memeorandum: ‘Unqualified, dangerous’: the oddball officials running Bolsonaro's Brazil (The Guardian)

9:55 AM ET, January 2, 2020

Top Items:

Julián Castro Ends Presidential Campaign — Mr. Castro, the former housing secretary and mayor of San Antonio, was the only Latino candidate in the race. He championed progressive policies but did not find his footing in polls. — Julián Castro, the former housing secretary …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Axios, The Daily Caller, The Week and Sara A. Carter

Lissette Rodriguez / ABC News:

Julian Castro drops out of 2020 presidential race — He was the only Latino candidate in the contest. — Democratic presidential candidate Julián Castro announced the end to his campaign on Thursday. — “It's with profound gratitude to all of our supporters that I suspend my campaign for president today,” Castro tweeted.

Discussion: One America News Network

Jacob Pramuk / CNBC:

Bernie Sanders' campaign says it raised more than $34.5 million in blowout fourth quarter — Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign raised more than $34.5 million in the fourth quarter, it said Thursday. — The total easily tops the fundraising hauls of Pete Buttigieg and Andrew Yang …

Discussion: Florida Politics, Althouse, Disrn, Associated Press, WND and Mediaite

Matt Stevens / New York Times:

Andrew Yang Raised $16.5 Million in the Last 3 Months, His Campaign Says — Donations to Mr. Yang in the fourth quarter of 2019 were his highest in any such period and put him among the top fund-raisers in the Democratic presidential field. — The entrepreneur Andrew Yang's presidential campaign …

Discussion: Politico, Reuters, VICE, Axios, Mediaite and Contemptor

New York Times:

Bernie Sanders Says He Raised $34.5 Million in the Fourth Quarter — Mr. Sanders's total is the largest three-month haul to be disclosed by any candidate so far in the Democratic primary race. — DES MOINES — Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont raised more than $34.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2019 …

Discussion: Axios, Reuters, The Daily Caller and IJR

Bill Barrow / Associated Press:

Iowa congresswoman endorsing Joe Biden's presidential bid — Joe Biden has landed a high-profile endorsement for his presidential bid as Rep. Abby Finkenauer becomes the first member of the Iowa congressional delegation to take sides in the Democratic nominating contest.

Discussion: The Hill

CBS News: Bernie Sanders beat Democratic rivals to raise $34.5 million in the 4th quarter

ABC News:
Bernie Sanders tops Democratic field with massive $34.5 million haul in Q4, as other candidates release totals

Discussion: The Hill and The Week

Axios:
Andrew Yang's campaign says it raised $16.5 million in Q4

Discussion: The Hill, Sara A. Carter and New York Times

Washington Post:
Bernie Sanders campaign announces a massive cash haul of $34.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2019

Discussion: Politico, The Week and DNyuz

Holly Otterbein / Politico:
Sanders discloses $34.5 million haul for final quarter of 2019

Discussion: The Hill and DNyuz

Barbara Rodriguez / Des Moines Register: ‘I am one of the undecided’: With a month to go, many likely caucusgoers still unsure about their choice

Kate Brannen / Just Security:

Exclusive: Unredacted Ukraine Documents Reveal Extent of Pentagon's Legal Concerns — “Clear direction from POTUS to continue to hold.” — This is what Michael Duffey, associate director of national security programs at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), told Elaine McCusker …

Tom Boggioni / Raw Story:

Pelosi has McConnell over a a barrel as she delays impeachment trial: ‘This is working beautifully for her’ — In a column for the Daily Beast, longtime political analyst Eleanor Clift stated that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has the upper hand as she deals with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell …

Washington Post:
The Senate and the public need to hear from Mulvaney and Bolton

Discussion: Bloomberg, The American Conservative and The Nation

Alexander Bolton / The Hill: U.S. combat deaths in Afghanistan highest in years

Eleanor Clift / The Daily Beast: How Long Can Nancy Pelosi Can Hold Back These Articles of Impeachment? Longer Than You Think

Rod Blagojevich / Newsmax:

House Democrats Would Have Impeached Lincoln — I, like most people from my home state of Illinois, am a great admirer of Abraham Lincoln. — Recently I've wondered what would have happened had Nancy Pelosi been the Speaker of the House when Abraham Lincoln was president.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Washington Post

Charles Creitz / Fox News:
Rod Blagojevich: Abraham Lincoln would've been impeached by today's Democrats

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit

Larry McShane / New York Daily News:

Family of anti-Semitic machete attack victim shares heartbreaking hospital photo of their Hasidic patriarch: ‘We shall not let this terrible hate-driven attack be forgotten’ — An Orthodox Jewish man hacked viciously by a machete-swinging anti-Semite will likely remain brain-damaged and paralyzed for life …

New York Post: Jewish man attacked by two women after trying to film anti-Semitic tirade

Joseph Berger / New York Times: 90,000 Jews Gather to Pray and Defy a Wave of Hate

New York Times:
March Against Anti-Semitism — A show of support for the true spirit of New York.

Discussion: DNyuz and WND

Corey Kilgannon / New York Times:
Victim of Anti-Semitic Rampage Is Unlikely to Awake From Coma, Family Says

Discussion: UPI, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Algemeiner.com

David E. Sanger / New York Times:

Trump Bet He Could Isolate Iran and Charm North Korea. It's Not That Easy. — The president assumed economic levers would guide the countries' national interests. Now, he confronts twin challenges in an election year. — President Trump entered the new year facing flare-ups …

Discussion: The Mahablog, The National Interest, HuffPost, DNyuz, Raw Story and Washington Post

New York Times:
Shock Waves From American Airstrikes in Iraq May Have Just Begun

Discussion: Raw Story, Lawfare, DNyuz and UPI

The Guardian:

‘Unqualified, dangerous’: the oddball officials running Bolsonaro's Brazil — While the far-right president has trashed norms the lower ranks of his administration have shown jaw-dropping offensiveness — Brazil's far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro, and his gun-loving sons have hogged …

Mitch Smith / New York Times:

'It's Creepy': Unexplained Drones Are Swarming by Night Over Colorado — Sheriffs in western Nebraska and eastern Colorado say they don't know who's flying the drones — or why. The F.A.A. is investigating. — They come in the night: Drones — lots of them — flying in precise formations over the Colorado and Nebraska prairie.

Discussion: IJR and Denver Post

Ross Ibbetson / Daily Mail:

By ROSS IBBETSON FOR MAILONLINE — The leader of an Iran-backed US embassy siege in Baghdad was welcomed to the White House by Barack Obama eight years ago before becoming Tehran's ‘point man’ in Iraq. — Hadi al Amiri joined Iraq's then-Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki as his Minister …

Andy Smarick / The Bulwark:

Civility and Its Critics — Some self-righteous writers believe that their goodness—and their opponents' badness—justifies incivility. — As long as there are political debates, there will be those who participate in nasty ways—lying, distorting, insulting.

Nicholas Riccardi / Associated Press:

Presidential hopeful Bennet pledges $6 trillion ‘Real Deal’ — DENVER (AP) — Presidential hopeful Michael Bennet is releasing a $6 trillion plan that he calls “the Real Deal” in an attempt to offer what he says is a more realistic contrast with more liberal contenders for the Democratic nomination …

Discussion: Axios

Elvia Díaz / USA Today:

Armed, even in church: Texas shooting is about a lot more than Jack Wilson's heroism — Jack Wilson is a hero. But why were so many other parishioners armed? And how did the shooter get his gun, given his criminal history? — Jack Wilson is a hero alright.