure to safeguard the voting system. — WASHINGTON — In a surprise development, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced his support …

Discussion: Washington Post

Felicia Sonmez / Washington Post:
In turnaround, McConnell backs $250 million in election security funding

Discussion: Shareblue Media, U.S. Political News … and Daily Kos

Helena Bottemiller Evich / Politico:
Senate Democrats release list of climate studies buried by Trump administration

Discussion: Axios

New York Times:

For Trump, a Time of Indecision — WASHINGTON — Speaking to a Fox News reporter near the Mexican border on Wednesday, President Trump seemed taken aback when asked if the White House were preparing to roll out gun control proposals the next day, a timeline administration officials had suggested was likely.

Dan Diamond / Politico:
White House abruptly cancels meeting with vaping advocates

Discussion: Bloomberg, The Daily Caller and Americans for Tax Reform

Nancy Cook / Politico:
An unshackled Trump finally gets the presidency he always wanted

Discussion: Alternet.org and Raw Story

Reuters:

U.S. drone strike kills 30 pine nut farm workers in Afghanistan — JALALABAD/ KABUL (Reuters) - A U.S. drone strike intended to hit an Islamic State (IS) hideout in Afghanistan killed at least 30 civilians resting after a day's labor in the fields, officials said on Thursday.

Discussion: New York Times, Alternet.org, Rolling Stone, Occupy Democrats, The Week and Defense One

Washington Post:

Trump officials considering plan to divert billions of dollars in additional funds for border barrier — Senior Trump administration officials are considering a plan to again divert billions of dollars in military funding to pay for border barrier construction next year …

Discussion: Political Wire

globalnews.ca:

Exclusive: Video shows Trudeau in blackface in 3rd instance of racist makeup — Watch: Global News has obtained video showing Justin Trudeau in blackface. — Global News has obtained video showing Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau in blackface, the third instance of racist dress to come to light in 12 hours.

Manu Raju / CNN:

House Judiciary Committee weighs holding Lewandowski in contempt — (CNN)The House Judiciary Committee is preparing to take initial steps to potentially hold former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski in contempt over his refusal to answer questions at this week's hearing before the panel, multiple sources tell CNN.

Discussion: Hot Air, POLITICUSUSA and Washington Post

Armin Rosen / Tablet Magazine:

A Reporter From Hell — The title of the talk was “The War in Syria Is Not Over,” but it was more like Nir Rosen's valedictory address. For roughly 20 minutes, the gonzo war-journalist-turned-mysterious- diplomatic-operator—who counts top advisers to both former U.S. President Barack Obama …

Wall Street Journal:

Democrats and Republicans Aren't Just Divided. They Live in Different Worlds. … America's political polarization is almost complete. Its two main political parties increasingly represent two different economies. And they barely overlap. — Democrats can be found in educated cities …

CNN:

Marianne Williamson entertained 9/11 conspiracy theories in 2012 interview — (CNN)Democratic presidential candidate Marianne Williamson once entertained 9/11 conspiracy theories on a radio show hosted by a prominent “truther” who claimed that the World Trade Center attacks were orchestrated by a “Zionist organized crime outfit.”

Discussion: Mediaite

Saphora Smith / NBC News:

After falling short in Israel's election, Netanyahu set to confront his legal fate — “In these 2019 elections of April and September, escaping court and possibly jail was Netanyahu's political raison d'etre,” one expert said. — As this week's election results and exit polls continue …

Discussion: Breitbart