memeorandum: Trump admin dismantles ‘firewall’ for editorial independence at U.S.-funded media outlets (Dan De Luce/NBC News)

9:00 AM ET, October 27, 2020

Top Items:

Emma Green / The Atlantic:

The Amy Coney Barrett Hail-Mary Touchdown — Senate Republicans were always going to confirm Amy Coney Barrett to a lifetime appointment on the Supreme Court. Conservative voters wanted it, and the party united around the concept. Republicans “believe voting on this justice is a constitutional duty.

Mark Joseph Stern / Slate:

Amy Coney Barrett's First Votes Could Throw the Election to Trump — A sinister argument from Bush v. Gore returns with a vengeance. — Although George W. Bush prevailed in the Bush v. Gore decision, it's often forgotten that the Supreme Court declined to affirm his chief legal argument.

Discussion: The Week, Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Guardian, Raw Story, Los Angeles Times, SCOTUSblog and electionlawblog.org

Kate Smith / CBS News:

Mississippi asks Supreme Court again to review its 15-week abortion ban — Update: The Supreme Court on Monday announced it would consider Mississippi's petition during a conference on Friday. In most cases, the court announces its decision whether to take up a case the following Monday, according to the Supreme Court's website.

Discussion: CBS Los Angeles

Barbara Sprunt / NPR:
Amy Coney Barrett Confirmed To Supreme Court, Takes Constitutional Oath

Discussion: Washington Times, POLITICUSUSA, The Hill, IJR, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Power Line, Washington Post, Vox, Houston Public Media, New York Post and TheBlaze

Brenna Parker / Joe Biden for President:
The Supreme Court Confirmation In an Ongoing Election - Statement by Vice President Joe Biden

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

ABC News:
With Senate poised to confirm Amy Coney Barrett to Supreme Court, WH plans ceremony

Robert Barnes / Washington Post:

Supreme Court rejects request to extend Wisconsin's deadline for counting mail-in ballots — The Supreme Court on Monday night rejected a pandemic-related request from Democrats and civil rights groups to extend the deadline for counting mail-in ballots received after Election Day in the battleground state of Wisconsin.

Discussion: NBC News, CNN, Politico, Fox News, The Gateway Pundit, Associated Press and theslot.jezebel.com

Patrick Marley / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
U.S. Supreme Court declines to change Wisconsin's voting rules, keeps Election Day deadline for mailed ballots

Discussion: Vox, Washington Post, TMJ4, Politico, Slate, Reuters, Bloomberg, Townhall and Political Wire

Ian Millhiser / Vox:
The radical implications of the Supreme Court's new ruling on Wisconsin mail-in ballots

Discussion: Washington Post, Mother Jones, Associated Press, Princeton Election Consortium and Politico

Politico:
Supreme Court won't extend Wisconsin ballot deadline

Discussion: The Daily Beast, BuzzFeed News, Associated Press, SCOTUSblog, New York Times, Deadline, The Week, New York Post, UPI and Breitbart

The Philadelphia Inquirer:

Fatal police shooting of Walter Wallace Jr. prompts heated overnight protests in West Philly — Police officers fatally shot a 27-year-old Black man armed with a knife during a confrontation Monday afternoon in West Philadelphia, an incident that quickly raised tensions in the neighborhood …

Discussion: BuzzFeed News, New York Post, NBC10 Philadelphia, KNSD-TV, Breitbart, Fox News and New York Times

Associated Press:
Philadelphia police shooting of Black man sparks unrest

Discussion: The Hill, Associated Press and City of Philadelphia

Kenneth Garger / New York Post:
Philadelphia cop hit by truck amid protests over police shooting of Walter Wallace

Discussion: Fox News, The Gateway Pundit and Breitbart

Alexander Burns / New York Times:

Bloomberg Funds Last-Minute Advertising Blitz for Biden in Texas and Ohio — The billionaire former New York City mayor has concentrated largely on Florida in the general election. But his private polling found President Trump vulnerable in two of the country's biggest red states.

