memeorandum: Trump's former spy chief: Being called a “nationalist” is not an insult (Axios)

1:15 AM ET, August 27, 2020

Top Items:

The Kenosha Shooting Suspect Was In The Front Row Of A Trump Rally In January — The law-enforcement obsessed 17-year-old who was charged with shooting and killing two people and injuring another in Kenosha during protests for Jacob Blake appeared in the front row at a Donald Trump rally in January.

Russell Brandom / The Verge:

Facebook chose not to act on militia complaints before Kenosha shooting — Multiple users reported the account for inciting violence, but were told it did not violate platform policy — In the wake of an apparent double murder Tuesday night in Kenosha, Facebook has faced a wave of scrutiny …

Discussion: Vox, Gizmodo, TechCrunch, Al Jazeera, Reuters, Reason and The Daily Beast, more at Techmeme »

New York Times:

How Chaos in Kenosha Is Already Swaying Some Voters in Wisconsin — As residents see fires and looting, some worry that local Democratic leaders are failing to keep control of the situation. — John Geraghty, a 41-year-old worker in a tractor factory, has barely paid attention to the presidential race or the conventions.

Discussion: Al Jazeera, Chicago Sun-Times and Reason

Travis Gettys / Raw Story:

Kenosha gunman Kyle Rittenhouse arrested for murder after cops let him flee out of state — An Illinois teenager has been charged with first-degree murder in the fatal shooting of a demonstrator in Kenosha, Wisconsin. — Kyle Rittenhouse, 17, of Antioch, was charged Wednesday …

Discussion: jsonline, The Daily Beast, The US Sun, VICE, NewsOne, The Gateway Pundit, Associated Press and Axios

New York Times:

Tracking the Suspect in the Fatal Kenosha Shootings — Footage appears to show a teenager shooting three people during protests in Wisconsin. We tracked his movements that night. — A teenager who walked among protesters in Kenosha, Wis., carrying a military-style semi-automatic rifle …

Discussion: Chicago Tribune, NBC Chicago, The Daily Beast and The Daily Caller

jsonline:

Kyle Rittenhouse, charged in Kenosha protest homicides, considered himself militia — Kyle Rittenhouse, the 17-year-old charged with shooting three people — two of them fatally — during a Kenosha protest Tuesday night, considered himself a militia member trying to protect life and property …

Discussion: The Verge, Twitchy, The US Sun, Raw Story, Local News I Racine County Eye and New York Post

Philip Bump / Washington Post:
An inescapable echo between Trump's campaign rhetoric and the deaths of protesters in Kenosha

Discussion: Associated Press

Russell Brandom / The Verge:
Facebook takes down ‘call to arms’ event after two shot dead in Kenosha

Discussion: CNN, HuffPost, Bloomberg, The Week, CBS Chicago, Mother Jones, Washington Monthly, New York Times, Vanity Fair, Daily Kos and The Mahablog

Haven Orecchio-Egresitz / INSIDER:
Kyle Rittenhouse — the teen charged with murder after shooting 3 Kenosha protesters with an AR-15 — was obsessed with Blue Lives Matter and appeared ‘on edge’ before shots rang out

Discussion: The Wrap, The Post Millennial, The American Spectator, Breitbart, ABC30, Los Angeles Times, The Daily Caller, Lawyers, Guns & Money and The Root

Andrew O'Reilly / Fox News:
Kristi Noem says ‘Democrat-run cities’ are being ‘overrun by violent mobs’

Discussion: The Hill and The Daily Caller

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:

3 takeaways from the third night of the Republican National Convention — The Republican National Convention held its third of four prime-time sessions on Wednesday night, with Vice President Pence headlining and a younger generation of lesser-known Republicans featured on the undercard.

Discussion: National Review, Reuters, Breitbart, The Week and Raw Story

Quint Forgey / Politico:

Kellyanne Conway: Trump could postpone convention speech because of hurricane — White House counselor Kellyanne Conway suggested Wednesday that President Donald Trump might postpone his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention due to concerns about Hurricane Laura's potentially devastating impact on the Gulf Coast.

Discussion: Associated Press, The Daily Beast, The Daily Caller, The Hill and One America News Network

Axios:

Trump's former spy chief: Being called a “nationalist” is not an insult — Former acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell praised President Trump in his Republican National Convention speech for being a Washington “outsider” and scoffed at the “DC crowd” for thinking that being called a “nationalist” is an insult.

