memeorandum: White House withdraws nomination of Defense official who questioned Ukraine aid freeze (Connor O'Brien/Politico)

7:05 PM ET, March 2, 2020

Top Items:

Democratic Primary Voters Flock Back to Biden After South Carolina Victory — Former VP pulls within striking distance of Sanders in national poll — Getty Images / Morning Consult illustration by Samantha Elbouez — 26% of Democratic primary voters nationwide are backing former Vice …

Discussion: NBC News, National Review, Slate, OpenSecrets.org, The Nation, The Hill and The B|E note

New York Times:

Amy Klobuchar Drops Out of Presidential Race and Plans to Endorse Biden — Ms. Klobuchar made her decision hours before Super Tuesday. She shocked the primary field with a third-place finish in New Hampshire, but ultimately could not compete with better-funded rivals.

Seema Mehta / Los Angeles Times:

Harry Reid endorses Joe Biden for president; Amy Klobuchar also plans to back him — Former Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid endorsed Joe Biden's presidential bid on Monday, saying the former vice president's resume and stability make him the best candidate to beat President Trump.

Discussion: Townhall, The Hill, HuffPost, Daily Kos and FiveThirtyEight

The Nation:

‘The Nation’ Endorses Bernie Sanders and His Movement — We are proud to endorse Sanders, a democratic socialist with a program both realistic and radical enough to meet the challenges of our time. — EDITOR'S NOTE: We've put a lot of thought into our endorsement, and we want you to know why.

Discussion: Common Dreams, Paste, The Hill, NBC News and Slate

Ginger Gibson / Reuters:

Pete Buttigieg plans to endorse Joe Biden in Democratic primary — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg plans to endorse Joe Biden in the Democratic presidential nominating contest on Monday, shortly after ending his own bid for the White House, a top Buttigieg adviser told Reuters.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, HuffPost, Fox News, The Hill, Mediaite, National Review and USA Today

Elie Mystal / The Nation:

Black Voters Didn't Vote for Biden in South Carolina Because They ‘Lack Information’ — Black voters opted for Biden because they have no faith that white voters will do the right thing and vote for a true progressive. — Joe Biden smashed the competition in the South Carolina Democratic presidential primary over the weekend.

Discussion: NPR, National Review and The Guardian

Amy Wang / Washington Post:
Amy Klobuchar drops out of presidential race, will endorse Joe Biden

Discussion: VICE, Associated Press, The Moderate Voice, The Bulwark, HuffPost, Washington Free Beacon, The Week, Rolling Stone and Outside the Beltway

William Kristol / The Bulwark:
The Simple Answer — Don't overthink your Super Tuesday vote.

Discussion: The Week and Althouse

San Diego Union-Tribune: Vote Joe Biden for president to unite America

Justine Coleman / The Hill:
Obama spoke with Buttigieg after he dropped out of 2020 race: report

Discussion: Associated Press, Breitbart, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and Redstate

David Leonhardt / New York Times:
Bernie or Biden. Period.

Discussion: New York Post, Common Dreams and Slate

Gregg Re / Fox News:
Bloomberg, at Fox News Town Hall, seeks spark as rivals drop out on eve of Super Tuesday

Discussion: BuzzFeed News, The Federalist and The Hill

New York Times:
Pete Buttigieg Will Endorse Joe Biden for Democratic Nomination

Discussion: CNN, ABC News, FiveThirtyEight, Mediaite and Daily Kos

Frank Bruni / New York Times:
Mayor Pete Flew Sky High

Discussion: The Federalist, Washington Examiner and The Hill

Associated Press:

U.S. death toll climbs to 6 as viral crisis eases in China — SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The death toll from the coronavirus in the U.S. climbed to six Monday and the disease spread to ever more countries and world capitals, even as new cases in China dropped to their lowest level in six weeks.

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, The Week and Washington Post

Carol Morello / Washington Post:
Trump administration orders four Chinese news outlets in U.S. to reduce staffs

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Committee to Protect … and IJR

Justine Coleman / The Hill:
Trump administration announces new restrictions on Chinese journalists

Discussion: Axios, National Review, NBC News and Associated Press, more at Mediagazer »

Washington Post:
Live updates: Global coronavirus death toll surpasses 3,000; markets stage cautious recovery on stimulus hopes

Discussion: Townhall, Raw Story, Snopes.com, VTDigger, The Moderate Voice, The Verge, The Daily Signal, COVID-19 Daily, CBS News, UPI and New York Times

Morgan Chalfant / The Hill:
Trump says it's safe to hold rallies amid coronavirus outbreak

Discussion: Associated Press and The Intellectualist

Timothy Bella / Washington Post:
Trump retweets video of him defeating his critics after second confirmed coronavirus death reported in U.S.

Discussion: The Root

FBI.gov — FBI:

Joint Statement from DOS, DOJ, DOD, DHS, ODNI, FBI, NSA, and CISA on Preparations for Super Tuesday — Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, U.S. Attorney General William Barr, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf, Acting Director of National Intelligence …

Discussion: Raw Story

Connor O'Brien / Politico:

White House withdraws nomination of Defense official who questioned Ukraine aid freeze — The White House is withdrawing the nominee for a top Pentagon post, according to two Senate aides, following reports that she questioned the legality of the administration's efforts to freeze military aid to Ukraine.