Discussion: Political Wire and Off the Kuff

Dan De Luce / NBC News:

Trump admin dismantles ‘firewall’ for editorial independence at U.S.-funded media outlets — A senior U.S. official appointed by President Donald Trump has scrapped a federal regulation designed to protect the editorial independence of Voice of America and other U.S.-funded media outlets …

David Folkenflik / NPR:

U.S. Agency Targets Its Own Journalists' Independence — A regulatory “firewall” intended to protect Voice of America and its affiliated newsrooms from political interference in their journalism was swept aside late Monday night by the chief executive of the federal agency which oversees the government's international broadcasters.

Andrew Kaczynski / CNN:

Kayleigh McEnany once praised Biden as a ‘man of the people’ who resonates with “middle class” over ‘tycoon’ Trump — (CNN)Prior to becoming a prominent backer of Donald Trump, Kayleigh McEnany praised then-Vice President Joe Biden as “funny and likable” and a “man of the people” who resonates with “middle class voters.”

Discussion: Business Insider, The Week, POLITICUSUSA, The Wrap, ABC News, Raw Story, Vanity Fair, Washington Times, The Hill, Political Wire, YouGov, Mediaite and Fox News, more at Mediagazer »

Matt Wilstein / The Daily Beast:

‘Today’ Show Runs Deceptively Edited Biden Clip Pushed by Team Trump — “Frankly, I had higher expectations for NBC News,” commentator Ana Navarro, who was interviewing Biden along with George Lopez, told The Daily Beast. — Eight days before the 2020 election, you would think that major media outlets …

Discussion: TODAY.com, Breitbart, Associated Press, The Wrap, POLITICUSUSA and Mediaite

Meg Kelly / Washington Post:
No, Biden did not confuse George W. Bush and Donald Trump

Discussion: Daily Mail, Business Insider, Deadline, Big League Politics, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Twitchy and Fox News

Ben White / Politico:

As Trump warns of economic disaster, Wall Street grows giddy about Biden — President Donald Trump loves to say that if Joe Biden wins the White House, stocks will crash, retirement accounts will vanish and an economic depression “the likes of which you've never seen” will engulf the nation.

Discussion: New York Times

CNBC:
Dow closes 650 points lower, posts worst day since early September

Discussion: The Daily Caller, UPI, National Review, The Week and Slate

David Rothkopf / USA Today:

How do Trump's extraordinary betrayals stand up against history? He could be the worst. — Putting Trump in context is the best way to highlight and understand his betrayals. History is the highest court, and its verdict can't be appealed. — It is not a small thing to call the president of the United States a traitor.

New York Times:

Rallies Are the Core of Trump's Campaign, and a Font of Lies and Misinformation — A recent rally in Wisconsin was typical. In 90 minutes, President Trump made 131 false or inaccurate statements. — President Trump's speech in Janesville, Wis. — Passages highlighted in red are false or inaccurate.

Richard Bernstein / RealClearInvestigations:

Woke American Tigers, Crouching in China — Above, a scene from Disney's “Mulan.” It's not the only U.S. company to prominently support Black Lives Matter at home but not human-rights causes in China. — When pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong were reaching their height last year …

Greg Bluestein / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

Biden races to expand election map with today's Georgia visit — ‘Georgia is pivotal’ — Joe Biden will visit Georgia on Tuesday for the first time since clinching the party's presidential nomination, raising hopes among Democrats that they could be on the verge of carrying the state for the first time in nearly 30 years.

Discussion: Raw Story, Washington Post and Politico

Jason Hancock / Missouri Independent:

Missouri FOP revokes endorsement of Republican whose children say he abused them — The Missouri Fraternal Order of Police has rescinded its endorsement of Rick Roeber, a Republican candidate for the Missouri House accused by his two adult children of physically and sexually abusing them when they were young.

Margaret Sullivan / Washington Post:

Pro-Trump voices have Mark Zuckerberg's ear. Is that why Facebook undermines liberal news sites? — When the world's largest social-media platform unveiled its new Facebook News last year, the company emphasized how much it would do to help struggling local news organizations.

Discussion: Vox

Sister Toldjah / redstate.com:

Kamala Harris Tells a Coronavirus Whopper *Twice*, Fact Checkers Nowhere To Be Found — I've never run for political office, but a person doesn't have to do so to understand that it's grueling. — Day in and day out you're in front of either voters or reporters - sometimes both.

