memeorandum: The Covid Fable — When we treat Covid as a simple morality play, we can end up making bad predictions. (David Leonhardt/New York Times)

10:15 AM ET, October 8, 2021

Top Items:

CNN:

Trump DC hotel incurred more than $70 million in losses while Trump was president, documents show — Washington (CNN)Former President Donald Trump racked up more than $70 million in losses over a four-year period from his Washington, DC, hotel, while publicly claiming that the hotel was making …

Discussion: Washington Post and NBC News

Select Committee to Investigate …:

Select Committee Issues Subpoenas Related to January 6th Stop the Steal Rally at U.S. Capitol — Bolton, MS—Chairman Bennie G. Thompson today announced that the Select Committee has issued additional subpoenas seeking testimony and records related to the “Stop the Steal” …

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, UPI, Rolling Stone, Roll Call, POLITICUSUSA, Raw Story, Mediaite, Townhall, Washington Post, CNBC and The New Civil Rights Movement

CNN:

Bannon to defy subpoena from January 6 committee as Trump urges defiance, sources say — (CNN)At least two associates of former President Donald Trump have responded to the House committee investigating the January 6 insurrection — with one saying they intend to defy the subpoena, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

New York Times:
Trump Tells Former Aides to Defy Subpoenas From Jan. 6 Panel

Discussion: Politico, UPI, HotAir, CBS News, NPR, The Guardian, CNN and NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth

Washington Post:
Trump lawyer tells former aides not to cooperate with Jan. 6 committee

Discussion: CNN, Daily Kos, Talking Points Memo, The Indian Express, Law & Crime, Raw Story, Politico, HuffPost, The Hill, Washington Times, Insider and Compatible Creatures

Ed Morrissey / HotAir:

Manchin to Schumer: Your speech was “f*****g stupid” — Just how badly has Senate control undermined Democratic unity? And how far will it go? Punchbowl reports this morning that four different sources say that Joe Manchin confronted Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer …

Discussion: Politico, RedState and The Daily Wire

Alayna Treene / Axios:

No one likes the debt deal — The leaders of the Senate were happy Thursday with their deal to avoid a debt default. They were about the only ones. — Why it matters: The Band-Aid does nothing to solve the debt ceiling problem long term for Americans. Democrats fear it only kicks the can down the road to a very busy December.

Discussion: Washington Post, The Federalist and BizPac Review

Washington Post:
Trump and his allies target McConnell over deal to avoid default

Discussion: Politico, Washington Free Beacon, NBC News, Columbia Journalism Review, The Daily Caller, HuffPost, Raw Story, The Hill and New York Post

Dan Froomkin / Press Watch:
Arsonist heroically agrees not to light deadly fire? Let me rewrite that for you.

Discussion: Baltimore Sun, New York Times, Vanity Fair and Washington Post

Ezra Klein / New York Times:

David Shor Is Telling Democrats What They Don't Want to Hear — President Biden's agenda is in peril. Democrats hold a bare 50 seats in the Senate, which gives any member of their caucus the power to block anything he or she chooses, at least in the absence of Republican support.

Discussion: Bloomberg, Vox and Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Eliza Shapiro / New York Times:

New York City to Phase Out Its Gifted and Talented Program — Students who are currently enrolled in gifted and talented classes will not be affected. But the highly selective and racially segregated program will be replaced for incoming students. — Mayor Bill de Blasio will overhaul …

Discussion: Gawker, Breitbart and CNBC

Washington Post:

Journalists known for taking on governments of Philippines and Russia win Nobel Peace Prize — Editors Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov on Friday won the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize for their fight for a free and independent press in a major boost to journalists amid increasing pressures on freedom of expression around the world.