Discussion: Breitbart

Rashaan Ayesh / Axios:
Pence addresses Kenosha in RNC speech: “The violence must stop”

Discussion: AFP, Politico, ABC News, Vox, Townhall, New York Times, Reuters, Breitbart, New York Post, Variety, Fox News, Mediaite, Washington Times, ABC30, IJR, Just The News, Associated Press, TheBlaze, Bloomberg and Financial Times

Laurie Kellman / Associated Press:
RNC speech serves as farewell address for Kellyanne Conway

Discussion: Fox News, Breitbart, Politico, The Daily Caller and ABC30

Paul Steinhauser / Fox News:
Pence accepts VP nomination, warns voters 'you won't be safe in Joe Biden's America'

Discussion: Washington Post, Politico, Reuters, Chicago Sun-Times, New York Post, ABC30, Washington Times and Al Jazeera

Axios:
25-year-old GOP candidate: “In times of peril, young people saved this country”

Discussion: Breitbart, New York Post, The Hill and The Daily Beast

Brooke Singman / Fox News:
Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst blasts Biden-Harris ticket during GOP convention for being ‘hostile to farmers’

Discussion: Associated Press, Breitbart, The Hill and Reuters

Bill Barrow / Associated Press:
Harris will be Democrats' main counter to Trump on Thursday

Discussion: Breitbart, The Hill, Reuters, OutKick, Commentary Magazine and The 19th

Axios:
Kayleigh McEnany shares personal story at RNC about preventative mastectomy

Discussion: Politico, Fox News, Los Angeles Times, Reuters, Breitbart, New York Post, The Week, The Daily Caller and Washington Times

Tom Dreisbach / NPR:
RNC Speaker Facing Federal Charges Of Insider Trading

Discussion: Fox News, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Week, The Guardian, Raw Story, The American Independent and CNBC

Byron York / Washington Examiner:

Trump calls for drug tests before Biden debate — President Trump says he will call for drug tests for both former Vice President Joe Biden and himself before the first candidates' debate on Sept. 29. In an Oval Office interview Wednesday, the president expressed suspicion at what he said was a sudden …

Discussion: New York Times, Washington Post, Political Flare, Redstate, Bloomberg, Forbes, The Daily Caller, Raw Story, The Week, The Gateway Pundit, IJR, Fox News, Mediaite, The Hill, New York Post and TheBlaze

CNN:

CDC was pressured ‘from the top down’ to change coronavirus testing guidance, official says — (CNN)A sudden change in federal guidelines on coronavirus testing came this week as a result of pressure from the upper ranks of the Trump administration, a federal health official close to the process tells CNN.

Discussion: Gizmodo, Associated Press, Talking Points Memo, The Week, Raw Story, The Daily Beast, Vox, The Post Millennial, IJR, Lawyers, Guns & Money, New York Times, Mediaite, Balloon Juice, Fox News and RochesterFirst

Dr. Sanjay Gupta / CNN:

Fauci says he was in surgery when task force discussed CDC testing guidelines — (CNN)White House Coronavirus Task Force member Dr. Anthony Fauci said he was undergoing surgery and not part of the discussion during the August 20 task force meeting when updated US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines were discussed.

Discussion: Politico, Raw Story, Forbes, The Week, CNBC and Mediaite

New York Times:
Covid-19 Live Updates: Top U.S. Officials Instructed the C.D.C. to Change Testing Guidelines

Discussion: ABC News, The Week, Washington Post, STAT, CNN, Gothamist, Mediaite, NPR, MyNorthwest.com, Fox News, Financial Times, Mother Jones, New York Post, Talking Points Memo, Mercury News, NBC Los Angeles and KRON4

Rashaan Ayesh / Axios:
Fauci says he was having surgery when CDC testing changes were approved

Discussion: Politico, Reason and Washington Post

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:
Reports: Trump Sabotaged Coronavirus Testing to Keep Numbers Low

Discussion: New York Times, Raw Story and Gizmodo

Wall Street Journal:

