memeorandum: Walmart to End Sales of E-Cigarettes (David Yaffe-Bellany/New York Times)

3:40 PM ET, September 20, 2019

Top Items:

Ukrainian Official: Trump Wants Dirt ‘To Discredit Biden’ — Ukraine officials see no indication Biden or his son broke their laws. If Trump wants them investigated in Kyiv, his government will need to say why and what for. — KYIV—Ukraine is ready to investigate the connections Joe Biden's son Hunter …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, NBC News, Washington Post, The Atlantic, New York Times, Balloon Juice, Hot Air, Political Wire, Radio Free Europe/Radio …, CNN, The Resurgent, Daily Kos, Spectator USA, Law & Crime, Mediaite, U.S. Political News …, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Alternet.org

Washington Post:

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 …

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:

As whistleblower scandal deepens, Trump bets on the coverup working — President Trump and his minions went to great lengths in 2016 to coordinate with a foreign power's interference in our election on his behalf. Then Trump engaged in extensive corruption and lawlessness to try to prevent it from coming to light.

Discussion: Vanity Fair, Occupy Democrats, Raw Story, twitchy.com, Roll Call and Deadline

Jonathan Bernstein / Bloomberg:

How Long Will Republicans Tolerate Trump's Lawlessness? — There's only so much Democrats can do about the president's increasingly bold misconduct. — I was going to write today about how House Democrats are handling the impeachment question. But the truth is, it's largely irrelevant.

Discussion: New York Times, Washington Post and The Week

New York Times:

‘Urgent Concern’ About the President — A whistle-blower's report has alarmed the intelligence agencies' watchdog. Why won't the administration share it with Congress? — The editorial board represents the opinions of the board, its editor and the publisher. It is separate from the newsroom and the Op-Ed section.

Discussion: CNN, Daily Kos, Balloon Juice, KTLA, Washington Post, Hullabaloo, The Week, Althouse and The Daily Caller

Asha Rangappa / Washington Post:
The U.S. has no rules for when the president is a national security threat

Discussion: Raw Story, The Daily Beast and ABC News

Associated Press: Trump defends himself against whistleblower complaint

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
Why Ukraine being the focus of Trump's whistleblower complaint is particularly ominous

Discussion: RedState, Alternet.org, The Week, Daily Kos, The Daily Caller and Politico

Politico:
POLITICO Playbook: How Trump has handcuffed Washington

Discussion: Hullabaloo

Politico:
POLITICO Playbook PM: The president vs. the whistleblower

Discussion: CNN and Wall Street Journal

Kevin Liptak / CNN:
Trump downplays whistleblower claims in Oval Office

Discussion: Political Wire

Kyle Cheney / Politico:
‘Of course I did’: Giuliani acknowledges asking Ukraine to investigate Biden

Discussion: Washington Post, Breitbart, Vox, The Daily Beast, New York Times, CNN, BizPac Review, Raw Story, VICE and Outside the Beltway

Colby Itkowitz / Washington Post:
Giuliani admits to asking Ukraine about Joe Biden after denying it 30 seconds earlier

Discussion: Fox News, Talking Points Memo, U.S. Political News …, Shareblue Media and Breitbart

Mayor Bill de Blasio / NBC News:

Why I'm ending my 2020 presidential campaign — and what I promise to do next — My presidential campaign may be over, but I am going to keep fighting for working people — and ensuring that New York City remains the vanguard of progressivism. — There is a framed picture hanging …

Discussion: New York Times, Politico, Axios, CNN, Breitbart, Reason, VTDigger, The Daily Caller, PJ Media Home, Vox, The Root, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, IJR, Talking Points Memo, Slate, VICE, Rolling Stone, Outside the Beltway, Sara A. Carter, Deadline and Towleroad Gay News

Adam Edelman / NBC News:
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio drops 2020 bid

Discussion: FiveThirtyEight, Daily Caller News Foundation and CNBC

Brooklyn Eagle: New York Mayor Bill de Blasio drops 2020 presidential bid

Astead W. Herndon / New York Times:

Young Black Voters to Their Biden-Supporting Parents: ‘Is This Your King?’ — An organic effort by black millennials and Gen Z-ers to influence older family members against Mr. Biden may be important in the Democratic primary. — HOUSTON — A groan erupted at a debate watch party …

Discussion: Slate and Washington Blade

Becket Adams / Washington Examiner:

NYT reporters haven't kept their story straight about Brett Kavanaugh asking them to lie — Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh supposedly asked New York Times reporters to lie to their readers. At least, that is the story certain journalists have repeated, following Times reporters Robin Pogrebin …

Matthew Continetti / Washington Free Beacon:
Kavanaugh and the Crisis of Legitimacy

Discussion: The Bulwark

Peggy Noonan / Wall Street Journal:
Why They'll Never Stop Targeting Kavanaugh

Discussion: twitchy.com

John Wagner / Washington Post:

Trump says he could end Afghanistan war quickly but ‘tens of millions’ of people would die — President Trump said Friday that the United States could end the nearly 19-year war in Afghanistan “very quickly” if he chose to do so but that it would involve killing “tens of millions” of people.

