memeorandum: State Department's Philip Reeker Testifies Top Officials Blocked Show of Support for Ousted Ambassador (Vivian Salama/Wall Street Journal)

12:30 PM ET, October 27, 2019

Top Items:

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, austere religious scholar at helm of Islamic State, dies at 48 — When Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi took the reins of the Islamic State of Iraq in 2010, few had heard of the organization or its new leader, an austere religious scholar with wire-frame glasses and no known aptitude for fighting and killing.

Discussion: Hot Air, The Daily Caller, Mediaite and The Resurgent

Newsweek:

Trump Approves Special Ops Raid Targeting ISIS Leader Baghdadi, Military Says He's Dead — The United States military has conducted a special operations raid targeting one of its most high-value targets, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State militant group (ISIS), Newsweek has learned.

New York Times:

Special Operations Raid Said to Kill Senior Terrorist Leader in Syria — The identity of the target was not confirmed, but President Trump was scheduled to make a statement on Sunday morning. — WASHINGTON — United States Special Operations commandos carried out a risky raid in northwestern Syria …

Discussion: Breitbart, VICE, TalkLeft, Reuters, Althouse, Political Wire, The Gateway Pundit, Politico, NBC News and Mediaite

Washington Post:

U.S. forces launch operation in Syria targeting ISIS leader Baghdadi, officials say — The Trump administration launched a military operation in Syria targeting Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the elusive leader of the Islamic State, officials said late Saturday. — Special Operations forces conducted …

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, NBC News, Althouse, New York Post, PJ Media Home, FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV, FOX40, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Contemptor, Breitbart, Mediaite and The Gateway Pundit

Associated Press:

US official says IS leader believed dead in US raid in Syria — WASHINGTON (AP) — Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the shadowy leader of the Islamic State group who presided over its global jihad and became arguably the world's most wanted man, is believed dead after being targeted by a U.S. military raid in Syria.

Discussion: Breitbart, Associated Press, Politico, Axios, The Hill, ABC News, One America News Network and Reuters

Graeme Wood / The Atlantic:

Baghdadi's Final Humiliation — Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the hirsute rapist whom hundreds of thousands of Islamic State supporters considered their absolute leader, died yesterday during a U.S. military raid in northwestern Syria's Idlib province, President Donald Trump announced on Sunday morning.

Defense One: ISIS Leader Baghdadi Killed Himself During US Special Ops Raid, Trump Confirms

Jack Arnholz / ABC News:
House Intelligence Chair Rep. Adam Schiff says he wasn't told about al-Baghdadi operation

Discussion: Axios

Pam Key / Breitbart:
Clapper: Baghdadi's Death Could ‘Galvanize’ ISIS — We Can't Stop Worrying

Discussion: Townhall

Elizabeth Thomas / ABC News:
President Trump says ISIS leader al-Baghdadi is dead after US military raid in Syria

Discussion: The Hill

Dom Calicchio / Fox News:
ISIS target believed to be Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is killed in Syria: sources

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, Изв …, New York Post, The Daily Caller, The Other McCain, UPI, Task & Purpose, Axios and Breitbart

Rebecca Falconer / Axios:
Report: ISIS leader Baghdadi believed to have been killed in U.S.-led raid

Discussion: ABC News, Associated Press, Breitbart, Politico, CNN, The Hill, The Daily Beast and One America News Network

Bronson Stocking / Townhall:
BREAKING: ISIS Leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi Believed to Have Been Killed, According to Report

Discussion: Bloomberg and The Gateway Pundit

Olivia Nuzzi / New York Magazine:

The Zombie Campaign Joe Biden is the least formidable front-runner ever. Will it matter? — Inevitably, he arrives late, by SUV or van. The former vice-president is thin and, yes, he's old. He dresses neatly and always in blue. Staff envelop him. There's the body man, the advance man …

Discussion: Associated Press

Rebecca Ballhaus / Wall Street Journal:

Sondland Told House Panels Trump's Ukraine Pressure Was Quid Pro Quo — U.S. envoy to EU told House committees that he believed White House meeting was conditioned on Ukraine opening investigations, his lawyer says — WASHINGTON—A top U.S. diplomat told House committees last week …

Discussion: Politico, Talking Points Memo, CNBC, The Week, HuffPost, NPR, The Hill, Slate, Axios, Mediaite, Political Wire, Raw Story and New York Times

Vivian Salama / Wall Street Journal:
State Department's Philip Reeker Testifies Top Officials Blocked Show of Support for Ousted Ambassador

Discussion: Axios, CNN, Diplopundit, Raw Story and Vox

Washington Post: Diplomat says top leadership of the State Department rejected his entreaties to publicly support …

New York Times:
Official Says Attempts to Rally Top State Officials Behind Ukraine Ambassador Failed

Discussion: Raw Story

Lindsay Wise / Wall Street Journal: Pompeo Discusses Senate Race in Kansas with Koch

New York Times:

1.5 Million Packages a Day: The Internet Brings Chaos to N.Y. Streets — The push for convenience is having a stark impact on gridlock, roadway safety and pollution in New York City and urban areas around the world. — An Amazon order starts with a tap of a finger.

more at Techmeme »

NBC News:

Here's the price Mitt Romney is paying for standing against Trump — The Senate's most outspoken GOP critic of the president finds his motives are questioned, and worse. — SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — One man is an island: Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah. — The 72-year-old former Republican presidential nominee …

Washington Post:

In impeachment inquiry, Republican lawmakers ask questions about whistleblower, loyalty to Trump and conspiracy theories — Republican lawmakers have used the congressional impeachment inquiry to gather information on a CIA employee who filed a whistleblower complaint, press witnesses …

Phil McCausland / NBC News:

South still supports Trump, but base of disapproval is also steady — NBC News| SurveyMonkey polled voters and residents in 11 states across the South, but the data comes during a particularly interesting time for Mississippi, which is in the middle of a hotly contested governor's race.

Discussion: Political Wire

CNN:

White House: John Kelly ‘was totally unequipped to handle the genius of our great President’ — (CNN)President Donald Trump is disputing that former White House chief of staff John Kelly warned the President before he left the White House last year not to hire a replacement who wouldn't tell him the truth or that he would be impeached.

Discussion: Vanity Fair, Outside the Beltway, Raw Story, HuffPost, Breitbart, Washington Post, Politico, New York Times, The Hill, Axios and Washington Examiner

David M. Drucker / Washington Examiner:
‘Catastrophically bad idea’: John Kelly criticizes Trump's Syria pullout

Discussion: Washington Post, Breitbart, Fox News, The Hill, Occupy Democrats, FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV, Hullabaloo, KTLA, The Guardian, Washington Monthly, Raw Story, Slate and Political Wire

Ally Mutnick / Politico:

Ousted Republicans plot rematches with Trump back on the ballot — NEW HARTFORD, N.Y. — Former Rep. Claudia Tenney got swept out of Congress in 2018 on an anti-Trump wave. But she thinks the president could bring her back next year. — The one-term congresswoman lost to freshman Rep. Anthony Brindisi …

Andrew Kaczynski / CNN:

London trip photos show Giuliani with indicted associate at Yankees' game, Ukrainian charity event — Rudy Giuliani (center) speaks with New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone prior to a game between the Yankees and the Boston Red Sox in London in June 2019. Lev Parnas, a now-indicted associate …

Discussion: Raw Story