Annie Karni / New York Times:

Kushner, Employing Racist Stereotype, Questions if Black Americans ‘Want to Be Successful’ — In a “Fox & Friends” interview, President Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser also criticized protesters as more concerned with what he called “virtue signaling” than in coming up with “solutions.”

Discussion: Raw Story, Occupy Democrats, Baller Alert, Washington Times, REVOLT, Business Insider, Washington Post, NBC News, The Root and Al Jazeera

Bo Koltnow / WFMZ-TV:

DeSales University-WFMZ poll shows Biden widening lead in 7th District … Follow Bo Koltnow — DISCLAIMER FOR COMMENTS: The views expressed by public comments are not those of this company or its affiliated companies. Please note by clicking on “Post” you acknowledge that you have read …

Sara Fischer / Axios:

Scoop: The Lincoln Project is becoming a media business — The Lincoln Project is looking to beef up its media business after the election, sources tell Axios. — Driving the news: The group recently signed with the United Talent Agency (UTA) to help build out Lincoln Media and is weighing offers …

more at Mediagazer »

Thomas Beaumont / Associated Press:

Worst place, worst time: Trump faces virus spike in Midwest — OSHKOSH, Wis. (AP) — Gabe Loiacono is the kind of voter President Donald Trump can ill afford to lose. He lives in a pivotal county of a swing state that is among a handful that will decide the presidency.

Discussion: Politico, Political Wire and Associated Press

Olivia Nuzzi / New York Magazine:

Enablement The tortured self-justification of one very powerful Trump-loathing anonymous Republican. — One afternoon this year, a Washington Republican wove through packs of tourists on the Mall and considered, as he often did, the collapse of America. How would all of this appear from a distance?

Discussion: Rolling Stone and The Bulwark

Financial Times:

All the president's debts: to whom Donald Trump owes money — Debts of more than $1bn are tied to the Covid-struck commercial real estate market — These are tough times in the real estate market. The Covid-19 crisis has hit asset values, particularly commercial real estate in cities such as New York.

Laurence Darmiento / Los Angeles Times:

Investor Bill Gross accused of blaring 'Gilligan's Island' song on loop to torment neighbor — A dispute between bond king Bill Gross and his next-door neighbor over a $1-million outdoor sculpture has devolved into police calls to their Laguna Beach mansions, multiple legal actions …

Discussion: The Daily Caller, New York Post and Above the Law

Nate Cohn / New York Times:

With Weakness Among Hispanic Voters, Biden Trails in Texas — Large Democratic gains among white suburbanites suggest risks down the ballot for Republicans in congressional and state House races, our poll shows. — President Trump maintains a narrow lead in Texas, according …

Discussion: Washington Post, No More Mister Nice Blog, The American Independent and Axios

Josh Dawsey / Washington Post:

Meadows under fire as Trump chief of staff for handling of pandemic and other crises — When touting his chief of staff Mark Meadows onstage in North Carolina this month, President Trump gave an unusual compliment for a risky move. — “He follows me,” Trump said of his helicopter ride …

Discussion: The Week, Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, Vanity Fair, The Hill, Daily Kos, Washingtonian and The Nation

Alexi McCammond / Axios:

Ilhan Omar expects Biden to pivot left if elected — Rep. Ilhan Omar told “Axios on HBO” that given the way progressives have shaped Joe Biden's policy platform, she and other members of “The Squad” expect a liberal turn from him if he's elected. — Why it matters: Progressives …

Discussion: Political Wire

George Conway / Washington Post:

I believe in the president, now more than ever — I believe, more than ever, in the president. — I believe Sleepy Joe Biden and that “monster” Kamala D. Harris would turn America into a “socialist hellhole,” and we'd all have “to speak Chinese.” I believe they “want to take out the cows” and “any form of animals.”

Discussion: Raw Story

Ronald Brownstein / CNN:

Why the GOP hold on Texas is loosening — (CNN)The huge surge of early voting in Texas' rapidly growing cities and inner suburbs likely marks the end of unchallenged Republican dominance in America's second largest state — a seismic shift in the nation's electoral landscape.

Discussion: Washington Post, Raw Story and Off the Kuff