Discussion: Political Wire

Caitlin Oprysko / Politico:
Trump announces ‘highest sanctions ever’ targeting Iran's central bank

Discussion: National Review, Breitbart, Rolling Stone, American Military News and One America News Network

Katherine Faulders / ABC News:
Trump denies knowing whistleblower's identity, calls controversy ‘political hack job’

Discussion: Washington Post

New York Times:

Why Republicans Play Dirty — They fear that if they stick to the rules, they will lose everything. Their behavior is a threat to democratic stability. — Mr. Levitsky and Mr. Ziblatt are political scientists and the authors of “How Democracies Die.” — The greatest threat …

Meg Kinnard / Associated Press:

Nikki Haley moves back to SC, fuels political speculation — COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley is moving back to her native South Carolina, re-establishing a home base and also fueling speculation that a return to politics is next on her to-do list.

Discussion: Political Wire

NBC News:

Trump admin ignored its own evidence of climate change's impact on migration from Central America — An internal report obtained by NBC News showed migration surged from those areas where climate change is hurting crops and farmers. — GUATEMALA CITY — Research compiled one year ago …

Fadel Allassan / Axios: Trump administration ignored internal report on climate change and migration

Andrew Kaczynski / CNN:

GOP Senate candidate Jason Lewis said Republicans have ‘dual loyalties’ to Israel, ‘Jewish lobby’ controls the party — GOP rep. defends prior comments on ‘slut’ women — (CNN)Jason Lewis, a Republican running for US Senate in Minnesota, once said Republicans had “dual loyalties” to Israel …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, National Review and Political Wire

Washington Post:

Kushner to attend Saudi economic conference hosted by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman — Jared Kushner is expected to visit Saudi Arabia next month for an economic conference, one year after a slew of businesses and political figures boycotted the event following the grisly killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Discussion: One America News Network, Political Wire and Raw Story

J.K. Trotter / INSIDER: Why did Jeffrey Epstein's private jet fly to Riyadh on the eve of the 2016 election?

David Yaffe-Bellany / New York Times:

Walmart to End Sales of E-Cigarettes — Vaping-related lung illnesses have been on the rise, and investigations are underway by Federal and state health departments. — Walmart said on Friday that it would end sales of e-cigarettes at its locations in the United States …

Discussion: The Verge, The CT Mirror and Power Line

Cassidy Morrison / Washington Examiner: Walmart to stop selling e-cigarettes amid vaping-related deaths

Christina Zhao / Newsweek:

GOP Rep. Dan Crenshaw Tries to Hide in Elevator While Confronted by Combat Veterans Over His Support for Trump: ‘Do Your Duty’ — Republican congressman Dan Crenshaw unsuccessfully tried to lose two combat veterans by ducking into a private elevator as they confronted him about his support …

Discussion: RedState, Townhall, PJ Media Home, The Daily Caller, Daily Wire, Splinter, twitchy.com and Raw Story

Des Moines Register:

New Iowa Poll to be released Saturday, will show how presidential candidates are faring in first-in-the-nation caucus state — Results of a new Des Moines Register/CNN/Mediacom Iowa Poll on Democratic presidential candidates will be released online at 7 p.m. CST Saturday.

Discussion: Political Wire

Colleen Long / Associated Press:

APNewsBreak: US, El Salvador to sign asylum deal — NEW YORK (AP) — The United States planned to sign an agreement on Friday to help make one of Central America's most violent countries, El Salvador, a haven for migrants seeking asylum, according to a senior Trump administration official.

Discussion: Washington Post

Ime Archibong / Facebook:

An Update on Our App Developer Investigation — We wanted to provide an update on our ongoing App Developer Investigation, which we began in March of 2018 as part of our response to the episode involving Cambridge Analytica. — We promised then that we would review all of the apps …

Discussion: Politico, Mashable, The Verge, The Week, New York Times, CNBC, Engadget and TechCrunch, more at Techmeme »

Pete Williams / NBC News:

Topless women win big as Colorado city drops ban — Officials in Fort Collins decided it's not worth the money to fight for its ordinance banning women from appearing topless in public. — Fort Collins, Colorado has decided it's not worth the money to fight for its ordinance banning women from appearing topless in public.

Discussion: Breitbart and New York Post

Irin Carmon / The Cut:

Charlie Rose Faces New Harassment Allegations From Makeup Artist — A longtime makeup artist for Charlie Rose, who worked with the talk-show host for 22 years on his eponymous PBS show, is suing him and Bloomberg LP, describing “a toxic work environment suffused with sexual harassment and gender-based abuse”.

Katia Dmitrieva / Bloomberg:

Two U.S. Swing States Lost the Most Factory Jobs in Past Year — Pennsylvania, Wisconsin payrolls fall amid gains elsewhere — The states' voters are key for 2020 election as race heats up — As the U.S. presidential campaign heats up, Democratic candidates may want to look …

Discussion: Political Wire

Philip Rotner / The Bulwark:

Everything You Need to Know About the DNI, the IG, and the Whistleblower Report — The Trump administration is assaulting the rule of law. Again. And don't count on any of the three branches of our government to repel it. — This time, the Trump administration's Director of National Intelligence …

Discussion: Progress Pond, Washington Post and RedState

Hannah Natanson / Washington Post:

Frederick Douglass photos smashed stereotypes. Could Elizabeth Warren selfies do the same? — They look nothing alike. — Frederick Douglass — a black man campaigning for the abolition of slavery in the 1840s — appears alone in almost every photograph, staring down the camera in isolated, thoughtful splendor.

Discussion: Althouse