memeorandum: Woman arrested on allegations she threatened judge in Georgia ballot case (Mark Niesse/Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

6:15 AM ET, October 21, 2021

Top Items:

David Corn / Mother Jones:

SCOOP: Manchin Tells Associates He's Considering Leaving the Democratic Party and Has an Exit Plan — In recent days, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W. Va.) has told associates that he is considering leaving the Democratic Party if President Joe Biden and Democrats on Capitol Hill do not agree to his demand …

Discussion: Politico, Insider, Fox News, CNN, Breitbart, The Week, IJR, RedState, Reason, Joe.My.God., Mediaite, Raw Story, POLITICUSUSA, Townhall, Talking Points Memo, The Hill, Twitchy, Power Line, Page Array, HotAir, The Daily Wire and Trending Politics

Washington Post:

Biden abruptly accelerates his involvement in agenda talks — For weeks, President Biden has met repeatedly with Democratic lawmakers as part of the tortuous negotiations over his agenda — but to the frustration of many, he has revealed few opinions of his own on what should remain in the plan and what should be jettisoned.

Discussion: Bloomberg, Politico, Washington Examiner, New York Magazine and NPR

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:

Report: Sinema Bent on Destroying Biden Presidency to Keep Taxes on the Wealthy Low This sounds extremely bad. — News reports this week have portrayed Democrats in Congress as slowly converging on a deal to pass a shrunken version of President Biden's Build Back Better agenda.

Discussion: Politico, Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, The Hill, CNN, No More Mister Nice Blog and Raw Story

Politico:

‘We are sleepwalking’: Senate Dem operatives privately warn about rough road ahead — In a private presentation to allies this week, Senate Democrats' main super PAC offered ominous warnings about the political climate the party faces. — President Joe Biden's numbers across Senate battlegrounds …

Discussion: Townhall, HotAir, Breitbart, Fox News, Washington Examiner, New York Times, Joe.My.God., justoneminute.typepad.com, The Gateway Pundit, Daily Kos, Forbes and Raw Story

Wall Street Journal:
Democrats Cut Programs' Durations to Lower Cost of Social Policy and Climate Plan

New York Times:
Biden Backs Compromise to Achieve His Vast Social Agenda

Discussion: Shore News Network, The Journal Gazette, Politico, Washington Examiner, Bloomberg, UPI and Althouse

Mike DeBonis / Washington Post:
All eyes on Manchin after Republicans again block voting rights legislation

Discussion: New York Times, Rolling Stone, CBS News, Vox, Crooks and Liars, Talking Points Memo, Deadline, CNN, Mediaite, The American Independent, Daily Kos and National Review

Rasmussen Reports:
Is Biden Up To The Job? Most Voters Not Confident

Discussion: Power Line, Breitbart, Slate, Washington Post, Washington Examiner, Talking Points Memo and justoneminute.typepad.com

Washington Post:
White House considers new taxes on billionaires, stock buybacks as higher corporate rate appears to fall out of economic package

Discussion: Vox, The Daily Poster, Balloon Juice, Breitbart, Crooks and Liars and Political Wire

Politico:
Democrats weigh slashing $200B in housing aid from spending bill

Discussion: Daily Mail, The Atlantic and The Hill

Michael Powell / New York Times:

When M.I.T. Asked Dorian Abbot to Speak, It Invited Criticism — Dorian Abbot is a scientist who has opposed aspects of affirmative action. He is now at the center of an argument over free speech and acceptable discourse. — CHICAGO — The Massachusetts Institute of Technology invited …

Discussion: Quillette, Washington Examiner, TaxProf Blog, The Daily Wire and JONATHAN TURLEY

HuffPost:

Jan. 6 Probe's Move Into Courtrooms Could Let Trump Run Out The Clock — Trump bankrupted casinos and was the biggest presidential loser since Hoover, but courtroom stalling is his one proven area of expertise. — By S.V. Date — WASHINGTON ― Donald Trump bankrupted casinos …

Discussion: Politico, CNN, Raw Story and Crooks and Liars

Felicia Sonmez / Washington Post:
Rep. Jim Jordan tells House panel he can't recall how many times he spoke with Trump on Jan. 6

Discussion: HuffPost, CBS News, First Draft, USA Today, The Gateway Pundit, Washington Examiner, Raw Story, Daily Kos, Insider, Mediaite and Joe.My.God.

Ryan J. Reilly / HuffPost:
'I'm Invincible': FBI Arrests Capitol Rioter Who Was ‘Not Too Worried’ He'd Be Charged

Discussion: Raw Story and Washington Post

Jordan Williams / The Hill:
Trump calls Liz Cheney a ‘smug fool’

Discussion: Raw Story, The American Independent, Yahoo News and Washington Post

Casey Newton / Platformer:

Why Facebook is rebranding — Fresh details from the search for a new name. PLUS: Five former employees weigh in — Programming note: Platformer will be off on Thursday to work on some ... stuff. See you Monday! — Facebook is changing its name. Perhaps you heard.