Discussion: CNN, New York Times, Bloomberg, Mediaite, Vatican News, Algemeiner.com, Poynter, Reuters, NBC News, Associated Press, Hong Kong Free Press HKFP, The Wrap and తెల …, more at Mediagazer »

James Hookway / Wall Street Journal:
Nobel Peace Prize Awarded to Journalists Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov

Discussion: Bloomberg, CBS News, Voice of America, Al Jazeera, Politico, KRON4 and The New Arab

NobelPrize.org:
The Nobel Peace Prize 2021

Discussion: National Review, The Hill, ICIJ, UPI, WTOP and Al Jazeera

James McClain / Yahoo Lifestyle:

Son of Afghanistan's Former Defense Minister Buys $20.9 Million Beverly Hills Mansion — He already owns a $5.2 million Miami Beach condo at the prestigious St. Regis Bal Harbour resort, but Daoud Wardak apparently also wants a West Coast outpost. To that end, he's heading for Beverly Hills …

Susan B. Glasser / New Yorker:

The Battle of January 6th Has Just Begun — Nine months after the storming of the Capitol, Trump is more popular with the G.O.P. and his Big Lie is more widely believed. — Nine months to the day after the January 6th insurrection by a pro-Trump mob at the Capitol, I received nine statements …

Discussion: CNN, Raw Story, New York Times, Sacramento Bee and The Daily Caller

Josh Mitchell / Wall Street Journal:

U.S. Economy Added 194,000 Jobs in September — Unemployment rate dropped to 4.8% — The U.S. economy added 194,000 jobs in September and the unemployment rate fell to 4.8%. The Delta variant and a tight labor market held back hiring. — The labor market remains depleted …

Discussion: HotAir, New York Times, National Review and YouTube

Matt Taibbi / TK News:

The Cult of the Vaccine — Yesterday, I ran a story that had nothing to do with vaccines, about the seeming delay of the development of a drug called molnupiravir (see the above segment with the gracious hosts of The Hill: Rising for more). In the time it took to report and write that piece …

Aidan McLaughlin / Mediaite:

Billy Bush Says He Was Victim of Access Hollywood Tape: NBC ‘Sacrificed Me’ For ‘Their Own Political Gain’ — Billy Bush celebrated a milestone this week: the five year anniversary of the release of the Access Hollywood tape, a day he described in an Instagram post as “the worst day of my life.”

David Leonhardt / New York Times:

The Covid Fable — When we treat Covid as a simple morality play, we can end up making bad predictions. — In the final weeks of this summer, with Covid-19 cases soaring and the rituals of autumn about to resume, many people assumed that the pandemic was on the verge of getting even worse.

Sam LaGrone / USNI News:

UPDATED: Attack Submarine USS Connecticut Suffers Underwater Collision in South China Sea — This post has been updated with additional details on the injuries to the crew of USS Connecticut and the location of the collision. — Almost a dozen sailors have been injured …

Discussion: Navy Times, New York Post, The Daily Wire, Bloomberg, Task & Purpose, ABC News, Breaking Defense and The Gateway Pundit

Josh Partlow / Washington Post:

Biden to expand Bears Ears and other national monuments, reversing Trump cuts, White House says — The decision will restore full protections to Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante in Utah and reinstate fishing restrictions in a marine monument off New England

Discussion: The Hill, The Indian Express, USA Today, NPR, Wall Street Journal, HuffPost and Political Wire

Coral Davenport / New York Times:
Biden to Restore Three National Monuments in Utah and New England

Discussion: Roll Call, UPI, The Daily Caller, The White House and abc7NY

Mike Hixenbaugh / NBC News:

Southlake, Texas, schools restrict classroom libraries after backlash over anti-racist book — The Carroll Independent School District in Southlake, Texas, is cracking down on the books teachers keep in their classroom libraries, drawing protests from educators who say the guidelines amount to censorship.

Discussion: The Hill and Dallas Morning News

Andrew Klavan / City Journal:

At the Heart of Our Divisions — Socialism is immoral—and it makes us hate one another. — The Social Order — Politics and law — We didn't need a new poll from The University of Virginia Center for Politics and Project Home Fire to tell us that many Democrats see fascists …

Matt Lewis / The Daily Beast:

Pence and Haley Aren't the Future of the GOP—They're Roadkill — DEAD ARMADILLOS — While they might have been formidable Republican presidential candidates in, say, 2012, the party has moved on. — There's a scene in The War Room, a documentary about the 1992 presidential campaign …