Immigrants in Trump-Led Ceremony Didn't Know They Would Appear at RNC — Two women say they didn't mind being featured as they became citizens; critics accuse president of using them, politicizing government functions — Sudha Narayanan and Neimat Awadelseid looked forward to Tuesday …

Discussion: ABC News, Raw Story, Washington Post, The Hill, USA Today, Mediaite, Vox, The Week and New York Times

Jose Del Real / Washington Post:
Woman who became a citizen on TV did not know she would be part of Republican National Convention

Discussion: The Hill

Alex Nitzberg / Just The News:

Wisconsin authorities say there was knife in Jacob Blake's vehicle — Blake admitted he had a knife in his possession, which was found in the driver's side floorboard, police say. — Jacob Blake, the man wounded by a police officer In Kenosha, Wis., on Sunday, had a knife in his car …

Discussion: Local News I Racine County Eye, Axios, INSIDER and The Hill

Eugene Scott / Washington Post:
Jacob Blake's devastated family displayed the full range of Black Americans' emotions

Discussion: The Hill, WISC-TV, Axios and New York Times

Financial Times:

TikTok chief Kevin Mayer quits after Trump threatens to ban app — Former Disney executive resigns just months after appointment by Chinese video platform — Kevin Mayer has quit TikTok just months after becoming chief executive of the Chinese video app accused by the Trump administration …

Discussion: The Verge, more at Mediagazer »

Mike Isaac / New York Times:
TikTok Chief Executive Kevin Mayer Resigns

Discussion: The Wrap

Stephanie Winston Wolkoff / New York Magazine:

Melania Trump's Ex-BFF Tells (Almost) All An insider's account of falling out with the First Lady. — Excerpted from Melania and Me: The Rise and Fall of My Friendship With the First Lady, by Stephanie Winston Wolkoff — I'd heard Melania Trump speak before. But I'd never heard her sound like this.

U.S. Department of Justice:

Department of Justice Requesting Data From Governors of States that Issued COVID-19 Orders that May Have Resulted in Deaths of Elderly Nursing Home Residents — Data will help inform whether the Department of Justice will initiate investigations under the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act …

Discussion: Bloomberg, Power Line, The Daily Caller, Forbes, The Federalist, Politico, Townhall, Just The News and CBS Philly

U.S. Department of Justice:
U.S. Department of Justice Confirms Federal Civil Rights Investigation Into Shooting of Mr. Jacob Blake

Discussion: Axios

Bernard Condon / Associated Press:
DOJ seeks data about COVID nursing home deaths from 4 states

Discussion: Fox News

Jane Lytvynenko / BuzzFeed News:

RNC Video Showing Rioters In “Biden's America” Is Actually Spain — On the first night of the Republican National Convention, the party aired a segment featuring Catalina and Madeline Lauf warning of dire consequences if Democratic candidate Joe Biden is elected president.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

Anita Kumar / Politico:

Don Jr. robocall urges supporters to vote by mail — Donald Trump Jr. is urging voters to cast absentee ballots in robocalls detected across the nation Wednesday — even as his father continues to rail against widespread mail-in voting. — The robocalls, which reference …

Discussion: Stop robocalls …, The Hill, Breitbart and Political Wire

USA Today:

Herschel Walker on supporting President Trump: ‘Losing friends has been a big cost’ — Herschel Walker, the former star running back who spoke during the Republican National Convention Monday night, said he made the appearance in support of President Trump at his own request.

Discussion: Breitbart and The Hill

Paul Bedard / Washington Examiner:
Trump pops to 52%: ‘Best job approval rating on record,’ up with blacks, even Democrats

Discussion: CNBC, Power Line, Breitbart and Townhall

Marc Stein / New York Times:

Led by N.B.A., Boycotts Disrupt Pro Sports in Wake of Blake Shooting — The boycotts, including games in the W.N.B.A., Major League Baseball and Major League Soccer, come as athletes have wondered whether speaking out against systemic racism would be enough to influence change.

Discussion: NPR, The Week and The Daily Beast

Giovanni Russonello / New York Times:

The Harsh Reality Behind Trump's Reality Show — Night 2 of the R.N.C. took a more conciliatory tone, in contradiction to his actual policies. … At the Democratic National Convention last week, former President Barack Obama accused his predecessor of treating his presidency like “one more reality show.”

Discussion: National Review and osc.gov