Discussion: Gawker, Wired and Zandar Versus The Stupid, more at Techmeme »

Max Read / Read Max:
Maybe we need a moral panic about Facebook

Discussion: Forbes, The Verge and Media Matters for America

Emily Birnbaum / Politico:
The tech billionaire aiding the Facebook whistleblower

Discussion: The Daily Caller and The Verge, more at Techmeme »

Wall Street Journal:

Moderna and J&J Covid-19 Boosters, Mixing and Matching Authorized by the FDA — The extra doses are expected to become available in coming days, once the CDC offers guidance on usage — U.S. health regulators significantly widened the nation's Covid-19 booster campaign …

Leana Wen / Washington Post:
Finally, an answer for Johnson & Johnson vaccine recipients. Here's what I chose.

Discussion: CNBC

Vicky Prodeline / Monmouth University Polling …:

GOP Gains in Governor's Race — Enthusiasm gap and shift in voter priorities boost Youngkin — West Long Branch, NJ - With two weeks to go before Election Day, Democrat Terry McAuliffe and Republican Glenn Youngkin are locked in a close battle for governor of Virginia.

Discussion: Politico, Sabato's Crystal Ball, Townhall, WRIC-TV, RedState, Fox News, Bloomberg, HotAir, Washington Post, NBC News, The Hill and Blue Virginia

Karen Townsend / HotAir:

Is Trump's influence waning in Texas? Election audit bill ignored during special session — The third special session of the Texas Legislature ended Tuesday night. A bill promoted by former President Trump was not added to the special session's agenda by Governor Abbott and the Texas House …

Discussion: Political Wire, Dallas Morning News, CNN and Newsweek

BuzzFeed News:

Leaked Oath Keepers Data Shows At Least 28 Elected Officials Have Ties To The Group — Over the past dozen years, at least 28 people who currently hold elected office joined or financially supported the Oath Keepers, the extremist group that figured prominently in the violent Jan. 6 storming …

Isaac Arnsdorf / ProPublica: Oath Keepers in the State House: How a Militia Movement Took Root in the Republican Mainstream

Mark Niesse / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

Woman arrested on allegations she threatened judge in Georgia ballot case — Police have arrested a Kentucky woman who allegedly threatened a Georgia judge and his family after he dismissed a lawsuit that sought to inspect absentee ballots for signs of fraud in last year's presidential election.Erin Northup …

Washington Post:

The accused spy knew stealth was crucial from his work on submarines. He surfaced anyway. — For years, the aspiring spy had gone to remarkable lengths to protect his identity and evade detection. — With a cash-bought burner phone, he created an anonymous email account …

Discussion: USNI News and Politico

Variety:

Netflix Employee Walkout Grows Tense as Trans Rights Protesters Clash With Dave Chappelle Supporters — Hundreds of Netflix employees and supporters gathered in the shadow of the streaming giant's Los Angeles headquarters on Wednesday to protest Dave Chappelle's standup special “The Closer.”

Discussion: Breitbart, CBS San Francisco, Instapundit, Fox News, HotAir, One America News Network, Ace of Spades HQ, New York Post, Deadline, San Bernardino Sun, CBS News and Press Herald, more at Mediagazer »

Theodore Schleifer / Puck:

The $100 Million Plan to Completely Fix Washington — In 2017, a Wisconsin dairy scion wrote a Harvard Business School case study applying “industry competitive analysis” to party politics. The result is a $100 million plan to transform election rules. Reid Hoffman and one of the Bay …

Demetri Sevastopulo / Financial Times:

China conducted two hypersonic weapons tests this summer — Nuclear-capable ‘glide vehicle’ raises US fears that Beijing is developing new generation of arms — The Chinese military conducted two hypersonic weapons tests over the summer, raising US concerns that Beijing is gaining ground …

Discussion: Fox News, Euractiv, Reuters, New York Post, Washington Post, The American Conservative, Al Jazeera, Bloomberg and The Gateway Pundit

New York Times:

Stymied Before, Trump Finds Backing for His Own Media Venture — A merger could give the former president access to nearly $300 million in cash — and perhaps a new platform. — Former President Donald J. Trump said on Wednesday that he had lined up the investment money to create …

Discussion: HotAir

CNN:

Suspected human remains and items belonging to Brian Laundrie found in Florida park, FBI says — (CNN)What appears to be human remains and items belonging to Brian Laundrie, including a backpack, have been found in the Carlton Reserve in North Port, Florida, according to FBI Special Agent in Charge Michael McPherson.

BBC:

COP26: Document leak reveals nations lobbying to change key climate report — A huge leak of documents seen by BBC News shows how countries are trying to change a crucial scientific report on how to tackle climate change. — The leak reveals Saudi Arabia, Japan and Australia …

Discussion: Informed Comment

Dominick Reuter / Insider:

A worker in Florida applied to 60 entry-level jobs in September and got one interview — Businesses across the US say they are struggling to find employees, especially for hourly work. — Joey Holz decided to test their claims, submitting two applications a day in September.

Mark Hand / Burke, VA Patch:

Youngkin Supporter Punches Reporter At Campaign Rally In Burke — BURKE, VA — A supporter of Virginia gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin struck a reporter outside a campaign rally in Burke Tuesday night, leading the journalist to report the incident to a Fairfax County police officer.

Discussion: RedState and Blue Virginia

Brian Schwartz / CNBC:

Billionaire investor Nelson Peltz says he talks every week to Sen. Joe Manchin, who is pushing to cut Biden agenda — Billionaire Nelson Peltz told CNBC on Wednesday that he talks every week to Sen. Joe Manchin, a centrist Democrat who is pushing to shrink President Biden's agenda.

Discussion: Mediaite