Discussion: Raw Story

New York Times:

Fines Prevent Too Many From Voting in Florida — Mr. Winter is a staff photographer on assignment in Opinion. Mr. Wegman is a member of the editorial board. — Twenty years ago, Judy Bolden served 18 months in a Florida prison. She has been free ever since, but she is still barred …

Amanda Carpenter / The Bulwark:

The Truth According to Kari Lake — The MAGA candidate for governor of Arizona believes some strange things. — The candidate Donald Trump endorsed to be the next governor of Arizona made a big show of quitting the job she held for decades as the face of Phoenix's Fox 10 news because …

Ed Morrissey / HotAir:

Today's deep question: Why does Biden use a stage set instead of the White House? — The “fake set” question first came up a week ago, when a few critics speculated that Joe Biden's booster shot was as staged as the environs. There's not a shred of evidence that Biden didn't get his third dose …

Discussion: New York Post

Nicki Jhabvala / Washington Post:

DEA investigation of Washington's trainer is related to disbursement of prescription drugs — The Drug Enforcement Administration is investigating Ryan Vermillion, the Washington Football Team's director of sports medicine and head athletic trainer, for the possible disbursement of prescription drugs …

Discussion: ProFootballTalk

Patrick Marley / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Michael Gableman, the GOP attorney reviewing Wisconsin's 2020 election, is backing off on the subpoenas to cities days after issuing them — MADISON - In a dramatic turnaround, an attorney reviewing the 2020 election for Assembly Republicans on Thursday canceled interviews with mayors …

Discussion: Raw Story

CNN:

More people are getting Covid-19 vaccine boosters than getting their first shots, CDC data shows — (CNN)Mark Warschauer, a professor of education at the University of California, Irvine, was “tremendously excited” about the authorization of Covid-19 vaccines, and happy when he became eligible to get his first doses.

Discussion: Outside the Beltway

Ryan J. Reilly / HuffPost:

Trump-Loving Cousins IDed By Online Sleuths Are Arrested For Attacking Cops At Capitol — #MississippiFlagGuy and #KingstonAsh were identified by online sleuths back in February. — The FBI has arrested two cousins who attacked police officers during the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and were identified …

The Dworkin Report:

Reality Winner's mom calls on President Biden to grant her daughter clemency — Scott speaks with Billie Jean Winner-Davis, whose daughter Reality spent years in federal prison for revealing Russia's cyberattack on America's elections in 2016. Reality's mom shared some of her frustrations …

Discussion: Insider

Bill Scher / Washington Monthly:

Election Subversion Is the Biggest Threat We Face — There are some good safeguards in the Manchin-Klobuchar bill that should pass before we turn to Democratic wish lists. … These panicked comments about election subversion by Donald Trump and his followers were made in the past month—by prominent conservatives.

Katherine Huggins / Mediaite:

Trump Blames Lack of Trust in Biden for Vaccine Hesitancy: ‘I Can Think of No Other Reason’ Why People Won't Get the Shot — Donald Trump criticized President Joe Biden's handling of the Covid pandemic on Thursday, and blamed vaccine hesitancy on a lack of trust in Biden.

Discussion: Insider and Truthout

Liz Peek / The Hill:

Global energy crunch spurs inflation and scares green lobby — Environmentalists are terrified. Not that polar bears will soon go the way of the dodo or that melting ice caps will submerge Iceland in the near future (or is it Greenland?). — No, the green lobby is very …

Glenn H. Reynolds / New York Post:

School boards, bastions of local democracy, persecute dissident parents — American parents are organizing to fight racist critical race theories being taught in their kids' schools. Attorney General Merrick Garland, once touted as a moderate, has responded by asking the FBI to treat them as domestic terrorists.

Discussion: HotAir, Don Surber and BizPac Review

Ariana Garcia / Houston Chronicle:

Matthew McConaughey says politics is ‘a bag of rats’ in interview weighing run for Texas governor — In an interview on the Sway podcast, the Lone Star State native wavered on whether he could affect real change as a politician and called the state's abortion ban ‘juvenile in its implementation.’

Discussion: The Daily Caller and Insider