memeorandum: U.S. and allies debate the intelligence on how quickly Putin will order an invasion of Ukraine — or whether he will at all (Washington Post)

1:15 PM ET, January 29, 2022

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Aidin Vaziri / Datebook:

Spotify loses $4 billion in market value following Neil Young controversy — Spotify lost $4 billion in market value this week after rock icon Neil Young called out the company for allowing comedian Joe Rogan to use its service to spread misinformation about the COVID vaccine on his popular podcast, “The Joe Rogan Experience.”

Discussion: Variety, One America News Network, Fortune, Stereogum and Rolling Stone, more at Mediagazer »

Ellise Shafer / Variety:

Joni Mitchell Says She's Removing Music From Spotify: ‘Irresponsible People Are Spreading Lies’ … Joni Mitchell has pledged to remove her music from Spotify, just a few days after fellow singer-songwriter icon Neil Young did the same. — In a note on her official website titled …

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Joni Mitchell:

News Item — I Stand With Neil Young! — I've decided to remove all my music from Spotify. Irresponsible people are spreading lies that are costing people their lives. I stand in solidarity with Neil Young and the global scientific and medical communities on this issue. —Joni Mitchell

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Ashton Pittman / Mississippi Free Press:

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Seung Min Kim / Washington Post:
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New York Times:
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Washington Post:

U.S. and allies debate the intelligence on how quickly Putin will order an invasion of Ukraine — or whether he will at all — As the United States and Britain sound the alarm, the Ukrainian president appears unconvinced; meanwhile, France and Germany hedge.

Discussion: The Kyiv Independent, Metro.co.uk, BizPac Review, One America News Network, NPR and Fox News

Timothy Snyder / Washington Post:

Putin's case for invading Ukraine rests on phony grievances and ancient myths … Last July, Vladimir Putin supplied the mythical basis for Russian war propaganda in an essay titled “On the Historical Unity of Russians and Ukrainians.” The essential idea is that Russia has the right to Ukraine …

Discussion: Fox News, TL;DR'd, The Fog, Al Jazeera and Bangor Daily News

New York Times:
White House Warnings Over Russia Strain Ukraine-U.S. Partnership

Discussion: The Guardian, Japan Times, Wide World of News, NPR, Los Angeles Times, Washington Examiner, The Continentalist, The National Interest, Voice of America and Reuters

Washington Post:
U.S. says Russia ‘clearly’ now has capability to attack as Ukraine complains of Western panic

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Politico:
Why ‘imminent’ pisses Zelenskyy off

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Paul Kane / Washington Post:

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Washington Examiner:
Shovel more dirt onto Build Back Better

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Michael Cavna / Washington Post:

Art Spiegelman sees the new ban of his book ‘Maus’ as a ‘red alert’ — Art Spiegelman didn't set out to write an educational aid for young-adult readers. A half-century ago, he simply wanted to better know his own origin story, discover more about his parents' histories — and hear from his father …

Discussion: Forbes

Dan Mangan / CNBC:
‘Maus’ is an Amazon bestseller after Tennessee school ban - author Art Spiegelman compares board to Putin

Discussion: NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Salon

Nate Gartrell / Mercury News:

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Jared Malsin / Wall Street Journal:

Turkey's Erdogan Fires Statistics Chief After Record Inflation — President also appoints another member of ruling party as justice minister — ISTANBUL—Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan replaced the head of the state statistics agency weeks after it reported record inflation …

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Maureen Dowd / New York Times:

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Jill Colvin / Associated Press:

Trump facing legal, political headwinds as he eyes comeback — CONROE, Texas (AP) — As he prepared to tee off at one of his Florida golf courses, a fellow player introduced Donald Trump as the “45th president of the United States.” — “45th and 47th,” Trump responded matter-of-factly, before hitting his drive.

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA, Raw Story, Political Wire and Las Vegas Review-Journal

Kyle Morris / Fox News:

Washington trooper who defied state vaccine mandate and told gov to ‘kiss my a—’ dies from COVID-19 — Former Trooper Robert LaMay was 51 years old — Ivy League parents take stand over college vaccine booster mandates — A Washington State Patrol officer who defied a statewide vaccine mandate …

Discussion: Mediaite

U.S. Department of Justice:

American Woman Who Led ISIS Battalion Charged with Providing Material Support to a Terrorist Organization — A criminal complaint filed in 2019 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, which is now unsealed, alleges that Allison Fluke-Ekren, a United States citizen …

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Associated Press, Rolling Stone and Fox News

Caroline Kitchener / Washington Post:

Republican-led states rush to pass antiabortion bills before Supreme Court rules on Roe — Lawmakers in at least 29 states, anticipating a new legal landscape, have filed measures to restrict abortion. — Nebraska lawmakers kicked off the new year by introducing a bill to ban all abortions …

Adriana Cohen / New York Post:

Why hasn't Fauci been fired and put under FBI investigation yet? — Dr. Anthony Fauci, the White House top medical adviser, shouldn't be on TV; he should be under federal investigation answering serious questions about his knowledge of the National Institutes of Health's reckless funding …

Discussion: The Daily Conservative

Jesse Wegman / New York Times:

The Equal Rights Amendment Is Now the Law of the Land. Isn't It? — Mr. Wegman is a member of the editorial board. — Even if you are a political junkie, there's a good chance you didn't realize that the United States Constitution grew 58 words longer this week.

Justin Rohrlich / The Daily Beast:

Kansas Man on ‘Mission From God’ Charged With Threatening Biden's Life — ‘BLOOD OF THE LAMB’ — A Kansas man claiming he had been told by God to travel to Washington, D.C., to “lop off the head of the serpent in the heart of the nation” has been charged with threatening …

Discussion: Insider, CNN and New York Post

CNN:

Trump WH spokesman is sent subpoena by January 6 committee — (CNN)The House Select Committee investigating January 6 has issued a subpoena Friday for a former White House spokesman with firsthand knowledge of Donald Trump's behavior before and during the January 6 attack on the Capitol …

Discussion: Insider, Letters from an American, NBC News, Raw Story, Mediaite, The Guardian, Breitbart, Hackwhackers, CNBC, Select Committee … and Wall Street Journal

Hunter Walker / The Uprising:
Trump Campaign Aide Among 14 ‘Alternate Electors’ Subpoenaed By January 6 Committee

Discussion: Bloomberg, Raw Story, Washington Times, NPR, Washington Post, Washington Examiner, USA Today, UPI, CBS News and Forbes

Wall Street Journal:

Biden Had Strategy to Beat Covid-19. Then Variants Arrived. — Some public-health officials say president's team overlooked steps that could have helped mitigate Omicron surge — WASHINGTON—President Biden took office with a detailed plan to battle Covid-19 by accelerating vaccinations …