Discussion: CNN, Raw Story and The Hill

Nihar Kabinittal / ABC News:
White House takes aggressive public posture amid new coronavirus spread

Discussion: The Hill and IJR

Ken Dilanian / NBC News:

President Trump appears to have boxed in the Senate by nominating Ratcliffe as intel chief — The Senate must confirm as DNI a Texas congressman who inflated his resume, or leave in place an acting director without significant intel experience. — WASHINGTON — With the country distracted …

Discussion: CBS News and MSNBC

Politico:
McConnell mum on John Ratcliffe's qualifications to be intelligence chief

Discussion: Fox News

New York Times:

Ivanka Trump Completes a Political Evolution: 'I'm a Proud Trump Republican' — In an interview, the president's older daughter described her anger at her father's impeachment and the role she will play fund-raising for his campaign. — WASHINGTON — She told the Fox News host Sean Hannity …

Discussion: The Daily Caller

Max Abelson / Bloomberg:

Can We Get a Vaccine Early? How the Rich Are Preparing for Coronavirus — Langone dials hospital experts, others hunt supplies or meds — One investor may fly to Idaho with or without family. A doctor in a Colorado ski town is soothing wealthy clients who want a cure.

Richard Salame / The Guardian:

Texas closes hundreds of polling sites, making it harder for minorities to vote — Guardian analysis finds that places where black and Latino population is growing by the largest numbers experienced the majority of closures and could benefit Republicans — Last year, Texas led the US south …

Discussion: Washington Monthly

Daniel Kreps / Rolling Stone:

Public Enemy Fire Flavor Flav After Bernie Sanders Rally Spat — “We thank him for his years of service and wish him well” — Public Enemy announced they are permanently “moving forward” without Flavor Flav, firing one of hip-hop's most memorable hypemen after more than 35 years.

Discussion: Washington Post, New York Daily News, New York Times, Twitchy, Los Angeles Times, Page Six, SPIN, NPR, IJR, The Daily Caller, Paste, NB Blog, VICE, Breitbart, The Week, Fox News, UPI, The Root, Variety and NBC News

Philip Bump / Washington Post:
Is it legal to fire an employee for his political views? What if he were Flavor Flav?

Discussion: One America News Network, Rolling Stone and TMZ.com

Josh Gerstein / Politico:

Judge orders Hillary Clinton deposition in email flap — A federal judge has ordered former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to sit for a sworn deposition for the first time in connection with her use of a private email account during her State Department tenure.

Discussion: National Review, Fox News and The Intellectualist

Ronn Blitzer / Fox News:
Federal judge orders Hillary Clinton deposition to address private emails: ‘Still more to learn’

Discussion: Townhall and PJ Media Home

Marty Steinberg / CNBC:

Jack Welch, former chairman and CEO of GE, dies at 84 — Jack Welch was a railroad conductor's son who rose to chairman and CEO of General Electric. — During the 20 years he led the conglomerate, its market value grew from $12 billion to $410 billion.

Discussion: New York Times, The Week, New York Post, Marketplace and Variety

Gil Hoffman / Jerusalem Post:

Benjamin Netanyahu defeats Benny Gantz with striking 60-seat bloc — It is expected that after the third election in one year, this time the prime minister will succeed in forming a government. — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu succeeded in winning 60 seats for his bloc of right-wing …

Discussion: Townhall, Power Line, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and The Daily Caller

Carla K. Johnson / Associated Press:

More testing sheds light on how virus is spreading in US — SEATTLE (AP) — An increase in testing for the coronavirus began shedding light Monday on how the illness has spread in the United States, including among nursing home residents in one Washington state facility.

NBC News:

FEMA preparing for possible coronavirus emergency declaration — “To me this is another indication that the president and the White House are finally aware of the gravity of the situation,” said former FEMA official Michael Coen. — WASHINGTON — The Federal Emergency Management Agency …

Discussion: VICE, The Week and New York Post

Politico:

Azar in the crosshairs for delays in virus tests — Even as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention takes blame for testing delays that may have led to hundreds of Americans being quietly infected with the coronavirus, officials inside the health department and the White House …

Discussion: The Mahablog, The Hill and FOX6Now.com

CNBC:

Dow roars back from coronavirus sell-off with biggest gain since 2009, surges 5.1% — Tim Anderson: I don't see how cutting rates is going to solve problem — Stocks rebounded sharply from their worst week since the financial crisis on Monday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average posting its best day in more than a decade.

Discussion: The Daily Caller, UPI and The Week, more at Techmeme »

New York Times:

How Bloomberg Buys the Silence of Unhappy Employees — Every year, Mike Bloomberg's company pays hundreds of fired employees to not say anything bad. — Every year, hundreds of departing employees at Bloomberg L.P. are presented with a choice: Either leave the company empty-handed or accept …

Discussion: Spectator USA, more at Mediagazer »

Andrew Marantz / New Yorker:

The Man Behind Trump's Facebook Juggernaut — Brad Parscale used social media to sway the 2016 election. He's poised to do it again. — In September, at a resort hotel in the Coachella Valley, the California Republican Party held its fall convention. Brad Parscale—forty-four …

Discussion: Washington Post

New York Times:

Frozen in Anxiety: How Democratic Leaders Struggled to Confront Bernie Sanders — Mr. Sanders is making the case that his urgent message is the best match for a trying political moment, and moderates are scrambling ahead of Super Tuesday to stop his momentum.

Discussion: CNN

Susannah Luthi / Politico:

Supreme Court will hear major challenge to Obamacare — The Supreme Court on Monday said it will take up a Republican challenge to Obamacare, in a move that boosts Democrats who want to highlight the lawsuit's threat to health care coverage during campaign season.

Discussion: NBC News, New York Times, Daily Kos, Rolling Stone, The Daily Caller, The Intellectualist, Breitbart and Townhall

Max Boot / Washington Post:

Bernie Sanders would be an awful president — Joe Biden has come out of the South Carolina primary as the most plausible moderate candidate. Now is the time for Democrats to coalesce around him and make Super Tuesday a terrible day for Bernie Sanders. — Plenty of polling shows that Sanders …